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William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of England, from the Earliest Period to the Reign of King Stephen
William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the Kings of From the Earliest ...
562 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1125
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About the author
William of Malmesbury
41 books8 followersWilliam of Malmesbury (Latin: Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; c. 1095 or '96 – c. 1143) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. Hollister ranked him among the most talented English historians since Bede.
William was born about 1095 or 1096 in Wiltshire. His father was Norman and his mother English. He spent his whole life in England and his adult life as a monk at Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England.
William was born about 1095 or 1096 in Wiltshire. His father was Norman and his mother English. He spent his whole life in England and his adult life as a monk at Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 1, 2012
William is simply put the Historian of the Millenium. Not only does he have a really fun time to talk about (from the time of the earliest Ango-Saxons down to the reign of Henry I), but he also has a really fun way of saying it. I could wax on, but here are some of my favorite commonplaces:
"Here then fortune, who had so frequently caressed Oswin with her blandishments, now wounded him with her Scorpion sting."
"[Aldheim's] noble acts appear clearer even to the eye purblind than can possibly be sketched by my pencil."
"For form the Saxons they learned an untamable ferocity of mind, from the Flemings an unmanly delicacy of the body, and from the Danes drunkenness."
On Edric: "This fellow was the refuse of mankind, the reproach of the English, an abandoned glutton, a cunning miscreant, who had become opulent, not by nobility, but by specious language and impudence."
"The French King inactive and surfeited with daily gluttony, came hiccuping, through repletion, to the war: but, as he was making great professions, the money of the King of England met him by the way; with which his resolution being born down, he unbuckled his armor, and went back to gormandizing."
"Here then fortune, who had so frequently caressed Oswin with her blandishments, now wounded him with her Scorpion sting."
"[Aldheim's] noble acts appear clearer even to the eye purblind than can possibly be sketched by my pencil."
"For form the Saxons they learned an untamable ferocity of mind, from the Flemings an unmanly delicacy of the body, and from the Danes drunkenness."
On Edric: "This fellow was the refuse of mankind, the reproach of the English, an abandoned glutton, a cunning miscreant, who had become opulent, not by nobility, but by specious language and impudence."
"The French King inactive and surfeited with daily gluttony, came hiccuping, through repletion, to the war: but, as he was making great professions, the money of the King of England met him by the way; with which his resolution being born down, he unbuckled his armor, and went back to gormandizing."
July 10, 2012
Awesome. Just awesome. Makes you want to read all the historical books about England that have ever existed.
March 21, 2026
Pretty loaded.
I am sure if I were able to read it at a more leisurely pace, I would’ve given it three stars. Better than Bede, but still a tad bit boring.
I am sure if I were able to read it at a more leisurely pace, I would’ve given it three stars. Better than Bede, but still a tad bit boring.
October 2, 2013
Chronicle of the Kings of England comprehensively details the history of the English people from their earliest days to the middle of the 12th century. Borrowing largely from Bede, William details England's earlier kings, spending the last three books on William the Conqueror and the kings after him. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed this book immensely, and I look forward to trying out Bede soon. William has certainly left me with a great curiosity for the medieval period and the kings of England.
April 1, 2022
I adore medieval historians. William of Malmesbury writes of the daughters of William the Conqueror: "His daughters were five; first, Cecilia ... the second, Constancia ... the third, Adela ... The names of the other two have escaped me. One of these ... died ere she was marriageable. The other ... obtained from God a virgin death."
marvelous.
marvelous.
April 19, 2011
A little bit of Bede, a little bit of Herodotus, and altogether awesome.
April 5, 2011
I really like Malmesbury. He's a truly great historian.
December 13, 2024
Difficult to review something old enough to be a historical fact. But I wrote a review for the Bible so no reason not to do this. Question is, really, is it worth reading?
Yeah, probably. There's a load about it that's interesting. From a historiographical perspective, Malmesbury is keen to lean towards 'objectivity'. This is of course a fool's errand, not least because there's a lot of what would now be considered charming folklore (the cursed king who fouled the baptismal).
Early English history is patchy, but this does give a relatively complete picture of the various factions - especially what we'd now refer to as Normans and Anglo-Saxons. And his remit is beyond England - there's a wider European and MENA context given. The formation of England is detailed and the states as they were prior to that also. So that is to say there's plenty of depth and context given.
There's often a problem with historical texts where they become less necessary to refer to - in this instance, a couple of wikipedia articles could probably save you reading this tome. If you're just after them facts then this probably isn't your book, friendo. But if you like archaic constructions, and a world of nones and kalends and hugely Christian cultures, this is a zinger. It'd be stupid to criticise the historiography at a time when the discipline was a lot looser and patchier - there's certainly perspectives missing here (the economic construction of society) but for a bird's eye view of how the kings operated, it's fascinating.
To me one of the more compelling things was how often military endeavours were scuppered by insufficient financial resources - giving the impression that at a time of lesser national cohesion there was a more mercenary approach to the military. For me that's a lesson into a modern age - give people a decent lick in the military and they'll pledge fealty to whatever. I suspect contemporary nation states are well aware of this.
Anyway - there's plenty of fleshy English history here. And some nice asides - who knew that the English were known for a specific style of moustache around the 10th century? I'm not sure I'd recommend it for the academic - if only because a secondary text is going to furnish more and broader detail - but it's certainly a fun look at how people wrote about and thought about England and its kings at a time when the state was freshly minted.
Yeah, probably. There's a load about it that's interesting. From a historiographical perspective, Malmesbury is keen to lean towards 'objectivity'. This is of course a fool's errand, not least because there's a lot of what would now be considered charming folklore (the cursed king who fouled the baptismal).
Early English history is patchy, but this does give a relatively complete picture of the various factions - especially what we'd now refer to as Normans and Anglo-Saxons. And his remit is beyond England - there's a wider European and MENA context given. The formation of England is detailed and the states as they were prior to that also. So that is to say there's plenty of depth and context given.
There's often a problem with historical texts where they become less necessary to refer to - in this instance, a couple of wikipedia articles could probably save you reading this tome. If you're just after them facts then this probably isn't your book, friendo. But if you like archaic constructions, and a world of nones and kalends and hugely Christian cultures, this is a zinger. It'd be stupid to criticise the historiography at a time when the discipline was a lot looser and patchier - there's certainly perspectives missing here (the economic construction of society) but for a bird's eye view of how the kings operated, it's fascinating.
To me one of the more compelling things was how often military endeavours were scuppered by insufficient financial resources - giving the impression that at a time of lesser national cohesion there was a more mercenary approach to the military. For me that's a lesson into a modern age - give people a decent lick in the military and they'll pledge fealty to whatever. I suspect contemporary nation states are well aware of this.
Anyway - there's plenty of fleshy English history here. And some nice asides - who knew that the English were known for a specific style of moustache around the 10th century? I'm not sure I'd recommend it for the academic - if only because a secondary text is going to furnish more and broader detail - but it's certainly a fun look at how people wrote about and thought about England and its kings at a time when the state was freshly minted.
July 15, 2020
Excellent source for early British history research.
March 19, 2026
I was NOT a fan of this book.
Love the historical significance, but there were like ten Williams and Richard and it was hard to keep them straight
Love the historical significance, but there were like ten Williams and Richard and it was hard to keep them straight
July 11, 2014
Malmesbury cites the things me gave up to go on Crusade- the Welsh gave up hunting: the Danes gave up their drinking parties: the Norwegians their raw fish: the Scots their fellowship with lice.
Masterful!
Masterful!
October 27, 2016
I am thankful for this book. I am also thankful that we are finished reading it in our Omnibus class.
If nothing else, I'm looking forward to watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail again because I think I'll appreciate it even more now.
If nothing else, I'm looking forward to watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail again because I think I'll appreciate it even more now.
August 22, 2015
For all of the kings and crusades, popes and battles the thing that sticks in my mind is the man who was eaten alive by mice.
December 26, 2019
It's fine. The one story that made it worth reading was the flying monk story. That was great.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews