William of Malmesbury: Saints' Lives

by William of Malmesbury, Michael Winterbottom (Editor), Rodney M. Thomson (Editor)

This volume presents the hagiographical writings of the Benedictine monk, historian, and scholar, William of Malmesbury (c.1095-c.1143): his Lives of Wulfstan and Dunstan, which survive complete, and those of Patrick, Benignus, and Indract, which exist now only as fragments. Only the Life of Wulfstan has been translated before; the fragments are edited here for the first time, and for the first time an assessment is offered of William as hagiographer, and of the relationship between his historical and hagiographical output. For Wulfstan II, bishop of Worcester 1062-95, William's Life is the main primary source. The other Lives, written for the monks of Glastonbury, shed important light on William's use of his sources, and on the local cult of these saints.

436 pages, Hardcover

First published August 29, 2002

About the author

William 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.