Writing history in England

Fifteenth-Century Compilation Methods: The Case of Oxford, Trinity College, MS 29

“…48 In this context, T is one of the last texts of its kind, a text which still invokes in manuscript form the models of viewing history as a holistic, interconnected whole in the tradition of Higden's Polychronicon, rather than the more fragmented, localised, and politicized examples of history writing which are more prominent at the end of the fifteenth century. 49 T is entirely different in nature from texts such as Thomas Gardyner's Flowers of England, a prose chronicle not far removed in time from T, which was completed in 1516 and follows a clear political agenda. 50 There are few universal histories being written as late as the fifteenth century in English, and none are comparable in textual terms to T. Capgrave's Abbreviacion of Cronicles, for instance, operates within a universal framework of world history, but is firmly rooted in the annalistic tradition as a structuring principle and is thus different in focus and structure to T. 51 There are very few notable examples of similar approaches to universal history writing in England after T which employ a similar range and complexity of compilatory strategies.…”

The “Anarchy” of King Arthur’s Beginnings: The Politics that Created the Arthurian Tradition

“…Welsh raiders and noble uprisings against Stephen, though unconnected to Matilda, probably served her cause as well. 7 However, the support of London and other powerful nobles gave Stephen the domestic foothold he needed to retain his power for nearly two decades.…”