Gesta pontificum Anglorum
Encyclopedia
The Gesta Pontificum Anglorum or Deeds of the English Bishops was a medieval literary work by William of Malmesbury
covering the history of the English episcopate
. The work was in Medieval Latin
and was composed between 1118 and 1125.
Although William's concurrent work, the Gesta Regum Anglorum, drew heavily on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
for both structure and content, in the Gesta Pontificum the author had no ready guide and had to set up a new structure for the work. This he did by arranging his material by diocese, starting with Canterbury, and grouping the dioceses by the ancient Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms they had belonged to. Within the description and history of each diocese, William wrote about the bishops and monasteries, plus any additional interesting information.
The Gesta Pontificum, in the manner of many chroniclers' continuations, begins where Bede
's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
left off, and ends at William's own time. William used a number of sources. In turn, his work became the basis of a number of later works dealing with ecclesiastical history, including those written at Durham
, Bury St Edmunds and Worcester.
One of William's themes in the Gesta Pontificum, as in his Gesta Regum is that the Norman's invasion and conquest of England saved the English and rescued their civilization from the barbarities of the native English and restored England to the Latin culture of the continent. One aspect of this theme was William's reluctance to give Anglo-Saxon names in their native form, instead Latinizing them.
Although the work was finished about 1125, William continued to revise it over the next decade or so. The Gesta Pontificum enjoyed reasonable success and was known in England during the next century, although its popularity paled besides that of its companion work, the Gesta Regum, which within William's lifetime was known not only in England, but in Flanders, France and Normandy.
In a critical edition
published in 1870, N. E. S. A. Hamilton demonstrated that the Magdalen College, Oxford
, manuscript
catalogued as MS lat. 172 is by the hand of William himself. This takes the form of a pocket-sized book, its parchment
leaves measuring 7.1 by 4.8 inches. At the head of folio 1 is the Malmesbury Abbey impressed mark, and a pagination
in Arabic numerals
in a 14th century hand indicates that no pages have been lost since then. Unhappily, some of William's marginalia
are affected by a trimming by a bookbinder
in the 17th century.
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
covering the history of the English episcopate
Historical development of Church of England dioceses
This article traces the historical development of the dioceses and cathedrals of the Church of England. It is customary in England to name each diocese after the city where its cathedral is located. Occasionally, when the bishop's seat has been moved from one city to another, the diocese may retain...
. The work was in Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
and was composed between 1118 and 1125.
Although William's concurrent work, the Gesta Regum Anglorum, drew heavily on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
for both structure and content, in the Gesta Pontificum the author had no ready guide and had to set up a new structure for the work. This he did by arranging his material by diocese, starting with Canterbury, and grouping the dioceses by the ancient Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
kingdoms they had belonged to. Within the description and history of each diocese, William wrote about the bishops and monasteries, plus any additional interesting information.
The Gesta Pontificum, in the manner of many chroniclers' continuations, begins where Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum is a work in Latin by Bede on the history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict between Roman and Celtic Christianity.It is considered to be one of the most important original references on...
left off, and ends at William's own time. William used a number of sources. In turn, his work became the basis of a number of later works dealing with ecclesiastical history, including those written at Durham
Diocese of Durham
The Diocese of Durham is a Church of England diocese, based in Durham, and covering the historic County Durham . It was created in AD 1000 to replace the Diocese of Lindisfarne...
, Bury St Edmunds and Worcester.
One of William's themes in the Gesta Pontificum, as in his Gesta Regum is that the Norman's invasion and conquest of England saved the English and rescued their civilization from the barbarities of the native English and restored England to the Latin culture of the continent. One aspect of this theme was William's reluctance to give Anglo-Saxon names in their native form, instead Latinizing them.
Although the work was finished about 1125, William continued to revise it over the next decade or so. The Gesta Pontificum enjoyed reasonable success and was known in England during the next century, although its popularity paled besides that of its companion work, the Gesta Regum, which within William's lifetime was known not only in England, but in Flanders, France and Normandy.
In a critical edition
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
published in 1870, N. E. S. A. Hamilton demonstrated that the Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
, manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
catalogued as MS lat. 172 is by the hand of William himself. This takes the form of a pocket-sized book, its parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
leaves measuring 7.1 by 4.8 inches. At the head of folio 1 is the Malmesbury Abbey impressed mark, and a pagination
Pagination
Pagination is the process of dividing information into discrete pages, either electronic pages or printed pages. Today the latter are usually simply instances of the former that have been outputted to a printing device, such as a desktop printer or a modern printing press...
in Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals or Hindu numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals are the ten digits . They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, in which a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a numeral...
in a 14th century hand indicates that no pages have been lost since then. Unhappily, some of William's marginalia
Marginalia
Marginalia are scribbles, comments, and illuminations in the margins of a book.- Biblical manuscripts :Biblical manuscripts have liturgical notes at the margin, for liturgical use. Numbers of texts' divisions are given at the margin...
are affected by a trimming by a bookbinder
Bookbinding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or other material. It usually involves attaching covers to the resulting text-block.-Origins of the book:...
in the 17th century.