Historia de Sancto Cuthberto
Encyclopedia
The Historia de Sancto Cuthberto ("History of St Cuthbert") is a historical compilation finished some time after 1031. It is an account of the history of the bishopric of St Cuthbert—based successively at Lindisfarne
, Norham
, Chester-le-Street
and finally Durham
—from the life of St Cuthbert himself onwards. The latest event documented is a grant by King Cnut, c. 1031. The work is a cartulary chronicle recording grants and losses of property as well as miracles of retribution, under a loose narrative of temporal progression. The text survives in three manuscripts, the earliest of which dates from around 1100. The original version of the text is not thought to be extant; rather, all surviving manuscripts are thought to be copies of an earlier but lost exemplar. The Historia is one of the important sources behind the higher quality expanded histories produced at Durham in the early 12th century, particularly the Historia Regum
and Symeon of Durham
's Libellus de Exordio
.
, MS "Bodley 596". The text is incomplete, beginning only in chapter 8, as the first folio has disappeared (along with the later folios of the text that preceded it in the manuscript, Bede
's metrical Life of St Cuthbert). The handwriting is early Gothic
, showing continental influences typical of the contemporary Anglo-Norman script. Palaeographer Michael Gullick has identified the scribe as Symeon of Durham
(fl.
1093–1129), an identification accepted by the Historias recent editor Ted Johnson South. Bodley 596 itself is a compilation bound together in the early 17th century, but folios 174 to 214 are from the late 11th or early 12th century, containing Bede's prose Life of St Cuthbert (175r–200v), his metrical Life of St Cuthbert (201r–202v), this Historia and finally a Life and Office of St Julian of Le Mans
(206v–214v). The codicological
details indicate that these works were part of one original volume, though it has been claimed that the Julian text is in a different hand.
The Cambridge version, in the manuscript known as Cambridge University Library
, Ff. 1.27 ("Ff. 1.27"), is slightly later. Like the Oxford version, it is incomplete, missing chapters 29 to 34. The style of handwriting suggests that the text of the Cambridge Historia dates to the mid-12th century, though it may be as late as the early 13th century. It is written in a single hand classified as English early Gothic, typical of the period 1140–1170. Ff. 1.27 as a whole came together in the 15th century or later, but pages 1 to 236 are earlier and palaographic evidence suggests that, with the exception of a continuation of Gildas
' De excidio Britanniae dating to the 14th century, share the same origin. The same kind of evidence implies that Ff. 1.27 1–236 had a common origin with half of the contents of another Cambridge manuscript, Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS. 66 ("CCCC 66"), also largely composed of Northumbrian material. It probably had a common origin with Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS. 139
("CCCC 139") as well: the Historia of Ff. 1.27 is written in the same hand as part of CCCC 139's version of the Historia Regum
(a Durham-based history of the English). This scribes behind this material may have been based at Sawley
, though this is uncertain and Durham too is a possibility.
The London version is the most complete of the three, containing all chapters known in the others as well as one extra chapter, a colophon
, chapter 34. It is written on folios 153r–159r of the manuscript classified as Lincoln's Inn London Hale 114 ("Hale 114"), the manuscript otherwise known as the "Red Book of Durham", which Durham lost possession of during the episcopate of Thomas Morton
(1632–47). It probably comes from Durham, and is the latest of the three. Ted Johnson South described its style as "English Secretary Hand with Anglicana affinities"; it probably comes from the 15th century. The Historia comes after a second metrical Life of St Cuthbert (and the history of the bishopric) and before a chronicle of the bishopric of Lindisfarne from 625 to 847.
In the manuscript known as the British Library Cotton
Claudius D. iv, there is a copy of the Libellus de exordio et Statu Cathedralis Dunelmensis, a history of the bishopric of Durham, with an appended selection of quotes from older texts, probably written by John Wessington
, prior of Durham
(1416–46). In both the body of the Libellus and as well as its appendix, passages identical to text of the Historia appear, on both occasions accompanied by marginal notes claiming that the text in question comes from the "prior's book". This may well be a fourth version of the text that is now lost. The notes remark that the source was a book on St Cuthbert written in extremely old writing.
The first printed version by Roger Twysden, which brought knowledge of the text to the wider world for the first time, utilised only the Cambridge version, thus missing chapters 29 to 34 and ending with the visit of King Edmund to St Cuthbert. John Hinde's 1868 version was able to use Oxford version as well as the Cambridge version, as antiquarian James Raine had recently rediscovered it. Even though Arnold's edition is later than Hinde's, Hinde's has usually been regarded as superior. Neither Hinde nor Thomas Arnold later in the century used the London version, which was only uncovered when Edmund Craster investigated the Red Book of Durham in the early 20th century . In 2001 a new edition with notes and a translation was released, the first to use the London version and to print the colophon.
The text was divided into 33 chapters by its 19th-century editor, Thomas Arnold
. This form was largely retained by South, though South added the London colophon as chapter 34 while splitting chapter 19 into two.
(ƿ), thorn
(þ) and eth
(ð) for proper names. Each version is however very similar to the others; aside from some minor spelling differences, the only major surviving discrepancy is where Ff. 1.27 and Hale 114 diverge for chapter three. South argued that these differences arose because of the Hale 114 scribe's tendency to tweak the text in conformity with the writings of Bede. South suggested that the lost "prior's book" contained the exemplar for all three versions, the original text itself.
Edmund Craster argued that the original Historia, or rather it's "original core", was composed in the mid-10th century soon after the visit of King Edmund (c. 945). He argued that the text is best represented by Ff. 1.27, which ends at chapter 28, thus omitting material dealing directly with the period of Æthelred and Cnut. He theorised that chapters 29 to 32 were added in the 1030s, sometime after 1016, it was claimed, chapters 14–19½ along with chapter 33 were interpolated, a claim devised to explain the reference to the Battle of Assandun (1016) contained in chapter 16. Craster's arguments were criticised in the introduction to South's 2002 edition, where it was argued that the alleged Assandun interpolation was in fact an important part of the narrative, an argument earlier made by historian Luisella Simpson. South was inclined to date the narrative as a whole to the mid- or late-11th century, but adds that confidence can only come from further stylistic analysis. David Rollason
, specialist in Durham history, has backed a similar date, though he does not suggest, like South, that the text was part of an Anglo-Norman revival in history writing. South also stressed that the Historia was a composite work, and that different passages used by the compiler probably do have earlier dates.
The Historia opens in chapter one with an introduction, followed in chapter two by an account of the youth of St Cuthbert at the river Leader
, his vision of Áedán
ascending to heaven, and his entrance to Melrose monastery under the tutelage of Boisil
. Chapter three tells of the grant of 12 vill
s on and around the river Bowmont
to Cuthbert by King Oswig
and his magnates, of how Boisil gives Cuthbert Melrose and its dependent lands, and how Cuthbert himself becomes abbot of Melrose before becoming a hermit on Farne and then, finally, bishop of Lindisfarne. There follows a description of the diocese of Lindisfarne in chapter four, before the gift-giving resumes in chapter five with King Ecgfrith
and Archbishop Theodore
's grant of land in York
, as well as Crayke
; chapter four further relates how Cuthbert established a monastery and abbot at Crayke, with a nunnery, abbess and school at Carlisle (Luel) which he subsequently hands over to the abbot of Crayke. Chapter six carries the north-west theme further, describing how Cuthbert raised a boy from the dead at a vill named Exanforda, and how "King Ecgfrith and his Britons" donate Cartmel
and Suthgedling, which the saint proceeds to hand over to an abbot named Cyneferth son of Cygincg. Chapter seven tells of King Ecgfrith's gift of Carham
, while chapter eight records King Ceolwulf
's presentation of the vill of Warkworth
with its dependent land.
The following chapter gives an account of the episcopate of Bishop Ecgred
, how he succeeds after Cuthbert's death, moves the seat of his bishopric to Norham
, transporting the bodies of King Ceolwulf and St Cuthbert, and how he gifts the bishopric Norham itself along with the vills of Jedburgh
and Old Jedburgh and their dependent lands. Ecgred is said to have built a church at Gainford
, likewise granting it to St Cuthbert, as well as making gifts of Cliffe, Wycliffe
and Billingham
The tables turn somewhat in chapter ten, which relates how King Osberht
confiscated Warkworth
and Tillmouth, and how King Ælle confiscated Cliffe, Wycliffe, and Billingham; but it proceeds to explain that God and Cuthbert got revenge by sending Ubba, duke of the Frisians (dux Fresciorum), to attack Northumbria. Before proceedings into this narrative, the Historia in chapter eleven notes the grant of King Ceolwulf and Bishop Esdred of the vills of Wudacestre, Whittingham
, Edlingham
and Eglingham
.
The Scaldings slay Osberht and Ælle, as well as the "northern and southern English", in chapter twelve, while Halfdan
king of the Danes sails up the river Tyne as far as Wircesforda plundering the land, inducing Cuthbert to punish him in turn with madness. Chapter thirteen has Abbot Eadred of Carlisle
go across the Tyne to the Danes and get them to elect Guthred, "a slave of a certain widow", as king [of Northumbria]. Guthred consequently is made king on a hill named Oswigesdune, and the Viking host swears its peace and fidelity over the body of St Cuthbert, which Bishop Eardulf
had brought for that purpose. In chapter fourteen the army of Ubba and Halfdan
divides into three parts, settling in and around York, in Mercia, and among the southern Saxons, killing all the royals except Alfred the Great
, who retreats into the marshes of Glastonbury
low on provisions. In the following chapter (fifteen), Alfred is kind to a stranger who comes to him in need, ordering that he receive some of the remaining food. The stranger disappears and Alfred is rewarded with three boatloads of fish. Chapter sixteen has St Cuthbert visit Alfred during the night, revealing that he was the stranger, that he will be the defender of Alfred and his sons, and that Alfred and his sons are the chosen kings of all Britain. In the subsequent three chapters St Cuthbert's relationship to Alfred is compared with that of St Peter to King Edwin
and of the Prophet Samuel to King David (chapter seventeen), Alfred's just character is celebrated (eighteen), and the king's donation, through his son Edward the Elder
, of a golden thurible
and two armlets, is recorded (nineteen).
Chapter nineteen also describes how Abbot Eadred [of Carlise] purchased the vills of Monk Hesleden
, Horden Hall, Yoden, Castle Eden
, Hulam, Hutton Henry
and Twilingatun from King Guthred and made a gift of them to St Cuthbert. Following on from this, in chapter twenty Abbot Eadred and Bishop Eardulf travel with the body of St Cuthbert from Lindisfarne to the mouth of the river Derwent
, where they attempt to sail to Ireland but are frustrated by a sea-storm created by the saint. Instead, they head to Crayke
, and finally to Chester-le-Street
where, after a seven year journey, they settle. Newly settled in chapter twenty-one, Edward the Elder becomes king, and Cuthheard
becomes bishop. Bishop Cuthheard buys Sedgefield
and—excepting the lands held by Aculf, Æthelbriht and Frithlaf (over which the bishop has sake and soke)—all its dependent lands. The new bishop also buys Bedlington
with its dependent lands between the rivers Wansbeck
and Blyth
. Meanwhile, Tilred abbot of Heversham gives half of Castle Eden to Cuthbert (and half to Norham in order to become abbot there) and Bernard the priest gives Twilingatun.
In chapter twenty-two Bishop Cuthheard grants Ælfred son of Brihtwulf—who had fled across the mountains from pirates— land lying between the Tees and Wear, centred on Easington, Castle Eden, Monk Hesledon and Billingham. Ælfred holds this until Ragnall ua Ímair
occupies the territory of Ealdred son of Eadulf, following which Ealdred flees to Constantín mac Áeda in Scotland, leading to a battle where Ragnall defeats them in battle, killing all the English except Ealdred and his brother Uhtred. Ragnall gives the land between the Wear and the Tyne to two of his followers in chapter twenty-three, Onlafbald and Scula
, with Scula receiving the territory south of Castle Eden and Onlafbald the territory to the north. Onlafbald is said to have mocked St Cuthbert, and is thus punished with death. The narrative moves on in chapter twenty-four to describe how Wulfweard son of Hwetreddinc granted Benwell
to St Cuthbert, and how Eadred son of Ricsige went across the mountains to kill Prince Eardwulf. Cuthheard subsequently grants Eadred son of Ricsige the land between Dere Street, the Derwent and the Wear, plus Gainford on the Tees, and Eadred is said to have held it until the time of Ragnall's invasion (after which it gets redistributed to his sons Esbrid and Ælstan).
Chapter twenty-five has the death of Edward the Elder, and the succession of Æthelstan. In chapter twenty-six Æthelstan leads an army to Scotland, and stops at the church of St Cuthbert, where he is said to have issued a charter. The charter is summarised as recording the grant of various movable goods, as well as much of the coastal land between the Wear and Easington parish. In twenty-seven Æthelstan gives money to St Cuthbert, is thus successful in Scotland and reigns wisely for many years. In chapter twenty-eight Æthelstan dies, leading to the succession of Edmund. Edmund makes an expedition to Scotland, stopping at St Cuthbert's on the way.
After this there are four consecutive chapters recording or summarising the content of charters. Styr son of Ulf, grants land which he had bought around Darlington in chapter twenty-nine, Snaculf son of Cytel grants Bradbury
, Mordon
, Sockburn
and Girsby
in chapter thirty, Bishop Ealdhun grants land to earls Ethred, Northman
and Uhtred in chapter thirty-one, while in chapter thirty-two Cnut grants Staindrop
with its dependencies. Chapter thirty-three recounts a miracle whereby, after prayers by King Guthred, Cuthbert caused the earth to swallow up a Scottish army which had invaded and sacked the monastery of Lindisfarne. The Historia then closes with its colophon relating that, because of the miracle Guthred had issued a decree of protection for land given to St Cuthbert, and warning that anyone violating the protection and taking land from St Cuthbert will be damned.
(written between 699 and 705), Bede's prose Life of St Cuthbert (written c. 721), and Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum
(written 731). The Historia, for instance, relates Cuthbert's vision on the river Leader, a story otherwise unique to the Anonymous Life; on the other hand, although the Anonymous Life has Cuthbert begin his monastic life at Ripon, the Historia follows Bede's Life instead and has him begin at Melrose. The Historias account of the bishopric exchange with Eata is known only from Bede's Historia ecclesiastica, and in general Historia follows this source most of all. The Historia while using these sources sometimes got muddled, and sometimes has added unique information about Cuthbert, such as Cuthbert's habit of taking the shape of the cross while praying.
As far as the modern reader is concerned, much of the information later in the narrative is unique. Despite this, it is likely that the compiler was drawing on earlier sources. Monasteries in the 9th- and 10th-centuries had a habit of recording land grants in the margins or at the end of precious books, and much of the narrative consists of property grants probably derived from this kind of source. In a few instances this can be shown, such as the Æthelstan charter of chapter 27 which the author of the Historia contrived by adding two pieces of earlier marginalia written in Old English from King Æthelstan's Gospel and translating them into Latin as one document.
Material from the Historia became an important foundation of subsequent Durham historical texts during Durham's golden age of historical writing in the early-12th century. The earliest of these texts is probably the Cronica Monasterii Dunelmensis ("Chronicle of the monastery of Durham"), which incorporated and expanded several sections of the Historias narrative, particularly the material relating to Guthred and the West Saxon kings
. This work dates to the late 11th-century and, while it no longer exists, can be reconstructed from later texts. The early 12th-century De Miraculis et Translationibus sancti Cuthberti ("On the Miracles and Translation of St Cuthbert") is possibly the next text. De Miraculis is a list of seven miracles performed by St Cuthbert, the first four of which are taken from the Historia, and expanded significantly with more complex prose, probably without the use of any other literary sources. These sources along with the Historia itself, were used in fashioning the Historia Regum and Symeon of Durham's Libellus de Exordio (as well as the Annales Lindisfarnenses et Dunelmenses).
Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England. It is also known as Holy Island and constitutes a civil parish in Northumberland...
, Norham
Norham
Norham is a village in Northumberland, England, just south of the River Tweed and the border with Scotland.It is the site of the 12th century Norham Castle, and was for many years the centre for the Norhamshire exclave of County Durham...
, Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
and finally Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
—from the life of St Cuthbert himself onwards. The latest event documented is a grant by King Cnut, c. 1031. The work is a cartulary chronicle recording grants and losses of property as well as miracles of retribution, under a loose narrative of temporal progression. The text survives in three manuscripts, the earliest of which dates from around 1100. The original version of the text is not thought to be extant; rather, all surviving manuscripts are thought to be copies of an earlier but lost exemplar. The Historia is one of the important sources behind the higher quality expanded histories produced at Durham in the early 12th century, particularly the Historia Regum
Historia Regum
The Historia Regum is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-late 12th century, though the material is earlier...
and Symeon of Durham
Symeon of Durham
Symeon of Durham was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. When William of Saint-Calais returned from his Norman exile in 1091, Symeon was probably in his company...
's Libellus de Exordio
Libellus de exordio
The Libellus de exordio atque procursu istius, hoc est Dunhelmensis, ecclesie , in short Libellus de exordio, is a historical work of marked literary character composed and compiled in the early 12th-century and traditionally attributed to Symeon of Durham...
.
Manuscripts
There are three manuscript witnesses for the Historia, now in Oxford, Cambridge and London, none of which attribute the text to any author. The earliest witness is believed to be the version in the Oxford manuscript, folios 203r to 206v of Oxford's Bodleian LibraryBodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, MS "Bodley 596". The text is incomplete, beginning only in chapter 8, as the first folio has disappeared (along with the later folios of the text that preceded it in the manuscript, 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 metrical Life of St Cuthbert). The handwriting is early Gothic
Blackletter
Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes...
, showing continental influences typical of the contemporary Anglo-Norman script. Palaeographer Michael Gullick has identified the scribe as Symeon of Durham
Symeon of Durham
Symeon of Durham was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. When William of Saint-Calais returned from his Norman exile in 1091, Symeon was probably in his company...
(fl.
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1093–1129), an identification accepted by the Historias recent editor Ted Johnson South. Bodley 596 itself is a compilation bound together in the early 17th century, but folios 174 to 214 are from the late 11th or early 12th century, containing Bede's prose Life of St Cuthbert (175r–200v), his metrical Life of St Cuthbert (201r–202v), this Historia and finally a Life and Office of St Julian of Le Mans
Julian of Le Mans
Saint Julian of Le Mans is a saint venerated in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church, honored as the first bishop of Le Mans. His feast day is January 27...
(206v–214v). The codicological
Codicology
Codicology is the study of books as physical objects, especially manuscripts written on parchment in codex form...
details indicate that these works were part of one original volume, though it has been claimed that the Julian text is in a different hand.
The Cambridge version, in the manuscript known as Cambridge University Library
Cambridge University Library
The Cambridge University Library is the centrally-administered library of Cambridge University in England. It comprises five separate libraries:* the University Library main building * the Medical Library...
, Ff. 1.27 ("Ff. 1.27"), is slightly later. Like the Oxford version, it is incomplete, missing chapters 29 to 34. The style of handwriting suggests that the text of the Cambridge Historia dates to the mid-12th century, though it may be as late as the early 13th century. It is written in a single hand classified as English early Gothic, typical of the period 1140–1170. Ff. 1.27 as a whole came together in the 15th century or later, but pages 1 to 236 are earlier and palaographic evidence suggests that, with the exception of a continuation of Gildas
Gildas
Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...
' De excidio Britanniae dating to the 14th century, share the same origin. The same kind of evidence implies that Ff. 1.27 1–236 had a common origin with half of the contents of another Cambridge manuscript, Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS. 66 ("CCCC 66"), also largely composed of Northumbrian material. It probably had a common origin with Corpus Christi College Cambridge MS. 139
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139 is a northern English manuscript compiled in c. 1170. Apart from preliminary additions , it contains two separate volumes, comprising 180 folios in total. The original first volume has 165 folios in twenty gatherings, about half of which are occupied by the...
("CCCC 139") as well: the Historia of Ff. 1.27 is written in the same hand as part of CCCC 139's version of the Historia Regum
Historia Regum
The Historia Regum is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-late 12th century, though the material is earlier...
(a Durham-based history of the English). This scribes behind this material may have been based at Sawley
Sawley Abbey
Sawley Abbey was an abbey of Cistercian monks in the village of Sawley, Lancashire, in England . Created as a daughter-house of Newminster Abbey, it existed from 1147 until its dissolution in 1536, during the reign of King Henry VIII of all England, Ireland, and France...
, though this is uncertain and Durham too is a possibility.
The London version is the most complete of the three, containing all chapters known in the others as well as one extra chapter, a colophon
Colophon (publishing)
In publishing, a colophon is either:* A brief description of publication or production notes relevant to the edition, in modern books usually located at the reverse of the title page, but can also sometimes be located at the end of the book, or...
, chapter 34. It is written on folios 153r–159r of the manuscript classified as Lincoln's Inn London Hale 114 ("Hale 114"), the manuscript otherwise known as the "Red Book of Durham", which Durham lost possession of during the episcopate of Thomas Morton
Thomas Morton (bishop)
Thomas Morton was an English churchman, bishop of several dioceses.-Early life:Morton was born in York on 20 March 1564. He was brought up and grammar school educated in the city and nearby Halifax. In 1582 he became a pensioner at St John's College, Cambridge from which he graduated with a BA in...
(1632–47). It probably comes from Durham, and is the latest of the three. Ted Johnson South described its style as "English Secretary Hand with Anglicana affinities"; it probably comes from the 15th century. The Historia comes after a second metrical Life of St Cuthbert (and the history of the bishopric) and before a chronicle of the bishopric of Lindisfarne from 625 to 847.
In the manuscript known as the British Library Cotton
Cotton library
The Cotton or Cottonian library was collected privately by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton M.P. , an antiquarian and bibliophile, and was the basis of the British Library...
Claudius D. iv, there is a copy of the Libellus de exordio et Statu Cathedralis Dunelmensis, a history of the bishopric of Durham, with an appended selection of quotes from older texts, probably written by John Wessington
John Wessington
John Wessington was an English Benedictine who became prior of Durham Abbey.-Life:He may have been named from Washington, County Durham...
, prior of Durham
Prior of Durham
The Prior of Durham was the head of Durham Cathedral Priory, founded c. 1083 with the move of a previous house from Jarrow. The succession continued until dissolution of the monastery in 1540, when the priory was replaced with a deanery church.-List:...
(1416–46). In both the body of the Libellus and as well as its appendix, passages identical to text of the Historia appear, on both occasions accompanied by marginal notes claiming that the text in question comes from the "prior's book". This may well be a fourth version of the text that is now lost. The notes remark that the source was a book on St Cuthbert written in extremely old writing.
Modern editions
The Historia has been published four times. First in the 17th century, twice in the 19th century, and then once again in the 21st-century:The first printed version by Roger Twysden, which brought knowledge of the text to the wider world for the first time, utilised only the Cambridge version, thus missing chapters 29 to 34 and ending with the visit of King Edmund to St Cuthbert. John Hinde's 1868 version was able to use Oxford version as well as the Cambridge version, as antiquarian James Raine had recently rediscovered it. Even though Arnold's edition is later than Hinde's, Hinde's has usually been regarded as superior. Neither Hinde nor Thomas Arnold later in the century used the London version, which was only uncovered when Edmund Craster investigated the Red Book of Durham in the early 20th century . In 2001 a new edition with notes and a translation was released, the first to use the London version and to print the colophon.
The text was divided into 33 chapters by its 19th-century editor, Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold
Dr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
. This form was largely retained by South, though South added the London colophon as chapter 34 while splitting chapter 19 into two.
Date
It is believed that none of the three surviving versions of the text represent the original. It is further believed that no version was used as an exemplar for any other. All three carry distinct errors that are likely the result of copying from an earlier version in an Anglo-Caroline script that used Old English lettering like ash (Æ), wynnWynn
Wynn is a letter of the Old English alphabet, where it is used to represent the sound ....
(ƿ), thorn
Thorn (letter)
Thorn or þorn , is a letter in the Old English, Old Norse, and Icelandic alphabets, as well as some dialects of Middle English. It was also used in medieval Scandinavia, but was later replaced with the digraph th. The letter originated from the rune in the Elder Fuþark, called thorn in the...
(þ) and eth
Eth
Eth is a letter used in Old English, Icelandic, Faroese , and Elfdalian. It was also used in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, but was subsequently replaced with dh and later d. The capital eth resembles a D with a line through the vertical stroke...
(ð) for proper names. Each version is however very similar to the others; aside from some minor spelling differences, the only major surviving discrepancy is where Ff. 1.27 and Hale 114 diverge for chapter three. South argued that these differences arose because of the Hale 114 scribe's tendency to tweak the text in conformity with the writings of Bede. South suggested that the lost "prior's book" contained the exemplar for all three versions, the original text itself.
Edmund Craster argued that the original Historia, or rather it's "original core", was composed in the mid-10th century soon after the visit of King Edmund (c. 945). He argued that the text is best represented by Ff. 1.27, which ends at chapter 28, thus omitting material dealing directly with the period of Æthelred and Cnut. He theorised that chapters 29 to 32 were added in the 1030s, sometime after 1016, it was claimed, chapters 14–19½ along with chapter 33 were interpolated, a claim devised to explain the reference to the Battle of Assandun (1016) contained in chapter 16. Craster's arguments were criticised in the introduction to South's 2002 edition, where it was argued that the alleged Assandun interpolation was in fact an important part of the narrative, an argument earlier made by historian Luisella Simpson. South was inclined to date the narrative as a whole to the mid- or late-11th century, but adds that confidence can only come from further stylistic analysis. David Rollason
David Rollason
David W. Rollason is an English historian and medievalist. He is a Professor in history at Durham University. He specialises in the cult of saints, the history of Northumbria and in the historical writings of Durham, most notably producing a modern edition and translation of the Libellus de exordio...
, specialist in Durham history, has backed a similar date, though he does not suggest, like South, that the text was part of an Anglo-Norman revival in history writing. South also stressed that the Historia was a composite work, and that different passages used by the compiler probably do have earlier dates.
Synopsis
River Leader
The River Leader, or Leader Water, is a small tributary of the River Tweed in Lauderdale in the Scottish Borders. It flows southwards from the Lammermuir Hills through the towns of Lauder and Earlston, joining the River Tweed at Leaderfoot.-The journey:...
, his vision of Áedán
Aidan of Lindisfarne
Known as Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, Aidan the Apostle of Northumbria , was the founder and first bishop of the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne in England. A Christian missionary, he is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumbria. Aidan is the Anglicised form of the original Old...
ascending to heaven, and his entrance to Melrose monastery under the tutelage of Boisil
Boisil
Saint Boisil was the Abbot of Melrose Abbey, now in Scotland.Almost all that is known of Saint Boisil is learned from Bede. He derived his information from Sigfrid, a monk of Jarrow, who had previously been trained by Boisil at Melrose...
. Chapter three tells of the grant of 12 vill
Vill
Vill is a term used in English history to describe a land unit which might otherwise be described as a parish, manor or tithing.The term is used in the period immediately after the Norman conquest and into the late medieval. Land units in Domesday are frequently referred to as vills, although the...
s on and around the river Bowmont
Bowmont Water
Bowmont Water is a river in the Scottish Borders and Northumberland . It rises in the Cheviot Hills and passes by Mowhaugh, Town Yetholm, and Kirk Yetholm...
to Cuthbert by King Oswig
Oswiu of Northumbria
Oswiu , also known as Oswy or Oswig , was a King of Bernicia. His father, Æthelfrith of Bernicia, was killed in battle, fighting against Rædwald, King of the East Angles and Edwin of Deira at the River Idle in 616...
and his magnates, of how Boisil gives Cuthbert Melrose and its dependent lands, and how Cuthbert himself becomes abbot of Melrose before becoming a hermit on Farne and then, finally, bishop of Lindisfarne. There follows a description of the diocese of Lindisfarne in chapter four, before the gift-giving resumes in chapter five with King Ecgfrith
Ecgfrith of Northumbria
King Ecgfrith was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death. He ruled over Northumbria when it was at the height of its power, but his reign ended with a disastrous defeat in which he lost his life.-Early life:...
and Archbishop Theodore
Theodore of Tarsus
Theodore was the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury, best known for his reform of the English Church and establishment of a school in Canterbury....
's grant of land in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, as well as Crayke
Crayke
Crayke is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about two miles east of Easingwold.The parish was formerly a detached part of County Durham , due to its connection with St Cuthbert and the Bishop of Durham, who had a castle at Crayke.The seventh-century...
; chapter four further relates how Cuthbert established a monastery and abbot at Crayke, with a nunnery, abbess and school at Carlisle (Luel) which he subsequently hands over to the abbot of Crayke. Chapter six carries the north-west theme further, describing how Cuthbert raised a boy from the dead at a vill named Exanforda, and how "King Ecgfrith and his Britons" donate Cartmel
Cartmel
Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, situated north-west of Grange-over-Sands and close to the River Eea. Historically it was in Lancashire; boundary changes brought it into the newly created county of Cumbria in 1974, yet keeping it within the boundaries of the traditional County Palatine...
and Suthgedling, which the saint proceeds to hand over to an abbot named Cyneferth son of Cygincg. Chapter seven tells of King Ecgfrith's gift of Carham
Carham
Carham is a village in Northumberland, England. The village lies on the south side of the River Tweed about west of Coldstream.- History :Near to Carham are the extensive remains of Early British camps and a bronze sword, now in the British Museum, discovered in the nearby Tweed.Carham on the...
, while chapter eight records King Ceolwulf
Ceolwulf of Northumbria
Ceolwulf was king of Northumbria from 729 until 737, except for a short period in 731 or 732 when he was deposed, and quickly restored to power. Ceolwulf finally abdicated and entered the monastery at Lindisfarne. He was the "most glorious king" to whom Bede dedicated his Historia ecclesiastica...
's presentation of the vill of Warkworth
Warkworth, Northumberland
Warkworth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is probably best known for its well-preserved medieval castle, church and hermitage. At the time of the 2001 census, the population of Warkworth was 1,493.-Geography:...
with its dependent land.
The following chapter gives an account of the episcopate of Bishop Ecgred
Ecgred of Lindisfarne
Ecgred of Lindisfarne was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 830 to 845. He was the founder, in 830, of a church on the site of the now ruined Jedburgh Abbey and it is thought he was also the founder of the settlement that later came to be known as Jedburgh...
, how he succeeds after Cuthbert's death, moves the seat of his bishopric to Norham
Norham
Norham is a village in Northumberland, England, just south of the River Tweed and the border with Scotland.It is the site of the 12th century Norham Castle, and was for many years the centre for the Norhamshire exclave of County Durham...
, transporting the bodies of King Ceolwulf and St Cuthbert, and how he gifts the bishopric Norham itself along with the vills of Jedburgh
Jedburgh
Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...
and Old Jedburgh and their dependent lands. Ecgred is said to have built a church at Gainford
Gainford, County Durham
Gainford on Tees is a village on the north bank of the River Tees in County Durham, England. It is half-way between Barnard Castle and Darlington, near Winston, at OS map reference NZ 1716....
, likewise granting it to St Cuthbert, as well as making gifts of Cliffe, Wycliffe
Wycliffe, County Durham
Wycliffe is a village on the south bank of the River Tees in the North East of England, situated a short distance to the east of Barnard Castle...
and Billingham
Billingham
Billingham is a town in the unitary authority of Stockton on Tees, in north east England, with a population of 35,765 . It was founded circa 650 by a group of Saxons known as Billa's people, which is where the name Billingham is thought to have originated...
The tables turn somewhat in chapter ten, which relates how King Osberht
Osberht of Northumbria
Osberht was king of Northumbria in the middle of the 9th century. Sources on Northumbrian history in this period are limited. Osberht's descent is not known and the dating of his reign is problematic.-Chronicles:...
confiscated Warkworth
Warkworth, Northumberland
Warkworth is a village in Northumberland, England. It is probably best known for its well-preserved medieval castle, church and hermitage. At the time of the 2001 census, the population of Warkworth was 1,493.-Geography:...
and Tillmouth, and how King Ælle confiscated Cliffe, Wycliffe, and Billingham; but it proceeds to explain that God and Cuthbert got revenge by sending Ubba, duke of the Frisians (dux Fresciorum), to attack Northumbria. Before proceedings into this narrative, the Historia in chapter eleven notes the grant of King Ceolwulf and Bishop Esdred of the vills of Wudacestre, Whittingham
Whittingham, Northumberland
Whittingham is a village in the English County of Northumberland.In the village is Whittingham Tower, a pele tower dating from the thirteenth or fourteenth century, converted into almshouses in 1845, and now in private ownership.- Governance :...
, Edlingham
Edlingham
Edlingham is a small village and civil parish in Northumberland in the north of England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 196. The road to Alnwick passes close by the village and the town of Rothbury is about away....
and Eglingham
Eglingham
Eglingham is a village in Northumberland, England, situated about north-west of Alnwick and from Wooler. It lies in the sheltered valley of the Eglingham Burn, a tributary of the River Aln, about above sea level, in a rural conservation area set amongst rolling countryside, within of the...
.
The Scaldings slay Osberht and Ælle, as well as the "northern and southern English", in chapter twelve, while Halfdan
Halfdan Ragnarsson
Halfdan Ragnarsson was a Viking chief and one of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok with Aslaug. It has been suggested that Halfdan is the same person as Ragnar's son Hvitserk....
king of the Danes sails up the river Tyne as far as Wircesforda plundering the land, inducing Cuthbert to punish him in turn with madness. Chapter thirteen has Abbot Eadred of Carlisle
Eadred Lulisc
Eadred Lulisc or Eadred of Carlisle is the abbot of Carlisle recorded by the Historia de Sancto Cuthberto. The Historia gives the abbot central place in the election of Guthred as king of Northumbria by the Viking army based in Yorkshire, and that subsequently Eadred purchased land from him, using...
go across the Tyne to the Danes and get them to elect Guthred, "a slave of a certain widow", as king [of Northumbria]. Guthred consequently is made king on a hill named Oswigesdune, and the Viking host swears its peace and fidelity over the body of St Cuthbert, which Bishop Eardulf
Eardulf of Lindisfarne
Eardulf of Lindisfarne was Bishop of Lindisfarne for a forty six years between 854, following the death of his predecessor, and his own death in 899...
had brought for that purpose. In chapter fourteen the army of Ubba and Halfdan
Great Heathen Army
The Great Heathen Army, also known as the Great Army or the Great Danish Army, was a Viking army originating in Denmark which pillaged and conquered much of England in the late 9th century...
divides into three parts, settling in and around York, in Mercia, and among the southern Saxons, killing all the royals except Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
, who retreats into the marshes of Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
low on provisions. In the following chapter (fifteen), Alfred is kind to a stranger who comes to him in need, ordering that he receive some of the remaining food. The stranger disappears and Alfred is rewarded with three boatloads of fish. Chapter sixteen has St Cuthbert visit Alfred during the night, revealing that he was the stranger, that he will be the defender of Alfred and his sons, and that Alfred and his sons are the chosen kings of all Britain. In the subsequent three chapters St Cuthbert's relationship to Alfred is compared with that of St Peter to King Edwin
Edwin of Northumbria
Edwin , also known as Eadwine or Æduini, was the King of Deira and Bernicia – which later became known as Northumbria – from about 616 until his death. He converted to Christianity and was baptised in 627; after he fell at the Battle of Hatfield Chase, he was venerated as a saint.Edwin was the son...
and of the Prophet Samuel to King David (chapter seventeen), Alfred's just character is celebrated (eighteen), and the king's donation, through his son Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
, of a golden thurible
Thurible
A thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Catholic Church as well as in Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, some Lutheran, Old Catholic, and in various Gnostic Churches. It is also used...
and two armlets, is recorded (nineteen).
Chapter nineteen also describes how Abbot Eadred [of Carlise] purchased the vills of Monk Hesleden
Monk Hesleden
Monk Hesleden is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the south of High Hesleden, to the north-west of Hartlepool.-Etymology and history:...
, Horden Hall, Yoden, Castle Eden
Castle Eden
For the similarly named castle in Aberdeenshire, see Eden Castle.Castle Eden is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the south of Peterlee, Wingate, the A19 and Castle Eden Dene...
, Hulam, Hutton Henry
Hutton Henry
Hutton Henry is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the west of Hartlepool, near the villages of Wingate and Station Town....
and Twilingatun from King Guthred and made a gift of them to St Cuthbert. Following on from this, in chapter twenty Abbot Eadred and Bishop Eardulf travel with the body of St Cuthbert from Lindisfarne to the mouth of the river Derwent
River Derwent, North East England
The River Derwent is a river on the border between County Durham and Northumberland in the north east of England. It broadens into the Derwent Reservoir, west of Consett. The Derwent is a tributary of the River Tyne, which it joins near the MetroCentre...
, where they attempt to sail to Ireland but are frustrated by a sea-storm created by the saint. Instead, they head to Crayke
Crayke
Crayke is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about two miles east of Easingwold.The parish was formerly a detached part of County Durham , due to its connection with St Cuthbert and the Bishop of Durham, who had a castle at Crayke.The seventh-century...
, and finally to Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
where, after a seven year journey, they settle. Newly settled in chapter twenty-one, Edward the Elder becomes king, and Cuthheard
Cutheard of Lindisfarne
Cutheard of Lindisfarne was Bishop of Lindisfarne from 900 to 915, although the see was administered from Chester-le-Street.Cutheard was responsible for purchasing the village of Bedlington in Northumberland, which was later incorporated into the properties belonging to the Bishopric of Durham...
becomes bishop. Bishop Cuthheard buys Sedgefield
Sedgefield
Sedgefield is a small town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It has a population of 4,534.Sedgefield has attracted particular attention as the Member of Parliament for the wider Sedgefield constituency was the former Prime Minister Tony Blair; he was the area's MP from 1983 to 2008,...
and—excepting the lands held by Aculf, Æthelbriht and Frithlaf (over which the bishop has sake and soke)—all its dependent lands. The new bishop also buys Bedlington
Bedlington
Bedlington is a town in Northumberland, to the north of the Tyne and Wear urban area. It lies north of Newcastle and southeast of the county town of Morpeth. Other nearby places include Ashington to the north northeast, Blyth to the east and Cramlington to the south.The parish of Bedlington...
with its dependent lands between the rivers Wansbeck
River Wansbeck
The River Wansbeck runs through the county of Northumberland, England. It rises above Sweethope Lough on the edge of Forelaws Forest in the area known locally as The Wanneys ; runs through the town of Ashington before discharging into the North Sea at Sandy Bay near Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.The River...
and Blyth
River Blyth, Northumberland
The River Blyth flows eastwards through southern Northumberland into the North Sea at the town of Blyth. It flows through Plessey Woods Country Park. The River Pont is a tributary....
. Meanwhile, Tilred abbot of Heversham gives half of Castle Eden to Cuthbert (and half to Norham in order to become abbot there) and Bernard the priest gives Twilingatun.
In chapter twenty-two Bishop Cuthheard grants Ælfred son of Brihtwulf—who had fled across the mountains from pirates— land lying between the Tees and Wear, centred on Easington, Castle Eden, Monk Hesledon and Billingham. Ælfred holds this until Ragnall ua Ímair
Ragnall ua Ímair
Ragnall was a Norse overlord or emperor of northern Britain, including Northumbria, the entire Irish Sea region including the Isle of Man, south to Waterford and briefly much of the Irish province of Munster, and then returning to Britain, briefly York as distinct from Northumbria at this time...
occupies the territory of Ealdred son of Eadulf, following which Ealdred flees to Constantín mac Áeda in Scotland, leading to a battle where Ragnall defeats them in battle, killing all the English except Ealdred and his brother Uhtred. Ragnall gives the land between the Wear and the Tyne to two of his followers in chapter twenty-three, Onlafbald and Scula
Onlafbald and Scula
Onlafbald and Scula were early 10th century Viking chieftains, notable for receiving lands through successful campaigning in what is now northern England. Onlafbald is also said to have been killed by the spirit of the 7th century English saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, after he profaned the...
, with Scula receiving the territory south of Castle Eden and Onlafbald the territory to the north. Onlafbald is said to have mocked St Cuthbert, and is thus punished with death. The narrative moves on in chapter twenty-four to describe how Wulfweard son of Hwetreddinc granted Benwell
Benwell
Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.-History:Benwell village was recorded in A.D. 1050 known as Bynnewalle which roughly translates as "behind the wall" or "by the wall". Referring to its position relative to Hadrian's Wall...
to St Cuthbert, and how Eadred son of Ricsige went across the mountains to kill Prince Eardwulf. Cuthheard subsequently grants Eadred son of Ricsige the land between Dere Street, the Derwent and the Wear, plus Gainford on the Tees, and Eadred is said to have held it until the time of Ragnall's invasion (after which it gets redistributed to his sons Esbrid and Ælstan).
Chapter twenty-five has the death of Edward the Elder, and the succession of Æthelstan. In chapter twenty-six Æthelstan leads an army to Scotland, and stops at the church of St Cuthbert, where he is said to have issued a charter. The charter is summarised as recording the grant of various movable goods, as well as much of the coastal land between the Wear and Easington parish. In twenty-seven Æthelstan gives money to St Cuthbert, is thus successful in Scotland and reigns wisely for many years. In chapter twenty-eight Æthelstan dies, leading to the succession of Edmund. Edmund makes an expedition to Scotland, stopping at St Cuthbert's on the way.
After this there are four consecutive chapters recording or summarising the content of charters. Styr son of Ulf, grants land which he had bought around Darlington in chapter twenty-nine, Snaculf son of Cytel grants Bradbury
Bradbury, County Durham
Bradbury is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated between Sedgefield and Newton Aycliffe, close to the A1 and A689, and is approximately from Middlesbrough. Bradbury is a small agricultural village. The moorland around it is of glacial origin....
, Mordon
Mordon
Mordon is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles to the north-east of Newton Aycliffe....
, Sockburn
Sockburn
Sockburn is a village and civil parish in County Durham, in England. It is situated at the bottom of a loop of the River Tees, south of Darlington, known locally as the Sockburn Peninsula. Today, there is not much there apart from an early nineteenth-century mansion, a ruined church and a farmhouse...
and Girsby
Girsby
Girsby is a village and civil parish in the district of Hambleton in North Yorkshire, England. The village lies on high ground on the eastern bank of the River Tees....
in chapter thirty, Bishop Ealdhun grants land to earls Ethred, Northman
Northman
Northman was a late 10th century English ealdorman , with a territorial base in Northumbria north of the river Tees. He appears in two different strands of source. These are, namely, the textual tradition of Durham witnessed by Historia de Sancto Cuthberto and the Durham Liber Vitae, and an...
and Uhtred in chapter thirty-one, while in chapter thirty-two Cnut grants Staindrop
Staindrop
Staindrop is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the east of Barnard Castle. Lord Barnard of Raby Castle also resides on the border.The village has one of the long greens typical of County Durham...
with its dependencies. Chapter thirty-three recounts a miracle whereby, after prayers by King Guthred, Cuthbert caused the earth to swallow up a Scottish army which had invaded and sacked the monastery of Lindisfarne. The Historia then closes with its colophon relating that, because of the miracle Guthred had issued a decree of protection for land given to St Cuthbert, and warning that anyone violating the protection and taking land from St Cuthbert will be damned.
Influence
For the earlier portion of its narrative, the Historia demonstrably made use of three texts which have survived into the modern era. The Historia uses the Anonymous Life of St CuthbertVita Sancti Cuthberti (anonymous)
The Vita Sancti Cuthberti is a prose hagiography from early medieval Northumbria. It is probably the earliest extant saint's life from Anglo-Saxon England, and is an account of the life and miracles of Cuthbert , a Bernician hermit-monk who became bishop of Lindisfarne...
(written between 699 and 705), Bede's prose Life of St Cuthbert (written c. 721), and Bede'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...
(written 731). The Historia, for instance, relates Cuthbert's vision on the river Leader, a story otherwise unique to the Anonymous Life; on the other hand, although the Anonymous Life has Cuthbert begin his monastic life at Ripon, the Historia follows Bede's Life instead and has him begin at Melrose. The Historias account of the bishopric exchange with Eata is known only from Bede's Historia ecclesiastica, and in general Historia follows this source most of all. The Historia while using these sources sometimes got muddled, and sometimes has added unique information about Cuthbert, such as Cuthbert's habit of taking the shape of the cross while praying.
As far as the modern reader is concerned, much of the information later in the narrative is unique. Despite this, it is likely that the compiler was drawing on earlier sources. Monasteries in the 9th- and 10th-centuries had a habit of recording land grants in the margins or at the end of precious books, and much of the narrative consists of property grants probably derived from this kind of source. In a few instances this can be shown, such as the Æthelstan charter of chapter 27 which the author of the Historia contrived by adding two pieces of earlier marginalia written in Old English from King Æthelstan's Gospel and translating them into Latin as one document.
Material from the Historia became an important foundation of subsequent Durham historical texts during Durham's golden age of historical writing in the early-12th century. The earliest of these texts is probably the Cronica Monasterii Dunelmensis ("Chronicle of the monastery of Durham"), which incorporated and expanded several sections of the Historias narrative, particularly the material relating to Guthred and the West Saxon kings
House of Wessex
The House of Wessex, also known as the House of Cerdic, refers to the family that ruled a kingdom in southwest England known as Wessex. This House was in power from the 6th century under Cerdic of Wessex to the unification of the Kingdoms of England....
. This work dates to the late 11th-century and, while it no longer exists, can be reconstructed from later texts. The early 12th-century De Miraculis et Translationibus sancti Cuthberti ("On the Miracles and Translation of St Cuthbert") is possibly the next text. De Miraculis is a list of seven miracles performed by St Cuthbert, the first four of which are taken from the Historia, and expanded significantly with more complex prose, probably without the use of any other literary sources. These sources along with the Historia itself, were used in fashioning the Historia Regum and Symeon of Durham's Libellus de Exordio (as well as the Annales Lindisfarnenses et Dunelmenses).