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In the past William of Malmesbury (1090-1143) has been seen as first and foremost a historian of England, and little else. This volume reveals not only William's real greatness as a historian and his European vision, but also the breadth and depth of his learning across a number of other fields. Areas that receive particular attention are William's historical writings, his historical vision and interpretation of England's past; William and kingship; William's language; William's medical knowledge; the influence of Bede and other ancient writers on William's historiography; William and chronology; William, Anselm of Canterbury and reform of the English Church; William and the Latin Classics; William and the Jews; and William as hagiographer.
Overall, the volume offers a broad coverage of William's learning, wide-ranging interests and significance as revealed in his writings.
Rodney M. Thomson is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Tasmania; Emily Dolmans is a lecturer in Medieval Literature at the University of East Anglia; Emily A. Winkler is the John Cowdrey Junior Research Fellow in Medieval History at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, and Departmental Lecturer in Medieval History.
Contributors: Anne E. Bailey, Emily Dolmans, Daniel Gerrard, John Gillingham, Kati Ihnat, Ryan Kemp, William Kynan-Wilson, Anne Lawrence-Mathers, Stanislav Mereminskiy, Samu Niskanen, Joanna Phillips, Alheydis Plassmann, Sigbjørn Sønnesyn, Rodney M. Thomson, Emily Joan Ward, Emily A. Winkler, Michael Winterbottom.
List of contents
Discovering William of Malmesbury: The Man and his Works - Emily Dolmans and Emily A. Winkler
Gesta Pontificum Anglorum: History or Hagiography? - Anne E. Bailey
William of Malmesbury and Civic Virtue - Daniel Gerrard
The Ironies of History: William of Malmesbury's Views of William II and Henry I - John B Gillingham
William of Malmesbury and the Jews - Kati Ihnat
Advising the King: Kingship, Bishops and Saints in the Works of William of Malmesbury - Ryan Kemp
Roman Identity in William of Malmesbury's Historical Writings -
William of Malmesbury and the Chronological Controversy - Anne Lawrence-Mathers
William of Malmesbury and Durham: the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Early Twelfth-Century England - Stanislav Mereminskiy
William of Malmesbury as Librarian: The Evidence of his Autographs - Samu Niskanen
William of Malmesbury: Medical Historian of the Crusades - Joanna Phillips
German Emperors as Exemplary Rulers in William of Malmesbury and Otto of Freising - Alheydis Plassmann
Lector amice: Reading as Friendship in William of Malmesbury - Sigbjorn Olsen Sonnesyn
William of Malmesbury's Historical Vision - R. M. Thomson
Verax historicus Beda: William of Malmesbury, Bede and
historia - Emily Ward
William of Malmesbury and the Britons - Emily A. Winkler
Words, Words, Words, ... - Michael Winterbottom
Epilogue: The Rediscovery of William of Malmesbury - R. M. Thomson
About the author
Rodney M. Thomson, Emily Dolmans, Emily A. Winkler
Summary
A fresh look at William of Malmesbury which not only demonstrates his real greatness as a historian and his European vision, but also the breadth of his learning across a number of other disciplines.
