FLORENCE OF WORCESTER

Benedictine chronicler and monk of Worcester Priory; d. July 7, 1118. The Chronicon ex chronicis attributed to him is one of the earliest Latin world chronicles to be compiled in England after bede. Up to 1073 it is principally an enlargement of the annals of marianus scotus, taking over his chronology and making use of other sources including the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Asser's Life of Alfred, and Coleman's Life of Wulfstan. From 1082 it is an important independent source, though it also includes extracts from the works of eadmer and other contemporary historians. The exact nature of the author's contacts with william of malmesbury and ordericus vitalis has still to be established. The chronicle became a standard source for later medieval historians. Though the work was undertaken at the instigation of wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester (d. 1095), there is evidence that it was still in its early stages in 1103. Florence appears to have collected materials and may have written the entries up to 1110 or 1113 at the latest. It is, however, just possible that the whole chronicle in its present form is the work of John of Worcester, who certainly compiled the continuation from slightly before the death of Florence until 1140.

Bibliography: Chronicon ex chronicis, ed. w. howard (London 1592), complete; ed. b. thorpe, 2 v. (London 1848–49); tr. t. forester (London 1854). The Chronicle of John of Worcester, 1118–40, ed. j. k. h. weaver (Oxford 1908). The Vita Wulfstani of William of Malmesbury, ed. r. r. darlington (Camden 3d ser. 40; London 1928) xv–xviii. r. r. darlington, Anglo-Norman Historians (London 1947). v. h. galbraith, Historical Research in Medieval England (London 1951) 19–22. A. D. von den brincken, Studien zur lateinischen Weltchronistik bis in das Zeitalter Ottos von Freising (Düsseldorf 1957) 173–181.

[m. m. chibnall]