A Podcast Exploring the Wit and Weirdness of Medieval Texts

Tag: Melrose Chronicle (Page 1 of 2)

MDT Ep. 101: "Concerning Danish Devastations, a Devilish Pope, a Deceitful Duke, and English Decline"

Detail of King Cnut with an axe from the British Library, Royal MS 14 B vi.

It’s back to basics in Ep. 101 as we return to the Chronicle of Melrose to hear about the years surrounding the turnover of the English kingdom from Anglo-Saxon monarchs to Danish ones, including the mystery of the death of King Edmund Ironside and whether or not he was assassinated by a fellow English noble.

Today’s Texts:

  • The Chronicle of Melrose. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 4, part 1, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 79-242. Google Books.
  • John of Worcester [erroneously identified as Florence of Worcester]. The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 2, part 1, Seeley’s, 1857, pp. 167-372. Google Books.
  • Gaimar. Gaimar [Metrical Chronicle]. Edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, The Church Historians of England, vol. 2, part 2, Seeleys, 1854, pp. 729-810. Google Books.

References:

  • Mack, Katharin. “Changing Thegns: Cnut’s Conquest and the English Aristocracy.” Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies, vol. 16, no. 4, 1984, pp. 375–87. JSTOR.
  • Broun, Dauvit, and Julian Harrison. “Introduction.” The Chronicle of Melrose Abbey: A Stratigraphic Edition, vol. 1, Boydell Press, 2007, pp. 1-269.

Image: Detail of King Cnut with an axe from the British Library, Royal MS 14 B vi.

MDT Ep. 000: "MDT Ep. 36: Concerning the Depredations of King John"

Prince John via the Book of KellsThis episode we look at the less than stellar reputation of King John during the First Barons’ War, as recounted in the Melrose Chronicle, and consider the relationship of medieval texts to immediate politics.

This Episode’s Texts:

  • The Chronicle of Melrose. The Church Historians of England, edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, vol. IV, part I, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 79-242. Google Books.

References:

  • Malý, Jan. “The Invasion of Prince Louis of France to England, 1216-1217.” Prague Papers on the History of International Relations, Feb. 2016, pp. 7-20.
  • Turner, Ralph V. “King John’s Concept of Royal Authority.” History of Political Thought, vol. 18, no. 2, Summer 1997, pp. 157-178. Academia.eduhttps://www.academia.edu/11900839/King_Johns_Concept_of_Royal_Authority.

Image: Google Deep Dream medievalization of Prince John from Disney’s Robin Hood (1973).

MDT Ep. 000: "MDT Ep. 35: Concerning Some Astronomical Anomalies and Meteorological Marvels"

Johannes de Sacrobosco. Computus, Quadrans, De sphaera, Algorismus, CautelaeThis episode we celebrate the  winter’s solstice with a grab-bag of comets, eclipses, and meteors, as well as earthquakes, tempests, and plagues.

This Episode’s Texts:

  • The Chronicle of Holyrood. The Church Historians of England, edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, vol. IV, part I, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 61-75. Google Books.
  • The History of the Church of Hexham, by John the Prior. The Church Historians of England, edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, vol. IV, part I, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 3-32. Google Books.
  • The Chronicle of Melrose. The Church Historians of England, edited and translated by Joseph Stevenson, vol. IV, part I, Seeley’s, 1856, pp. 79-242. Google Books.

References:

  • Dall’Olmo, Umberto. “Meteors, Meteor Showers and Meteorites in the Middle Ages: From European Medieval Sources.” JHA, vol. 9, 1978, pp. 123-134.
  • Cesario, Marilina. “Fyrenne Dracan in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.” Textiles, Text, Intertext: Essays in Honour of Gale R. Owen-Crocker, edited by Maren Clegg Hyer and Jill Frederick, Boydell and Brewer, 2016, pp. 153-170.
  • Foote, Sarah. “Plenty, Portents, and Plague: Ecclesiastical Readings of the Natural World in Early Medieval Europe.” God’s Bounty?: The Churches and the Natural World, edited by Peter Clarke and Tony Claydon, Boydell Press, 2010, pp. 15-41.
  • “Canterbury Monks Witness Creation of Moon Crater.” Medieval Archives, 18 June 2011, http://www.medievalarchives.com/2011/06/18/canterbury-monks-witness-creation-of-moon-crater/

Image: Diagram of a lunar eclipse, from a manuscript of Johannes de Sacrobosco’s Computus, Quadrans, De sphaera, Algorismus, Cautelae, France, ca. 1260. In the collection of the New York Public Library.

MDT Ep. 000: "MDT Episode 25: Concerning the Deaths of Edgar and Edward in Triptych"

On this episode, we look at one moment in history from three different sources — the deaths of King Edgar and his short-reigned heir, Edward the Martyr. Stay tuned to the very end for the new riddle!

Today’s Texts:

  • The Melrose Chronicle. In The Church Historians of England. Vol. IV, Part I. Ed. and Trans. Joseph Stevenson. London: Seeley’s, 1856. 347-384. [Available through Google Books.]
  • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Trans. E.E.C. Gomme. London: George Bell and Sons, 1909. [Available through Google Books.]
  • William of Malmesbury. Chronicle of the Kings of England. Ed. J.A. Giles. Trans. John Sharpe and J.A. Giles. London: George Bell & Sons, 1895. [Available through Google Books].

Image: The Murder of Edward the Martyr, from British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, f.245.

BL Royal 2 B VII, f.245 (Death of Edward the Martyr)

MDT Ep. 000: "MDT Episode 15: Concerning the Relics of Simon de Montfort"

In this episode, we wrap up the Melrose Chronicle‘s account of Simon de Montfort with a look at the miracle stories attached to his relics.

This episode’s texts:

  • The Melrose Chronicle. In The Church Historians of England. Vol. IV, Part I. Ed. and trans. Joseph Stevenson. London: Seeley’s, 1856. [Available at Google Books.]
  • “Miracles of Simon de Montfort.” Trans. George Walter Prothero. The Life of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1877. [Available at Google Books.]
  • Translation of the Dictum of Kenilworth at the National Archives.

References:

  • Bartlett, Robert. Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2013.
  • Heffernan, Thomas J. “‘God hathe schewed ffor him many grete miracules’: Political Canonization and the Miracula of Simon de Montfort.” Art and Context in Late Medieval English Narrative: Essays in Honor of Robert Worth Frank, Jr. Ed. Robert R. Edwards. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1994. 177-192.

Reliquary of St Anselm - © Marie-Lan Nguyen

Image: Foot reliquaries of St. Anselm (early 14th cent.). © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.5

MDT Ep. 000: "MDT Episode 14: Concerning the Death of Simon de Montfort"

BL MS Nero D ii f177 - Mutilation of Simon de Montfort,In this episode, we continue the tale of Simon de Montfort’s struggle against King Henry III, with a look at two depictions of his final battle and death.

This episode’s texts:

  • The Melrose Chronicle. In The Church Historians of England. Vol. IV, Part I. Ed. and trans. Joseph Stevenson. London: Seeley’s, 1856. [Available at Google Books.]
  • College of Arms MS 3/23. In Laborderie, Olivier de; J.R. Maddicott, and D.A. Carpenter. “The Last Hours of Simon de Montfort: A New Account.” The English Historical Review 115.461 (Apr. 2000): 378-412.

References:

Image: BL MS Nero D ii –  Detail from f. 177v – The Mutilation of Simon de Montfort.

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