Walter of Coventry (fl. 1290), English monk and chronicler, who was apparently connected with a religious house in the province of York, is known to us only through the historical compilation which bears his name, the Memoriale fratris Walteri de Coventria. [1]
The word Memoriale is usually taken to mean "commonplace book." Some critics interpret it in the sense of "a souvenir," and argue that Walter was not the author but merely the donor of the book; but the weight of authority is against this view. The author of the Memoriale lived in the reign of Edward I, and mentions the homage done to Edward as overlord of Scotland (1291). [1]
Since the main narrative extends only to 1225, the Memoriale is emphatically a second-hand production. But for the years 1201-1225 it is a faithful transcript of a contemporary chronicle, the work of a Barnwell canon. A complete text of the Barnwell chronicle is preserved in the College of Arms' (Heralds' College, manuscript 10) but has never yet been printed, though it was collated by Bishop Stubbs for his edition of the Memoriale. The Barnwell annalist, living in Cambridgeshire, was well situated to observe the events of the barons' war, and is our most valuable authority for that important crisis. [1]
He is less hostile to King John than are Ralph of Coggeshall, Roger of Wendover and Matthew Paris. He praises the king's management of the Welsh and Scottish wars; he is critical in his attitude towards the pope and the English opposition; he regards the submission of John to Rome as a skilful stroke of policy, although he notes the fact that some men called it a humiliation. The constitutional agitation of 1215 does not arouse his enthusiasm; he passes curtly over the Runnymede conference, barely mentions Magna Carta, and blames the barons for the resumption of war. It may be from timidity that the annalist avoids attacking John, but it is more probable that the middle classes, whom he represents, regarded the designs of the feudal baronage with suspicion. [1]
Magna Carta Libertatum, commonly called Magna Carta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.
Jean Froissart was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including Chronicles and Meliador, a long Arthurian romance, and a large body of poetry, both short lyrical forms as well as longer narrative poems. For centuries, Froissart's Chronicles have been recognised as the chief expression of the chivalric revival of the 14th-century kingdoms of England, France and Scotland. His history is also an important source for the first half of the Hundred Years' War.
Benedict, sometimes known as Benedictus Abbas, was abbot of Peterborough. His name was formerly erroneously associated with the Gesta Henrici Regis Secundi and Gesta Regis Ricardi, English 12th century chronicles, which are now attributed to Roger of Howden.
Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge during the early 17th century.
William Stubbs was an English historian and Anglican bishop. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford between 1866 and 1884. He was Bishop of Chester from 1884 to 1889 and Bishop of Oxford from 1889 to 1901.
Roger Bigod was 5th Earl of Norfolk.
Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick was an English magnate, and one of the principal opponents of King Edward II and his favourite, Piers Gaveston. Guy was the son of William de Beauchamp, the first Beauchamp earl of Warwick, and succeeded his father in 1298. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Falkirk and subsequently, as a capable servant of the crown under King Edward I. After the succession of Edward II in 1307, however, he soon fell out with the new king and the king's favourite, Piers Gaveston. Warwick was one of the main architects behind the Ordinances of 1311, that limited the powers of the king and banished Gaveston into exile.
Walter Giffard was Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York.
Antony Bek was a bishop of Durham and the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Ralph de Diceto was archdeacon of Middlesex, dean of St Paul's Cathedral, and author of two chronicles, the Abbreviationes chronicorum and the Ymagines historiarum.
Walter Langton of Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire, was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield and Treasurer of England. The life of Langton was strongly influenced by his uncle William Langton, Archbishop of York-elect, by Robert Burnell, Lord Chancellor of England and then by the years in which he served King Edward I. Lichfield Cathedral was improved and enriched at his expense.
Geoffrey the Baker, also called Walter of Swinbroke, was an English chronicler. He was probably a secular clerk at Swinbrook in Oxfordshire.
John Bellenden or Ballantyne of Moray was a Scottish writer of the 16th century.
William Rishanger, nicknamed "Chronigraphus", was an English annalist and Benedictine monk of St. Albans. Rishanger quite likely wrote the Opus Chronicorum, a continuation from 1259 of Matthew Paris's Chronicle. In effect it is a history of his own times from 1259 to 1307, a spirited and trustworthy account, albeit in parts not original. He wrote a history of the reign of Edward I of England, and a work on the Barons' War; and was probably the continuator of Gesta Abbatum Monasterii Sancti Albani.
The Treaty of York was an agreement between the kings Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland, signed at York on 25 September 1237, which affirmed that Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmorland were subject to English sovereignty. This established the Anglo-Scottish border in a form that remains almost unchanged to modern times. The treaty detailed the future status of several feudal properties and addressed other issues between the two kings, and historically marked the end of the Kingdom of Scotland's attempts to extend its frontier southward.
Robert Fitzwalter was one of the leaders of the baronial opposition against King John, and one of the twenty-five sureties of Magna Carta. He was feudal baron of Little Dunmow, Essex and constable of Baynard's Castle, in London, to which was annexed the hereditary office of castellan and chief knight banneret of the City of London. Part of the official aristocracy created by Henry I and Henry II, he served John in the wars in Normandy, in which he was taken prisoner by King Philip II of France and forced to pay a heavy ransom.
Walter Manny, 1st Baron Manny, KG, soldier of fortune and founder of the Charterhouse, was from Masny in Hainault, from whose counts he claimed descent. He was a patron and friend of Froissart, in whose chronicles his exploits have a conspicuous and probably an exaggerated place.
Jocelin was a twelfth-century Cistercian monk and cleric who became the fourth Abbot of Melrose before becoming Bishop of Glasgow, Scotland. He was probably born in the 1130s, and in his teenage years became a monk of Melrose Abbey. He rose in the service of Abbot Waltheof, and by the time of the short abbacy of Waltheof's successor Abbot William, Jocelin had become prior. Then in 1170 Jocelin himself became abbot, a position he held for four years. Jocelin was responsible for promoting the cult of the emerging Saint Waltheof, and in this had the support of Enguerrand, Bishop of Glasgow.
The Barnwell Chronicle is a thirteenth-century Latin chronicle named after Barnwell Priory, near Cambridge, where the manuscript was kept. Its anonymous author is well-regarded by historians. J. C. Holt described the Chronicler as "The most intelligent and valuable" and "perceptive" writer of his time.
William de Braose was the second Baron Braose, as well as Lord of Gower and Lord of Bramber. He was held as a hostage after being captured in 1264 during the Second Barons' War and records of some of his childhood expenses survive from his time as a hostage. He first entered royal service in 1286 and, in 1291, he succeeded his father as baron. He continued in royal military service, serving in Scotland as well as in Wales. Protracted disputes over his lands embroiled him throughout his life and at the end of his life helped spark a revolt against King Edward II of England's favourites, the Despensers. He married twice, and his heirs were his daughter Aline and his grandson John de Bohun.