The first modern edition of a text which shows the suspicion with which Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain was received two decades after it first appeared. The history of the Yorkshire secular clerk, Alfred of Beverley (c.1148 x c.1151), an important primary source in Anglo-Norman historiography, supplies a history of Britain from its supposed foundation by Brutus down to the death of Henry I in 1135. Alfred's history is of particular interest in that it is the first Insular Latin chronicle to incorporate the legendary British history of Geoffrey of Monmouth (published c.mid 1130s) within a continuous account of the island's past. In attempting to fuse the radically new Galfridian account of the past with that of the conventional twelfth-century (Bedan) view, Alfred's use and manipulation of his sources is highly revealing and suggests a quite critical reception of Geoffrey's history, a mindset which by the end of the twelfth century appears almost entirely to have disappeared amongst chroniclers. Alfred's history is also an important, and presently undervalued, witness to the reception and dissemination of three of the most important Anglo-Norman histories: Symeon of Durham Historia Regum, The Chronicle of John of Worcester and Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, from which works it borrows extensively. In the manner of use of these sources, the author tells us much about the ecclesiastical and intellectual interests and outlook of the period.

About the Author
John Slevin completed his PhD on the Historical Writing of Alfred of Beverley at the University of Exeter in 2013. Lynda Lockyer completed her PhD in Renaissance Intellectual and Cultural History at the Warburg Institute in 2013.

Reviews
It is this last feature of Alfred's History which is Dr Slevin's argument as to why his work deserves a lot more attention. -- David Crouch * Northern History *



Book Information
ISBN 9781783274888
Author John Slevin
Format Hardback
Page Count 438
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g