The 'Chronica maiora' of Thomas Walsingham (1376-1422)

Abstract

The 'Chronica maiora' of Thomas Walsingham (1376-1422), trans. David Freest, introd. and notes by James G. Clark (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005). iv + 471 pp. ISBN 1-84383-144-9. £75.00. New editions of Thomas Walsingham's Chronica maiora seem to be appearing like buses; there has not been one since 1937, and now two have come along at the same time. The first part of the Oxford University Press edition and facing-page translation appeared a couple of years ago (The St Albans Chronicle: The 'Chronica maiora' of Thomas Walsingham, I: 1376-1394, ed. and trans. John Taylor, Wendy R. Childs, and Leslie Watkiss - reviewed in Medium AEvum 74), followed by the present offering, a single-volume translation of the entire Chronica maiora. It is translated from H. T. Riley's Rolls Series edition (published as the Historia Anglicana, in 1863-4), collated with V. H. Galbraith's 1937 edition of a different manuscript, covering the years 1406 to 1420.

The 'Chronica maiora' of Thomas Walsingham (1376-1422), trans. David Freest, introd. and notes by James G. Clark (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005). iv + 471 pp. ISBN 1-84383-144-9. £75.00. New editions of Thomas Walsingham's Chronica maiora seem to be appearing like buses; there has not been one since 1937, and now two have come along at the same time. The first part of the Oxford University Press edition and facing-page translation appeared a couple of years ago (The St Albans Chronicle: The 'Chronica maiora' of Thomas Walsingham, I: 1376-1394, ed. and trans. John Taylor, Wendy R. Childs, and Leslie Watkiss - reviewed in Medium AEvum 74), followed by the present offering, a single-volume translation of the entire Chronica maiora. It is translated from H. T. Riley's Rolls Series edition (published as the Historia Anglicana, in 1863-4), collated with V. H. Galbraith's 1937 edition of a different manuscript, covering the years 1406 to 1420. David Freest therefore presents a composite version of Walsingham's work, though he does not differentiate the various recensions that lie behind the translation. Nor does he provide the so-called 'Scandalous chronicle', the original account of the years 1376-7 which included a series of lively and virulent denunciations of John of Gaunt, subsequently replaced by the toned-down version included here.

Preest's translation is readable, and reasonably accurate, if sometimes slightly paraphrased. Explanatory footnotes are provided by James Clark. He also provides a twenty-two-page introductory essay, describing Walsingham's life and writings, which offers a complementary - and sometimes alternative - perspective on the Chronica maiora to that offered by John Taylor; for instance, Clark takes issue with the commonly held supposition that Walsingham produced a 'Short chronicle', arguing that the various abbreviated versions of the Chronica maiora were produced by individual copiers, rather than by Walsingham himself. As a stand-alone translation, the present volume is entirely serviceable. Ultimately, however, it is perhaps unlikely to find an academic readership. While it is certainly a lot cheaper than the OUP edition (especially when the second volume eventually appears), it is nevertheless still far too expensive for students, or indeed for cash-strapped university libraries; and scholars will prefer to use the Latin text with facing-page translation offered by Taylor et aL Perhaps it is aimed at the 'general reader'; the provision of a colourful dust-jacket, along with the appended introductory-level 'Guide to further reading', suggests that this is indeed the intended target. And as Walsingham enjoyed a good story, the Chronica maiora is certainly a good read. [Andy King]