13 comes down to the year 1292, where it ends abruptly. The history is particularly valuable for notices of events in the eastern portions of the kingdom, which are not to be elsewhere obtained, and some curious facts are mentioned relative to the floods in that part of England, which are confirmed in the Friesland Chronicle of Anthony Heinrich, pastor of the Island of Mohr. 14. A COLLECTION OF POLITICAL POEMS AND SONGS RELATING TO ENGLISH HISTORY, FROM THE ACCESSION OF EDWARD III. TO THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. Vols. I. and II. Edited by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A. 1859-1861. These Poems are perhaps the most interesting of all the historical writings of the period, though they cannot be relied on for accuracy of statement. They are various in character; some are upon religious subjects, some may be called satires, and some give no more than a court scandal; but as a whole they present a very fair picture of society, and of the relations of the different classes to one another. The period comprised is in itself interesting, and brings us, through the decline of the feudal system, to the beginning of our modern history. The songs in old English are of considerable value to the philologist. 15. The "OPUS TERTIUM," "OPUS MINUS," &c., of ROGER BACON. Edited by J. S. BREWER, M.A., Professor of English Literature, King's College, London. 1859. This is the celebrated treatise-never before printed-so frequently referred to by the great philosopher in his works. It contains the fullest details we possess of the life and labours of Roger Bacon: also a fragment by the same author, supposed to be unique, the " Compendium Studii Theologia." 16. BARTHOLOMEI DE COTTON, MONACHI NORWICENSIS, HISTORIA ANGLICANA; 449-1298: necnon ejusdem Liber de Archiepiscopis et Episcopis Angliæ. Edited by HENRY RICHARDS LUARD, M.A., Fellow and Assistant Tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1859. The author, a monk of Norwich, has here given us a Chronicle of England from the arrival of the Saxons in 449 to the year 1298, in or about which year it appears that he died. The latter portion of this history (the whole of the reign of Edward I. more especially) is of great value, as the writer was contemporary with the events which he records. An Appendix contains several illustrative documents connected with the previous narrative. 17. BRUT Y TYWYSOGION; or, The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales. Edited by the Rev. JOHN WILLIAMS AB ITHEL, M.A. 1860. This work, also known as "The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales," has been attributed to Caradoc of Llancarvan, who flourished about the middle of the twelfth century. It is written in the ancient Welsh language, begins with the abdication and death of Caedwala at Rome, in the year 681, and continues the history down to the subjugation of Wales by Edward I., about the year 1282. 18. A COLLECTION OF ROYAL AND HISTORICAL LETTERS DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY IV. 1399-1404. Edited by the Rev. F. C. HINGESTON, M.A., of Exeter College, Oxford. 1860. This volume, like all the others in the series containing a miscellaneous selection of letters, is valuable on account of the light it throws upon biographical history, and the familiar view it presents of characters, manners, and events. The period requires much elucidation; to which it will materially contribute. CLERGY. BY MUCH BLAMING OF THE 19. THE REPRESSOR OF REGINALD PECOCK, sometime Bishop of Chichester. Vols. I. and II. Edited by CHUrchill BabingtON, B.D., Fellow of St. John s College, Cambridge. 1860. OVER The "Repressor" may be considered the earliest piece of good theological disquisition of which our English prose literature can boast. The author was born 14 about the end of the fourteenth century, consecrated Bishop of St. Asaph in the year 1444, and translated to the see of Chichester in 1450. While Bishop of St. Asaph, he zealously defended his brother prelates from the attacks of those who censured the bishops for their neglect of duty. He maintained that it was no part of a bishop's functions to appear in the pulpit, and that his time might be more profitably spent, and his dignity better maintained, in the performance of works of a higher character. Among those who thought differently were the Lollards, and against their general doctrines the "Repressor" is directed. Pecock took up a position midway between that of the Roman Church and that of the modern Anglican Church; but his work is interesting chiefly because it gives a full account of the views of the Lollards and of the arguments by which they were supported, and because it assists us to ascertain the state of feeling which ultimately led to the Reformation. Apart from religious matters, the light thrown upon contemporaneous history is very small, but the "Repressor" has great value for the philologist, as it tells us what were the characteristics of the language in use among the cultivated Englishmen of the fifteenth century. Pecock, though an opponent of the Lollards, showed a certain spirit of toleration, for which he received, towards the end of his life, the usual medieval reward-persecution. 20. ANNALES CAMBRIÆ. Edited by the Rev. JOHN WILLIAMS AB ITHEL, M.A. 1860. These annals, which are in Latin, commence in the year 447, and come down to the year 1288. The earlier portion appears to be taken from an Irish Chronicle, which was also used by Tigernach, and by the compiler of the Annals of Ulster. During its first century it contains scarcely anything relating to Britain, the earliest direct concurrence with English history is relative to the mission of Augustine. Its notices throughout, though brief, are valuable. The annals were probably written at St. Davids, by Blegewryd, Archdeacon of Llandaff, the most learned man in his day in all Cymru. 21. THE WORKS OF GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS. Vols. I., II., III., and IV. Edited by J. S. BREWER, M.A., Professor of English Literature, King's College, London. Vols. V., VI., and VII. Edited by the Rev. JAMES F. DIMOCK, M.A., Rector of Barnburgh, Yorkshire. 1861-1877. These volumes contain the historical works of Gerald du Barry, who lived in the reigns of Henry II., Richard I., and John, and attempted to re-establish the independence of Wales by restoring the see of St. Davids to its ancient primacy. His works are of a very miscellaneous nature, both in prose and verse, and are remarkable chiefly for the racy and original anecdotes which they contain relating to contemporaries. He is the only Welsh writer of any importance who has contributed so much to the medieval literature of this country, or assumed, in consequence of his nationality, so free and independent a tone. His frequent travels in Italy, in France, in Ireland, and in Wales, gave him opportunities for observation which did not generally fall to the lot of mediaval writers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and of these observations Giraldus has made due use. Only extracts from these treatises have been printed before, and almost all of them are taken from unique manuscripts. The Topographia Hibernica (in Vol. V.) is the result of Giraldus' two visits to Ireland. The first in the year 1183, the second in 1185-6, when he accompanied Prince John into that country. Curious as this treatise is, Mr. Dimock is of opinion that it ought not to be accepted as sober truthful history, for Giraldus himself states that truth was not his main object, and that he compiled the work for the purpose of sounding the praises of Henry the Second. Elsewhere, however, he declares that he had stated nothing in the Topographia of the truth of which he was not well assured, either by his own eyesight or by the testimony, with all diligence elicited, of the most trustworthy and authentic men in the country; that though he did not put just the same full faith in their reports as in what he had himself seen, yet, as they only related what they had themselves seen, he could not but believe such credible witnesses. A very interesting portion of this treatise is devoted to the animals of Ireland. It shows that he was a very accurate and acute observer, and his descriptions are given in a way that a scientific naturalist of the present day could hardly improve upon. The Expugnatio Hibernica was written about the year 1188 and may be regarded rather 15 N as a great epic than a sober relation of acts occurring in his own days. Vol. VI. contains the Itinerarium Kambria et Descriptio Kambriæ: and 22. LETTERS AND PAPERS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE WARS OF THE ENGLISH IN FRANCE DURING THE REIGN OF HENRY THE SIXTH, KIng of EngLAND. Vol. I., and Vol. II. (in Two Parts). Edited by the Rev. JOSEPH STEVENSON, M.A., of University College, Durham, and Vicar of Leighton Buzzard. 1861-1864. The letters and papers contained in these volumes are derived chiefly from originals or contemporary copies extant in the Bibliothèque Impériale, and the Depôt des Archives, in Paris. They illustrate the line of policy adopted by John Duke of Bedford and his successors during their government of Normandy, and such other provinces of France as had been acquired by Henry V. We may here trace, step by step, the gradual declension of the English power, until we are prepared to read of its final overthrow. 23. THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE, ACCORDING TO THE SEVERAL ORIGINAL AUTHORITIES. Vol. I., Original Texts. Vol. II., Translation. Edited and translated by BENJAMIN THORPE, Esq., Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Munich, and of the Society of Netherlandish Literature at Leyden. 1861. This Chronicle, extending from the earliest history of Britain to the year 1154, is justly the boast of England; for no other nation can produce any history, written in its own vernacular, at all approaching it, either in antiquity, truthfulness, or extent, the historical books of the Bible alone excepted. There are at present six independent manuscripts of the Saxon Chronicle, ending in different years, and written in different parts of the country. In this edition, the text of each manuscript is printed in columns on the same page, so that the student may see at a glance the various changes which occur in orthography, whether arising from locality or age. 24. LETTERS AND PAPERS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE REIGNS OF RICHARD III. AND HENRY VII. Vols. I. and II. Edited by JAMES GAIRDNER, Esq. 1861-1863. The Papers are derived from MSS. in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, and other repositories. The period to which they refer is unusually destitute of chronicles and other sources of historical information, so that the light obtained from these documents is of special importance. The principal contents of the volumes are some diplomatic Papers of Richard III.; correspondence between Henry VII. and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain; documents relating to Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk; and a portion of the correspondence of James IV. of Scotland. 25. LETTERS OF BISHOP GROSSETESTE, illustrative of the Social Condition of his Time. Edited by HENRY RICHARDS LUARD, M.A., Fellow and Assistant Tutor of Trinity College, Cambridge. 1861.. The Letters of Robert Grosseteste (131 in number) are here collected from various sources, and a large portion of them is printed for the first time. They range in date from about 1210 to 1253, and relate to various matters connected not only with the political history of England during the reign of Henry III., but with its ecclesiastical condition. They refer especially to the diocese of Lincoln, of which Grosseteste was bishop. 26. DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF MANUSCRIPTS RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. Vol. I. (in Two Parts); Anterior to the Norman Invasion. Vol. II.; 1066-1200. Vol. III.; 1200-1327. By Sir THOMAS DUFFUS HARDY, D.C.L., Deputy Keeper of the Public Records. 1862-1871. The object of this work is to publish notices of all known sources of British history, both printed and unprinted, in one continued sequence. The materials, when historical (as distinguished from biographical), are arranged under the year in which the latest event is recorded in the chronicle or history, and not 16 under the period in which its author, real or supposed, flourished. Biographies are enumerated under the year in which the person commemorated died, and not under the year in which the life was written. This arrangement has two advantages; the materials for any given period may be seen at a glance; and if the reader knows the time when an author wrote, and the number of years that had elapsed between the date of the events and the time the writer flourished, he will generally be enabled to form a fair estimate of the comparative value of the narrative itself. A brief analysis of each work has been added when deserving it, in which the original portions are distinguished from those which are mere compilations. When possible, the sources are indicated from which such compilations have been derived. A biographical sketch of the author of each piece has been added, and a brief notice has also been given of such British authors as have written on historical subjects. 27. ROYAL AND OTHER HISTORICAL LETTERS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE REIGN OF HENRY III. Vol. I., 1216–1235. Vol. II., 1236-1272. Selected and edited by the Rev. W. W. SHIRLEY, D.D., Regius Professor in Ecclesiastical History, and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. 18621866. The letters contained in these volumes are derived chiefly from the ancient correspondence formerly in the Tower of London, and now in the Public Record Office. They illustrate the political history of England during the growth of its liberties, and throw considerable light upon the personal history of Simon de Montfort. The affairs of France form the subject of many of them, especially in regard to the province of Gascony. The entire collection consists of nearly 700 documents, the greater portion of which is printed for the first time. 28. CHRONICA MONASTERII S. ALBANI.-1. THOMÆ WALSINGHAM HISTORIA ANGLICANA; Vol. I., 1272-1381: Vol. II., 1381-1422. 2. WILLELMI RISHANGER CHRONICA ET ANNALES, 1259-1307. 3. JOHANNIS DE TROKELOWE ET HENRICI DE BLANEFORDE CHRONICA ET ANNALES, 1259-1296; 1307-1324; 1392-1406. 4. GESTA ABBATUM MONASTERII S. ALBANI, A THOMA WALSINGHAM, REGNANTE RICARDO SECUNDO, EJUSDEM ECCLESIÆ PRÆCENTORE, COMPILATA; Vol. I., 793–1290: Vol. II., 1290-1349: Vol. III., 1349-1411. 5. JOHANNIS AMUNDESHAM, MONACHI MONASTERII S. ALBANI, UT VIDETUR, ANNALES; Vols. I. and II. 6. REGISTRA QUORUNDAM ABBATUM MONASTERII S. ALBANI, QUI SÆCULO Xymo FLORUERE; Vol. I., REGISTRUM ABBATIE JOHANNIS WHETHAMSTEDE, ABBATIS MONASTERII SANCTI ALBANI, ITERUM SUSCEPTÆ; ROBERTO BLAKENEY, CAPELLANO, QUONDAM ADSCRIPTUM: Vol. II., REGISTRA JOHANNIS WHETHAMSTEDE, WILLELMI ÁLBON, ET WILLELMI WALINGFORDE, ABBATUM MONASTERII SANCTI ALBANI, CUM APPENDICE, CONTINENTE QUASDAM EPISTOLAS, A JOHANNE WHETHAMSTEDE CONSCRIPTAS. 7. YPODIGMA NEUSTRIE, A THOMA WALSINGHAM, QUONDAM MONACHO MONASTERII S. ALBANI, CONSCRIPTUM. Edited by HENRY THOMAS RILEY, Esq., M.A., Cambridge and Oxford; and of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law. 1863-1876. In the first two volumes is a History of England, from the death of Henry III. to the death of Henry V., by Thomas Walsingham, Precentor of St. Albans, from MS. VII. in the Arundel Collection in the College of Arms, London, a manuscript of the fifteenth century, collated with MS. 13 E. IX. in the King's Library in the British Museum, and MS. VII. in the Parker Collection of Manuscripts at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. In the third volume is a Chronicle of English History, attributed to William Rishanger, who lived in the reign of Edward I., from the Cotton. MS. Faustina B. IX. in the British Museum, collated with MS. 14 C. VII. (fols. 219-231) in the King's Library, British Museum, and the Cotton MS. Claudius E. III., fols. 306-331: an account of transactions attending the award of the kingdom of Scotland to John Balliol, 1291-1292, from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI., also attributed to William Rishanger, but on no sufficient ground: a short Chronicle of English History, 1292 to 1300, 17 by an unknown hand, from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI.: a short Chronicle, Willelmi Rishanger Gesta Edwardi Primi, Regis Angliæ, from MS. 14 C. I. in the Royal Library, and MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI., with Annales Regum Angliæ, probably by the same hand: and fragments of three Chronicles of English History, 1285 to 1307. In the fourth volume is a Chronicle of English History, 1259 to 1296, from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI.: Annals of Edward II., 1307 to 1323, by John de Trokelowe, a monk of St. Albans, and a continuation of Trokelowe's Annals, 1323, 1324, by Henry de Blaneforde, both from MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI.: a full Chronicle of English History, 1392 to 1406, from MS. VII. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; and an account of the Benefactors of St. Albans, written in the early part of the fifteenth century, from MS. VI. in the same Library. The fifth, sixth, and seventh volumes contain a history of the Abbots of St. Albans, 793 to 1411, mainly compiled by Thomas Walsingham, from MS. Cotton. Claudius E. IV., in the British Museum with a Continuation, from the closing pages of Parker MS. VII., in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. : The eighth and ninth volumes, in continuation of the Annals, contain a Chronicle, probably by John Amundesham, a monk of St. Albans. The tenth and eleventh volumes relate especially to the acts and proceedings of Abbots Whethamstede, Albon, and Wallingford, and may be considered as a memorial of the chief historical and domestic events during those periods. The twelfth volume contains a compendious History of England to the reign of Henry V., and of Normandy in early times, also by Thomas Walsingham, and dedicated to Henry V. The compiler has often substituted other authorities in place of those consulted in the preparation of his larger work. 29. CHRONICON ABBATIE EVESHAMENSIS, AUCTORIBUS DOMINICO PRIORE EVESHAMIÆ ET THOMA DE MARLEBERGE ABBATE, A FUNDATIONE AD ANNUM 1213, UNA CUM CONTINUATIONE AD ANNUM 1418. Edited by the Rev. W. D. MACRAY, M.A., Bodleian Library, Oxford. 1863. The Chronicle of Evesham illustrates the history of that important monastery from its foundation by Egwin, about 690, to the year 1418. Its chief feature is an autobiography, which makes us acquainted with the inner daily life of a great abbey, such as but rarely has been recorded. Interspersed are many notices of general, personal, and local history which will be read with much interest. This work exists in a single MS., and is for the first time printed. 30. Ricardi DE CIRENCESTRIA SPECULUM HISTORIALE DE GESTIS REGUM ANGLIE. Vol. I., 447-871. Vol. II., 872-1066. Edited by JOHN E. B. MAYOR, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. 1863-1869. The compiler, Richard of Cirencester, was a monk of Westminster, 13551400. In 1391 he obtained a licence to make a pilgrimage to Rome. His history, in four books, extends from 447 to 1066. He announces his intention of continuing it, but there is no evidence that he completed any more. This chronicle gives many charters in favour of Westminster Abbey, and a very full account of the lives and miracles of the saints, especially of Edward the Confessor, whose reign occupies the fourth book. A treatise on the Coronation, by William of Sudbury, a monk of Westminster, fills book iii. c. 3. It was on this author that C. J. Bertram fathered his forgery, De Situ Brittaniæ, in 1747. 31. YEAR BOOKS OF THE REIGN OF EDWARD THE FIRST. Years 20-21, 21-22, 30-31, and 32-33. Edited and translated by ALFRED JOHN HORWOOD, Esq., of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-Law. 1863-1873. 23021. The volumes known as the "Year Books" contain reports in Norman-French of cases argued and decided in the Courts of Common Law. They may be con. sidered to a great extent as the "lex non scripta" of England, and have been held in the highest veneration by the ancient sages of the law, and were received by them as the repositories of the first recorded judgments and dicta of the great Y |