John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the Latin: Chronicon ex Chronicis.
John of Worcester's principal work was the Latin: Chronicon ex Chronicis (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or Chronicle of Chronicles (Latin: Chronica Chronicarum), also known as John of Worcester's Chronicle or Florence of Worcester's Chronicle. The Latin: Chronicon ex Chronicis is a world history which begins with the Creation and ends in 1140. The chronological framework of the Latin: Chronicon was presented by the chronicle of Marianus Scotus (d. 1082). A great deal of additional material, particularly relating to English history, was grafted onto it.
The greater part of the work, up to 1117 or 1118, was formerly attributed to Florence of Worcester on the basis of the entry for his death under the year 1118, which credits his skill and industry for making the chronicle such a prominent work.[1] In this view, the other Worcester monk, John, merely wrote the final part of the work. However, there are two main objections against the ascription to Florence. First, there is no change of style in the Latin: Chronicon after Florence's death, and second, certain sections before 1118 rely to some extent on the Latin: Historia Novorum ("History of New Things") of Eadmer of Canterbury, which was completed sometime in the period 1121–1124.[2]
The prevalent view today is that John of Worcester was the principal author and compiler. He is explicitly named as the author of two entries for 1128 and 1138, and two manuscripts (CCC MS 157 and the Latin: Chronicula) were written in his hand. He was seen working on it at the behest of Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, when the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis visited Worcester:
| Latin: Ioannes Wigornensis a puero monachus, natione Anglicus, moribus et eruditione uenerandus, in his quæ Mariani Scotti cronicis adiecit, de rege Guillelmo et de rebus quæ sub eo uel sub filiis eius Guillelmo Rufo et Henrico usque hodie contigerunt honeste deprompsit. [...] Latin: Quem prosecutus Iohannes acta fere centum annorum contexuit, iussuque uenerabilis Wlfstani pontificis et monachi supradictis cronicis inseruit in quibus multa de Romanis et Francis et Alemannis aliisque gentibus quæ agnouit [...]. | "John, an Englishman by birth who entered the monastery of Worcester as a boy and won great repute for his learning and piety, continued the chronicle of Marianus Scotus and carefully recorded the events of William's reign and of his sons William Rufus and Henry up to the present. [...] John, at the command of the venerable Wulfstan bishop and monk [d. 1095], added to these chronicles [i.e. of Marianus Scotus] events of about a hundred years, by inserting a brief and valuable summary of many deeds of the Romans and Franks, Germans and other peoples whom he knew [...]."[3] |
The Latin: Chronicon survives in five manuscripts (and a fragment on a single leaf):
In addition, there is the Latin: Chronicula, a minor chronicle based on the Latin: Chronicon proper: MS 503 (Dublin, Trinity College), written by John up to 1123.
For the body of material dealing with early English history, John is believed to have used a number of sources, some of which are now lost: