Description
Book SynopsisThe text edited and translated here for the first time for over a century is the most complete and detailed account of the church of Durham down to the early twelfth century. It is also important in the study of historical writing after the Norman Conquest, especially as recent research has cast considerable light on the identity and activities of its author, Symeon of Durham.
Trade ReviewSplendid edition with a full commentary. * Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature *
Unlike its predecessors the new edition makes full use of the readings of all six manuscripts, and it provides an extremely detailed and helpful commentary in footnotes. It is in this elucidation of the contents, details of which can be found through the generous indexes, that the special merit of this fine contribution to the study of post-Conquest English historiography is to be sought. * Medium Ævum *
This edition is a welcome culmination to the recent dramatic advances in our knowledge of Durham historiography to which Rollason himself has made a significant contribution. The text will hold its own, its historical commentary is helpful and exhaustive, the introduction brings Symeon and Durham historical writing into sharper focus. Studies of the Cronica monasterii Dunelmensis, of the De primo aduentu Saxonum, and of the Historia regum in time might give a fuller picture, but they are unlikely to affect the great value of this edition for which Rollason must to be warmly thanked. The history of the see of St Cuthbert from its start at Lindisfarne in the seventh century to the reestablishment of a monastic community in Durham is again firmly underpinned and clearly visible. Symeon and his team could not have wished for more. * Dr Patrick McGurk, Reviews in History *
