Flores Historiarum

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The Flores Historiarum (Flowers of History) is a Latin chronicle dealing with English history from the creation to 1326 (although some of the earlier manuscripts end at 1306). It was compiled by various persons. The main value of the work is seen in the work done by Roger of Wendover for his narrative of contemporary events from 1216 to 1235.

It was written originally at St Albans and later at Westminster Abbey. The nucleus of the early part of Flowers of History is supposed to have been the compilation of John de Cella (also known as John of Wallingford), abbot of St. Albans from 1195 to 1214, although that is inconclusive.

John' work started from the year 1188, and was revised and continued by another St. Albans writer Roger of Wendover up to 1235, the year before his death. Roger claims in his preface to have selected "from the books of catholic writers worthy of credit, just as flowers of various colours are gathered from various fields." Hence he called his work Flores Historiarum — ropriated in the 14th century to a long compilation by various hands.

The part from 1306 to 1326 was continued at Westminster by Robert of Reading (d. 1325) and another Westminster monk.

It was for many years attributed to a "Matthew of Westminster" who was actually Matthew Paris. It is now valued not so much for what was culled from previous writers, as for its full and lively narrative of contemporary events from 1216 to 1235.

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It was first printed by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1567, and the best edition is the one edited with introduction by Henry Richards Luard for the Rolls series (London, 1890). It has been translated into English by C. D. Yonge (London, 1853).

See Luard's introduction, and Charles Bémont in the Revue critique d'histoire (Paris, 1891).