Historians of King Stephen's Reign

The reign of King Stephen was rich in historical and quasi-historical productions. A characteristic of the period was the emergence of secular clerks as authors, and of laymen as a public who liked listening to readings from history books. Only three notable authorities were Benedictine monks: William of Malmesbury's Historia Novella is one of the most important sources of evidence, but the chronicle of John of Worcester ends in 1140,¹ and the Peterborough copy of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is disappointingly brief and provincial in outlook.² By contrast a number of histories were written by secular clerks (Henry of Huntingdon, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Gaimar and Alfred of Beverley). The Gesta Stephani (Deeds of Stephen) was also probably by a secular clerk. Moreover, in the north an Augustinian canon (Richard of Hexham) and a Cistercian (Ailred of Rievaulx) wrote histories. The works by the seculars reflect the rising importance in cultural life of the secular clergy; and the works by Richard of Hexham and Ailred reflect the intellectual revival achieved in the north by the new religious orders.