Editing Henry of Huntingdon (section)

==Life==
Henry was born in about 1088 and died about 1157. He succeeded his father Nicholas as archdeacon of the [[Diocese of Lincoln]] in 1110.<ref name=DNB/> No personal correspondence or anecdotes survived him and it seemed that no one considered him important enough to have written a memorial.  His biography depends upon a few notices scattered through his own work and in a few places where he left his name in the course of his official duties.   Though the identity of his mother is unknown, she was probably English, as Henry was an English native speaker.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Greenway |first1=Diana |last2=Henry of Huntingdon |title=Historia Anglorum: the history of the English people |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |page=xxvi}}</ref> His father Nicholas, the first archdeacon of Huntingdon, was a clerk in holy orders, who had enough influence with the [[Bishop of Lincoln]] to secure the succession of his title for his son, a substantial inheritance for a man who had not yet reached thirty.<ref>Partner, pp.11–12</ref> Nicholas was canon of Lincoln for over thirty years until his death in 1110.<ref name=DNB/>

Henry was received as a little boy into the ''[[Medieval household|familia]]'' of [[Robert Bloet]] of [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]] and grew up in luxury, living in the wealth and splendour of England's richest episcopal court. His upbringing gave him a positive outlook towards the world, but in later years he learned to feel a certain recoil of distrust or ''[[contemptus mundi]]'', "contempt for the world", a feeling which encompasses much of his mature literary work.<ref>Partner, p.12-13</ref> Bishop Bloet's successor, [[Alexander of Lincoln]], became sensible of Henry's aptitude for business and employed him frequently for important affairs, though it remains clear that Henry owed his promotion to the [[patronage]] of Bishop Bloet.  It was at Bishop Alexander's request that Henry began to write his ''Historia Anglorum''  ('The History of The English').<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=O6U5BTD0-rYC&pg=PA239 Historia Anglorum]'', Forester, p. x</ref> The formal Prologue of his History, which was addressed to Bishop Alexander, was written in a floridly dense high style that allowed him to parade himself, before retreating into dutiful obscurity behind the chroniclers he had used. It was written as an elaborate defence of the writing of history and to show off his degree of education.<ref>Partner, p. 19</ref> 

Over the years, Henry's contempt for the world grew and became the informing spirit of his literary work and spiritual life.  During his travels, he began to notice that people were more worried about taking care of their belongings than of themselves. This led him to write a long poem on ''De contemptu visibilum''.<ref>Partner, p. 40</ref>

Like his father, Henry was a married priest, though the identity of his wife is unknown. They had at least one child, a son named Adam, who became a clerk. The family lived in the village of [[Little Stukeley]] in [[Huntingdonshire]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Greenway |first1=Diana |last2=Henry of Huntingdon |title=Historia Anglorum: the history of the English people |date=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |page=xxvii}}</ref>

Overall, the little-known information about Henry is concrete and suggestive, hinting at a life lived just below the first ranks of property and talent in an age of personal reticence.  He mentions [[Lanfranc]] as having been "famous in our own time", which places Henry's birthdate a few years before 1089, the year Lanfranc died. His ''Historia Anglorum'' leaves off in 1154, with the promise of another book for the new reign; however, since that book was never written it may be assumed that Henry died shortly afterward.<ref>Partner, p. 11</ref>