Editing Henry of Huntingdon

{{Short description|12th-century English historian}}
{{Essay-like|date=June 2024}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Henry of Scotland]], 3rd Earl of Huntingdon}}

'''Henry of Huntingdon''' ({{langx|la|Henricus Huntindoniensis}}; {{circa}} 1088 – {{circa|lk=no}} 1157), the son of a [[canon (priest)|canon]] in the [[diocese of Lincoln]], was a [[English historians in the Middle Ages|12th-century English historian]] and the author of ''Historia Anglorum'' ([[Medieval Latin]] for "History of the English"),  as "the most important [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] historian to emerge from the [[secular clergy]]".<ref>Hollister, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TRMaCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9 9]</ref> He served as [[archdeacon of Huntingdon]]. The few details of Henry's life that are known originated from his own works and from a number of official records. He was brought up in the wealthy court of [[Robert Bloet|Robert Bloet of Lincoln]], who became his patron.

At the request of Bloet's successor, [[Alexander of Lincoln]], Henry began to write his ''Historia Anglorum'', first published around 1129, an account of the history of England from its beginnings up to the year 1154.

==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>

==Writings==

===''Historia Anglorum''===
[[File:Corpus Christi College ms 280 f.7v.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The opening page from Book 1 of the ''Historia Anglorum''.]]
Henry's most notable work is the ''Historia Anglorum''.   He was bidden by Bishop Alexander of Lincoln to write a history of England from the earliest period and bringing it to modern times, ending it upon the accession of [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] in 1154.  It was assumed that the first edition was published at the end of 1129 and the second in 1135, at the end of the reign of [[Henry I of England]]. He published new editions as the years went on, the final fifth copy coming down in 1154, supposedly to terminate the History with the death of [[Stephen of England|Stephen]], leaving his history organised into eight books.  There is some evidence that Henry did not intend to stop there, intending to add another book to his series that would cover the events of the first five years of the reign of Henry II. It was never carried out, as Henry of Huntingdon must have been at least seventy years old by the time of the king's accession and died shortly afterwards.<ref>Huntingdon, pp. ix-xvi</ref>

Henry's ear for telling detail is responsible for entertaining touches drawn from current legend and his own fertile imagination. [[C. Warren Hollister]] notes the anecdote of [[Cnut the Great|King Canute]]'s failure to stem the tide by command (see below), and [[Henry I of England|Henry I]]'s ignoring his physician's orders and dining on a "surfeit of [[lamprey]]s", allegedly causing his death.<ref>Hollister, p. 10</ref> Such touches rendered his history popular – there are twenty-five surviving manuscripts – and they embedded his anecdotes firmly into popular history. However, as the bishop's household was with the royal court frequently, it is possible that Henry was an eyewitness for many of the anecdotes he describes. Diana Greenway points out that the details he provides about the royal family are remarkably accurate.<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=liii}}</ref>

''Historia Anglorum'' was first printed by [[Sir Henry Savile]] in 1596 in the historical miscellany ''Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores post Bedam praecipui''.

Henry's sources included:

*[[Bede]], ''[[Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum|Historia Ecclesiastica]]'', for the years up to 731.<ref name=DNB>''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'': Henry</ref>
*''[[Historia Brittonum]]'' (Vatican recension).<ref name=DNB/>
*[[Paul the Deacon]]'s ''Historia Romana'', for Roman emperors, as well as [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]] and [[Aurelius Victor]]<ref name=DNB/>
*The works of [[Saint Jerome]] and [[Gregory the Great]], with which Henry had a passing familiarity.
*Saints' Lives (especially Book 9).<ref name=DNB/>
*Versions of the ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' similar to C and E. This included the poem on [[Brunanburh]], which he translated into [[Latin]].
*A lost version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', which he shared with [[John of Worcester]].<ref name=DNB/> This version contained quite a number of detailed and valuable accounts of battles of the Saxon invasions of Britain which are only preserved in Henry's ''Historia''.
*[[Peter Tudebode|Peter Tudebode's]] ''Historia de Hierosolymitano itinere.''<ref>Runciman, Steven, ''A History of the Crusades, Volume One: The First Crusade and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem'', Cambridge University Press, London, 1951, pp. 330, 345</ref>
*[[Old English]] poems, which he translated into Latin. This may include the legend of [[King Canute and the tide]], as well as material on [[Siward, Earl of Northumbria]].<ref name=DNB/>
*[[Old French]] songs, for Norman history.<ref name=DNB/>

==== Manuscripts ====
According to Arnold (1879), some 12 manuscripts preserve the Historia Anglorum<ref>{{Cite book |last=Henry |first=of Huntingdon |url=https://archive.org/details/henriciarchidia00unkngoog |title=Henrici archidiaconi huntendunensis Historia Anglorum |last2=Arnold |first2=Thomas |date=1879 |publisher=London, Longman & co. [etc., etc.] |others=Harvard University |pages=xxxvi}}</ref>

* [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge|Corpus Christi College ms]] 280 - 12th cent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 280: Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum |url=https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/catalog/qf131kj9626 |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Parker Library On the Web - Spotlight at Stanford |language=en}}</ref>
* Savile - 12th cent.
* [[Bibliothèque nationale de France|BNdF]] 6042 - 12th cent.
* [[Peniarth Manuscripts|Peniarth MS]] 382 - 1196<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historia Anglorum, - National Library of Wales Archives and Manuscripts |url=https://archives.library.wales/index.php/historia-anglorum |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=archives.library.wales}}</ref>
* [[:fr:Bibliothèques_de_Rouen|Bibliothèques de Rouen]] - 13th cent.
* Arundel 48 - 13th cent.
* Lambeth 118 - 13th cent.
* Lambeth 327 - 13th cent.
* Grosvenor - 13th cent.
* [[Advocates Library]] A 5 38 - 13th cent.
* Advocates Library 33 5 4 - 13th cent.
* [[Cambridge University Library]] G. g. II 21 - 13th cent.

===Other works===
As an author, Henry distinguished himself in his youth by writing poetry, comprising eight books of epigrams, eight books on love, and the so-called ''Anglicanus ortus'', eight books on herbs, spices and gems united by a medical theme.<ref name="Black">Henry of Huntingdon. ''Anglicanus ortus: a Verse Herbal of the Twelfth Century'', edited and translated by Winston Black. Toronto, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, c2012, p. 7.</ref> Of these, two books of epigrams and the eight medical books survive, the latter identified only in modern times.<ref>''Ibid'', p. 9</ref> The ''Anglicanus ortus'' has since been published, books 1–6 (on herbs and spices) as ''Anglicanus ortus: a Verse Herbal of the Twelfth Century'' (Toronto, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, c2012), and books 7–8 (on gems) as "Henry of Huntingdon's lapidary rediscovered and his ''Anglicanus ortus'' reassembled" (''Mediaeval Studies'', v. 68, 2006, pp.&nbsp;43–87), both edited by Winston Black.<ref>''Ibid'', pp. 8–13, 496.</ref> Henry wrote an [[Epistle]] to [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] on the Succession of foreign kings and emperors up to their own time, and another to a man named Warin that contained an account of the ancient British kings from [[Brutus of Troy|Brute]] to [[Cadwaladr|Cadwaller]]. The information for this account was obtained from a monk while Henry was at the [[Abbey of Bec]], which held the writings of [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]].<ref name=DNB/>

Henry's most notable epistle was a funereal exercise addressed to his recently deceased friend and fellow archdeacon of Lincoln diocese, Walter of Leicester, titled ''De contemptu mundi'' ("On Contempt for the world"), which from internal evidence dates to 1135.<ref name="Black"/><ref>Forester, pp.xi-xii</ref>

==Contribution to history==

The contribution that Henry of Huntingdon brought to history cannot solely rest with his ''Historia Anglorum'' but must also include his Epistles.  All of these writings offer an insight into the minds of those who lived in the twelfth century and illuminate how historians of the time recorded history and corresponded with their peers.  Henry's legacy consisted of his own contribution to the history of England and his recorded thoughts and ideas, thereby opening a valuable perspective on his era's mindset. Like many medieval writers, Henry saw the chief purpose of history as a moral lesson to teach people of both higher and lower ranks of society with instructive examples.<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 |pages=lviii, 3}}</ref> In his prologue, he hopes that his readers will become better people from reading his History.<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=7}}</ref>

== Manuscripts ==
After Arnold (1879):<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Henry |first1=of Huntingdon |url=http://archive.org/details/henriciarchidia00unkngoog |title=Henrici archidiaconi huntendunensis Historia Anglorum |last2=Arnold |first2=Thomas |date=1879 |publisher=London, Longman & co. [etc., etc.] |others=Harvard University}}</ref>

# [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge|Corpus Christi]] College, Cambridge 280 (12th century)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 280: Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum |url=https://parker.stanford.edu/parker/catalog/qf131kj9626 |access-date=January 13, 2024 |website=Cambridge, Corpus Christi College}}</ref>
# Savile (12th century)
# [[Paris Bibliotheque nationale|Bibl. Nat. Paris]] 6042 (12th century)
# Hengwrt 101 (A.D.1196)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Peniarth manuscripts - National Library of Wales |url=https://www.library.wales/catalogues-searching/about-our-collections/manuscripts/the-peniarth-manuscripts |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=www.library.wales}}</ref>
# Bibl. Pub. Rouen (12th-13th cent.)
# BL [[Arundel MS]] 48 (12th-13th cent.)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arundel MS 48 |url=https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?order=b&ref=arundel_ms_48_fs001r |access-date=January 13, 2024 |website=British Library}}{{dead link|date=November 2023}}</ref>

Arnold lists a total of 33 manuscript sources.

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
*Henry of Huntingdon, ''Historia Anglorum''
**ed. and tr. Diana E. Greenway, ''Henry Archdeacon of Huntingdon. Historia Anglorum. The History of the English People''. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford, 1996.
**tr. D.E. Greenway, ''Henry of Huntingdon. The History of the English People, 1000–1154''. Oxford World's Classics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. {{ISBN|0-19-284075-4}}.
*{{cite ODNB
| url         = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12970
| title       = Henry [Henry of Huntingdon] (c.1088–c.1157)
| first       = D.E.
| last        = Greenway
| year        = 2004
| doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/12970
| access-date  = 18 April 2011
}}
*[[Diana Greenway|Greenway, D.E.]] "Authority, convention and observation in Henry of Huntingdon's ''Historia Anglorum''." ''Anglo-Norman Studies'' 18 (1995): 105–21.
*Greenway, D.E. "Henry of Huntingdon and the manuscripts of his ''Historia Anglorum''." ''Anglo-Norman Studies'' 9 (1986): 103–26.
*Hollister, C. Warren. ''Henry I''. Yale English Monarchs. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|0-300-08858-2}}.
*Partner, Nancy F. ''Serious Entertainments: The writing of History in Twelfth-Century England''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977.

==External links==
===Henry of Huntingdon===
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikisource author}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Henry of Huntingdon|volume=13|page=298|first=Henry William Carless|last=Davis|author-link=Henry William Carless Davis}}

===''Historia Anglorum''===
* ''"Historia Anglorum", The History of the English'' (published 1879, in Latin), edited by Thomas Arnold, [https://archive.org/details/henriciarchidia00unkngoog Internet Archive]
* ''The chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon. Comprising the history of England, from the invasion of Julius Cæsar to the accession of Henry II. Also, The acts of Stephen, king of England and duke of Normandy'' (published 1853, in English), translated and edited by Thomas Forester, [https://archive.org/details/chroniclehenryh01foregoog Internet Archive]
* Henrici Archidiaconi Huntindoniensis Historiarum, Libri VIII, in ''Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores Post Bedam Praecipui, ex vetustissimis codicibus manuscriptis nunc primum in lucem editi'' (G. Bishop, R Nuberie & R. Barker Typographij Regii, London 1596). [https://books.google.com/books?id=QUlhAAAAcAAJ digitized (Google)]

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[[Category:People from Huntingdon]]
[[Category:1157 deaths]]
[[Category:12th-century English historians]]
[[Category:12th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:12th-century English Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:English chroniclers]]
[[Category:1080s births]]
[[Category:English male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:12th-century English writers]]