Florence of Worcester

The Chronicon ex Chronicis (Chronicle of Chronicles) was composed, in Latin, at Worcester during the early-12th century. Its author used a universal chronicle compiled at Mainz, by Marianus Scotus, as the platform on which to build his work – expanding it, from the 5th century onwards, with material pertaining to English history, a major source being a now lost version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

The primary manuscript (Oxford, Corpus Christi College MS 157), on which all other copies depend, is the work of three scribes. Up to part way through 1128 it is itself a fair copy, written by the first two scribes – scribe one was responsible for most of the work, switching to scribe two in mid-1101. Both of these scribes made various alterations and marginal additions. Part way through 1128 the third scribe takes over. In fact, prior to the intervention of this third scribe the work must have continued to 1131, since copies of the Chronicon ex Chronicis were made at that stage. Scribe three, however, rewrote the entries 1128–1131 (erasing the pre-existing text, and also including illustrations in the rewritten section), extended the work to at least 1140 (during which year’s entry it now ends imperfectly),[*] and made further changes and additions to the previous material.

In the entry for 1118 appears the notice:

On the Nones of July [7th July], the Worcester monk FLORENCE died. His meticulous learning and scholarly labours have made this chronicle of chronicles outstanding among all others. His body is covered by earth, his soul searches the skies. There in the sight of God may he reign among the saints forever. Amen.

In the re-written entry for 1128 is the comment:

… if I were not afraid that the royal majesty would harm John’s head, I would assert that all oath-takers are guilty of perjury.

And during the entry for 1138 is the addition:

This however I do entreat: May every Christian rest in total bliss! Let the reader here correct John if he errs![*]

It would seem to be clear, the monk Florence of Worcester compiled the Chronicon ex Chronicis until his death in 1118. John is simply a continuator (scribe three is probably John himself). That, indeed, is the traditional view, but there is a fly in the ointment. Orderic Vitalis concludes Book III of his Historia Ecclesiastica (Ecclesiastical History) with the coronation of William the Conqueror on Christmas Day 1066. In the closing passages, Orderic, who had visited Worcester (he doesn’t say when, but it would appear to have been no later than 1124) and seen John’s work, writes:

John, an Englishman by birth who entered the monastery of Worcester as a boy and won great repute for his learning and piety, continued the chronicle of Marianus Scotus and carefully recorded the events of William’s reign and of his sons William Rufus and Henry up to the present.

Orderic proceeds to say that John had been instructed to continue Marianus’ chronicle by Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, who died in 1095, and makes no mention of Florence. Moreover, the Chronicon ex Chronicis exhibits no change of style after its notice of Florence’s death in 1118, and entries before that year incorporate material taken from Eadmer’s Historia Novorum in Anglia (History of Recent Events in England), which was not finalized until c.1123. The modern tendency, therefore, is to see John as the creative force behind the Chronicon ex Chronicis, and to diminish Florence’s role to little more than a labourer (carrying out the preliminary spadework). The fact remains, however, that Florence’s obituary indicates his contribution to the project was certainly not inconsiderable.

Chronicon ex Chronicis translated by P. McGurk
Orderic Vitalis Historia Ecclesiastica translated by Marjorie Chibnall

The Irish monk and hermit Mael Brigte, known as Marianus Scotus, according to his own testimony, was born in 1028 and left Ireland in 1056. He lived on the Continent until his death, at Mainz, in 1082/3. He compiled a chronicle, encompassing the whole known world, from the Creation to his own times. (Marianus probably completed his chronicle in 1076, but the recension employed in the Chronicon ex Chronicis was extended to 1087.)
Marianus argued that the conventionally accepted date of the Incarnation, established in the 6th century by Dionysius Exiguus (see Anno Domini), was twenty-two years too late. Consequently, he dated events according to his own reckoning as well as according to Dionysius – his own dates being twenty-two years later than the conventionally accepted, Dionysian, dates. The Chronicon ex Chronicis also adopts dual dating – years are given according to both the conventional system and Marianus’ scheme (which, needless to say, did not catch on).
This addition runs out of space on the line – the last two words are written sideways in the narrow righthand margin.
Corpus Christi College MS 157 can be viewed online (Digital Bodleian website).
A reference in 1134, to Henry, bishop of Winchester, being “legate of the Roman church” at the time of writing, indicates that the Chronicon ex Chronicis did not extend beyond 1143. (Pope Innocent II died on 24th September 1143, and Henry lost his position as legate.)
The last event mentioned by Eadmer is the death of Ralph d’Escures, archbishop of Canterbury, on 20th October 1122.
Internal evidence indicates that, having concluded Book III, Orderic moved on to Book IV in 1125.