Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139 is a northern English manuscript compiled in c. 1170. Apart from preliminary additions (i + ii), it contains two separate volumes, comprising 180 folios in total. The original first volume has 165 folios in twenty gatherings, about half of which are occupied by the historical compilation Historia regum
Historia Regum
The Historia Regum is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-late 12th century, though the material is earlier...

, which runs from f. 51v to 129v. In the sixteenth century, the codex was bequeathed by Matthew Parker

Matthew Parker

Matthew Parker was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder of Anglican theological thought....

to the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Corpus Christi College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is notable as the only college founded by Cambridge townspeople: it was established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary...

, where it is held to this day.

	folios	description
	i-ii	Preliminary matter
1	1r-16v	Historia omnimoda (“Universal history Universal history Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.-Ancient authors:... ”)
2	17r-25v	Extracts from Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm Reginon or Regino of Prüm was a Benedictine abbot and medieval chronicler.-Biography:According to the statements of a later era, Regino was the son of noble parents and was born at the stronghold of Altrip on the Rhine near Speyer at an unknown date... 's Chronicon
3	36r-46r	Richard of Hexham Richard of Hexham Richard of Hexham was an English chronicler. He became prior of Hexham about 1141, and died between 1155 and 1167.He wrote Brevis Annotatio, a short history of the church of Hexham from 674 to 1138, for which he borrowed from Bede, Eddius and Symeon of Durham... , De gestis regis Stephani Stephen of England Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda... et de bello Standardii
4	46r-48v	Chronicle from Adam to Emperor Henry V
5	48v-50r	Letter to Hugh, Dean of York, De archiepiscopis Eboraci, ascribed to Symeon of Durham Symeon of Durham Symeon of Durham was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. When William of Saint-Calais returned from his Norman exile in 1091, Symeon was probably in his company... .
6	50r-51v	De obsessione Dunelmi De obsessione Dunelmi De obsessione Dunelmi , is a historical work written in the north of England during the Anglo-Norman period, almost certainly at Durham, and probably in either the late 11th- or early 12th-century.-Provenance:... et de Probitate Ucthredi Comitis.
7	51v-129v	Historia regum Historia Regum The Historia Regum is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-late 12th century, though the material is earlier... .
8	129v-147r	Historia Johannis prioris Haugustaldensis Ecclesie xxv annorum, a continuation of Historia regum by John, prior of Hexham John of Hexham John of Hexham was an English chronicler, known to us merely as the author of a work called the Historia XXV. annorum, which continues the Historia regum attributed to Symeon of Durham, and contains an account of English events from 1130 to 1153.From the title, as given in the only manuscript, we... .
9	132r	Erased rubric and sketch of comet
10	132v	Serlo of Wilton Serlo of Wilton Serlo of Wilton was a 12th century English poet, a friend of Walter Map and known to Gerald of Wales. He studied and taught at the University of Paris. He became a Cluniac and then a Cistercian monk, and in 1171 he became abbot of L'Aumône; he died in 1181... 's poem on the Battle of the Standard Battle of the Standard The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, in which English forces repelled a Scottish army, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire. The Scottish forces were led by King David I of Scotland... .
11	133r-v	Poem on death of Somerled Somerled Somerled was a military and political leader of the Scottish Isles in the 12th century who was known in Gaelic as rí Innse Gall . His father was Gillebride... , by the Glasgow clerk William
12	133v-138r	Ailred of Rievaulx Ailred of Rievaulx Aelred , also Aelred, Ælred, Æthelred, etc., was an English writer, abbot of Rievaulx , and saint.-Life:... , Relatio de Standardo Relatio de Standardo Relatio de Standardo , or De bello standardii , is a text composed probably in 1153 or 1154 by the Cistercian monk Ailred of Rievaulx, describing the Battle of the Standard, fought near Northallerton in 1138 between David I, King of Scotland, and a Norman army fighting in support of King Stephen... , treatise on the Battle of the Standard.
8	138r-147r	Historia Johannis resumes.
13	147r-149v	Ailred of Rievaulx Ailred of Rievaulx Aelred , also Aelred, Ælred, Æthelred, etc., was an English writer, abbot of Rievaulx , and saint.-Life:... , De Sanctimoniali de Wattun De Sanctimoniali de Wattun De Sanctimoniali de Wattun or the On the Nun of Watton is a 12th century miracle story, describing events which took place in Yorkshire in the mid-12th century at the nunnery of Watton, East Riding of Yorkshire. It is also called A Certain Wonderful Miracle.De Sanctimoniali de Wattun survives in...
14	150r-152v	Account of St Mary's Abbey at York
15	152v	Item, eg. on foundation of Fountains in 1132.
16	153r-158r	Letter by Thurstan Thurstan Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux was a medieval Archbishop of York, the son of a priest. He served kings William II and Henry I of England before his election to the see of York in 1114. Once elected, his consecration was delayed for five years while he fought attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury... , archbishop of York, to William of Corbeil, archbishop of Canterbury.
17-20	158r-161v	Extracts from William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,... 's Gesta regum.
21	162r	Fragmentary saga about King Ælla of Northumbria and his relation with the wife of merchant Ærnulf.
22	165r-v	De eo quod Eboracensis Ecclesia nullum dominium super Scottos habere debet.
23	165v	Story about a clerk interrogating the spirit of Malcolm IV of Scotland Malcolm IV of Scotland Malcolm IV , nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" , King of Scots, was the eldest son of Earl Henry and Ada de Warenne... (d. 1165)
	166-80	Second volume: Historia Brittonum, Life of St Gildas Gildas Gildas was a 6th-century British cleric. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during this period. His renowned learning and literary style earned him the designation Gildas Sapiens...

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