Chronicle of Mann
Encyclopedia
The Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles or Manx Chronicle is a medieval Latin
manuscript relating the early history of the Isle of Man
.
The main part of the manuscript is believed to have been composed and written in 1261 or 1262 at Rushen Abbey
on the island, shortly after the time of the Cistercian abbey's dedication in 1257, which is the final event retold by the original scribe. The manuscript is illustrated ink on vellum
, with pages roughly 15 cm (6 in) by 20 cm (8 in).
The Chronicles are a look back, year-by-year from 1016, over the significant events in Manx history of that tune. Written in Latin, it records the island's role as the centre of the Norse
Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, and the influence of its kings and religious leaders, as well as the role of Rushen Abbey itself – which was founded at the invitation of Olaf, one of the Norse kings. The original scribe also included a list of popes which ends with Pope Urban IV
(1261–4). It is probable that the Chronicles were written for the new abbey on its foundation.
Entries for the earlier years are notably shorter than those towards the end of the original section of the manuscript, no doubt due to later events having occurred within living memory of the time of writing, and thus more detail being available. Many of the dates of the earlier annals are put around fifteen years earlier than the actual event, and none of these entries before 1047 are directly related to the Isle of Man, having been copied from the Chronicle of Melrose
.
Several further notes were later added by the abbey's Cistercian monks, taking the Chronicles up to 1316. After the abbey was dissolved in 1540 the manuscript is thought to have passed through a number of private hands until becoming the property of Sir Robert Cotton
, whose collection of medieval works was one of the founding collections of the British Museum
and are now cared for by the British Library
in London.
There have been campaigns to move the Chronicles permanently to the Isle of Man
.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
manuscript relating the early history of the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
The main part of the manuscript is believed to have been composed and written in 1261 or 1262 at Rushen Abbey
Rushen Abbey
Rushen Abbey was an abbey on the Isle of Man, located near Ballasalla. Originally home for monks of the Savignac order, it soon came under Cistercian control and remained so until its dissolution. The abbey is located two miles from Castle Rushen; the most important political entity on the island...
on the island, shortly after the time of the Cistercian abbey's dedication in 1257, which is the final event retold by the original scribe. The manuscript is illustrated ink on vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
, with pages roughly 15 cm (6 in) by 20 cm (8 in).
The Chronicles are a look back, year-by-year from 1016, over the significant events in Manx history of that tune. Written in Latin, it records the island's role as the centre of the Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, and the influence of its kings and religious leaders, as well as the role of Rushen Abbey itself – which was founded at the invitation of Olaf, one of the Norse kings. The original scribe also included a list of popes which ends with Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV
Pope Urban IV , born Jacques Pantaléon, was Pope, from 1261 to 1264. He was not a cardinal, and there have been several Popes since him who have not been Cardinals, including Urban V and Urban VI.-Biography:...
(1261–4). It is probable that the Chronicles were written for the new abbey on its foundation.
Entries for the earlier years are notably shorter than those towards the end of the original section of the manuscript, no doubt due to later events having occurred within living memory of the time of writing, and thus more detail being available. Many of the dates of the earlier annals are put around fifteen years earlier than the actual event, and none of these entries before 1047 are directly related to the Isle of Man, having been copied from the Chronicle of Melrose
Chronicle of Melrose
The Chronicle of Melrose is a medieval chronicle from the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. ix within the British Museum. It was written by unknown authors, though evidence in the writing shows that it most likely was written by the monks at Melrose Abbey. The chronicle begins on the year 735 and...
.
Several further notes were later added by the abbey's Cistercian monks, taking the Chronicles up to 1316. After the abbey was dissolved in 1540 the manuscript is thought to have passed through a number of private hands until becoming the property of Sir Robert Cotton
Robert Bruce Cotton
Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, 1st Baronet was an English antiquarian and Member of Parliament, founder of the important Cotton library....
, whose collection of medieval works was one of the founding collections of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and are now cared for by the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
in London.
There have been campaigns to move the Chronicles permanently to the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
Outline of contents
- 1016–1030: King CanuteCanute the GreatCnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
's marriage to EmmaEmma of NormandyEmma , was a daughter of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy, by his second wife Gunnora. She was Queen consort of England twice, by successive marriages: first as second wife to Æthelred the Unready of England ; and then second wife to Cnut the Great of Denmark...
, the birth of their son HarthacanuteHarthacanuteHarthacnut was King of Denmark from 1035 to 1042 and King of England from 1040 to 1042.He was the son of King Cnut the Great, who ruled Denmark, Norway, and England, and Emma of Normandy. When Cnut died in 1035, Harthacnut struggled to retain his father's possessions...
, and Canute's journeys to Denmark and Norway. - 1031–1066: Foundation of Bury St. Edmunds AbbeyBury St. Edmunds AbbeyThe Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England. Its ruins lie in Bury St Edmunds, a town in the county of Suffolk, England.-History:...
, and the death of Canute. Death of King Edward the ConfessorEdward the ConfessorEdward the Confessor also known as St. Edward the Confessor , son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy, was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England and is usually regarded as the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066....
. - 1066–1079: Battle of Stamford BridgeBattle of Stamford BridgeThe Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire in England on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway and the English king's brother Tostig...
, William the ConquerorWilliam I of EnglandWilliam I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
's victory at the Battle of HastingsBattle of HastingsThe Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
. Conquest of the Isle of Man by Godred CrovanGodred CrovanGodred Crovan was a Norse-Gael ruler of Dublin, and King of Mann and the Isles in the second half of the 11th century. Godred's epithet Crovan may mean "white hand" . In Manx folklore he is known as King Orry.-Ancestry and early life:...
. - 1079–1098: Foundation of the Cistercian order at CîteauxCîteaux AbbeyCîteaux Abbey is a Roman Catholic abbey located in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, south of Dijon, France. Today it belongs to the Trappists, or Cistercians of the Strict Observance . The Cistercian order takes its name from this mother house of Cîteaux, earlier Cisteaux, near Nuits-Saint-Georges...
in France. - 1102–1152: Commencement of reign of King OlafOlaf I of the Isle of ManOlaf Godredsson , sometimes known in secondary sources as Olaf I, was a 12th century ruler of the Isle of Man and the Hebrides. Some secondary sources style Olaf "King of Mann", or "King of Mann and the Isles"...
. Foundations of Savigny AbbeySavigny AbbeySavigny Abbey was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux , in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Benedictines; by 1150 it was Cistercian.-History:It was situated on the confines of...
, Furness AbbeyFurness AbbeyFurness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness is a former monastery situated on the outskirts of the English town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind only Fountains Abbey in North...
, Rievaulx AbbeyRievaulx AbbeyRievaulx Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey headed by the Abbot of Rievaulx. It is located in Rievaulx , near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, England.It was one of the wealthiest abbeys in England and was dissolved by Henry VIII of England in 1538...
, Calder AbbeyCalder AbbeyCalder Abbey in Cumbria was a Savigniac monastery founded in 1134 by Ranulph de Gernon, 2nd Earl of Chester and moved to this site following a refoundation in 1142. It became Cistercian in 1148. It is near to the village of Calder Bridge.- History :...
, Melrose AbbeyMelrose AbbeyMelrose Abbey is a Gothic-style abbey in Melrose, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks, on the request of King David I of Scotland. It was headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Scotland...
, and Holme Cultram AbbeyAbbeytownAbbeytown, also known as Holme Abbey, is a village in Cumbria, England. It was built around the former Cistercian Holmcultram Abbey, the nave of the church of which now serves the parish as St. Mary's Church...
. Grant of land at Rushen to Furness Abbey by King Olaf. - 1165–1187: Murder of Thomas BecketThomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
at Canterbury CathedralCanterbury CathedralCanterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
. Capture of Jerusalem by SaladinSaladinṢalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
. Visit by a papal legatePapal legateA papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
to the Isle of Man. Marriage of King Godred, conducted by the Abbot of Rievaulx. - 1228–1237: Death of King Olaf on St Patrick's IsleSt Patrick's IsleSt Patrick's Isle is a small island off the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, largely occupied by Peel Castle and noted for its attractive and relatively well preserved historic castle ruins. These ruins include St Patrick's Church and an Irish-style round tower, St German's Cathedral, and the more...
, and burial at Rushen Abbey. - 1250–1256: Start of reign of King MagnusMagnus III of the Isle of ManMagnús Óláfsson was a mid 13th century Manx-Hebridean king, the son of Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles. Magnús and Óláfr descended from a long line of Norse-Gaelic kings who ruled the Isle of Mann and parts of the Hebrides. Several leading members of the Crovan dynasty, such as Óláfr, styled...
- 1256–1274: Completion of the Abbey Church of St Mary's at Rushen, and dedication by Richard, Bishop of Sodor and ManBishop of Sodor and ManThe Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese covers the Isle of Man. The see is in the town of Peel where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of St German, elevated to cathedral status on 1...
. - List of Bishops: A list of the Bishops of the Diocese of Sodor and Man until Simon Orcadensis, who had died in 1248. The bishop at the time of the writing of the manuscript, Richard, was not included.
Editions and translations
- Broderick, G. (ed. and tr.). The Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles. 2nd ed. Douglas, 1995.
- Munch, P.A. (ed.) and Rev. Goss (tr.). Chronica regnum Manniae et insularum. The Chronicle of Man and the Sudreys. 2 vols. Manx Society 22-3. Douglas, 1874. Available in html
External links
- British Library, online copies of original illustrated manuscript
- Text of the Chronicle of Mann – Manx Society; Latin with English translation