Description

Gervase of Canterbury (c.1145-c.1210) was professed as a member of the cathedral priory of Christ Church, Canterbury, by Thomas Becket in 1163. His observations on both church and court matters give his work breadth, ranging from the king's authority to ecclesiastical topography. A prominent player in the notorious dispute between the monks and Archbishop Baldwin, Gervase attempted to reassert the traditional role of Christ Church as the archiepiscopal church at a time when its position was under threat. This two-volume collection, edited by the scholar William Stubbs (1824-1901) and published between 1879 and 1880, comprises Gervase's entire corpus of Latin works (with marginal notes in English). Volume 1 contains his Chronica, which begins in 1100, while Volume 2 includes his wide-ranging Gesta regum, the archiepiscopal lives of the Acta Pontificum, and the monastic topography known as the Mappa mundi.