Hemming (monk)
Hemming (occasionally Heming) was a monk, author and compiler in medieval England from around the time of the
Hemming's name is Scandinavian, which may mean either he or his ancestors were Scandinavians settled in England. His birth and death dates are unknown, but he was actively writing soon after the Conquest. Hemming became a
Hemming was the eponymous author and compiler of a work usually called
Although Hemming has traditionally been credited with the entire work of the cartulary, it is actually two works that were collected together after Hemming completed his work. Hemming was the author of the second, later part, which was later bound together with an earlier cartulary to form the manuscript
One of the themes of Hemming's work is the deprivations suffered by his monastery at the hands of royal officials. Hemming singled out the conquests of England by
The historian Simon Keynes calls Hemming the "historian of his house".[2] Hemming, according to the historian V. H. Galbraith, might be considered the first archivist in English history, as he arranged to have the documents at Worcester stored under locks, and spent time repairing and restoring some of the original documents in the cathedral.[9]
Hemming was a contemporary of two other Worcester monks who wrote historical works. One was Coleman, who wrote a now lost Life of Wulfstan that was used as a source by William of Malmesbury.[7] Another was John of Worcester, who reworked the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle into a Chronicon ex chronicis.[10]
Although the correct form of the name is "Hemming", a transcription error in the 18th century caused many 18th- and 19th-century historians to use the one-m form of the name, until it was corrected in the Dictionary of National Biography article on Hemming in 1891.[11]
Citations
- ^ a b Mason "Hemming (fl. c.1095)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b c d Keynes "Hemming" Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England pp. 231–232
- ^ Gransden Historical Writing in England p. 87 and footnotes 157 and 158
- ^ Gransden Historical Writing in England p. 90
- ^ Barlow Feudal Kingdom of England p. 35
- ^ Williams English and the Norman Conquest p. 145
- ^ a b van Houts "Historical Writing" Companion to the Anglo-Norman World p. 110
- ^ Stafford Unification and Conquest p. 22
- ^ Clanchy From Memory to Written Record p. 158
- ^ van Houts "Historical Writing" Companion to Anglo-Norman England pp. 112–113
- ^ Ker "Hemming's Cartulary" Studies in Medieval History p. 49
References
- ISBN 0-582-49504-0.
- Clanchy, C. T. (1993). From Memory to Written Record: England 1066–1307 (Second ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-631-16857-7.
- ISBN 0-8014-0770-2.
- ISBN 978-0-631-22492-1.
- Ker, N. R. (1948). "Hemming's Cartulary: A Description of Two Worcester Cartularies in Cotton Tiberius A.xiii". In Hunt, R. W.; et al. (eds.). Studies in Medieval History Presented to Frederick Maurice Powicke. pp. 49–75. also reprinted in Watson, A. G., ed. (1985). Books, Collectors and Libraries. London. pp. 31–59.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Mason, J. F. A. (2004). "Hemming". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12893. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- O'Donnell, Thomas. "Identities in Community: Literary Culture and Memory at Worcester." In Constructing History Across the Norman Conquest: Worcester, c.1050-c.1150, ed. by Francesca Tinti and D. A. Woodman. York: York Medieval Press, 2022. 31-60.
- ISBN 0-7131-6532-4.
- van Houts, Elizabeth (2002). "Historical Writing". In Harper-Bill, Christopher; van Houts, Elizabeth (eds.). A Companion to the Anglo-Norman World. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell. pp. 103–121. ISBN 978-1-84383-341-3.
- Tinti, Francesca (2010). Sustaining Belief: The Church of Worcester from c.870 o c.1100. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-40940-216-9.
- ISBN 0-85115-708-4.