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John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex Chronicis.

Works

John of Worcester's principal work was the Chronicon ex Chronicis (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or Chronicle of Chronicles (Chronica Chronicarum), also known as John of Worcester's Chronicle or Florence of Worcester's Chronicle. The Chronicon ex Chronicis is a world history which begins with the Creation and ends in 1140. The chronological framework of the Chronicon was presented by the chronicle of Marianus Scotus (d. 1082). A great deal of additional material, particularly relating to English history, was grafted onto it.

Authorship

The greater part of the work, up to 1117 or 1118, was formerly attributed to Florence of Worcester on the basis of the entry for his death under the year 1118, which credits his skill and industry for making the chronicle such a prominent work. In this view, the other Worcester monk, John, merely wrote the final part of the work. However, there are two main objections against the ascription to Florence. First, there is no change of style in the Chronicon after Florence's death, and second, certain sections before 1118 rely to some extent on the Historia Novorum ("History of New Things") of Eadmer of Canterbury, which was completed sometime in the period 1121–1124. The prevalent view today is that John of Worcester was the principal author and compiler. He is explicitly named as the author of two entries for 1128 and 1138, and two manuscripts (CCC MS 157 and the Chronicula) were written in his hand. He was seen working on it at the behest of Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, when the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis visited Worcester:

Manuscripts

The Chronicon survives in five manuscripts (and a fragment on a single leaf): In addition, there is the Chronicula, a minor chronicle based on the Chronicon proper: MS 503 (Dublin, Trinity College), written by John up to 1123.

Sources for English history

For the body of material dealing with early English history, John is believed to have used a number of sources, some of which are now lost:

Editions and translations