Author: [BENEDICT, Abbot of Peterborough]:
Title: Benedictus, Abbas Petroburgensis, de Vita & Gestis Henrici II. et Ricardii. E Codice ms. in Bibliotheca Harleiana descripsit; Et nunc primus edidit Thomas Hearnius Accesserunt alia.
Description: Oxford E Theatro Sheldoniano, MDCCXXXV. 1735. FIRST EDITION. 2 volumes 8vo, 232 x 135 mms. (large-paper copy), pp. lxxi [lxxii errata], 380, [381] - 873 [874 blank, 875 advert, 876 blank], later 18th century calf, gilt borders on cvoes, spine gilt in compartments (but rubbed and dried), lacks labels; ex-library, from the Jesuit Library Milltown Park, with stamps, and the bookplate of uliemi O'Brien, dated 1899k in ecah volulme SUBLIGNY (Adrien Thomas Perdou de): Benedict [Benedict of Peterborough] (c. 1135–1193), abbot of Peterborough and royal councillor had his life defined by being an eyewitness of the murder of Thomas Becket in his cathedral church at Canterbury on 29 December 1170. Although the two biographies of King Henry II (1133 - 1189) and Kig Richard I (1157 - 1199) are attributed to him, they are now ascribed to Roger of Howden, as Wikipedia notes: "Benedict was formerly credited with the authorship of the Gesta on the ground that his name appears in the title of the oldest manuscript. There is, however, conclusive evidence that Benedict merely caused this work to be transcribed for the Peterborough library. It is only through the force of custom that the work is still occasionally cited under his name.[5] In the 20th century, D. M. Stenton formulated the theory, developed further by David Corner, and now generally accepted, that the true author of the Gesta was in fact Roger of Howden. On his return from the Third Crusade, he drew upon them in composing his larger Chronica, revising them and adding supplementary material. In the 19th century, the question of authorship had been discussed by T. D. Hardy, William Stubbs and Felix Liebermann. Stubbs conjecturally identified the first part of the Gesta (1170–1177) with the Liber Tricolumnis, a register of contemporary events kept by Richard Fitz Neal, the treasurer of Henry II and author of the Dialogus de Scaccario; the latter part (1177–1192) was ascribed by Stubbs to Roger of Howden. His theory concerning the Liber Tricolumnis, was rejected by Liebermann and other editors of the Dialogus." Thomas Hearne (bap. 1678, d. 1735) was, of course, one of the most assiduous editors and compilers of antiquarian texts in the history of Oxford scholarship.

Keywords: Biography scholarship


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