Adam Murimuth's Continuation and Robert of Avesbury’s 'The Wonderful Deeds of King Edward III'
This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.
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Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire is in Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire [Map], Abbeys in England.
General Photos of Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire [Map].
In 634 Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire [Map] was the seat of a Saxon Bishopric when Pope Honorius I had sent Saint Birinus, its first bishop, to found it.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 635. This year King Cynegils was baptized by Bishop Birinus at Dorchester [Map]; and Oswald [aged 31], king of the Northumbrians, was his sponsor.
In 635 Bishop Birinus of Dorchester was given permission to preach by King Cynegils of Wessex. He baptised King Cynegils of Wessex who then gave him Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire [Map] for his episcopal see.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 636. This year King Cwichelm was baptized at Dorchester [Map], and died the same year. Bishop Felix also preached to the East-Angles the belief of Christ.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 639. This year Birinus baptized King Cuthred at Dorchester [Map], and received him as his son.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 954. This year the Northumbrians expelled Eric; and King Edred took to the government of the Northumbrians. This year also Archbishop Wulfstan received a bishopric again at Dorchester [Map].
Chronicon ex Chronicis by Florence and John of Worcester. 1067. Wulfwi, bishop of Dorchester, died at Winchester, but was buried at Dorchester [Map].
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1067. This year came the king [aged 39] back again to England on St. Nicholas's day; and the same day was burned the church of Christ at Canterbury [Map]. Bishop Wulfwy also died, and is buried at his see in Dorchester [Map].
Annals of the six Kings of England by Nicholas Trivet
Translation of the Annals of the Six Kings of England by that traces the rise and rule of the Angevin aka Plantagenet dynasty from the mid-12th to early 14th century. Written by the Dominican scholar Nicholas Trivet, the work offers a vivid account of English history from the reign of King Stephen through to the death of King Edward I, blending political narrative with moral reflection. Covering the reigns of six monarchs—from Stephen to Edward I—the chronicle explores royal authority, rebellion, war, and the shifting balance between crown, church, and nobility. Trivet provides detailed insight into defining moments such as baronial conflicts, Anglo-French rivalry, and the consolidation of royal power under Edward I, whose reign he describes with particular immediacy. The Annals combines careful year-by-year reporting with thoughtful interpretation, presenting history not merely as a sequence of events but as a moral and political lesson. Ideal for readers interested in medieval history, kingship, and the origins of the English state, this chronicle remains a valuable and accessible window into the turbulent world of the Plantagenet kings.
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Chronicon ex Chronicis by Florence and John of Worcester. On Monday the nones [5th April 1092] of April, Osmund, bishop of Salisbury, assisted by Walkelin, bishop of Winchester, and John, bishop of Bath, consecrated the church which he had built in the castle of Sarum. Remi, who by license from William the Elder had transferred the seat of his bishopric from Dorchester [Map] to Lincoln, was desirous of consecrating the church which he had built at Lincoln, worthy indeed to be the cathedral of a bishop's see1, because he felt that the day of his death was at hand; but Thomas, archbishop of York, opposed him, asserting that the church was built within his diocese. However, king William the younger, for a sum of money paid to him by Remi, summoned nearly all the bishops of England to assemble together on the twentieth of the ides [the 9th] of May, and dedicate the church; but two days before the time fixed, by the mysterious providence of God, bishop Remi himself departed from the world, and in consequence the consecration of the church was deferred. After this the king went into Northumbria, and restored the city which is called in the British tongue Cairleii, and in Latin Lugubalia (Carlisle [Map]), and built a castle there; for this city, like some others in that quarter, had been laid in ruins by the heathen Danes two hundred years before, and had been uninhabited up to this time.
Note 1. Cf. Henry of Huntingdon, pp. 219, 220, Antiq. Lib.
After 17th June 1282 William "The Younger" Valence was buried at Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire [Map]. His. Monument Early Medieval Period with Right Leg over Left. A particularly fine effigy with some remnants of its original colouring.
William "The Younger" Valence: he was born to William de Valence 1st Earl Pembroke and Joan Munchensi Countess Pembroke.
Around 1387 Hugh Segrave [aged 91] was buried at Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire [Map]. His. Monument of the Camail and Jupon Period.
On 29th January 1622 Francis Norreys 1st Earl Berkshire [aged 42] shot himself with a crossbow at Rycote, Oxfordshire [Map]; probably deliberately in view of his having a year before been imprisoned for attaching Emmanuel Scrope [aged 37] at the House of Lords in front of the future King Charles. He died two days later.. He was buried at Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire [Map]. His daughter Elizabeth [aged 19] succeeded 3rd Baroness Norreys of Rycote. Earl Berkshire and Viscount Thame extinct. Francis Rose [aged 13] inherited the manors of Weston-on-the-Green and Yattendon. Elizabeth Norreys 3rd Baroness Norreys Rycote inherited the Rycote and Wytham estates.
After 1799. The sad story of Sarah Fletcher. Having waited years for her husband to return from sea she discovered him in the process of marrying another woman, bigamously, driving her to suicide. The church agreed she had 'Died a Martyr to Excessive Sensibility' allowing her to be buried in consecrated ground. Her ghost is said to haunt their family home Courtiers House, Clifton Hampden near Oxford. Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire [Map].