Description

Little is known about the life of Symeon of Durham (fl. c.1090-c.1128), other than that he was one of the monks present at the translation of the remains of Saint Cuthbert in 1104. This second volume of his complete works, published in 1885, was edited by Thomas Arnold (1823-1900) with an introduction and English side-notes. The main Latin text here is Symeon's history of the kings of Britain, which was intended as a continuation of Bede's history from the year 731 up to the writer's own day. Much of the early narrative is taken from local Durham annals, and later sections are borrowed from the chronicle of John of Worcester, but from 1119 to 1129 Symeon is an independent and unique authority. John of Hexham's continuation of the history, up to 1153, is also included, in addition to appendices on the genealogies of the Anglo-Saxon kings, a glossary and an index to both volumes.