The History of Westminster Abbey

A fifteenth-century history of Westminster Abbey, in Latin with English introduction and notes, originally published in 1909.

This edition of a manuscript history in Latin, written by the monk John Flete (c. 1420–1465) and edited by the historian and Dean of Westminster, J. Armitage Robinson, was published in 1909. The narrative, which begins in legendary times, is not translated, but notes in English are supplied.The Dean of Westminster, J. Armitage Robinson (1862–1936), was responsible for the publication of several works about the history of the abbey (his Manuscripts of Westminster Abbey and Gilbert Crispin, Abbot of Westminster are also reissued in this series). This edition of a manuscript history in Latin, written by the monk John Flete (c. 1420–1465) was published in 1909. Robinson's introduction discusses the history of the text, the manuscript sources, the nature of the content (which contains Fleet's transcriptions of charters and other documents) and the reliability of Flete's chronology. The text itself is not translated, but side-notes in English provide an abstract of the narrative, which begins in legendary times with the foundation of the abbey by 'King Lucius' in 184 CE. Flete also describes the appearance of the abbey in his own day, and the ceremonies of national significance which took place in this ancient building.