The Historia Croylandensis is a series of bound documents, allegedly from the 15th century, containing a fake history of the Benedictine abbey of Croyland in Lincolnshire, England.
The Historia Croylandensis contains a history of the Croyland Abbey dating back to the 9th century. It also contains basic letters which should prove the basic rights of the monastery.[1][2]
The work is in reality a fake work created to win a lawsuit in 1413 for property rights. Together with the basic letters, the Croyland Abbey won the legal dispute with these documents. Historically, Historia Croylandensis has long been considered a source of mediaeval lifestyle in England. Only in the 19th century was the work recognized as a forgery. It was noticeable that some monks were reported to be 140 years old. Furthermore, several had studied in Oxford, although the university was not founded in truth.[citation needed]
Manuscripts
editThe original of the Historia Croylandensis is not known. There are several traditions. The fragmentary "British Library (BL) Cotton MS Ortho B xiij" (15th century) and "BL Arundel 178" (16th century).[3]
References
edit- ^ William George Searle : Ingulf and the Historia Croylandensis . (Cambridge, Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 1894).
- ^ Ingulph's chronicle of the abbey of Croyland with the continuations by Peter of Blois and anonymous writers. A forgery of the 14th century. From Latin with notes by Henry T. Riley . (London, HG Bohn, 1854)
- ^ David Roffe: The Historia Croylandensis: A plea for reassessment. English Historical Review, 1995, p. 93