5 - Reinterpreting the Past in the Light of the Present, c.1080–1130

Summary

The work carried out by Symeon of Durham and his contemporaries in compiling the Libellus de exordio demonstrates that by the end of the eleventh century, some of the most influential members of Durham's new cathedral priory were promoting particular interpretations of past events in order to respond to the challenges of the present. At around the same time as Symeon was writing, he and several other Durham authors were active in compiling a number of other much shorter historical tracts with similar aims. These include an account of Bishop William of Saint-Calais’ role in a revolt against King William Rufus known as the De iniusta vexacione Willelmi episcopi primi, a summary-history of six vills given away by the bishopric of Durham in the early eleventh century and then claimed back in the early twelfth known as the De obsessione Dunelmi, one short history of the archbishopric at York, and another on Durham's claims over the church at Carlisle. Members of the cathedral priory also made important new records of miracles attributed to St Cuthbert. This collection described events which had taken place in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, and added recent illustrations of St Cuthbert's continuing power and influence over his community and its locale, from the late ninth century onwards.

The texts analysed in this chapter show various ways in which the past was used by the early generations of Durham's cathedral priory. Some of their contents highlight the careful selection of historical information gathered from well-known written sources, but others demonstrate how new accounts could be compiled from oral testimony and eyewitness accounts. Moreover, analysis of the individual circumstances to which each text appears to have been responding gives reasonably reliable indications of the contexts in which the past was being used at Durham, away from the cloistered intellectual setting seen in some of the examples discussed in the previous chapter and in the chapter which follows.

Defending a patron's legacy: De iniusta vexacione Willelmi episcopi Primi

In 1088, Bishop William of Saint-Calais was embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with King William Rufus and his supporters over his role in an unsuccessful revolt.