Orderic Vitalis: Life, Works and Interpretations

First full-length collection on one of the most significant and influential historians of the medieval period. The Gesta Normannorum ducum and Historia ecclesiastica of Orderic Vitalis are widely regarded as landmarks in the development of European historical writing and, as such, are essential sources of medieval history forstudents and scholars alike. The essays here consider Orderic's life and works, presenting new research on existing topics within Orderic studies and opening up new directions for future analysis and debate. They offer fresh interpretations from across the disciplines of medieval manuscript studies, English-language studies, archaeology, theology, and cultural memory studies; they also revisit established readings. Charles C. Rozier gained hisPhD from the University of Durham; Daniel Roach gained his PhD from the University of Exeter; Giles E.M. Gasper is Senior Lecturer in History, University of Durham; Elizabeth van Houts is Honorary Professor of Medieval European History, University of Cambridge. Contributors: William M. Aird, Emily Albu, James G. Clark, Vincent Debiais, Mark Faulkner, Giles E. M. Gasper, Véronique Gazeau, Estelle Ingrand-Varenne, Elisabeth Mégier, Thomas O'Donnell, Benjamin Pohl, Daniel Roach, Thomas Roche, Charles C. Rozier, Sigbjørn Olsen Sønnesyn, Kathleen Thompson, Elisabeth van Houts, Anne-Sophie Vigot,Jenny Weston

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Interpreting Orderic Vitalis - Charles C. Rozier and Daniel Roach Orderic and His Father Odelerius - Elisabeth M C van Houts Following the Master's Lead: The Script of Orderic Vitalis & the Discovery of a New Manuscript (Rouen, BM, 540) - Jenny Weston Orderic as Librarian and Cantor of Saint-Évroul - Charles C. Rozier Orderic and English - Mark Faulkner Saint-Évroul and Southern Italy in Orderic's Historia ecclesiastica - Daniel Roach Reading Orderic Vitalis with Charters in Mind - Thomas Roche Inscriptions in Orderic's Historia ecclesiastica: a Writing Technique Between History and Poetry - Vincent Debias Inscriptions in Orderic's Historia ecclesiastica: a Writing Technique Between History and Poetry - Estelle Ingrand-Varenne Orderic Vitalis and the Cult of Saints - Véronique Gazeau Orderic's Secular Rulers and Representations of Personality and Power in the Historia ecclesiastica - William M. Aird Worldly Woe and Heavenly Joy: The Tone of the Historia ecclesiastica - Emily Albu Jesus Christ, a Protagonist of Anglo-Norman History? History and Theology in Orderic Vitalis' Historia ecclesiastica - Elisabeth Megier Orderic Vitalis, Historical Writing and a Theology of Reckoning - Giles E.M. Gasper Studiosi abdita investigant: Orderic Vitalis and The Mystical Morals of History - Sigbjorn Olsen Sonnesyn Meanders, Loops, and Dead Ends: Literary Form and the Common Life in Orderic's Historia ecclesiastica - Thomas O'Donnell Orderic and the Tironensians - Kathleen Thompson 'One single letter remained in excess of all his sins.' Orderic Vitalis and Cultural Memory - Benjamin Pohl The Reception of Orderic Vitalis in the Later Middle Ages - James G. Clark New Archaeological Investigations at the Abbey of Saint-Évroul-nôtre-Dame-des-bois - Anne-Sophie Vigot Appendix: Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts Featuring the Hand of Orderic Vitalis - Jenny Weston Appendix: Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts Featuring the Hand of Orderic Vitalis - Charles C. Rozier Bibliography Index of Manuscripts Cited

About the Author :
CHARLES C. ROZIER is Lecturer in Medieval Studies at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Daniel Roach gained his PhD from the University of Exeter. Elisabeth van Houts is Honorary Professor of European Medieval History, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Emmanuel College. Giles E.M. Gasper is Senior Lecturer in History, University of Durham Daniel Roach gained his PhD from the University of Exeter. CHARLES C. ROZIER is Lecturer in Medieval Studies at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Elisabeth van Houts is Honorary Professor of European Medieval History, University of Cambridge, and Fellow of Emmanuel College. Giles E.M. Gasper is Senior Lecturer in History, University of Durham THOMAS O'DONNELL is Associate Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Fordham University, New York, USA.

Review :
A strength of the volume is that it is truly and candidly interdisciplinary. The subtitle Interpretations stresses this: the value of the book is as much in the number of different angles on Orderic as it is in the new insights it offers into Orderic himself. [T]his volume offers new perspectives suggesting that a more interdisciplinary approach to medieval historical texts is worthwhile, and it will surely benefit any student or scholar of the period.