Robert of Torigni's chronicle is a foremost source of information about one of the most famous centres of power in the entire Middle Ages: the court of King Henry II, duke of Normandy and king of England (1154-89), and his wife Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine (d. 1204). In addition, it includes commentary on many contemporaneous issues and concerns, notably about elections, successions, and deaths of bishops and abbots in Normandy and England, but also about events in France, the Empire, and the crusader kingdom in Palestine.
Industry Reviews
Historians of this era will be very grateful for Bisson's monumental endeavors. * Sean McGlynn, Speculum *
Thomas Bisson has assembled an exceptional documentary * PIERRE BAUDUIN, Annales de Normandie *
Readers looking for an expertly prepared, generously annotated and user-friendly edition of Robert's Latin with a facing translation into English will find themselves well served by these books, and only the most specialised among them might have reason to return occasionally to Delisle's and Howlett's nineteenth-century editions. * Benjamin Pohl, The Journal of the Historical Association *
Taken overall, the provision of a new and scrupulously prepared edition and translation of Robert of Torigni's Chronography along with a wide range of related materials represents a major achievement that will be of the greatest interest to students and scholars alike. The supplementary materials in particular help to flesh out our understanding of Robert's world and his development as a historian and notably many of them are translated here for the first time. * Nicholas Morton, History: a Journal of Historical Studies *
... Thomas N. Bisson magnificently used his emeritus to develop, on a thousand pages, the excellent edition of the historical work of the Norman abbot Robert de Torigni, [...] brings the work of Robert de Torigni within the reach of medievalists according to the requirements of modern scholarship, of which it respects all the standards: long introduction, analysis of manuscripts, critical appearance of variants, historical notes, cartography of the places cited, ample bibliography, complete indexes... * Martin Aurell, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Poitiers [Translated from French] *
... a remarkable working tool for medievalists. * Henry Decaens, Les Amis Du Mont-Saint-Michel [Translated from French] *
The remarkable edition of Th. N. Bisson brings the work of Robert de Torigni within the reach of medievalists according to the requirements of modern erudition, of which it respects all the standards: long introduction, analysis of the manuscripts, critical apparatus of the variants, historical notes, cartography of the places cited, ample bibliography, complete indexes. * Martin Aurell, University of Poitiers, CESCM, Cahiers de civilisation medievale *