Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall
The Chronicle of Abbot Ralph of Coggeshall (Chronicon Anglicanum) is an indispensable medieval history that brings to life centuries of English and European affairs through the eyes of a learned Cistercian monk. Ralph of Coggeshall, abbot of the Abbey of Coggeshall in Essex in the early 13th century, continued and expanded his community’s chronicle, documenting events from the Norman Conquest of 1066 into the tumultuous reign of King Henry III. Blending eyewitness testimony, careful compilation, and the monastic commitment to record-keeping, this chronicle offers a rare narrative of political intrigue, royal power struggles, and social upheaval in England and beyond. Ralph’s work captures the reigns of pivotal figures such as Richard I and King John, providing invaluable insights into their characters, decisions, and the forces that shaped medieval rule. More than a simple annal, Chronicon Anglicanum conveys the texture of medieval life and governance, making it a rich source for scholars and readers fascinated by English history, monastic authorship, and the shaping of the medieval world.
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A Tour in Scotland is in Georgian Books.
21st September 1769. Cross over the Eimot at Yeoma's bridge, and enter Westmoreland. At a small distance beyond the bridge near the road side is the circle called Arthur's round table, consisting of a high dike of earth, and a deep foss within surrounding an area twenty-nine yards in diameter. There are two entrances exactly opposite to each other; which interrupt the ditch, in those parts filled to a level with the middle. Some suppose this to have been designed for tilting matches, and that the champions entered at each opening. Perhaps that might have been the purpose of it; for the size forbids one to suppose it to be an encampment.
21st September 1769. A little to the North of this, on the summit of a small hill, is Maryborough, a vast circular dike of loose stones: the height and the diameter at the bottom is stupendous: it slopes on both sides, and is entirely formed of pebbles, such as are collected out of rivers. There is an entrance on the East side leading into an area eighty-eight yards in diameter. Near the middle is an upright stone nine feet eight inches high, and seventeen in circumference in the thickest part. There had been three more placed so as to form (with the other) a square. Four again stood on the sides of the entrance, viz. one on each exterior corner; and one on each interior: but excepting that at present remaining, all the others have long since been blasted to clear the ground.