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.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

Effigy in Temple Church

Effigy in Temple Church is in Monumental Effigies of Great Britain.

THIS unappropriated bgure of an ecclesiastic lies under the south wall of the Temple Church, London [Map]. It is sculptured in a hard stone, in very sharp relief. He wears the pontifical mitre, gloves, and in his left hand is the pastoral staff which is swathed by an ornamental banda. He treads on a winged dragon. At the top of the Gothic niche in which he is placed are two supporting angels.

Note a. These bandages are represented as attached to the pastoral staves of Bishops, in the MSS. and monuments of this and the following periods of the middle age. The pastoral staff and the crosier, although often confounded, are distinct appendages. The crosier, or cross, is borne by the Archbishop; the pastoral staff, or shepherd's crook, by the Bishop, &c. "Next before the chariot went two men, bare-headed, in linen garments down to the foot, girt and shoes of blue velvet, who carried, the one a crosier, the other a pastoral staff^ like a sheep-hook." Bacon, New Atlantis.