William of Malmesbury was born

1090 to a Norman father and English mother. He was a prolific Latin author of the early to mid-twelfth century, a man formidably well read in hundreds of texts by patristic, classical and early medieval authors. He travelled extensively within England in pursuit of books and documents not already known to him; and arranged for the copying and transmission of many of these. Despite the vast quantity of his own writing, he has left precious few autobiographical details. As a boy he was placed in the monastery of Malmesbury abbey where he went on to become librarian and precentor, but refused the office of abbot. The exact date of his death is unknown but is inferred to be

1142 or 1143 since his last work, the

, records details of events…

2141 words

Citation: Woodman, David Anthony. "William of Malmesbury". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 September 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4727, accessed 25 April 2024.]

• View recommended reading for this article