Henry of Huntingdon - Definition and Overview

Henry of Huntingdon (c. 1080–1160) was an English historian of the 12th century and archdeacon of Huntingdon.

Most well known for his Historia Anglorum (History of the English) covering the period from the Roman invasion in 43 BC to the accession of Henry II in 1154. It has been estimated %75 of it is derived directly from others work through direct quotation, translation or summary, with about %40 coming from Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum for the earlier period. It is original for the years 1126–54 of which he was often personal witness, in particular during some of the most violent times in English history: the Battle of Hastings, the reigns of William II, Henry I, and the anarchy of King Stephen. His history is full of dramatic stories and was extremely popular and influention with other historians both contemporary and later.

Henry segmented English history according to the five great invasions by the Romans, Picts and Scots, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, and Normans. It was broken down in to seven books entitled:

1. The Rule of the Romans in Britain
2. The Coming of the English
3. The Conversion of the English
4. The Rule of the English
5. The Danish Wars
6. The Coming of the Normans
7. The Rule of the Normans

Henry was the historian who first coined the periodization term Heptarchy.

Sources

• Diana Greenway (translator), Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon: Historia Anglorum - The History of the English People 1000-1154 (Oxford World's Classics) , Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 0192840754.
• Thomas Forester (translator), The Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon, London: Henry G. Bohn, 1853; George Bell and Sons, 1876.
• The Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/henry-hunt1.html), online excerpts.

External links

• Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries: Henry of Huntingdon (http://www.bartleby.com/211/0907.html) from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Volume I, 1907–21.