The Chronicle of Adam Usk 1377-1421

by Adam Usk, C. Given-Wilson (Editor)

Overview

Adam Usk's chronicle, covering the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, is one of the most personal and idiosyncratic of medieval chronicles. It offers an eyewitness account of the fall of Richard II, the turbulent politics of Rome between 1402 and 1406, and the Glyn Dwr revolt. It is also a record of the remarkable life and career of an author who suffered exile and excommunication before finding peace in his last years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198204831
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/27/1997
Series:	Oxford Medieval Texts
Pages:	388
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.00(d)

Editorial Reviews

"...Adam Usk was a gifted storyteller with an eye for the bizarre, an ear for a good anecdote. His chronicle can and will be read closely by serious students of the period, but also can, and should, be read simply for pleasure, an evocative portrait of a man and his times."—Albion

From the Publisher

In facing pages of the original Latin and English translation, presents the Welsh lawyer's first-hand account of such events as the fall of Richard II, the politics of Rome during his exile 1402-06, and the rising of the Welsh under Owen Glyn Dwr. In addition to providing primary-source information, his account illuminates educated medieval thinking on politics, intrigue, the supernatural, and the writing of history. Differs from Thompson's classic 1904 edition, the only other English version, not so much in the translation itself as in new historical information and a modern critical approach. A 93-page introduction offers information of Adam's life and career, the single extant manuscript, and his writing of history. His will is also included. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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