Florence of Worcester facts for kids

Florence of Worcester (died 1118) was a monk from Worcester Abbey in England. He was known in Latin as Florentius. Florence helped create a very important history book called the Chronicon ex chronicis. This book was written in Latin and told the story of the world from its creation all the way up to the year 1140.

What Was Florence's Role?

We don't know exactly how much Florence contributed to the Chronicon ex chronicis. When he died in 1118, the book mentioned him. It said that his careful learning and hard work made the book special. For a long time, people thought Florence wrote most of the book. That's why it was often called the 'Chronicle of Florence'.

Who Really Wrote the Chronicle?

Today, historians believe that another monk named John of Worcester was the main author of the Chronicon ex chronicis. John's name appears in later parts of the book (in entries for 1128 and 1138).

A writer named Orderic Vitalis visited Worcester Abbey around the early 1100s. He saw John working on the chronicle. John was doing this for Wulfstan, who was the Bishop of Worcester until 1095.

Why John is Thought to Be the Author

Historians have two main reasons for thinking John wrote the book, not Florence:

• No Change in Style: The writing style in the Chronicon doesn't change after Florence died. This suggests that one person wrote the whole thing.
• Later Information Used: Some parts of the book written before 1118 (when Florence died) use information from another book called Historia novorum by Eadmer. Eadmer's book wasn't finished until after 1121. This means someone else, likely John, added that information later.

How Florence Still Helped

Even though John was likely the main writer, he clearly valued Florence's help. The book's entry about Florence's death shows this. One idea is that Florence might have gathered many of the old documents and stories that John used for the chronicle. These sources would have covered events from the 800s to the 1000s.

Bishop Wulfstan had asked another monk, Hemming, to collect important documents for a book called Hemming's Cartulary. This shows that Wulfstan liked to have monks gather historical materials.

Historian Simon Keynes thinks that Wulfstan might have first asked Florence to start collecting materials for a world history book. Then, after Florence died, John continued his work. Another historian, Nick Higham, believes that both William of Malmesbury and John of Worcester might have used a lost text written by Florence.

Florence's Connections

Florence's name appears with Hemming and John in a special book called the Durham Liber Vitae. This book listed names of people who helped or visited the church in Durham. The section with their names lists monks from Worcester and was written when Samson was Bishop of Worcester (1096–1112).

Florence was also the first monk from Worcester to be honored in a special way on a "mortuary roll." This was a scroll that traveled between monasteries to announce the death of an important person, like Vitalis, an abbot who died in 1122.