Hemming (monk) facts for kids

Hemming (sometimes spelled Heming) was a monk and writer who lived in England around the time of the Norman conquest of England (1066). He was an important brother at Worcester Cathedral Priory, which was a large church and monastery. He is famous for a special collection of documents and stories called a cartulary, which is named after him.

Hemming's name sounds Scandinavian, which means he or his family might have come from Scandinavia (like Norway, Sweden, or Denmark) and settled in England. We don't know exactly when he was born or when he died, but he was actively writing soon after the Norman Conquest. Hemming became a sub-prior at the Worcester cathedral priory. A sub-prior is like a deputy leader of the monastery. His name is found in old lists of members of the cathedral, including one made when Samson was the Bishop of Worcester (from 1096 to 1112).

Hemming's Big Book: The Cartulary

Hemming is known as the author and collector of a work usually called Hemming's Cartulary. A cartulary is a collection of important papers, like deeds (documents about land ownership) and other records, gathered together in one book. Hemming's collection also includes stories about Worcester and its cathedral.

His collection has a story about Wulfstan, who was the Bishop of Worcester and died in 1095. This story was written in Latin. A historian named Antonia Gransden said this work was "more like an inventory of charters in narrative form than a biography." This means it was more like a list of documents told as a story, rather than a full life story of Wulfstan.

How the Cartulary Was Made

Even though Hemming is often given credit for the whole cartulary, it's actually two different works that were later put together. Hemming wrote the second, newer part. This part was later bound with an older collection of documents to create a famous old book called Cotton Tiberius A xiii, which is now part of the Cotton Library.

In a special introduction to his part of the work, called the "Enucleatios libelli," Hemming says he was the one who put the collection together. He also says that Bishop Wulfstan was his inspiration. Historians often think that Wulfstan asked Hemming to create this important collection. The cartulary is not just a bunch of deeds; it also includes other important historical information, especially for his monastery. Hemming organized these different documents into a continuous story.

Challenges for the Monastery

One of the main ideas in Hemming's work is about the difficulties and losses his monastery faced, especially from royal officials. Hemming wrote that the conquests of England by Cnut (in the early 1000s) and William the Conqueror (in 1066) were particularly damaging. During these times, the monastery lost land and other important possessions.

Hemming the Historian and Archivist

The historian Simon Keynes called Hemming the "historian of his house," meaning he was the main historian for his monastery. Another historian, V. H. Galbraith, even suggested that Hemming might be considered the first archivist in English history. An archivist is someone who organizes and takes care of important historical documents. Hemming made sure that the documents at Worcester were stored safely under locks. He also spent time fixing and restoring some of the old, damaged documents at the cathedral.

Other Writers from Worcester

Hemming lived at the same time as two other monks from Worcester who also wrote historical works. One was Coleman, who wrote a Life of Wulfstan. This book is now lost, but it was used as a source by another famous writer, William of Malmesbury. The other monk was John of Worcester, who rewrote the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle into his own book called Chronicon ex chronicis.

About Hemming's Name

The correct way to spell the monk's name is "Hemming." However, because of a mistake made when copying old texts in the 1700s, many historians in the 18th and 19th centuries used the spelling "Heming" (with one 'm'). This was corrected in 1891 in the Dictionary of National Biography, which is a famous collection of biographies of important people.