John Hardyng facts for kids
John Hardyng (born in 1378, died around 1465) was an English writer who kept records of history. He was born in the northern part of England.
A Life of Adventure and Writing
When John Hardyng was a boy, he started working for a famous knight named Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur). John was even with Sir Henry at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403.
After that, John worked for another knight, Sir Robert Umfraville. He became a manager at Warkworth Castle and Kyme Castle. John also went with Sir Robert to important battles, like the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, and a sea fight near Harfleur in 1416.
In 1424, John Hardyng traveled to Rome. There, he looked at old history books for Cardinal Beaufort. When Sir Robert Umfraville died in 1436, John went to live at a monastery called Kyme Priory. This is where he wrote his two main history books, and he likely lived there until he died around 1465.
John Hardyng was very interested in old things and history. Under King Henry V, he was asked to research how Scotland was connected to the English crown through old agreements. He traveled to Scotland for this job. He said he spent three and a half years mapping the land and finding documents about England's claims over Scotland. Later, he used what he found, including the first known independent map of Scotland, in a history book he wrote for King Henry V's son.
John said that King Henry V promised him a piece of land called Geddington for his work. Many years later, in 1440, he received £10 a year for similar services. In 1457, he gave some documents about Scotland to the Earl of Shrewsbury and received another payment of £20.
It seems John Hardyng knew Scotland well. It's even said that King James I of Scotland tried to pay him to give up his papers. Many of the documents John collected, which are still kept today, were actually created by Hardyng himself to support his claims.
John Hardyng spent many years writing a long history of England in rhyme. His time working for the Percy and Umfraville families helped him gather a lot of useful information about the 1400s. He changed his history book to suit different people who supported him. The first version, which ended in 1437, favored the Lancaster family and was written for King Henry VI. Later, he started a new version for Richard, Duke of York, and then continued it for Richard's son, Edward IV. A mention of Edward's wife, Elizabeth Woodville, in the book's introduction shows that John was still working on his second version in 1464.
Different Versions of His Work
The first version of John Hardyng's history book is kept in the British Library. A good later version is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford.
In 1543, a printer named Richard Grafton printed two versions of Hardyng's work. Another historian, John Stow, who knew a different version, criticized Grafton a bit unfairly. Later, in 1812, Sir Henry Ellis published the longer version that Grafton had printed, adding some parts from other old books. Today, Professors Sarah Peverley and James Simpson have edited the first history book, and Professor Peverley is working on editing the second version.
