John of Eversden facts for kids

John of Eversden was an English historian, also known as a chronicler. He was active around the year 1300.

Who Was John of Eversden?

John was probably from one of the two villages named Eversden, near Caxton, Cambridgeshire. When he was young, in 1255, he became a Benedictine monk. He joined the Bury St Edmunds Abbey, a large monastery.

Life as a Monk and Chronicler

By 1300, John was the cellarer at the abbey. This meant he was in charge of the monastery's supplies and money. In that year, he made an important trip to Northamptonshire. He went there to claim land for his monastery in a place called Werketon (Warkton).

The next year, on June 1st, he was mentioned in an official letter from Pope Boniface VIII. This letter confirmed the election of the new Abbot Thomas. In January 1307, John also went to the Parliament meeting in Carlisle. He represented his abbot there. We don't know much more about his life after this. For many years, people remembered him as a chronicler, someone who writes down historical events. His main work was published as a continuation of another history book, Chronicon ex chronicis. People didn't know he was the author, only that it seemed to be written by someone from Bury.

His Historical Writings

John of Eversden's main history book is called Series temporum ab initio mundi. This means "Series of Times from the Beginning of the World." However, his book wasn't entirely new. For the early parts, he copied from older historians like Henry of Huntingdon and John de Taxster.

John's own original writing covered the last 36 years of the chronicle, up to about 1301. His work was quite popular at the time. Other historians, like Bartholomew Cotton and John of Oxnead, borrowed from it. Some parts of his writings are still kept in the Bodleian Library today.

Other Books He Wrote

Besides his main chronicle, John of Eversden wrote other works. One was called Regna pristina Angliæ et eorum episcopatus. This was a list of old English kingdoms and their bishops, put together around 1270.

The historian John Bale also said John of Eversden wrote other books. These included Concordantiæ divinæ Historiæ, Legum Medulla (which were poems), and Concordia Decretorum.