Thomas Sprott (chronicler) facts for kids
Thomas Sprott (who lived around 1292) was an English monk from a group called the Benedictines. He was a monk at St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury. He is known for writing down history.
What Did Thomas Sprott Write?
Thomas Sprott was a chronicler. This means he wrote down important events and histories. He wrote a history book about his own home, St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury. This abbey was a very old and important monastery.
Other historians, like Thomas Elmham and William Thorne, used Sprott's work. They even said that they got information from his writings. Thorne copied a lot from Sprott's history up to the year 1228. He said that Sprott's part of the history ended there.
Some people thought Sprott's history went up to 1272. It's a bit unclear because old handwritten copies (called manuscripts) sometimes had parts added later.
About His Old Books and Mistakes
Sprott's history book still exists today in two very old handwritten copies from the 1200s. These copies are kept in places like the Lambeth Palace Library and the British Library. There are also other copies made later. However, his work has never been printed in a modern book.
Sometimes, other old writings were mistakenly thought to be by Sprott. Here are two examples:
- One long scroll, which was a very old document, was printed and people thought it was by Sprott. It had short histories from the beginning of the world up to 1307. But this scroll was actually made much later, in the 1400s. Historians now know it wasn't written by Sprott.
- Another history book, which covered events from the creation of the world to 1339, was printed in 1719. The person who printed it, Thomas Hearne, believed it was Sprott's work. But this book was also written much later, in the late 1300s. So, it's not believed to be by Thomas Sprott anymore.
