William Thorne (chronicler) facts for kids
William Thorne (who was active around 1397) was an English historian and a Benedictine monk. He lived a long time ago, during the 1300s.
Contents
Who Was William Thorne?
William Thorne was a monk at a famous place called St Augustine's, Canterbury. This was a large monastery in England. Monks like Thorne dedicated their lives to religious study and work.
Thorne's Important Trip to Italy
In 1387, William Thorne was chosen for a very important job. He was sent to Italy to get the Pope's approval for a new leader, called an abbot, for his monastery.
His journey was quite long and difficult:
- He left on April 19, 1387.
- He was held up for eight days in a place called Orwell.
- He finally sailed on May 5.
- He reached Lucca, Italy, on June 11.
After arriving in Italy, Thorne had to follow the Pope. The Pope moved from Lucca to Perugia and then to Rome. This meant Thorne had to travel for more than a year!
He wrote down many details about his trip. He described the Pope's court, called the Papal Curia, in a not-so-positive way. He also kept track of all the money his monastery had to spend during this time. Even with all his efforts, he couldn't get the Pope's approval. The new abbot had to travel to Italy himself later.
Bringing Back Property for His Monastery
While he was in Italy, Thorne did manage to help his monastery in another way. He got back control of a church property called the rectory of Littleborne, Kent. This property had been taken over by another monastery in Italy. Thorne successfully finished this task in January 1390.
He started his journey home on January 20. When he arrived back in England, he quickly went to meet King Richard II. He met the King at Langley on April 5.
What Did William Thorne Write?
William Thorne was known for writing a history book. His book was about the leaders (abbots) of St. Augustine's monastery. It covered the history of the monastery from when it was first built all the way up to 1397.
The first part of his history, up to the year 1228, was mostly based on the writings of another historian named Thomas Sprott. Thorne's complete work was later printed in a collection of historical texts in 1652 by a person named Roger Twysden.
