John Hardyng's Chronicle: An Edition of the Second Version

John Hardyng's verse Chronicle survives in two noticeably different versions, both of which were composed during a period of intense civil unrest and political uncertainty, commonly known as The Wars of the Roses. Charting the succession of British and English monarchs from Britain's mythical naissance to 1437, the first version was presented to Henry VI in 1457; at 2674 stanzas and 7 folios of prose long, it survives in a single manuscript. Within three years Hardyng began revising the history for his sovereign's political rival, Richard, duke of York, to take into account York's election as Henry VI's successor. Though the duke died before the work was completed, Hardyng continued his revision for York's son, Edward IV, extending the Chronicle's coverage to 1464. A crucial piece of Yorkist propaganda, incorporating genealogical evidence of Edward's entitlement to the thrones of Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and Jerusalem, and romance materials which align York with King Arthur and the Holy Grail, this shorter version (1771 stanzas and 12 folios of prose) enjoyed greater popularity than the original, surviving in twelve manuscripts, three fragments, and two sixteenth-century prints. It featured prominently in the glut of pro-Yorkist literature produced in the capital c. 1460-80, where the majority of the manuscripts were produced, and it influenced later writers, such as Malory, Rous, Fabyan, Stow, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton.

Despite the fact that the Chronicle, in both forms, is a valuable resource for scholars of medieval and early modern literature, fifteenth-century history, and the history of the book, neither version has received the consideration it deserves with regard to the complex socio-political context which led to its composition and revision, to the contribution it makes to a wider body of historiographical writing in late medieval Britain (especially given that it is written in the vernacular), to Hardyng's idiosyncratic conception of British history, to the material remains of the medieval book trade preserved in the extant manuscripts and prints, or to the way in which the second version was used by later authors.

Part of the reason for this neglect has been accessibility. Whilst Simpson and Peverley's scholarly edition (2010/11) has addressed the absence of an edition the first version, to date there is no widely accessible, suitably 'readable', or properly annotated edition of the second version. Aside from the two editions printed by Richard Grafton in 1543, the only edition available to scholars is that published by Henry Ellis in 1812. Though commendable in its day, Ellis's edition is now inadequate. Based on Grafton's prints, it fails to take into account thirteen of the fifteen manuscripts and fragments, and handles the two manuscripts that it does provide variant readings from haphazardly.

The aim of this project is to produce the first fully annotated scholarly edition of the second version of Hardyng's Chronicle, which brings together all that is currently known about the work's cultural, historical and material contexts. The edition will be published by Boydell and Brewer and read internationally by scholars and students interested in late medieval literature, history, and manuscript production. It will also be of interest to those interested in medieval kings, Arthurian literature, Scotland, heraldry, medieval warfare, and the local history of people and places of Northern England.

More broadly, the resulting long-lasting, accessible resource will stimulate new interest in the function and reception of late medieval historiography. To this end, two research papers will be presented at international conferences, and a symposium on medieval historical writing will be held to coincide with the publication of the edition. This will hopefully be supported by a public exhibition on historical writing in the medieval and early modern periods at the Bodleian Library.

The nature of the main output from this Fellowship - a scholarly edition of c.245,000 words - means that the chief beneficiaries of the research will be academics and students. The same is true for three of the other outputs: the two conference papers, and the symposium on medieval historical literature.

However, after completion of the Fellowship, to coincide with the publication of the edition and the symposium, Richard Ovenden (Bodleian Library) and I are currently discussing the possibility of holding a public exhibition on historical writing at the Bodleian Library. This exhibition will bring together - for public delectation - a number of important manuscripts and early prints containing medieval and early modern historical writing (broadly defined as works containing historical matter, such as chronicles, or literature set against an historical backdrop, such as Lydgate's Troy Book). The exhibition will underscore the cultural importance of historically-orientated literature through famous and lesser known works, named and anonymous authors, illuminated and unadorned texts. As well as raising the public profile of medieval and early modern historical writing, it will underline the importance of 'the past' in helping to define societies throughout the ages (whether medieval, Tudor, or twenty-first century).

Whilst the proposed exhibition offers the most obvious example of the project's potential for impact in the public sphere, there are other possibilities. Since Boydell and Brewer publishes for the general reader, as well as the academic community, members of the public are also likely to learn about the edition and its importance through the publisher's catalogues, website, and other marketing materials. Potential beneficiaries in the wider public sphere might include people with a general interest in: Arthurian literature (the Chronicle is the first to include the 'Grail Quest'); the local history of medieval Northumbria and Lincolnshire (stories about the people, saints, and places of each county feature strongly in the narrative); medieval heraldry (the Chronicle contains descriptions and images of heraldic devices); cartography (the map of Scotland accompanying the text is the earliest independent diagram of that realm); Scottish independence (the Chronicle's paratextual material includes documents asserting Scotland's autonomy as well as England's right to rule); medieval warfare (the narrative describes a number of key battles, as well as providing invasion plans for the conquest of Scotland); and the lives of individual monarchs (mythical, Anglo-Saxon, and medieval).

It is equally feasible that the stories contained within the Chronicle might be used by researchers for cultural programmes and documentaries on medieval kings, The Wars of the Roses, late medieval history in general, famous military campaigns, such as Agincourt, or famous English writers (i.e. Malory, Shakespeare, Spenser). The Medieval Season made for BBC 4 (2008) represents the sort of programmes that literature like the Chronicle might inform.

As Hardyng was once constable of Warkworth Castle in Northumberland, where he claims to have seen letters from the nobility supporting Henry Percy's rebellion against Henry IV (1403), English Heritage would be able to use extracts from Hardyng's Chronicle in their educational and publicity materials (especially in the castle's guidebook and audio tour). Hardyng similarly mentions the privately owned, but publically accessible castles at Bamburgh and Alnwick, alongside frequent stories of the Percy family's exploits, so there is potential for the research produced during the fellowship to be used for commercial and educational purposes by the owners, particularly at Alnwick, which is still owned by the descendants of Hardyng's patron, Sir Henry Percy.