Florence of Worcester

Who was Florence of Worcester?

Florence of Worcester, known in Latin as Florentius, was a monk of Worcester, who played some part in the production of the Chronicon ex chronicis, a Latin world chronicle which begins with the creation and ends in 1140.

The nature and extent of his contributions remain unclear. The usual starting point for an examination of his career is the notice of his death in the final entry for the year 1118 in the Chronicon:

Earlier generations of scholars took this to mean that Florence was the principal author of the chronicle for the entries before 1118, an assumption which led to its being commonly referred to as the 'Chronicle of Florence'.

However, it is now recognised that the work as it survives today was authored by John, a fellow monk at Worcester, whose signature is found in two later entries. He was found working on it at the behest of Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, when the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis visited Worcester sometime in the early 12th century.

Historians have formulated two main arguments against the ascription to Florence and in favour of that to John. First, there is no stylistic break in the Chronicon after Florence's death, which gives the impression that a single author was responsible for the entire work. Second, certain sections before 1118 have been shown to make use of Eadmer's Historia novorum, which was not completed before 1121 x 1124.