John de Taxster

Who is John de Taxster?

John de Taxster, sometimes erroneously called Taxter or Taxston, was a 13th-century English chronicler in England, of whose life nothing is known except that he was professed as a Benedictine at Bury St. Edmunds Abbey in the county of Suffolk, England on 20 November 1244 until his death. It is probable that he died in or about 1265, when his chronicle ceases.

His work, which in the earlier part is compiled from Florence of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, and Ralph de Diceto, begins with the creation of the world. The value of the chronicle arises from Taxster's account of his own times. His description of contemporary events was subsequently used by John de Everisden, Johannes de Oxenedes, and Bartholomew Cotton. This part of his work has accordingly attracted more attention, and his chronicle for the period 1258–1263 was printed by H. R. Luard in his edition of Cotton.

Taxster's chronicle as a whole has never been printed, and exists only in two manuscripts, one in the British Museum, the other in the College of Arms.