"History of the English People"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Henry of Huntingdon's ecclesiastical bias, which is a prominent feature throughout his book "History of the English People", and the origins of this bias. Examples from Henry's book are utilised throughout the paper in order to highlight and illustrate Henry's viewpoints on the vices and virtues of previous kings and notable clergy. Henry's clear advocation of a clear separation of church and state is also analysed.

From the Paper:

"However, before we can fully understand how Henry's contempt for the world influenced his views on kingship, we must understand what Henry meant by his contempt for the world, by what it entailed and what he tried to describe and illustrate to the reader of the history as to the events of the time and how he tried to influence the reader of the history along his lines of thought. Henry's phrase 'contempt for the world', essentially refers to the sins of man, which he hopes that the reader will take note of and "learn to hold in contempt, what is contemptible" . Henry at the time of writing this highly religious history believed that the actions of men were directly in touch with the world. Indeed the sins of men were not dissimilar to the cardinal sins of the time or indeed to the sins of man as evoked by Plato in The Republic. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Henry of Huntingdon, The History of the English People 1000-1154, Oxford University Press, 2002.
• D. Crouch, The Reign of King Stephen 1135-1154, London, 2000

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