John Flete (ca. 1398 – 1466) was an English

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and ecclesiastical historian who documented the history and abbots of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. He entered the monastery at Westminster some time around 1420. For some years, he was an ordinary cloistered monk, but he became the almoner around 1435.Harvey, "John Flete." Later, he became

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of the abbey from 1456 to 1466 and served under two successive abbots who were replaced for poor management. He was himself caught up in some of the allegations of mismanagement. In 1444 the misbehavior of the abbot Kirton led to examination from outside "visitors," and they had Flete suspended from his position for a time. His major work was the four volume ''History of Westminster Abbey'' from its founding by, according to him, "King Lucius" in 184, to around 1386. He had wanted to continue the history up to 1443, but his removal from office kept him from his plan. In general, the history copies from other sources, including a lost ''Liber regius'',

Sulcard Sulcard (floruit ''c''. 1080) was a Benedictine monk at St. Peter's, Westminster Abbey, and the author of the first history of the abbey. Little is known of Sulcard, whose unusual name may reflect either Anglo-Saxon or Norman parentage.Harvey, "Su ...

's ''Prologus de Construccione Westmonasterii'',Harvey, "Sulcard (''fl. c.'' 1080)." charters,

pipe roll The Pipe rolls, sometimes called the Great rollsBrown ''Governance'' pp. 54–56 or the Great Rolls of the Pipe, are a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or HM Treasury, Treasury, and its successors, as well a ...

s, papal letters, and other documents the abbey had in its possession. However, his own contribution to history was in including a small

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of each abbot of the monastery. These biographies were generally standardized—providing the date of election, major accomplishments, date of death, place of entombment, and

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

for each. According to Barbara Harvey, the chief value of the history was in demonstrating how ecclesiastical historiography was moving away from a national interest toward a local and biographical one in the late Middle Ages.

References

Sources

*Harvey, Barbara F. "John Flete" in Matthew, H.C.G. and Brian Harrison, eds. ''

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ''The'' is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the ...

.'' vol. 20, pp 134–5. London:

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004. *Harvey, Barbara F. "Sulcard (''fl. c.'' 1080)." ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford University Press, 2004
Accessed 22 April 2009

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