John of Wallingford (died 1214), also known as John de Cella, was Abbot of
St Albans Abbey
St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England.
Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be an abbey follo ...
in the
English
English usually refers to:
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* English people
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Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
county of
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
from 1195 to his death in 1214. He was previously prior of
Holy Trinity Priory
The Holy Trinity Priory, also known as Christchurch Aldgate, was a priory of Austin canons ( Black Canons) founded around 1108 by the English queen Matilda of Scotland near Aldgate in London.Wallingford in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
(now
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
), a cell of St Albans.
He should not be confused with another John of Wallingford (died 1258), who was a friend of the famous chronicler
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (; 1200 – 1259), was an English people, English Benedictine monk, English historians in the Middle Ages, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St A ...
; nor with the unknown author of the so-called "Chronicle of John of Wallingford" (ca. 1225–1250), that is included in a manuscript of the papers of the later John of Wallingford.
Life
According to Matthew Paris's ''Gesta Abbatum'' ("Actions of the Abbots"), John came from a moderate family not far from a place called Stodham, presumably today's
Stadhampton
Stadhampton is a village and civil parish about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Oxford in South Oxfordshire, England. Stadhampton is close to the River Thame, a tributary of the River Thames. The village was first mentioned by name in 1146, and was ...
about five miles north of Wallingford. A tradition that he was from the family of John de la Hyde de Southcote, ancestor of the Hyde family of Denchworth, is apparently mentioned by some editions of ''
Burke's Landed Gentry
''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (originally titled ''Burke's Commoners'') is a reference work listing families in Great Britain and Ireland who have owned rural estates of some size. The work has been in existence from the first half of the 19th cen ...
'' but it is not clear what the basis for this may be.
The ''Gesta'' records that John studied in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He gained an excellent reputation and "in grammar he was considered a very
Priscian
Priscianus Caesariensis (), commonly known as Priscian ( or ), was a Latin grammarian and the author of the ''Institutes of Grammar'', which was the standard textbook for the study of Latin during the Middle Ages. It also provided the raw materia ...
, in poetry a perfect
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
, and in physic esteemed equal to
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...
". After taking Benedictine vows, he was sent to
Wallingford Priory
Wallingford Priory was a Benedictine priory dedicated to the Holy Trinity in Wallingford in the English county of Berkshire (now Oxfordshire). Nothing remains of Holy Trinity Priory, which is believed to have stood on the site of the Bullcroft r ...
, where he became prior in 1191. From this he gained his St Albans by-names "de Wallingford" and "de Cella", having been superior of this important cell of the abbey. Four years later, on 20 July 1195, he was elected Abbot of St. Albans, where he presided with "sanctity and success".P.H. Ditchfield and William Page, eds. (1907), ''A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 2'' (
Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...
series), pp 77-79 He rebuilt the refectory and the dormitory, and extended the west front of the abbey church, though not without difficulty: the work "swallowed up the revenues as the sea the rivers, and made no progress", until a simplifed design was eventually completed.
He was regarded by the 19th-century scholar
Henry Richards Luard
Henry Richards Luard (25 August 1825 – 1 May 1891) was a British medieval historian and antiquary.
Biography
Luard was born on 25 August 1825 in London, the son of Henry Luard. His uncle was Lt.-Col. John Luard, and his cousins included Lt.-Gen ...
as the originator of the core of
Roger of Wendover
Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century.
At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell ...
's ''
Flores Historiarum
The ''Flores Historiarum'' (Flowers of History) is the name of two different (though related) Latin chronicles by medieval English historians that were created in the 13th century, associated originally with the Abbey of St Albans.
Wendover's ...
'', which became the first part of Matthew Paris's ''
Chronica Majora
The ''Chronica Majora'' is the seminal work of Matthew Paris, a member of the English Benedictine community of St Albans and long-celebrated historian. The work begins with Creation and contains annals down to the year of Paris' death of 1259. ...
'', but this has since been questioned.See ''
Flores Historiarum
The ''Flores Historiarum'' (Flowers of History) is the name of two different (though related) Latin chronicles by medieval English historians that were created in the 13th century, associated originally with the Abbey of St Albans.
Wendover's ...
'' for details. No source of the time makes any mention of him as a historian.