William of Newburgh

William of Newburgh or Newbury (, Wilhelmus Neubrigensis, or Willelmus de Novoburgo. 1136 – 1198), also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon of Anglo-Saxon descent from Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire.

William experienced the Jewish pogroms in York in the late 12th century mentioning, "the slaughter was less the work of religious zeal than of bold and covetous men who wrought the business of their own greed". William also composed a lengthy Marian exposition on the Song of Songs and three sermons on liturgical texts and Saint Alban.

History of English Affairs

William's major work was Historia rerum Anglicarum or Historia de rebus anglicis ("History of English Affairs"), a history of England from 1066 to 1198, written in Latin. The work is valued by historians for detailing The Anarchy under Stephen of England. It is written in an engaging fashion and still readable to this day, containing many fascinating stories and glimpses into 12th-century life. He is a major source for stories of medieval revenants, animated corpses that returned from their graves, with close parallels to vampire beliefs, and the only source for the bishop-pirate Wimund.

The 19th-century historian Edward Augustus Freeman expressed the now outdated opinion that William was "the father of historical criticism." and in general his discussion of English kings is "loyal but critical and cool".

William saw his own work as being based on reliable sources, unlike Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, of which Newburgh was highly critical, saying "only a person ignorant of ancient history would have any doubt about how shamelessly and impudently he lies in almost everything."

"The latest complete edition of William's history is still that found in Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II and Richard I. Edited by Richard Howlett. Rolls Series no. 82. London, 1884-9. Books 1-4 of William's history appear in volume 1, book 5 in volume 2."