A Chronicle of London from 1089 to 1483 Written in the Fifteenth Century, and for the First Time Printed from MSS. in the British Museum   By: Anonymous

About this book. Although the title indicates that the Chronicle begins in 1089, it actually begins in 1189 with the reign of Richard I, and ends in 1483 with the death of Edward IV. It is based on two manuscripts, now in the British Library, written by anonymous scribes in the 15th Century. It recounts events not only in the City of London such as the elections of Mayors and Sheriffs but also in the British Isles and France, covering battles, coronations, births and deaths of prominent people, tempests, earthquakes, plagues, and other noteworthy occurrences.

The Chronicle was first published in 1827, in a limited edition of 250 copies, with copious notes and an extensive section of illustrative documents. Although the editors of the 1827 edition are not named, the British Library catalogue identifies them as Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, G.C.M.G., and Edward Tyrrell (whose signature appears at the end of the dedication).

This e book was prepared from a 1995 reprint of the 1827 edition, published by Llanerch Publishers, and from images of the 1827 edition at the Internet Archive, www.archive.org.

Orthography. The Chronicle section is written in 15th Century English. The original spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and hyphenation have been preserved in this e book.

Numbers and dates in lowercase Roman numerals often end in a "j," signifying "i."

Superscripted letters are represented in curly brackets preceded by a carat, e.g., A^{o}.

A crossed double L is represented as [ ll ], and a tailed Z as [z/].

Blank spaces in the text are represented by long dashes ( ).

Formatting. The Chronicle section of the original utilizes unique page headers indicating the name of the monarch and the years covered on that page, e.g., REX HENRICUS T'CIUS [1238 1242]. These have been retained in this e book and inserted in the appropriate chronological place.

The original contains numerous sidenotes. In the Chronicle section, sidenotes marked with an asterisk were added by the editors and are here treated as footnotes. Otherwise, sidenotes are marked as such and have been moved above the paragraph to which they refer. Where a paragraph is very long, as in the documents at the end of the Notes section, the sidenotes have been placed above the lines to which they refer.]

A

Chronicle of London,

FROM 1089 TO 1483;

WRITTEN IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY,

AND FOR THE FIRST TIME PRINTED

FROM MSS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM:

TO WHICH ARE ADDED

Numerous Contemporary Illustrations,

CONSISTING OF ROYAL LETTERS, POEMS, AND OTHER ARTICLES DESCRIPTIVE OF PUBLIC EVENTS, OR OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE METROPOLIS.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, AND GREEN, PATERNOSTER ROW; AND HENRY BUTTERWORTH, No. 7, FLEET STREET.

M.DCCC.XXVII.

[ONLY TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY COPIES PRINTED.]

RICHARD TAYLOR, PRINTER, SHOE LANE.

[Illustration: ALERE FLAMMAM.]

[Illustration: Fac simile of a page of the Chronicle of London in the Harleian M.S. 565, fol. 37.

J. Shuttleworth & Co. Lithog^{rs}. 28 Poultry. ]

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORD MAYOR, ALDERMEN, AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LONDON.

This Volume presents to your notice an early Chronicle of the great Metropolis over which you preside.

The rising taste for literature, and particularly that part of it relating to the History of your ancient City, which has lately been evinced by you in the formation of a Library, as well as in the private Collections made by several of your members on the same subject, renders it probable that the publication of this Chronicle, which has never before been printed, may not be deemed unacceptable.