In the past William of Malmesbury (1090-1143) has been seen as first and foremost a historian of England, and little else. This volume reveals not only William's real greatness as a historian and his European vision, but also thebreadth and depth of his learning across a number of other fields. There is no question that the Conference - from which these essays are largely taken - moved our knowledge and understanding of this remarkable Benedictine scholar forward to a significant extent, and has enhanced his importance as an English contributor to the 'Twelfth-Century Renaissance'. Areas that receive particular attention are William's historical writings, his historical vision and interpretation of England's past; William and kingship; William's language; William's medical knowledge; The influence of Bede and other ancient writers on William's historiography; William and chronology; William, Anselm of Canterbury and reform of the English Church; William and the Latin Classics; William and the Jews; William as hagiographer. This is essentially the acts of the Conference on 'William of Malmesbury and his Legacy', held at Oxford in 2015. Of the 27 chapters, all but two delivered as papers at the Conference, and provide a broad coverage of William's learning, wide-ranging interests and significance as revealed in his writings.

Rodney M. Thomson, Emily Dolmans, Emily A. Winkler

Discovering William of Malmesbury: The Man and his Works - Emily Dolmans and Emily A. Winkler
Gesta Pontificum Anglorum: History or Hagiography? - Anne E. Bailey
William of Malmesbury and Civic Virtue - Daniel Gerrard
The Ironies of History: William of Malmesbury's Views of William II and Henry I - John B Gillingham
William of Malmesbury and the Jews - Kati Ihnat
Advising the King: Kingship, Bishops and Saints in the Works of William of Malmesbury - Ryan Kemp
Roman Identity in William of Malmesbury's Historical Writings -
William of Malmesbury and the Chronological Controversy - Anne Lawrence-Mathers
William of Malmesbury and Durham: the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Early Twelfth-Century England - Stanislav Mereminskiy
William of Malmesbury as Librarian: the Evidence of his Autographs - Samu Niskanen
William of Malmesbury: Medical Historian of the Crusades - Joanna Phillips
German Emperors as Exemplary Rulers in William of Malmesbury and Otto of Freising - Alheydis Plassmann
Lector amice,: Reading as Friendship in William of Malmesbury - Sigbjorn Olsen Sonnesyn
William of Malmesbury's Historical Vision - R. M. Thomson
'Uerax historicus Beda': William of Malmesbury, Bede and historia - Emily Ward
William of Malmesbury and the Britons - Emily A. Winkler
Words, Words, Words... - Michael Winterbottom
Epilogue: The Rediscovery of William of Malmesbury - R. M. Thomson