The Historians of the Church of York and its Archbishops

James Raine (1830-96), canon of York, edited in three volumes these Latin works relating to the diocese, covering the period from 650 to 1522. Volume 2, published in 1886, contains a twelfth-century history of the four bishops of York from 1070 to 1127 (with additions to 1153) by Hugh the Chantor, who was precentor of York. It is an important eyewitness source on the centuries-long dispute between York and Canterbury. There is also, on the same topic, a letter from Archbishop Ralph to the Pope, some anonymous lives of the twelfth-century bishops Thurstan and William FitzHerbert, some minor lives of St Oswald, and assorted letters. The unpublished part of a chronicle of the diocese by various authors, including Thomas Stubbs, covering the fourteenth century to the time of Cardinal Wolsey, completes the volume. English side-notes to the Latin text are provided throughout.