xl PREFACE. General character of the given twice over. A remarkable instance of this may be seen in pp. 416, 417, where after the siege of Bedford castle has been mentioned with considerable detail, the bare fact is told over again from the Vespasian MS. The Winchester author, however, at times repeats himself; for instance, the death of Sanclio, archbishop of Toledo, in 1275, is told in two different ways (pp. 4G8, 469). The Worcester annalist also, even when he is original, occasionally is guilty of repetitions ; thus in p. 439, the presentation of William de Lega to Tibberton chapel is given three times under three successive years, and in pp. 484, 485, there are two accounts of the gifts of Thomas de Kempsey, abbat of Tewkesbury, t(j the sacrist of Worcester priory, on his installation — the second being a fuller account, inserted after the other. The general character of the Annals of Worcester is very similar to that of the Aunals of Dunstable, though Annals of the author of the former must be pronounced inferior W^orcGstcr to Richard de Morins and his successors. There is less of detail of general interest, though, especially in the later portion, there are valuable notices of the chief events that took place both at home and abroad. As regards Worcester, and as furnishing matter to illustrate the history of the diocese and country, they are ex- tremely rich and valuable. The style of all (or nearly all) that is not taken from the Winchester MS. seems the same throughout. Who the author was, it would be vain to conjecture ; that he was a monk of Wor- cester, and wrote these annals in the jjriory, admits of no doubt ; but of the many persons connected with the priory whom he mentions, there is no one so singled out, Personal as to make it likely that he was the author. He not allusions of infrequently speaks in the first person : for instance, in 1219 (p. 411) he speaks of his mother's land being let to his brother H. ; in p. 518 he mentions that arch- bishop Winchelsey landed at Yarmouth on January 1, 1294, " ut audivi ;" and in p. 537, in speaking of the place where; the Franciscans buried William de Beau-
