An Archaeology of Robert of Torigni's Chronica : The Second Redaction and Change in Political Discourse

Abstract

The article examines the political implications that influenced the writing of the so-called second redaction of Robert of Torigni's Chronica (d. 1186). The papal schism of 1159 and the Becket Dispute had a profound impact on the contemporary political panorama of twelfth-century Normandy and Europe. To assert his position against Thomas Becket, Henry II at first heisted in recognizing Alexander III as pope of Rome and, even after the official recognition, he ambiguously leaned towards Frederick Barbarossa and the schismatic side. Only after Becket's murder (1170) the English king had to reassess his position. A palaeographical and textual analysis of the manuscript Avranches, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 159, Torigni's “working copy” of the chronicle, and Paris, BNF, MS Latin 4992, a copy of the second redaction, reveals how the contemporary political relationships influenced the process of writing of Torigni's chronicle. The second redaction, written between 1159-1169, reflects the political context which preceded Becket's murder. Because of the annalistic nature of his Chronica, Robert of Torigni extensively revised the text, which was eventually copied in Avranches 159, in order to intercept the shifting political position of Henry II.