A Suggested Author for De ortu Waluuanii and Historia Meriadoci: Ranulph Higden

Peter Larkin, University of Texas, Austin

The authorship of two prose romances in Latin, De ortu Waluuanii and Historia Meriadoci, remains unsettled. Though scholars generally agree that these works are by the same hand, a host of unresolved issues has complicated the task of establishing authorial identity. In particular, the literary affiliations of these texts, which recount the childhood and early adventures of two knights, are unclear, and efforts to place these works within a historical context have proven inconclusive as well. As a result, suggested dates for the romances cover a wide range—from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. The only candidate suggested so far is Robert de Torigni, a chronicler and abbot of Mont St. Michel who lived from 1110 to 1186; but several critics have voiced doubts about this identification. In this essay, my purpose is to suggest another author, Ranulph Higden, a Benedictine monk who lived in the first half of the fourteenth century.