AfL February Seminar

Alderman Arnold fitz Thedmar - London’s first civic historian (Speaker: Dr Ian Stone)

 

Arnold fitz Thedmar (1201-74) was a wealthy merchant and a second generation German  immigrant who became an alderman and a spokesman for the German merchants in London. He was responsible for the production of a book which was the first of its kind in the  British Isles, which is a unique lay source and the first British secular, civic chronicle. This recounts various events in the period between Magna Carta and the parliamentary state, when the country was torn apart by civil war, and when London was divided by internal strife and communal revolution. This talk will introduce Arnold and his ground-breaking work. It will show how careful analysis of Arnold’s book reveals much about how Arnold went about his work as a historian, and will then discuss Arnold’s value as a chronicler of one of the most momentous and troubled periods in the history of England and London.

 

Dr Ian Stone, who is preparing an edition of Arnold’s chronicle for Oxford University Press, completed his Ph.D at King’s College London. He is also currently writing a history of the Worshipful Company of Masons, one of London’s ancient livery companies. He regularly publishes his work in print, online and on his blog at www.ianstone.london.

 

Date: Wednesday 27th February 2019, 18.00 – 19.30 (doors open at 17.30)

Location: Huntley Room, London Metropolitan Archives, 40 Northampton Road, London, EC1R 0HB

Cost: Free for AfL members, £6 for non-members

How to book: Advance booking is essential. Please book your place through Eventbrite http://tinyurl.com/AfLevents or by telephoning Alex Fisher (AfL Secretary) on 020 7594 8818.

 

For more information about Archives for London, please see our website: https://archivesforlondon.org/.