I should show briefly in a chronicle by whose
influence and in what manner
our holy mother, the church of Fountains, over which by God’s
grace you
[Abbot John] now preside, was first founded, and in what way that
vine,
blessed of God, grew in a place of horror and vast solitude and
spread
herself abroad, stretching out her branches even unto the sea and
her
shoots to the outer nations.(8)
[‘Foundation history of Fountains’ (Narratio)]
The ‘Foundation
History of Fountains’ (Narratio de
fundatione Fontanis monasterii), was written in the early
thirteenth century by Hugh, a monk of Kirkstall
Abbey, one of Fountains’ eight
daughter-houses.(9) Hugh, who had already
compiled a foundation history of Kirkstall, was asked to write
the Narratio by John
of York (1203-1211),
the eighth abbot of Fountains. The Narratio is a two-part
work, which covers the first ninety years of Fountains’ history,
from the flight of the Benedictine monks who left St Mary’s,
York, in 1132, to the abbacy of John, elected in 1220.
An eyewitness I myself was present at the time of the secession of the monks from the
monastery of York; from my boyhood I knew by face and name those who
seceded; I was born in their part of the country; I was brought up
amongst them; to several I was related according to the flesh. Although
I am stricken in years, I am very grateful to my old age for my memory
remains unimpaired and holds fast to the things that were committed
to it in early years.
[Serlo, monk of Fountains]
Hugh claims
as his source for the early history of the abbey Serlo,
an aged monk of Fountains (nearing one hundred years in age),
who had witnessed
the tumultuous events of 1132/1133 and the challenges that beset
the early community, its incorporation within the Cistercian
family and path to stability [see right]. For later events Hugh
presents
himself as the authority, either as an eyewitness or as one privy
to first-hand accounts from those who were. However, it is now
accepted that, despite his claims, Hugh actually relied on written
documents, such as letters and legislative texts, rather than
oral testimony.(10) Indeed, the Narratio includes
several important letters, either as extracts or in their entirety,
to lend authority
and
credence to his work; this was a common way for medieval writers
to underline the veracity of their text.(11)