Bartholomaeus de Cotton, the Cellarer of Norwich Cathedral Priory, died in 1321/2. His most important work is the Historia Anglicana, written in 1292, with a few later additions. Book I, the history of Britain, taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth, was omitted by H. R. Luard from this 1859 edition. Book II, the history of England, is divided into two sections, from 455 to 1066, and from 1066 to the end of the thirteenth century. The work is most valuable for the period after 1264, as one of Cotton's sources, an anonymous Norwich chronicle, contains material not found elsewhere, and he also quotes from ecclesiastical and royal documents. Book III gives the history of the bishops and archbishops of England, mostly taken from other sources but with some useful material relating to the Diocese of Norwich. A glossary is provided.
