SIMEON OF DURHAM

died , c. Oct. 14, 1130/38 also spelled Symeon chronicler of medieval England. Simeon entered the Benedictine abbey at Jarrow, in the county of Durham, in about 1071. This abbey was moved (1083) to the town of Durham, and there he made his religious vows in 1085/86 and later became choirmaster. Between 1104 and 1108 Simeon wrote Historia ecclesiae Dunelmensis, a history of the see of Durham from its establishment in 635 at Lindisfarne (Holy Island) to 1096. The Historia regum (History of the Kings), consisting of two overlapping English histories covering the years 731957 and 8481129, was formerly attributed to him. It is now believed that he was the author only of the second history: a chronicle for the years 8481118 (based on the Life of King Alfred by Asser and the Chronicon of Florence of Worcester) and a narrative of the years 111929 (part original, part based on Edmer's history of the church in Canterbury).