WALTER OF COVENTRY

flourished 1290, -1300 English monk or friar, compiler of historical materials, best known for his collection Memoriale Fratris Walteri de Coventria. He probably belonged to a religious house in York diocese. Walter was not a historian or chronicler in his own right; he merely brought together the works of Marianus Scotus, Florence of Worcester, Henry of Huntingdon, Roger of Hoveden, and an anonymous annalist from the Augustinian priory of Barnwell, Cambridgeshire. The Barnwell chronicle, the most important part of Walter's collection, covers the period 1201-25 and is the most valuable contemporary source for King John's reign and especially for his struggle with the church and the English barons. The last date given in the Memoriale is 1293.