A former prior of Belvoir, Roger of Wendover (d.1236) established himself as a chronicler at St Albans. This three-volume work, edited by Henry G. Hewlett (1832-97) and published between 1886 and 1889, comprises the latter part of the larger Flores opus and the part of the Latin text for which Wendover can claim direct responsibility. Volume 3 includes the introductory matter, glossary and index to all three volumes. Hewlett's introduction discusses the little we know of Roger of Wendover's life as well as his shortcomings and merits as an annalist - namely that he was unreasoningly credulous yet invariably candid. His true importance, however, is as a key influence on his historiographical successor, Matthew Paris, whose political outlook and interests he helped to shape. A comparison is drawn between this work and that of Paris, the more gifted chronicler, who 'complemented the deficiencies of Wendover's narrative by substantial additions'.
