A Norbert for England: Holy Trinity and the Invention of Robert of Knaresborough

This essay considers the relationship between two monastic vitae and their historical subjects. The prose vita of the English hermit Robert of Knaresborough that is extant in London, British Library, MS Egerton 3143 contains a number of passages borrowed from the Vita B of Norbert of Xanten, the founder of Premontre. These two otherwise unaffiliated figures of religious reform are connected through Robert’s biographer, most likely a brother of the late-established Trinitarian Order, who extracted key details from Norbert’s vita to shape Robert in the founder’s image. In Egerton’s prose vita, Robert is ultimately made to serve as a legitimate origin for, and as a founder of, the Trinitarian Order at Knaresborough.

Publisher: Brepols Publishers