De obsessione Dunelmi
De obsessione Dunelmi ("On the siege of Durham") is an historical work written in the north of England during the Anglo-Norman period, almost certainly at Durham, and probably in either the late 11th or early 12th century. It survives in only one copy, transcribed between 1161 and 1167, and the original text is believed to predate this by several decades.
It describes events in 11th century Northumbria, focusing on the lives of the earls of Bamburgh, including their blood feud with Thurbrand the Hold and his descendants. The historian Antonia Grandsden saw it as a kind of biography of Uhtred of Bamburgh, seeing it as the first-known attempt to write a history of an English earldom, while other scholars suggest it originated as a letter.
| De obsessione Dunelmi | |
|---|---|
| "On the siege of Durham" | |
| Full title | De obsessione Dunelmi et de probitate Uhtredi comitis, et de comitibus qui ei successerunt |
| Author(s) | anonymous |
| Language | Latin |
| Date | Late 11th or early 12th century |
| Manuscript(s) | Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139 |
| Subject | St Cuthbert and the property of the church of St Cuthbert |
| Period covered | 11th century |
| Personages | Earls of Bamburgh, Thurbrand the Hold |