turned their minds to the composition of Latin histories of their own people". Henry of Huntingdon referred to Bede as "that holy and venerable man, a man of brilliant mind,". For writing contemporary history, historians could draw on their own eye-witness accounts, reports from those they met and primary source documents such as letters. A good network of contacts was essential, and taking many journeys was common. Clerics assigned to the courts of Kings would often have the best access to information, such as Roger of Howden in Henry I's reign. Although some monks, such as William of Newburgh, never left their monastery, yet he was able to obtain considerable information through the network of story-telling and gossip which existed in the theoretical seclusion and silence of monastic life. List of historians Listed chronologically, by authors death. Dates represent the historical period covered by the work(s). Works and authors listed are not exhaustive. These are the major and most significant historians and chroniclers of the period. Eadmer, History of Recent Events (Historia novorum) 960-1109 John of Worcester Chronicon ex chronicis 1-1140 William of Malmesbury, Deeds of the English Kings (Gesta regum Anglorum) 449-1120 Symeon of Durham, History of the Kings (Historia regum) 616-1129 Henry of Huntingdon, History of the English (Historia Anglorum) 55BC-1129 Alfred of Beverley, Annales sive Historia de gestis regum Britanniae 1-1129 Orderic Vitalis, Ecclesiastical History (Historia Ecclesiastica) 1-1141, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 1-1154 Deeds of King Stephen (Gesta Stephani) 1-1154 William of Newburgh, History of English Affairs (Historia rerum Anglicarum), 1066–1198 Gervase of Canterbury, Chronicle (Chronicon), 1135–1199 Ralph of Diceto, Images of History (Imagines Historiarum), 1148–1202 Roger of Howden, Chronicle (Chronicon) 732–1201 Walter Map, Trifles of the Court (De Nugis Curialium) (died 1209) Gerald of Wales, Itinerarium Cambriae 1191, Descriptio Cambriae 1194 Ralph of Coggeshall, Chronicle (Chronicon) 1066–1224 Roger of Wendover, Flores Historiarum 1202–1235 Matthew Paris, Chronica Maiora (died 1259) Piers Langtoft, Langtoft's Chronicle (Chronicon) (died 1307) Nicholas Trivet, Annales sex regum Angliae 1135–1307 Robert Mannyng, Chronicle (Chronica) (translations of earlier work, through 1338) Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth is singled out from the list because, on the one hand, he was one of the most popular historians in England of this period. On the other hand, his Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) was considered almost entirely fiction and was not considered authentic history by some other contemporary historians. Kings of Britain covers the