(Radulph de Diceto, Ralph of Diss)
(ca. 1130–1202)
Ralph of Diceto was dean of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London in the late 12th century, and the author of two important chronicles. An advocate of the Angevin royal line, Ralph supported HENRY II in his controversy with Thomas BECKETT, and served the royal court of RICHARD I as well. His best-known work, the Ymagines historiarum (Outlines of histories), is an important primary source for the last years of Henry’s reign, and for the reign of Richard. Scholars do not agree on the location of “Diceto.” Most believe that Ralph was from France originally. He apparently studied at the University of Paris as a young man, and by 1152 seems to have obtained a degree and was made archdeacon of Middlesex, a position he held for some 28 years.He may have returned to the University of Paris for further study, as well, after his appointment.
In 1166, Ralph was chosen by the English bishops to act as their envoy when they protested a series of excommunications launched by Beckett as archbishop of Canterbury. Generally, however, he seems to have preferred to work behind the scenes, and he never mentions this appointment in his chronicles. Ralph was named dean of Saint Paul’s in 1180, and while he worked hard to reform the administration of the chapter and to initiate new building, and while he is known to have written a number of commentaries on the Scriptures, it is for the historical writings he composed after 1180 that he is remembered.
Diceto was in a position to be acquainted with nearly all of the most powerful people of his time, and as a result had access to eyewitness as well as written sources unavailable to most writers. His two major works are the Abbreviationes chronicorum (which records the history of the world from the birth of Christ until 1147) and the Ymagines historiarum (which begins with the knighting of the future Henry II in 1148 and continues the history until 1201). Ralph relies heavily on a previous chronicler, Robert of Torigny (or Robert de Monte), for events up until about 1272. After that date, and particularly after 1280, Ralph’s chronicle becomes a firsthand contemporary history, and this section of the chronicle is especially valuable to historians.
Diceto has not been admired for his literary style, and occasionally his chronology is unreliable. But his insights into character and into the political ramifications of events are astute, and despite his Angevin sympathies, he is generally balanced and fair in his presentation of events, even in his account of Henry II’s feud with Beckett, perhaps the most politically charged controversy of his time.
Bibliography
■ Stubbs, William, ed. Radulfi de Diceto decani Lundoniensis opera historica. The Historical Works of Master Ralph de Diceto, Dean of London. 2 vols. Rolls Series, 68. London: Longmans, 1876.