In the preceding three chapters, I have looked at representations of different periods of national history in Anglo-Norman chronicles. But not all history was national history–Anglo-Norman historical works also recounted universal history, histories of religious institutions and histories of noble families. In this chapter, I will consider those works written in Anglo-Norman which aimed primarily to give an account of family history. I will discuss the fullest examples of these: the Genealogy of the Lords of Brecknock, the Delapré Chronicle, the Mohun Chronicle and Fouke le Fitz Waryn. In each case the family's genealogy determined the basic structure of these works, and they appear to have served pragmatic purposes, such as asserting ownership of inherited lands. However, in support of such purposes family chronicles were willing, like the chronicles of national history, to absorb legendary material and romance elements as a means of creating a vivid, dramatic account of the family's past.

Family genealogies

Genealogies were not the invention of the Middle Ages, but they did enjoy great popularity in medieval Europe. However, most genealogies in Europe before the second half of the eleventh century described only the lineage of royal families. Gradually, between the late eleventh and the thirteenth century, noble families, and then those of more humble status, increasingly became the subject of genealogies as well. The reasons for this great proliferation of genealogical writing are not fully understood: factors that played a part include changes in the way lands were inherited and a desire to heed the Church's prohibitions on incest.