This thesis on the verse chronicle of John Hardyng (1378-c.1465), which is extant in two versions, is divided into two parts: a study of Hardyng and his Chronicle, and an edition of both versions for the years 1327-1464. Part I contains two chapters: John Hardyng and his Chronicle, and John Hardyng and the Construction of History. The first chapter comprises an Introduction, which provides information about knowledge of Hardyng in the post-medieval period and an overview of modern scholarship, and a section on the life of John Hardyng, which places him in the context of the period prior to, and including, the turbulent Wars of the Roses; this is followed by a description of the single manuscript of the first version and the twelve manuscripts and three fragments of the second version, accompanied by an analysis of the relationships of the manuscripts. The second chapter examines the complicated compositional circumstances of the two versions, taking into account historical developments in the period, and exploring recurrent topics and themes in the two versions. Part I concludes with an edition of Illustrative Texts, which include the prologues and the story of the founding of Albion, exemplifying the topics discussed in the preceding chapter. Part II of the thesis is an edition of the two versions for the years 1327-1464, selected for their relevance to the public and political affairs of late medieval England, and because it is in this section that Hardyng draws together his conclusions about the reigns of previous monarchs in relation to the present governance of England; the edition is supported by full critical apparatus and a commentary for each version, containing background contextual and historical information, and comparative allusions to other contemporary historical and literary texts. The thesis concludes with six appendices, a selective glossary and a bibliography
