The most prominent historical work was that by Matthew Paris, a monk
of St. Alban's, written in Latin, based largely on earlier chronicles,
and covering the period from the Norman Conquest, 1066, to his death,
in 1259. It is a work of much value, and was continued by writers of
the same abbey.
The first English prose work was a volume of travels by Sir John
Mandeville, dedicated to Edward III. It was followed by Wycliffe's
translation of the Bible into English from the Latin version, and by
Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," the first great English poem.