William of Ramsey

William of Ramsey

Flourished about 1219. Nothing is known of his life except that he was a monk of Crowland Abbey who had been born at Ramsey, and who wrote lives of saints, some of which are in verse. He has been confused with William of Crowland, Abbot of Ramsey and afterwards of Cluny, who died in 1179. William of Ramsey wrote a poem on the translation of St. Guthlac, a prose account of the translation of St. Neot (printed in Acta SS., VII July, 330), a prose life of St. Waltheof (printed in Michel, "Chroniques anglo-normandes"). Liebermann ascribes to him other works on Waltheof found in the same manuscript, and Baronius regarded him as the author of the Life of St. Edmund of Canterbury published by Surius. Verified lives of St. Fremund, St. Edmund the King, and St. Birinus are attributed to him by Leland.

LELAND, De rebus britannicis collect. (London, 1774); HARDY, Descriptive Catalogue, I (London, 1862).

EDWIN BURTON