An English chronicler; b. 1378; d. about 1460. He was of northern parentage and entered the service of Henry Percy (Hotspur), and subsequently that of Sir Robert Umfreville. He was present at the battles of Homildon Hill (1402) and Shrewsbury (1403), and in 1405 was made constable of Warkworth Castle. In 1415 he accompanied Umfreville to Harfleur, took part in the battle of Agincourt, and was later employed by Henry V to visit Scotland in order to procure official documents to show that Scotland was subservient to England. Shortly before Henry's death (1422) Hardyng returned with his results and was rewarded with the manor of Geddington, Northamptonshire. In 1424 he was in Rome consulting historical works on behalf of Cardinal Beaufort, and later on he resumed his Scottish investigations. His conduct on this mission is indefensible, for he forged many documents, some of which still survive in the Record Office, London, and returned to claim a reward for his fraudulent work. Before 1436 he had been made constable of Kyme Castle, in Lincolnshire, where he lived for many years, and he now received an annual grant from that county. His later years were occupied in the compilation of his chronicle, which is valuable because of his acquaintance with the leading statesmen of his age. He wrote three different versions: the first, compiled in the Lancastrian interest, ends in 1436; the second was written as a Yorkist; and the third, dedicated to Edward IV and his queen, goes down to 1461. No critical edition of the Chronicle has yet been published and the version first printed by Richard Grafton differs from all existing manuscripts. The latest edition was polished by H. Ellis in 1812, and reproduces Grafton's version including his continuation to the reign of Henry VIII.

The Catholic Encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on Catholic teaching, history, and information ever gathered in all of human history. This easy-to-search online version was originally printed in fifteen hardcopy volumes.

Designed to present its readers with the full body of Catholic teaching, the Encyclopedia contains not only precise statements of what the Church has defined, but also an impartial record of different views of acknowledged authority on all disputed questions, national, political or factional. In the determination of the truth the most recent and acknowledged scientific methods are employed, and the results of the latest research in theology, philosophy, history, apologetics, archaeology, and other sciences are given careful consideration.

No one who is interested in human history, past and present, can ignore the Catholic Church, either as an institution which has been the central figure in the civilized world for nearly two thousand years, decisively affecting its destinies, religious, literary, scientific, social and political, or as an existing power whose influence and activity extend to every part of the globe. In the past century the Church has grown both extensively and intensively among English-speaking peoples. Their living interests demand that they should have the means of informing themselves about this vast institution, which, whether they are Catholics or not, affects their fortunes and their destiny.

Copyright © Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company New York, NY. Volume 1: 1907; Volume 2: 1907; Volume 3: 1908; Volume 4: 1908; Volume 5: 1909; Volume 6: 1909; Volume 7: 1910; Volume 8: 1910; Volume 9: 1910; Volume 10: 1911; Volume 11: - 1911; Volume 12: - 1911; Volume 13: - 1912; Volume 14: 1912; Volume 15: 1912

Catholic Online Catholic Encyclopedia Digital version Compiled and Copyright © Catholic Online