Richard of Cirencester

S.A.A. inquires whether the authenticity of Richard of Cirencester, the Monk of Westminster, has ever been satisfactorily proved. The prevailing opinion amongst some of the greatest antiquaries has been that the work was a forgery by Dr. Bertram, of Copenhagen, with a view of testing the antiquarian knowledge of the famous Dr. Stukeley; of this opinion was the learned and acute Dr. Whittaker and Mr. Conybeare. It is also further worthy of mention that some years since, when the late Earl Spencer was in Copenhagen, he searched in vain for the original manuscript, which no one there could tell h…