Authorship and Further Manuscripts of the Gesta Regis Ricardi Secundi and Vita Ricardi Secundi

Two of the earliest and most important sources forthe reign of Richard II, king of England (1377-99), are the Gesta regis Ricardi seamdi and the Vita Ricardi seamdi, the latter of which Stow titles Histoha uitae et regni Ricardi seamdi in his critical edition of the text. They are themselves related, with the latter drawing on the former for its early years, so that they are sometimes confused. Indeed, two copies of the Vita, MSS 5 and 17 below, continue the Gesta and so further confuse the relationship between the texts.