(William), an ancient English historian, known also by the name of Galilaeus Neubrigensis, was born at Bridlington in the county of York, in the year 1136; and educated in the abbey of Newborough in the same county, where he became a monk. In his advanced years, he composed a history of England, in five books, from the Norman conquest to A.D. 1197; which for veracity, regularity of disposition, and purity of language, is one of the most valuable productions of this period.