town of Prussia, province of Lower Rhine, and government of Aix-la-Chapelle, stands 21 miles S.S.W. of the town of that name, on the S. bank of the Warge. It has three churches, one of them very handsome, a school, and a justice-of-peace court. The manufactures consist chiefly of cotton and woollen stuffs, leather, lace, paper, soap, and glue. There are here also mineral springs, little inferior in quality to those of Spa, but not much frequented. Pop. (1849) 4259.

Malmesbury, William of, an old English historian, descended by his father's side from the Normans, and by his mother's from the Saxons, was born in Somersetshire about 1095 or 1096. At an early age he entered the monastery of Malmesbury, where he subsequently became librarian and precentor. He is also said to have declined the abbotship. From his youth Malmesbury was an enthusiastic devotee of literature. He explored the chief monastic libraries in the kingdom, and with equal ardour pursued books of poetry, divinity, biography, and history. His care in correcting his style is seen by the changes in the four several editions of his De Gestis Regum that appeared during his lifetime; and no less evident in his writings is his scrupulous regard for historic truth. His numerous and apposite quotations from Latin authors show that he possessed an acquaintance with their works alike wide and intimate. Malmesbury was in high repute in his own day, and was patronized and befriended by Robert Earl of Gloucester, natural son of Henry I. The date of his death is generally fixed at 1143; but the fact that his Historia Novella, published in 1142, was afterwards subjected to a thorough revision and emendation, evidently from his own hand, seems to indicate that he must have lived considerably longer.

The following is a list of his works:—De Gestis Regum; Historia Novella; De Gestis Pontificum; De Vita Abdalensis; De Vita S. Dunstanii; Vita S. Patricii; Miracula S. Benigni; Fassio S. Indracti; De Antiquitate Glastoniensi Ecclesiae; Vita S. Wulstani Episcopi Westmonasteriensis; Chronicon; Miracula S. Elfipso; Rerum Angliae Ab Miroculus ad Regnum Ricardi II.; Explicatio Thronorum Hierarchiae; De Miraculis S. Martinii; De Sanctis Angliae; Miracula S. Andreae; Abbreviation Amalarius de Ecclesiasticis Officiis, et Explication Historiae Alamannis Fiorencensis. Malmesbury's De Gestis Regum, Historia Novella, and De Gestis Pontificum, were published by Savile in his Scriptores post Bedam, 1596 and 1601. The De Vita Abdalensis and the De Antiquitate Ecclesiae Glastoniensis appeared in Gale's Scriptores XV., Oxford, 1691. The former of these works and the Vita S. Wulstani are printed in the second volume of Wharton's Anglia Sacra. In 1815 was published The History of the Kings of England, and the Modern History of William Malmesbury, translated by the Rev. John Sharpe, 4to, London. This translation has been reprinted in Bohn's Antiquarian Library, 1847.

Malmesbury, a parliamentary borough and market-town of England, county of Wiltshire, situate on a hill near the Avon, which winds almost round it, and is spanned by several bridges, 174 miles N.N.W. of Bath, and 86 miles W. of London. The town consists of three main streets not very regularly laid out. The houses are for the most part built of stone; and in the market-place stands an ancient octagonal cross, richly ornamented with carved work, supposed to be as early as the reign of Henry VIII. The town was formerly defended by walls and a castle of some strength, and it possessed a very large abbey, covering 45 acres of ground, of which little now remains except the church, an excellent specimen of early English architecture. Besides this, there is the church of St Mary's; and of a third, St Paul's, little more than the tower now remains. There are also places of worship belonging to the Independents, Baptists, and Moravians, two schools, a savings-bank, and a market-house recently erected. A considerable amount of wool manufacture was formerly carried on here, but now the manufactures are unimportant. There is a silk mill; and tanning, brewing, and lace-making are carried on to a small extent. The place, however, is on the decline, and the inhabitants are mainly engaged in agricultural pursuits. Cattle markets are held here monthly, Malmö and three great horse and cattle fairs in the year. The market-day is Saturday. The chief importance of Malmesbury is derived from its antiquity and historical interest. According to the ancient chronicles, a monastery was founded here in the seventh century, which, after being twice burnt by the Danes in the ninth and tenth centuries, finally rose to be one of the principal establishments of the kind in the W. of England, and in the reign of Edward III. was raised to the dignity of a mitred abbey. In the time of Stephen the town, which had then been newly fortified, was an object of some contention, and in the civil war of Charles I. it was taken from the royalists by Sir William Waller in 1643, but it was soon recovered, and again taken a short time after. At this time, too, the church received great injury, and was reduced to its present ruined state. This borough has returned members to Parliament since the time of Edward I. Previous to the Reform Act it had two representatives, but the number has now been reduced to one. The town is famous for its connection with several writers of eminence. St Aldhelm, a Saxon writer of the seventh century, and Thomas Hobbes, sometimes called the "Philosopher of Malmesbury," were born here; and William of Malmesbury, one of the best of medieval historians, was, during the greater part of his life, a monk of the abbey. Pop. (1851) 6998.

MALMÖ, a seaport-town of Sweden, capital of the laen or province of the same name, stands on the E. shore of the Sound, nearly opposite Copenhagen, from which it is 16 miles distant; N. Lat. 55° 40', E. Long. 13'. The town, which stands on a level plain, is well laid out with regular and well built streets, and has a fine square in the centre. Malmö was formerly very strongly fortified, being surrounded by walls and ditches, and protected by a castle; but the walls have been demolished, and only the castle now remains, which is used as a prison and barracks. The square is adorned by a handsome avenue of limes and other trees; and the principal buildings in the town are two churches, one of which has a fine interior and a large organ. The harbour, which consists of a roadstead and an artificial inner basin, is only accessible to small vessels. Being, however, the principal commercial town in the fertile province to which it belongs, it carries on an extensive trade, particularly in grain and brandy. The manufactures are considerable, consisting of woollen cloth, starch, gloves, stockings, hats, carpets, tobacco, soap, &c. Steamers ply regularly between this and Copenhagen, accomplishing the distance in two hours. Pop. 10,203. The laen or province of the same name, of which Malmö is the capital, is one of the richest in Sweden, and comprises an area of 1774 square miles. It is bounded by Christianstad on the N. and E., by the Baltic on the S., and by the Sound on the W. The surface is for the most part level, though occasionally diversified with hills. It includes several lakes. The produce of this district consists of corn, potatoes, hemp, hops, tobacco, and fruits; and the horses and cattle reared here are said to be the finest in Sweden. Corn and cattle are the chief articles of export. Pop. of laen (1850) 253,084.