The ''Northern Annals'', also called the ''York Annals'', ''Old Northumbrian Annals'' or ''Annals of Alcuin'', are a set of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

from

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

covering the years from 732 until at least 806. No independent copy of the annals survives, but they have been partially reconstructed from later sources that incorporated or drew on them. Their authenticity is proved by their inclusion of material unlikely to have been invented by later chroniclers and astronomical observations that could only have been made by contemporaries. The ''York Annals'' were a continuation of the annals contained in book V, chapter 24 of

Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...

's ''

Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' ( la, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the conflict be ...

'', which covered the years from 60 BC to AD 731. Two lines of reasoning suggest that they were composed at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

: the level of detail concerning that city and the connection of the later entries to

Alcuin of York Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

. The

Latinity Latinity (''Latinitas'') is proficiency in Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then kn ...

of the later entries bears some resemblance to Alcuin's style and the inclusion of continental material may be owed to Alcuin's continental connections. The annals were produced in phases. The Moore manuscript of the ''Ecclesiastical History'' includes a continuation of the annals down to 734 drawn from an early draft of the ''York Annals''. Later continuations of ''Ecclesiastical History'' known from the German family of manuscripts of the 12th-century and later cover the episcopate of

Ecgbert of York Ecgbert (died 19 November 766) was an 8th-century cleric who established the archdiocese of York in 735. In 737, Ecgbert's brother became king of Northumbria and the two siblings worked together on ecclesiastical issues. Ecgbert was a correspond ...

from 732 to 766 based on the ''York Annals''. About the same time, material from the ''York Annals'' entered the northern version of the ''

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

''. The version of the annals completed in 806 was used by

Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (died after 1129) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon entered the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow as a youth. It moved to Durham in 1074, and he was professed in 1085 or ...

in his '' History of the Church of Durham'' and in the '' History of the Kings'' in the 1120s. The anonymous '' History of the Saxons and Angles after the Death of Bede'', preserved by

Roger of Howden Roger of Howden or Hoveden (died 1202) was a 12th-century English chronicler, diplomat and head of the minster of Howden in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Roger and Howden minster Roger was born to a clerical family linked to the ancient minste ...

, who copied it into his history, and the ''

Chronicle of Melrose The ''Chronicle of Melrose'' is a medieval chronicle from the Cottonian Manuscript, Faustina B. ix within the British Museum. It was written by unknown authors, though evidence in the writing shows that it most likely was written by the monks a ...

'' also contain material from the ''York Annals''. There is no evidence that the ''York Annals'' were continued past 806, although

Roger of Wendover Roger of Wendover (died 6 May 1236), probably a native of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, was an English chronicler of the 13th century. At an uncertain date he became a monk at St Albans Abbey; afterwards he was appointed prior of the cell o ...

's '' Flowers of History'' contains some later annals of dubious authenticity. The name "Northern" or "Northumbrian Annals" is sometimes also used for a set of annals of the years 888–957 preserved alongside the ''York Annals'' in the manuscript Cambridge CCC 139 of the ''History of the Kings''.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{refend English chronicles Early medieval Latin literature 8th-century texts 9th-century texts