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The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of
annals Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...
in
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
, chronicling the history of the
Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the ninth century, probably in
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
, during the reign of King
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...
(r. 871–899). Its content, which incorporated sources now otherwise lost dating from as early as the seventh century, is known as the "Common Stock" of the ''Chronicle''.Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', p. 11. Multiple copies were made of that one original and then distributed to monasteries across England, where they were updated, partly independently. These manuscripts collectively are known as the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. Almost all of the material in the ''Chronicle'' is in the form of annals, by year; the earliest is dated at 60 BC (the annals' date for
Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain In the course of his Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice: in 55 and 54 BC. On the first occasion, Caesar took with him only two legions, and achieved little beyond a landing on the coast of Kent. The second invasion was more substa ...
). In one case, the ''Chronicle'' was still being actively updated in 1154. Nine manuscripts of the ''Chronicle'', none of which is the original, survive in whole or in part. Seven are held in the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
, one in the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
at Oxford, and the oldest in the
Parker Library The Parker Library is a library within Corpus Christi College, Cambridge which contains rare books and manuscripts. It is known throughout the world due to its invaluable collection of over 600 manuscripts, particularly medieval texts, the ...
of
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...
. The oldest seems to have been started towards the end of Alfred's reign, while the most recent was copied at
Peterborough Abbey Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Anglic ...
after a fire at that monastery in 1116. Some later medieval chronicles deriving from lost manuscripts contribute occasional further hints concerning ''Chronicle'' material. Both because much of the information given in the ''Chronicle'' is not recorded elsewhere, and because of the relatively clear chronological framework it provides for understanding events, the ''Chronicle'' is among the most influential historical sources for
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
between the collapse of Roman authority and the decades following the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
;Hunter Blair, ''An Introduction'', p. 355. Nicholas Howe called it and
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
's ''
Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), 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 growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...
'' "the two great Anglo-Saxon works of history". The ''Chronicle''s accounts tend to be highly politicised, with the Common Stock intended primarily to legitimise the
House of Wessex The House of Wessex, also known as the House of Cerdic, the House of the West Saxons, the House of the Gewisse, the Cerdicings and the West Saxon dynasty, refers to the family, traditionally founded by Cerdic of the Gewisse, that ruled Wessex in ...
and the reign of Alfred the Great. Comparison between ''Chronicle'' manuscripts and with other medieval sources demonstrates that the scribes who copied or added to them omitted events or told one-sided versions of them, often providing useful insights into early medieval English politics. The ''Chronicle'' manuscripts are also important sources for the
history of the English language English language, English is a West Germanic language that originated from North Sea Germanic, Ingvaeonic languages brought to Great Britain, Britain in the mid-5th to 7th centuries AD by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo-Saxon migrants ...
; in particular, in annals from 1131 onwards, the later Peterborough text provides key evidence for the transition from the standard
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
literary language to early
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
, containing some of the earliest known Middle English text.Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. xxi–xxviii.


Sources and composition of the Common Stock


Place and date of composition

Historians agree that the Common Stock of the ''Chronicle'' (sometimes also known as the ''Early English Annals'') was edited into its present form between 890 and 892 (ahead of Bishop
Asser Asser (; ; died 909) was a Welsh people, Welsh monk from St David's, Kingdom of Dyfed, Dyfed, who became Bishop of Sherborne (ancient), Bishop of Sherborne in the 890s. About 885 he was asked by Alfred the Great to leave St David's and join ...
's use of a version of the Common Stock in his 893 ''Life of King Alfred''),Keynes and Lapidge, ''Alfred the Great'', p. 55. but there is debate about precisely which year, and when subsequent continuations began to be added.. It is not known for certain where the Common Stock was compiled, not least because the
archetype The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...
is lost, but it is agreed to have been in Wessex.Wormald, "Alfredian Manuscripts", p. 158, in Campbell et al., ''The Anglo-Saxons''.F. M. Stenton, 'The South-Western Element in the Old English Chronicle', in A. G. Little ed, ''Essays in Medieval History presented to T. F. Tout'' (Manchester 1925) p. 22Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. xx–xxi. The patron might have been King Alfred himself (
Frank Stenton Sir Frank Merry Stenton FBA (17 May 1880 – 15 September 1967) was an English historian of Anglo-Saxon England, a professor of history at the University of Reading (1926–1946), president of the Royal Historical Society (1937–1945), Readi ...
, for example, argued for a secular household outside the court), and
Simon Keynes Simon Douglas Keynes ( ; born 23 September 1952) is a British historian who is Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon emeritus in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Trini ...
and
Michael Lapidge Michael Lapidge, FBA (born 8 February 1942) is a scholar in the field of Medieval Latin literature, particularly that composed in Anglo-Saxon England during the period 600–1100 AD; he is an emeritus Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, a Fellow ...
commented that we should "resist the temptation to regard it as a form of West Saxon dynastic
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
".Keynes and Lapidge, ''Alfred the Great'', p. 55. Yet there is no doubt that the Common Stock systematically promotes Alfred's dynasty and rule, and was consistent with his enthusiasm for learning and the use of English as a
written language A written language is the representation of a language by means of writing. This involves the use of visual symbols, known as graphemes, to represent linguistic units such as phonemes, syllables, morphemes, or words. However, written language is ...
. It seems partly to have been inspired by the
Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state of ...
, and its wide distribution is also consistent with Alfredian policies.Campbell, ''The Anglo-Saxon State'', p. 144. Its publication was perhaps prompted by renewed Scandinavian attacks on Wessex.Keynes and Lapidge, ''Alfred the Great'', p. 41.


Sources and reliability

The Common Stock incorporates material from multiple sources, including annals relating to Kentish,
South Saxon The Kingdom of the South Saxons, today referred to as the Kingdom of Sussex (; from , in turn from or , meaning "(land or people of/Kingdom of) the South Saxons"), was one of the seven traditional kingdoms of the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon Englan ...
, Mercian and, particularly, West Saxon history.Lapidge, ''Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 35. It is unclear how far this material was first drawn together by the editor(s) of the Common Stock and how far it had already been combined before the late ninth century: there are no obvious shifts in language features in the Common Stock that could help indicate different sources. Where the Common Stock draws on other known sources its main value to modern historians is as an index of the works and themes that were important to its compilers; where it offers unique material it is of especial historical interest.


The "world history annals"

From the first annal, for 60BC, down to 449, the Common Stock mostly presents key events from beyond Britain, a body of material known as the "world history annals". These drew on
Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...
's ''
De Viris Illustribus ''De Viris Illustribus'', meaning "concerning illustrious men", represents a genre of literature which evolved during the Italian Renaissance in imitation of the exemplary literature of Ancient Rome. It inspired the widespread commissioning of ...
'', the ''
Liber Pontificalis The ''Liber Pontificalis'' (Latin for 'pontifical book' or ''Book of the Popes'') is a book of biography, biographies of popes from Saint Peter until the 15th century. The original publication of the ''Liber Pontificalis'' stopped with Pope Adr ...
'', the translation of
Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
's ''Ecclesiastical History'' by Rufinus, and
Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...
's ''Chronicon''.Susan Irvine, 'The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle', in ''A Companion to Alfred the Great'', ed. by Nicole G. Discenza and Paul E. Szarmach, Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition, 58 (Leiden: Brill, 2015), pp. 344–67; . Alongside these, down to the early eighth century, the Common Stock makes extensive use of the chronological summary from the end of
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
's ''Ecclesiastical History'' (and perhaps occasionally the ''History'' itself). Scholars have read these annals as functioning to present England as part of the Roman and Christian world and its history.


Fifth and sixth centuries

From 449, coverage of non-British history largely vanishes and extensive material about the parts of England which by the ninth century were in Wessex, often unique to the ''Chronicle'', appears. The ''Chronicle'' offers an ostensibly coherent account of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of southern Britain by seafarers who, through a series of battles, establish the kingdoms of Kent, Sussex, and Wessex. This material was once supposed by many historians to be reliable evidence, and formed the backbone of a canonical narrative of early English history; but its unreliability was exposed in the 1980s. The historian Ken Dark argues that a ninth-century text is only reliable for the fifth and sixth century if it is based on written sources dating to the period, and as there is no reason to believe that any substantial texts were written at that time, there is no reason to trust entries in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' for this period. The earliest non-Bedan material here seems to be based primarily on royal genealogies and lists of bishops that were perhaps first being put into writing around 600, as English kings converted to Christianity, and more certainly by the end of the reign of
Ine of Wessex Ine or Ini (died in or after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726. At Ine's accession, his kingdom dominated much of what is now southern England. However, he was unable to retain the territorial gains of his predecessor, Cædwalla of Wessex ...
(r. 689–726).David N. Dumville, 'The West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List and the Chronology of Early Wessex', ''Peritia'', 4 (1985), 21–66
Such sources are best represented by the Anglian king-list">Anglian King-list The Anglian collection is a collection of Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies and regnal lists. These survive in four manuscripts; two of which now reside in the British Library. The remaining two belong to the libraries of Corpus Christi College, Cambr ...
and the probably derived West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List. Detailed comparison of these sources with the Common Stock has helped to show the degree of invention in the Common Stock's vision of the fifth and sixth centuries. For example, perhaps due to edits in intermediary annals, the beginning of the reign of
Cerdic Cerdic ( ; ) is described in the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' as a leader of the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, being the founder and first king of Wessex, reigning from around 519 to 534 AD. Subsequent kings of Wessex were each claimed by the ...
, supposedly the founder of the West-Saxon dynasty, seems to have been pushed back from 538AD in the earliest reconstructable version of the List to 500AD in the Common Stock. At times, invention, usually through folk-etymological origin-myths based on
place-names Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...
, is even more obvious. For example, between 514 and 544 the ''Chronicle'' makes reference to Wihtgar, who was supposedly buried on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
at ''Wihtgaræsbyrg'' ("Wihtgar's stronghold") and gave his name to the island. However, the name of the Isle of Wight derives from the Latin ''Vectis'', not from ''Wihtgar''. The actual name of the fortress was probably ''Wihtwarabyrg'' ("the stronghold of the inhabitants of Wight"), and either the Common Stock editor(s) or an earlier source misinterpreted this as referring to Wihtgar.


Seventh and eighth centuries

In addition to the sources listed above, it is thought that the Common Stock draws on contemporary annals that began to be kept in Wessex during the seventh century, perhaps as annotations of Easter Tables, drawn up to help clergy determine the dates of upcoming Christian feasts, which might be annotated with short notes of memorable events to distinguish one year from another.Kenneth Harrison, ''The Framework of Anglo-Saxon History to A.D. 900'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976). The annal for 648 may mark the point after which entries that were written as a contemporary record begin to appear, and the annal for 661 records a battle fought by Cenwalh that is said to have been fought "at Easter", a precision which implies a contemporary record.Yorke, ''Kings and Kingdoms'', p. 128.Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. xviii–xix. Similar but separate sources would explain the dates and genealogies for
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
n and
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
n kings.Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', p. 16. The entry for 755, describing how
Cynewulf Cynewulf (, ; also spelled Cynwulf or Kynewulf) is one of twelve Old English poets known by name, and one of four whose work is known to survive today. He presumably flourished in the 9th century, with possible dates extending into the late 8th ...
took the kingship of
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
from Sigeberht, is far longer than the surrounding entries, and includes direct speech quotations from the participants in those events. It seems likely that this was taken by the scribe from existing saga material.


Ninth century

From the late eighth century onwards, a period coinciding in the text with the beginning of Scandinavian raids on England, the Chronicle gathers momentum. As the ''Chronicle'' proceeds, it loses its list-like appearance, and annals become longer and more narrative in content. Many later entries contain a great deal of historical narrative in each annal.Crystal, ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia'', 15.


Development after the Common Stock

After the original ''Chronicle'' was compiled, copies were made and distributed to various monasteries. Additional copies were made, for further distribution or to replace lost manuscripts, and some copies were updated independently of each other. It is copies of this sort that constitute our surviving ''Chronicle'' manuscripts. The manuscripts were produced in different places, and at times adaptations made to the Common Stock in the course of copying reflect the agendas of the copyists, providing valuable alternative perspectives. These colour both the description of interactions between
Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...
and other kingdoms, and the descriptions of the Vikings' depredations. For example, the Common Stock's annal for 829 describes
Egbert Egbert is a name that derives from old Germanic words meaning "bright edge", such as that of a blade. Anglo-Saxon variant spellings include Ecgberht () and Ecgbert. German variant spellings include Eckbert and Ekbert. People with the first name Mi ...
's invasion of
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
with the comment that the Northumbrians offered him "submission and peace". The Northumbrian chronicles incorporated into
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 ...
's thirteenth-century history give a different picture, however: "When Egbert had obtained all the southern kingdoms, he led a large army into Northumbria, and laid waste that province with severe pillaging, and made King Eanred pay tribute."Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 60–61.P. Wormald, "The Ninth Century", p. 139, in Campbell et al., ''The Anglo-Saxons''. Similar divergences are apparent in how different manuscripts copy post-Common Stock continuations of the ''Chronicle''. For example, Ælfgar, earl of
East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...
, and son of Leofric, the earl of Mercia, was exiled briefly in 1055. The and manuscripts say the following:Translations from Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 184–18.Campbell et al., ''The Anglo-Saxons'', p. 222. * "Earl Ælfgar, son of Earl Leofric, was outlawed without any fault ..." * "Earl Ælfgar, son of Earl Leofric, was outlawed well-nigh without fault ..." * "Earl Ælfgar was outlawed because it was thrown at him that he was traitor to the king and all the people of the land. And he admitted this before all the men who were gathered there, although the words shot out against his will." The 1055 campaign involving Ælfgar and Welsh King
Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ( – 5 August 1063) was the first and only Welsh king to unite all of Wales under his rule from 1055 to 1063. He had also previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys from 1039 to 1055. Gruffudd was the son of Llywelyn ap ...
, as recorded in manuscripts and offers examples of how scribes shaped narratives to align with regional or political agendas. Besides emphasizing Ælfgar's innocence, his collaboration with Gruffudd, who is portrayed as a key ally and titled as a Welsh king, is also extensively mentioned. Conversely, omits Gruffudd's title and focuses on Ælfgar's alleged treachery, framing both figures as aggressors in the Hereford campaign.
Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...
historian Rebecca Thomas states this ideological framing aligns with ��s broader "pro-Godwine" perspective (referring to the Anglo-Saxon Godwine family dynasty to whom
King Harold II Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...
belonged) . Meanwhile, minimizes details of Gruffudd's involvement in the campaign, offering a more subdued account that excludes his royal title and reduces his role to a supporting figure. Scribes might also omit material, sometimes accidentally, but also for ideological reasons. Ælfgar was Earl of Mercia by 1058, and in that year was exiled again. This time only has anything to say: "Here Earl Ælfgar was expelled, but he soon came back again, with violence, through the help of Gruffydd. And here came a raiding ship-army from
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
; it is tedious to tell how it all happened." In this case other sources exist to clarify the picture: a major Norwegian attempt was made on England, but says nothing at all, and scarcely mentions it. It has sometimes been argued that when the ''Chronicle'' is silent, other sources that report major events must be mistaken, but this example demonstrates that the ''Chronicle'' does omit important events.


Errors in dating

The process of manual copying introduced accidental errors in dates; such errors were sometimes compounded in the chain of transmission. The whole of the Common Stock has a chronological dislocation of two years for the period 756–845 due to two years being missed out in the archetype. In the manuscript, the scribe omits the year 1044 from the list on the left hand side. The annals copied down are therefore incorrect from 1045 to 1052, which has two entries.Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. xiv–xvi. A more difficult problem is the question of the date at which a new year began, since the modern custom of starting the year on 1 January was not universal at that time. The entry for 1091 in begins at
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
and continues throughout the year; it is clear that this entry follows the old custom of starting the year at Christmas. Some other entries appear to begin the year on 25 March, such as the year 1044 in the manuscript, which ends with
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 â€“ 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
's marriage on 23 January, while the entry for 22 April is recorded under 1045. There are also years which appear to start in September.


Surviving manuscripts

Of the nine surviving manuscripts, seven are written entirely in
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
(also known as Anglo-Saxon). One, known as the ''Bilingual Canterbury Epitome'', is in Old English with a translation of each annal into
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
. Another, the ''
Peterborough Chronicle The ''Peterborough Chronicle'' (also called the Laud manuscript and the E manuscript) is a version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'' originally maintained by the monks of Peterborough Abbey, now in Cambridgeshire. It contains unique informa ...
'', is in Old English except for the last entry, which is in early
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...
. The oldest (Corp. Chris. MS 173) is known as the ''Winchester Chronicle'' or the ''Parker Chronicle'' (after
Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 to his death. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with Thomas Cranmer ...
, an
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
, who once owned it), and is written in Old English until 1070, then Latin to 1075. Six of the manuscripts were printed in an 1861 edition for the Rolls Series by
Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe (1782 – 19 July 1870) was an English scholar of Old English language, Anglo-Saxon literature. Biography In the early 1820s he worked as a banker in the House of Rothschild, in Paris. There he met Thomas Hodgkin, who treated hi ...
with the text laid out in columns labelled A to F. He also included the few readable remnants of a burned seventh manuscript, which he referred to as partially destroyed in a fire at
Ashburnham House Ashburnham House is an extended seventeenth-century house on Little Dean's Yard in Westminster, London, United Kingdom, which since 1882 has been part of Westminster School. It is occasionally open to the public, when its staircase and first f ...
in London in 1731. Following this convention, the two additional manuscripts are often called and The surviving manuscripts are listed below; though manuscript G was burned in a fire in 1731, and only a few leaves remain.


Relationships between the manuscripts

The manuscripts are all thought to derive from a common original, but the connections between the texts are more complex than simple inheritance via copying. The diagram at right gives an overview of the relationships between the manuscripts. The following is a summary of the relationships that are known. * 2was a copy of made in Winchester, probably between 1001 and 1013. * was used in the compilation of at Abingdon, in the mid-11th century. However, the scribe for also had access to another version, which has not survived. * includes material from
Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...
's ''
Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...
'' written by 731 and from a set of 8th-century Northumbrian annals and is thought to have been copied from a northern version that has not survived. * has material that appears to derive from the same sources as but does not include some additions that appear only in such as the
Mercia Mercia (, was one of the principal kingdoms founded at the end of Sub-Roman Britain; the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy. It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlan ...
n Register. This manuscript was composed at the monastery in Peterborough, some time after a fire there in 1116 that probably destroyed their copy of the ''Chronicle''; appears to have been created thereafter as a copy of a
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
ish version, probably from
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
. * appears to include material from the same Canterbury version that was used to create *Asser's ''Life of King Alfred'', which was written in 893, includes a translation of the ''Chronicles entries from 849 to 887. Only of surviving manuscripts, could have been in existence by 893, but there are places where Asser departs from the text in so it is possible that Asser used a version that has not survived. * Æthelweard wrote a translation of the ''Chronicle'', known as the ''Chronicon Æthelweardi'', into Latin in the late 10th century; the version he used probably came from the same branch in the tree of relationships that comes from. *Asser's text agrees with and with Æthelweard's text in some places against the combined testimony of and implying that there is a common ancestor for the latter four manuscripts. *At
Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...
, some time between 1120 and 1140, an unknown author wrote a Latin chronicle known as the ''
Annals of St Neots The ''Annals of St Neots'' is a Latin chronicle compiled and written at Bury St Edmunds Abbey in Suffolk, England, sometime around the range from 1120 to 1140. It covers the history of Britain, extending from its invasion by Julius Caesar in 55B ...
''. This work includes material from a copy of the ''Chronicle'', but it is very difficult to tell which version because the annalist was selective about his use of the material. It may have been a northern
recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from the Latin ("review, analysis"). In textual criticism (as is the ...
, or a Latin derivative of that recension.Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. xix–xx. All the manuscripts described above share a chronological error between the years 756 and 845, but it is apparent that the composer of the ''Annals of St Neots'' was using a copy that did not have this error and which must have preceded them. Æthelweard's copy did have the chronological error but it had not lost a whole sentence from annal 885; all the surviving manuscripts have lost this sentence. Hence the error and the missing sentence must have been introduced in separate copying steps, implying that none of the surviving manuscripts are closer than two removes from the original version.Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', pp. 113–114.


History of the manuscripts


A: Winchester Chronicle

The ''Winchester'' (or ''Parker'') ''Chronicle'' is the oldest manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' that survives. It was begun at
Old Minster, Winchester The Old Minster was the Anglo-Saxon cathedral for the English diocese of Wessex and then Winchester from 660 to 1093. It stood on a site immediately north of and partially beneath its successor, Winchester Cathedral. Some sources say that the m ...
, towards the end of Alfred's reign. The manuscript begins with a genealogy of Alfred, and the first chronicle entry is for the year 60 BC. The section containing the ''Chronicle'' takes up folios 1–32. Unlike the other manuscripts, is of early enough composition to show entries dating back to the late 9th century in the hands of different scribes as the entries were made. The first scribe's hand is dateable to the late 9th or very early 10th century; his entries cease in late 891, and the following entries were made at intervals throughout the 10th century by several scribes. The eighth scribe wrote the annals for the years 925–955, and was clearly at Winchester when he wrote them since he adds some material related to events there; he also uses ''ceaster'', or "city", to mean Winchester.Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', pp. 109–112. The manuscript becomes independent of the other recensions after the entry for 975. The book, which also had a copy of the Laws of Alfred and Ine bound in after the entry for 924, was transferred to Canterbury some time in the early 11th century, as evidenced by a list of books that Archbishop Parker gave to Corpus Christi.Ker, ''Catalogue of Manuscripts'', p. 57. While at Canterbury, some interpolations were made; this required some erasures in the manuscript. The additional entries appear to have been taken from a version of the manuscript from which descends. The last entry in the vernacular is for 1070. After this comes the Latin ''Acta Lanfranci'', which covers church events from 1070 to 1093. This is followed by a list of
pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
s and the Archbishops of Canterbury to whom they sent the
pallium The pallium (derived from the Roman ''pallium'' or ''palla'', a woolen cloak; : pallia) is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the pope, but for many centuries bestowed by the Holy See upon metropolitan bish ...
. The manuscript was acquired by Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (1559–1575) and is in the collection of the
Parker Library, Corpus Christi College The Parker Library is a library within Corpus Christi College, Cambridge which contains rare books and manuscripts. It is known throughout the world due to its invaluable collection of over 600 manuscripts, particularly medieval texts, the ...
.


B: Abingdon Chronicle I

The ''Abingdon Chronicle I'' was written by a single scribe in the second half of the 10th century. The ''Chronicle'' takes up folios 1–34.Ker, ''Catalogue of Manuscripts'', p. 249. It begins with an entry for 60 BC and ends with the entry for 977. A manuscript that is now separate (British Library MS. Cotton Tiberius Aiii, f. 178) was originally the introduction to this chronicle; it contains a genealogy, as does but extends it to the late 10th century. was at Abingdon in the mid-11th century, because it was used in the composition of Shortly after this it went to Canterbury, where interpolations and corrections were made. As with it ends with a list of popes and the archbishops of Canterbury to whom they sent the pallium.


C: Abingdon Chronicle II

C includes additional material from local annals at Abingdon, where it was composed. The section containing the ''Chronicle'' (folios 115–64) is preceded by King Alfred's
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
translation of
Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...
's world history, followed by a
menologium A menologium (, pl. menologia), also known by other names, is any collection of information arranged according to the days of a month, usually a set of such collections for all the months of the year. In particular, it is used for ancient Roman ...
and some gnomic verses of the laws of the natural world and of humanity. Then follows a copy of the chronicle, beginning with 60 BC; the first scribe copied up to the entry for 490, and a second scribe took over up to the entry for 1048. and are identical between 491 and 652, but differences thereafter make it clear that the second scribe was also using another copy of the ''Chronicle''. This scribe also inserted, after the annal for 915, the ''Mercian Register'', which covers the years 902–924, and which focuses on
Æthelflæd Æthelflæd ( – 12 June 918) ruled as Lady of the Mercians in the English Midlands from 911 until her death in 918. She was the eldest child of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith. Æthelflæd ...
. The manuscript continues to 1066 and stops in the middle of the description of the
Battle of Stamford Bridge The Battle of Stamford Bridge () took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under Harold Godwinson, King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force l ...
. In the 12th century a few lines were added to complete the account.


D: Worcester Chronicle

The ''Worcester Chronicle'' appears to have been written in the middle of the 11th century. After 1033 it includes some records from
Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...
, so it is generally thought to have been composed there. Five different scribes can be identified for the entries up to 1054, after which it appears to have been worked on at intervals. The text includes material from Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History'' and from a set of 8th-century Northumbrian annals. It is thought that some of the entries may have been composed by Archbishop Wulfstan. contains more information than other manuscripts on northern and
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
affairs, and it has been speculated that it was a copy intended for the Anglicised Scottish court. From 972 to 1016, the sees of
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
and Worcester were both held by the same person—
Oswald Oswald may refer to: People *Oswald (given name), including a list of people with the name * Oswald (surname), including a list of people with the name Fictional characters *Oswald the Reeve, who tells a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbu ...
from 972,
Ealdwulf Ealdwulf is a male given name used by: * Ealdwulf of East Anglia (), King of the East Angles * Ealdwulf of Sussex, King of Sussex in the early 8th century * Aldwulf of Rochester, Bishop of Rochester from 727 to 736 * Ealdwulf of Lindsey, Bishop ...
from 992, and Wulfstan from 1003, and this may explain why a northern recension was to be found at Worcester. By the 16th century, parts of the manuscript were lost; eighteen pages were inserted containing substitute entries from other sources, including and These pages were written by John Joscelyn, who was secretary to Matthew Parker.Ker, ''Catalogue of Manuscripts'', 254.


E: Peterborough Chronicle

The ''Peterborough Chronicle'': In 1116, a fire at the monastery at Peterborough destroyed most of the buildings. The copy of the ''Chronicle'' kept there may have been lost at that time or later, but in either case shortly thereafter a fresh copy was made, apparently copied from a Kentish version—most likely to have been from Canterbury. The manuscript was written at one time and by a single scribe, down to the annal for 1121.Ker 424–26. The scribe added material relating to Peterborough Abbey which is not in other versions. The Canterbury original which he copied was similar, but not identical, to the Mercian Register does not appear, and a poem about the
Battle of Brunanburh The Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937 between Æthelstan, King of Kingdom of England, England, and an alliance of Olaf Guthfrithson, King of Kingdom of Dublin, Dublin; Constantine II of Scotland, Constantine II, King of Scotland; and O ...
in 937, which appears in most of the other surviving copies of the ''Chronicle'', is not recorded. The same scribe then continued the annals through to 1131; these entries were made at intervals, and thus are presumably contemporary records. Finally, a second scribe, in 1154, wrote an account of the years 1132–1154, though his dating is known to be unreliable. This last entry is in Middle English, rather than Old English. was once owned by
William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...
, Archbishop of Canterbury 1633–1645, so is also known as the ''Laud Chronicle''. The manuscript contains occasional glosses in Latin, and is referred to (as "the Saxon storye of Peterborowe church") in an antiquarian book from 1566. According to Joscelyn, Nowell had a transcript of the manuscript. Previous owners include
William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland that relates la ...
and William L'Isle; the latter probably passed the manuscript on to Laud.


F: Canterbury Bilingual Epitome

The ''Canterbury Bilingual Epitome'' (London, British Library, Cotton Domitian A.viii, folios 30-70): In about 1100, a copy of the ''Chronicle'' was written at
Christ Church, Canterbury Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...
, probably by one of the scribes who made notes in This version is written in both Old English and Latin; each entry in Old English was followed by the Latin version. The version the scribe copied (on folios 30–70) is similar to the version used by the scribe in Peterborough who wrote though it seems to have been abridged. It includes the same introductory material as and, along with is one of the two chronicles that does not include the "Battle of Brunanburh" poem. The manuscript has many annotations and interlineations, some made by the original scribe and some by later scribes, including Robert Talbot.Ker, ''Catalogue of Manuscripts'', p. 187.


A2/G: Copy of the Winchester Chronicle

Copy of the ''Winchester Chronicle'': 2was copied from at Winchester in the eleventh century and follows a 10th-century copy of an Old English translation of Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History''. The last annal copied was 1001, so the copy was made no earlier than that; an episcopal list appended to 2suggests that the copy was made by 1013. This manuscript was almost completely destroyed in the 1731 fire at
Ashburnham House Ashburnham House is an extended seventeenth-century house on Little Dean's Yard in Westminster, London, United Kingdom, which since 1882 has been part of Westminster School. It is occasionally open to the public, when its staircase and first f ...
in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
, where the
Cotton Library The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts that came into the hands of the antiquarian and bibliophile Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631). The collection of books and materials Sir Robert held was one of the three "foun ...
was housed. Of the original 34 leaves, seven remain, ff. 39–47 in the manuscript. However, a transcript had been made by
Laurence Nowell Laurence (or Lawrence) Nowell (1530 – ) was an English antiquarian, cartographer and pioneering scholar of the Old English language and literature. Life Laurence Nowell was born in 1530 in Whalley, Lancashire, the second son of Alexander N ...
, a 16th-century antiquary, which was used by Abraham Wheelocke in an edition of the ''Chronicle'' printed in 1643. Because of this, it is also sometimes known as after Wheelocke. Nowell's transcript copied the genealogical introduction detached from (the page now British Library MS. Cotton Tiberius Aiii, f. 178), rather than that originally part of this document. The original 2introduction would later be removed prior to the fire and survives as British Library Add MS 34652, f. 2. The appellations 2and derive from Plummer, Smith and Thorpe, respectively.Ker, ''Catalogue of Manuscripts'', p. 231.


H: Cottonian Fragment

The ''Cottonian Fragment'' consists of a single leaf, containing annals for 1113 and 1114. In the entry for 1113 it includes the phrase "he came to Winchester"; hence it is thought likely that the manuscript was written at Winchester. There is not enough of this manuscript for reliable relationships to other manuscripts to be established. Ker notes that the entries may have been written contemporarily.


I: Easter Table Chronicle

''Easter Table Chronicle'': A list of ''Chronicle'' entries accompanies a table of years, found on folios 133–37 in a badly burned manuscript containing miscellaneous notes on charms, the calculation of dates for church services, and annals pertaining to Christ Church, Canterbury.Ker, ''Catalogue of Manuscripts'', p. 174. Most of the ''Chronicles entries pertain to Christ Church, Canterbury. Until 1109 (the death of
Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...
) they are in English; all but one of the following entries are in Latin.Ker, ''Catalogue of Manuscripts'', p. 175. Part of was written by a scribe soon after 1073, in the same hand and ink as the rest of the Caligula MS. After 1085, the annals are in various contemporary hands. The original annalist's entry for the
Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
is limited to "Her forðferde eadward kyng"; a later hand added the coming of
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
, "7 her com willelm." At one point this manuscript was at
St Augustine's Abbey St Augustine's Abbey (founded as the Monastery of Ss Peter and Paul and changed after its founder St Augustine of Canterbury's death) was a Benedictine monastery in Canterbury, Kent, England. The abbey was founded in 598 and functioned as a mon ...
, Canterbury.


Lost manuscripts

Two manuscripts are recorded in an old catalogue of the library of Durham; they are described as ''cronica duo Anglica''. In addition, Parker included a manuscript called ''Hist. Angliae Saxonica'' in his gifts but the manuscript that included this, now Cambridge University Library MS. Hh.1.10, has lost 52 of its leaves, including all of this copy of the chronicle.


Use by Latin and Anglo-Norman historians

The three main Anglo-Norman historians,
John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the . Works John of Worcester's principal work was the (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or ...
,
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...
and
Henry of Huntingdon Henry of Huntingdon (; 1088 – 1157), the son of a canon in the diocese of Lincoln, was a 12th-century English historian and the author of ''Historia Anglorum'' (Medieval Latin for "History of the English"), as "the most important Anglo- ...
, each had a copy of the ''Chronicle'', which they adapted for their own purposes.Lapidge, ''Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', p. 36.
Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (fl. c.1090 to c. 1128 ) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon was a Benedictine monk at Durham Cathedral at the end of the eleventh century. He may have been one of 23 mo ...
also had a copy of the ''Chronicle''. Some later medieval historians also used the ''Chronicle'', and others took their material from those who had used it, and so the ''Chronicle'' became "central to the mainstream of English historical tradition". Henry of Huntingdon used a copy of the ''Chronicle'' that was very similar to There is no evidence in his work of any of the entries in after 1121, so although his manuscript may actually have been it may also have been a copy—either one taken of prior to the entries he makes no use of, or a manuscript from which was copied, with the copying taking place prior to the date of the last annal he uses. Henry also made use of the manuscript. The Waverley Annals made use of a manuscript that was similar to though it appears that it did not contain the entries focused on Peterborough. The manuscript of the chronicle translated by
Geoffrey Gaimar Geoffrey Gaimar (fl. 1130s), also written Geffrei or Geoffroy, was an Anglo-Norman chronicler. His contribution to medieval literature and history was as a translator from Old English to Anglo-Norman. His ''L'Estoire des Engleis'', or ''History ...
cannot be identified accurately, though according to historian
Dorothy Whitelock Dorothy Whitelock, (11 November 1901 – 14 August 1982) was an English historian. From 1957 to 1969, she was the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge. Her best-known work is ''English Historica ...
it was "a rather better text than 'E' or 'F'". Gaimar implies that there was a copy at Winchester in his day (the middle of the 12th century); Whitelock suggests that there is evidence that a manuscript that has not survived to the present day was at Winchester in the mid-tenth century. If it survived to Gaimar's time that would explain why was not kept up to date, and why could be given to the monastery at Canterbury. John of Worcester's '' Chronicon ex chronicis'' appears to have had a manuscript that was either or similar to it; he makes use of annals that do not appear in other versions, such as entries concerning
Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (870s?17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousi ...
's campaigns and information about Winchester towards the end of the chronicle. His account is often similar to that of though there is less attention paid to Margaret of Scotland, an identifying characteristic of He had the Mercian register, which appears only in and and he includes material from annals 979–982 which only appears in It is possible he had a manuscript that was an ancestor of He also had sources which have not been identified, and some of his statements have no earlier surviving source. A manuscript similar to was available to
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...
, though it is unlikely to have been as that manuscript is known to have still been in Peterborough after the time William was working, and he does not make use of any of the entries in that are specifically related to Peterborough. It is likely he had either the original from which was copied, or a copy of that original. He mentions that the chronicles do not give any information on the murder of
Alfred Aetheling Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...
, but since this is covered in both and it is apparent he had no access to those manuscripts. On occasion he appears to show some knowledge of but it is possible that his information was taken from John of Worcester's account. He also omits any reference to a battle fought by Cenwealh in 652; this battle is mentioned in and but not in He does mention a battle fought by Cenwealh at Wirtgernesburg, which is not in any of the extant manuscripts, so it is possible he had a copy now lost.


Editions and translations


Early history

One early edition of the ''Chronicle'' was Abraham Whelock's 1644 ''Venerabilis Bedae Historia Ecclesiastica'', printed in Cambridge and based on manuscript G. An important edition appeared in 1692, by
Edmund Gibson Edmund Gibson (16696 September 1748) was a British divine who served as Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of London, jurist, and antiquary. Early life and career He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's ...
, an English jurist and divine who later (1716) became
Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...
. Titled ''Chronicon Saxonicum'', it printed the Old English text in parallel columns with Gibson's own Latin version and became the standard edition until the 19th century. Gibson used three manuscripts of which the chief was the ''Peterborough Chronicle''. It was superseded in 1861 by
Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe (1782 – 19 July 1870) was an English scholar of Old English language, Anglo-Saxon literature. Biography In the early 1820s he worked as a banker in the House of Rothschild, in Paris. There he met Thomas Hodgkin, who treated hi ...
's Rolls Series edition, which printed six versions in columns, labelled A to F, thus giving the manuscripts the letters which are now used to refer to them. John Earle edited ''Two of the Saxon Chronicles Parallel'' (1865). Charles Plummer revised this edition, providing notes, appendices, and glossary in two volumes in 1892 and 1899.Whitelock, ''English Historical Documents'', p. 129. This edition of the A and E texts, with material from other versions, was widely used; it was reprinted in 1952.


Modern translations

The standard modern English translations are by
Dorothy Whitelock Dorothy Whitelock, (11 November 1901 – 14 August 1982) was an English historian. From 1957 to 1969, she was the Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Cambridge. Her best-known work is ''English Historica ...
, who produced a translation showing all the main manuscript variants, and
Michael Swanton Michael James Swanton (born 1939) is a British historian, linguist, archaeologist and literary critic, specialising in the Anglo-Saxon period and its Old English literature. Early life Born in Bermondsey, in the East End of London, in ch ...
. Rositzke published a translation of the text in ''The Peterborough Chronicle'' (New York, 1951).


Modern editions

Beginning in the 1980s, a set of scholarly editions of the text in Old English have been printed under the series title "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition". They are published by D. S. Brewer under the general editorship of
David Dumville David Norman Dumville (5 May 1949 – 8 September 2024) was a British medievalist and Celtic scholar. Life and career Dumville was born on 5 May 1949 to Norman Dumville and Eileen Florence Lillie Dumville (née Gibbs). He attended Emmanuel Coll ...
and
Simon Keynes Simon Douglas Keynes ( ; born 23 September 1952) is a British historian who is Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon emeritus in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic at the University of Cambridge, and a fellow of Trini ...
.Cyril Hart
"Some recent editions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle"
''Medium Ævum'', vol. 66, no. 2 (1997), pp. 293–301.
As of 2021, the volumes published are: * 1. Dumville, David ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 1 MS F'', facsimile edition, 2003 * 3. Bately, Janet ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 3 MS A'', 1986 * 4. Taylor, Simon ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 4 MS B'', 1983 * 5. O'Brien O'Keeffe, Katherine ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 5 MS C'', 2000 * 6. Cubbin, G. P. ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 6 MS D'', 1996 * 7. Irvine, Susan ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: 7. MS E'', 2004 * 8. Baker, Peter ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 8 MS F'', 2000 * 10. Conner, Patrick ed., ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 10 The Abingdon Chronicle AD 956–1066 (MS C with ref. to BDE)'', 1996 * 17. Dumville, David and Lapidge, Michael, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 17 The annals of St Neots with Vita Prima Sancti Neoti'', 1996 The Collaborative Edition did not include MS G because an edition by Angelika Lutz, described by
Pauline Stafford Pauline Stafford is Professor Emerita of Early Medieval History at Liverpool University and a visiting professor at Leeds University in England. Dr. Stafford is a former vice-president of the Royal Historical Society. Scholarship Her work focu ...
as "excellent", had recently been published.Stafford, ''After Alfred'', p. 34; Lutz, ''Die Version G'' Other modern scholarly editions of different ''Chronicle'' manuscripts are as follows. The manuscript has been edited by H. A. Rositzke as "The C-Text of the Old English Chronicles", in ''Beiträge zur Englischen Philologie'', XXXIV, Bochum-Langendreer, 1940. A scholarly edition of the manuscript is in ''An Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from British Museum Cotton MS., Tiberius B. iv'', edited by E. Classen and F. E. Harmer, Manchester, 1926. The text was printed in F. P. Magoun, Jr., ''Annales Domitiani Latini: an Edition'' in "Mediaeval Studies of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies", IX, 1947, pp. 235–295.


Facsimiles


Anglo-Saxon Chronicle A

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle B (Cotton MS Tiberius A VI)

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle C (Cotton MS Tiberius B I)

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle D (Cotton MS Tiberius B IV)

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle E

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle F (Cotton MS Domitian A VIII)

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle H
An earlier facsimile edition of ''The Parker Chronicle and Laws'', appeared in 1941 from
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, edited by Robin Flower and Hugh Smith.


See also

*


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * (2003 edition: ) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Wormald, Patrick (1991). "The Ninth Century." In Campbell et al., ''The Anglo-Saxons'', 132–159. *


External links


The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''
at
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...
– Public domain copy.
''The Chronicle''
from ''
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' is an encyclopedia of literary criticism that was published by Cambridge University Press between 1907 and 1921. Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and ...
'', Volume I, 1907–21.
XML Edition of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''
by Tony Jebson.
Infographic on transmission of the ''Chronicle'' by Simon Keynes

Published Wheelocke transcript of mostly-lost Anglo-Saxon Chronicle G

Scans of introduction detached from Anglo-Saxon Chronicle G
* Several poems in versions of the ''Chronicle'' are edited, annotated and linked to digital images of their manuscript pages, with modern translations, in the ''Old English Poetry in Facsimile Project'': https://oepoetryfacsimile.org
William Lambarde copy
of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (1536–1601) located at the
Library of Trinity College Dublin The Library of Trinity College Dublin () serves Trinity College, and is the largest library in Ireland. It is a legal deposit or "copyright library", which means that publishers in Ireland must deposit a copy of all their publications there ...
E TCD MS 631 {{Authority control Chronicles about England in Latin Cotton Library Medieval English historians Old English chronicles Sources on Germanic paganism