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Anglo-Saxon Chronicle | 
 enlarge | Manufacturer: MacMay
Category: EBooks
Buy New: $0.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 53846
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
ASIN: B001H30RBG
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great. Multiple manuscript copies were made and distributed to monasteries across England and were independently updated. In one case, the chronicle was still being actively updated in 1154.
Nine manuscripts survive in whole or in part, though not all are of equal historical value, and none of them is the original version. The oldest seems to have been started towards the end of Alfred's reign, while the most recent was written at Peterborough Abbey after a fire at the monastery there in 1116. Almost all of the material in the chronicle is in the form of annals, by year; the earliest are dated at 60 BC, and historical material follows up to the year in which the chronicle was written, at which point contemporary records begin. These manuscripts collectively are known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The Chronicle is not unbiased: there are occasions when comparison with other medieval sources makes it clear that the scribes who wrote it omitted events or told one-sided versions of stories; there are also places where the different versions contradict each other. However, taken as a whole, the Chronicle is the single most important historical source for the period between the departure of the Romans and the Norman Conquest. Much of the information given in the Chronicle is not recorded elsewhere. In addition, the manuscripts are important sources for the history of the English language; in particular, the later Peterborough text is one of the earliest examples of Middle English in existence.
Seven of the nine surviving manuscripts and fragments now reside in the British Library. The remaining two are in the Bodleian Library and the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
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| Customer Reviews:
 wretched translation July 24, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is all that the other reviewers say that it is, but this translation is extremely poor. Ingram -- who was writing in the 1810s & 1820s -- dreamed up meanings when he could not parse the Anglo-Saxon, which occurs in many places.
Mind you, it's not his fault: We learned a great deal about the Old English language(s) between 1850 and 1950. But for this reason alone, you must buy a more modern edition.
Lastly, Ingram's method of collating all nine manuscripts together lands him in the soup, with a large number of contradictions, single events happening twice, and so forth.
 Critical History April 12, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Anglo Saxon Chronicle is perhaps the most important historical document of ancient Britain. It details the events of England from about the time of Christ up to the Middle Ages - which would be only a murky era of legend and myth if The Chronicle did not exist.
As an early compilation of ancient documents, it contains some minor discrepancies which reflect the errors in the earlier manuscripts, but it is the most reliable source for the time-line of events and the important events. To call The Anglo Saxon Chronicle an essential sourcebook of British history is an understatement. Any library without a copy is woefully incomplete.
To augment the facts and figures of The Anglo Saxon Chronicle, a good copy of Beowulf will breathe the excitement and adventure, which was shared by the Anglo Saxons as oral tradition, into your view of the ancient world. It is a marvelous saga - another enduring classic of the period.
Also, Anglo Saxon Britain provides an intelligent and insightful view of the Anglo Saxons. It expands on the facts and figures and puts a understandable face on the life and times of the Anglo Saxons.
A Gift from The Past November 15, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a gift from the past. It is amazing that this book even exists. The quiet recounting of the major events, year by year, over the formative centuries of British antiquity is a resource of inestimable value.
This is the sourcebook for information on important historical events - the who, what, where, why and when - that has been the underpinning for every major work on British history of any substance. Just a quick check of the facts recounted here will verify or dispel most accounts of supposed historical accuracy.
Whether you have an affection for the British or not, this is the reference you should have about the jagged flow of their history. Given the English roots of North American culture, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is more than just a history of the Britons, it is our history too. No history library is complete without it.
Essential British History October 15, 2005
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is an extremely useful tool for the study of of British history. Its time-line format is an effective organization technique which simplifies keeping events in their true order and, in its own way, adds an element of suspense to the unfolding narrative.
This particular translation is not only one of most highly regarded, in this edition it is also a bargain, being considerably less expensive than most others. Other editions have their merits, but Ingram's translation from the Old English and Latin sources is clear, direct and very readable.
This book is a must-have for those who interested in real history. Reading this compilation from the original source materials is far surperior to suffering through an edited, re-telling of the events by an author with a personal agenda.
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