The AngloSaxon Chronicle

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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

• Lecture 2 Week 1

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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

• Very significant in the early development of news
  reporting.
• Provided a record of events in England and
  occasionally abroad from 49 BC to the accession
  of King Henry II in 1154.
• From the late 9th Century the Chronicle becomes
  and up-to-date record of current events.

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Earliest Chronicle entries

• Appear to have been made by monks in the margin
  of the tables they used to calculate the date of
  Easter.
• The purpose of the tables was to forecast the
  date of future events.
• The right-hand margin after each line provided a
  space to record events that had already taken
  place.
• Some examples
• 607 In this year Ceowulf fought against the
  South Saxons.
• 611 In this year Cynegils succeeded to the
  kingdom in Wessex and reigned 31 years.

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The 9th Century

• Chronicles began to have a more clearly defined
  purpose.
• They provided a history, in the vernacular, for
  Alfreds subjects.
• Critical period in Englands history The Saxon
  kingdoms under constant attacks by Vikings.
• The Chronicles recorded the invasions.
• Alfred started campaigns to restore learning and
  improved literacy in the war ravaged kingdom.

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The role of AngloSaxon Chronicle

• Two important translations of historical works
• Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English
  People, and
• Orosius Compendious History of the World.
• The later is of particular interest to journalism
  historians because it includes a very early form
  of travel reporting.
• There is influence of oral tradition on the
  chronicles Anglo-Saxon commemorative poems.
• The inclusion of poems in the chronicles shows
  how oral tradition was incorporated into
  contemporary documents.

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.continue

• Copies of the chronicle were sent to other
  monasteries in England.
• Alfred made a copy of available to his subjects
  in Winchester Cathedral.
• Chronicle was a useful way of circulating
  information of military campaigns.
• Also served a political motive to legitimize the
  claim of sovereignty over England.

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The Content of the Chronicle

• Two main periods

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INITIAL PERIOD (four defined phases)

• 1.- Phase 1 (birth of Christ - 449 AC)
• First AngloSaxon invaders arrived in Britain.
• 2.- Phase 2 (450 to 559 AC)
• Arrival of Christian missionaries in Britain.
• 3.- Phase 3 (600 to 799 AC)
• Beginning of Viking raids
• 4.- Phase 4 (800 to 900 AC)
• Early records were compiled into the original
  Chronicle

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First Phase (Nativity to 499)

• Characterized by brief entries, often
  interspersed with gaps of several years.
• Sentences tend to be simple, factual and
  objective.
• Two main categories of events comprise almost 90
  of the entries
• Roman Imperial history
• Roman Church

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Second Phase (450 to 599 AC)

• Abrupt change in the content.
• Rome had fallen to the Barbarians and the
  imperial capital moved to Constantinople.
• No emperor in the Western Empire, the Chronicle
  reference only Roman rulers.
• References to Roman Church declined.
• Attention was focused on more local affairs.
• Most of the content referred to battles fought
  against local tribes.

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Third Phase (600 to 799)

• Introduction of Christianity.
• Fewer spaces of time most years have entries.
• Records are longer and more detailed because
  monks kept historical records that were available
  to the compilers of Chronicle
• Tendency towards local news.
• The locus of action had moved from Rome to
  Britain.
• Most of the entries concerned the activities of
  the church in England and actions of new
  AngloSaxon rulers.

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Fourth Phase (800 to 890)

• Events reported on the Chronicle are much closer
  to the time of compilation.
• Based on the personal experience and memory of
  the chroniclers.
• Stories become longer, more vivid and more
  detailed.
• Content is dominated by deeds of English rulers
  and their wars against the Vikings.
• A new category of news begins to appear that
  corresponds to todays foreign news.

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CONTEMPORARY PERIOD

• From Alfreds accession to the throne in 871
  until his death.
• In the 890s the entries in the Chronicle are
  more extensive and with more detailed.
• The writing has a descriptive and expressive
  power.
• Chroniclers not only provide facts but also
  interpretation of the accounts.
• The Chronicle does not end with the death of
  Alfred. Several versions were continued.