Few texts are as important to our understanding of early medieval England as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This book investigates how the Chronicle came into being and how generations of scribes and scholars sustained the project for over 200 years.
Excerpt:
The many makers of the Chronicles have left the imprint of their interests, experiences and ideas across annals covering approximately twelve-hundred years of history, from the arrival of Julius Caesar in Britain to the accession of Henry II. At times the voices of these authors and compilers speak loudly, at others softly. The copying and compiling, and writing and revising, of the annals of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle across the centuries represents a conscious sharing in the authorship of a great work of memory keeping, though recollections sometimes vary. I hope this study allows these voices, and the conversations among them, to be heard afresh.
Who is this book for?
One might imagine that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has been studied so extensively that little new remains to be said about it. However, this book offers many fresh insights, beginning with the Chronicle’s origins in the late ninth century and tracing its development into the twelfth. It is especially revealing in explaining the motives and concerns of the generations of people who compiled and expanded these annals.
Anyone who studies the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle—which is to say, anyone interested in early medieval England—should read this book. It also offers valuable insights for those interested in medieval historiography more broadly, making it worthwhile reading beyond the field of Anglo-Saxon studies.
“In Constructing the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Daniel Anlezark attempts to unpick how, and by whom, the chronicles were created over the centuries. This has been one of the great Sisyphean tasks of Old English scholarship, both in the singularity and clarity of its purpose and in the apparent impossibility of its conclusion: like the boulder, the texts refuse to stay put. The problem is one of evidence, or lack thereof. None of the authors is named; individual voices hide behind a self-effacing third-person narrative. Attempts to identify who wrote the texts have had to rely on subtle variations in style, dialect and content – and on a degree of speculation. Disagreements, naturally, abound.” ~ review by Pablo Scheffer in Times Literary Supplement
The Author
Daniel Anlezark is a Professor at the University of Sydney, where he studies the literature and culture of early medieval England. His other books include Alfred the Great.
Constructing the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles
By Daniel Anlezark
D.S. BREWER
ISBN: 978-1-84384-748-9
Few texts are as important to our understanding of early medieval England as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This book investigates how the Chronicle came into being and how generations of scribes and scholars sustained the project for over 200 years.
Excerpt:
The many makers of the Chronicles have left the imprint of their interests, experiences and ideas across annals covering approximately twelve-hundred years of history, from the arrival of Julius Caesar in Britain to the accession of Henry II. At times the voices of these authors and compilers speak loudly, at others softly. The copying and compiling, and writing and revising, of the annals of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle across the centuries represents a conscious sharing in the authorship of a great work of memory keeping, though recollections sometimes vary. I hope this study allows these voices, and the conversations among them, to be heard afresh.
Who is this book for?
One might imagine that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle has been studied so extensively that little new remains to be said about it. However, this book offers many fresh insights, beginning with the Chronicle’s origins in the late ninth century and tracing its development into the twelfth. It is especially revealing in explaining the motives and concerns of the generations of people who compiled and expanded these annals.
Anyone who studies the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle—which is to say, anyone interested in early medieval England—should read this book. It also offers valuable insights for those interested in medieval historiography more broadly, making it worthwhile reading beyond the field of Anglo-Saxon studies.
“In Constructing the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Daniel Anlezark attempts to unpick how, and by whom, the chronicles were created over the centuries. This has been one of the great Sisyphean tasks of Old English scholarship, both in the singularity and clarity of its purpose and in the apparent impossibility of its conclusion: like the boulder, the texts refuse to stay put. The problem is one of evidence, or lack thereof. None of the authors is named; individual voices hide behind a self-effacing third-person narrative. Attempts to identify who wrote the texts have had to rely on subtle variations in style, dialect and content – and on a degree of speculation. Disagreements, naturally, abound.” ~ review by Pablo Scheffer in Times Literary Supplement
The Author
Daniel Anlezark is a Professor at the University of Sydney, where he studies the literature and culture of early medieval England. His other books include Alfred the Great.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website.
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