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Anonymous: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (892 (?) - 1154)

By Susanne Kries (Universität Potsdam)

Indexing Data:

  • Domain: History, Literature.
  • Genre: Medieval History, Chronicle.
  • Country: England, Britain, Europe.

Life, Works and Times

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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (ASC) is the name commonly given to the group of texts containing annals which record the history of Anglo-Saxon England. Transmitted in several manuscripts, production of the ASC began at the end of the ninth century. It is generally assumed that the creation of annals evolved from notes in the margins of so-called Easter tables, which were used for calculating the annual dates of Easter. Influential Latin works by Bede, Isidore and Jerome equally served as progenitors. The beginnings of the ASC are usually associated with Alfred, King of the aspiring kingdom of Wessex. The ASC is one of the most important prose works written in Old English, narrating events from the Roman inv

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Published 25 October 2002

Citation: Kries, Susanne. "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle". The Literary Encyclopedia. 25 October 2002.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10516, accessed 9 February 2010.]