At present there are nine known versions or fragments of the
"Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" in existence, all of which vary
(sometimes greatly) in content and quality. The translation that
follows is not a translation of any one Chronicle; rather, it is
a collation of readings from many different versions.
The nine known "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" MS. are the following:
A-Prime The Parker Chronicle (Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge, MS. 173)
A Cottonian Fragment (British Museum, Cotton MS. Otho B
xi, 2)
B The Abingdon Chronicle I (British Museum, Cotton MS.
Tiberius A vi.)
C The Abingdon Chronicle II (British Museum, Cotton MS.
Tiberius B i.)
D The Worcester Chronicle (British Museum, Cotton MS.
Tiberius B iv.)
E The Laud (or "Peterborough") Chronicle (Bodleian, MS.
Laud 636)
F The Bilingual Canterbury Epitome (British Museum,
Cotton MS. Domitian A viii.) NOTE: Entries in English
and Latin.
H Cottonian Fragment (British Museum, Cotton MS. Domitian
A ix.)
I An Easter Table Chronicle (British Museum, Cotton MS.
Caligula A xv.)
This electronic edition contains primarily the translation of
Rev. James Ingram, as published in the Everyman edition of this
text. Excerpts from the translation of Dr. J.A. Giles were
included as an appendix in the Everyman edition; the preparer of
this edition has elected to collate these entries into the main
text of the translation. Where these collations have occurred I
have marked the entry with a double parenthesis (()).
WARNING:
While I have elected to include the footnotes of Rev. Ingram in
this edition, please note that they should be used with extreme
care. In many cases the views expressed by Rev. Ingram are
severally out of date, having been superseded by almost 175 years
of active scholarship. At best, these notes will provide a
starting point for inquiry. They should not, however, be treated
as absolute.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
ORIGINAL TEXT --
Classen, E. and Harmer, F.E. (eds.): "An Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
from British Museum, Cotton MS. Tiberius B iv." (Manchester,
1926)
Flower, Robin and Smith, Hugh (eds.): "The Peterborough Chronicle
and Laws" (Early English Text Society, Original Series 208,
Oxford, 1941).
Taylor, S. (ed.): "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: MS B" (Cambridge, 1983)
OTHER TRANSLATIONS --
Garmonsway, G.N.: "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (Everyman Press,
London, 1953, 1972). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Contains side-by-side
translations of all nine known texts.
RECOMMENDED READING --
Bede: "A History of the English Church and People" , translated by Leo Sherley-Price
(Penguin Classics, London, 1955, 1968).
Poole, A.L.: "Domesday Book to Magna Carta" (Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 1951, 1953)
Stenton, Sir Frank W.: "Anglo-Saxon England" (Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 1943, 1947, 1971)
