Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- General Editor's Preface
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Propaganda and legend: Accounts of the invasions and conquest of England
- 2 Hindsight: Features explaining the invasions and conquest
- 3 Swein Forkbeard's first invasion
- 4 Swein Forkbeard's second invasion
- 5 The invasion in 1006
- 6 Swein Forkbeard's third invasion
- 7 Thorkell the Tall and the English succession
- Conclusion
- 1 Heimskringla
- 2 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A reconstruction of the annal for the year 1008
- Bibliography
- Index
- Warfare in History
2 - The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A reconstruction of the annal for the year 1008
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- General Editor's Preface
- Dedication
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Propaganda and legend: Accounts of the invasions and conquest of England
- 2 Hindsight: Features explaining the invasions and conquest
- 3 Swein Forkbeard's first invasion
- 4 Swein Forkbeard's second invasion
- 5 The invasion in 1006
- 6 Swein Forkbeard's third invasion
- 7 Thorkell the Tall and the English succession
- Conclusion
- 1 Heimskringla
- 2 The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A reconstruction of the annal for the year 1008
- Bibliography
- Index
- Warfare in History
Summary
The annal for the year 1008, in ASC C D E and F, appears to have used a taxation schedule as a source. As transmitted, it is deficient and has caused problems for the editors and translators of these versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
There are actually five versions of this annal since ASC F has both an Old English and a Latin version. Each version of the annal agrees except in a phrase, which in the original version cannot have exceeded fifteen words. Each version differs slightly in its transmission of this phrase. Version F, Latin version, also differs from the others in that it adds a gloss explaining one of the words in the annal.
The problem phrase is highlighted in Analysis I, below, where the four extant Old English versions and the Latin version of the annal for 1008 are compared side by side. The Old English versions are taken from Thorpe's edition of the ASC and the Latin version is taken from a facsimile of ASC F. This analysis demonstrates that there is a ‘problem area’ where no two versions are in agreement about the words to be copied. Both before and after the ‘problem area’ the five versions of the ASC are in agreement except that ASC F, Latin version, adds a gloss explaining the word ‘scegð’. Agreement might be expected throughout since all versions are derived from the same source, the Æthelredian Exemplar (ÆE). The disagreement is evidence that, at this point, the annal in ÆE was deficient in some way.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2003