ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE

views updated

ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE [c.891–1154], also Old English Annals, Old English Chronicle. A set of annals, the first extended original composition in English, probably begun in the court of King ALFRED and continued in monasteries, in which the seven surviving manuscripts were written. The last, for 1154, is also the last known document in OLD ENGLISH 1. The Chronicle includes six poems amidst the prose entries, starting with the 937 annal on the battle of Brunanburh. The chroniclers used many sources, including Bede's history, other annals and records, and popular stories. The use of the vernacular rather than Latin for chronicles was rare at that time.

More From encyclopedia.com