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Old December 11th, 2011, 02:36 PM   #1

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The Reliability of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle


The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was written by a scribe during the reign of Alfred the Great in Wessex, but is it a truly reliable chronicle of English History? I haven't read a Modern English translation in its entirety, but I am fully aware that scholars of the Britons believe there to be non-extant sagas that the Chronicle borrows information from.

So, truly, how reliable is this collection of annals?
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Old December 11th, 2011, 05:22 PM   #2

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Pretty reliable. Some of the original sources the a-s scribes used had some false info, and the writers betray their kingdom of origin and ignorance of some impprtant contwmporary events, but its pretty good history for events.
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Old December 12th, 2011, 05:17 AM   #3

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The earliest sections (i.e. from much before Alfred's time) of Anglo-Saxon history are not first hand accounts. Much of the ancestry and origins of the people we call Anglo-Saxons are vague. This is partially because few really knew the difference between an Angle, a Saxon or a Jute, and also probably deliberately vague because the men writing the "Chronicle" were Christians, writing about a pagan past. Most early Anglo-Saxon kings claimed descent from Woden, the king of the gods, and the extensive geneologies of the some of the early books show things like "Cerdic, son of Elesa..... son of Woden, son of Christ".

The Chronicle's explanation for how the Anglo-Saxons came to be here was taken from a wide range of sources- including the Native British. Hengest and his brother, Horsa, were shipwrecked and brought to Vortigern, a native British ruler, who was very impressed with them. He hired them as mercenaries, and they had "success wherever they went". They then "saw the worthlessness of the Britons and the choice nature of the land" and decided to turn against Vortigern.

A couple of British sources give roughly the same story and it is thought that a book by the British writer Nennius (9th century) was a primary source for the writers of the Chronicles.

However, large chunks of the "Chronicles" (there are 9 surviving books, not all are the same) relate stories that are otherwise unrecorded. It is impossible to know the truth of them.

The Christian bias is fairly apparent, as you'd expect. Another cause for confusion would be the calendar for the events described. For instance, the scribe may tell us that something happened "At easter", and he would mean the modern time of easter, but this would not necessaily be an accurate date for events before the Synod of Whitby. Likewise New Year.

But otherwise, it is a unique series of documents and we're extremely lucky to have it.
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Old December 12th, 2011, 05:35 AM   #4

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It would vary from strand to strand and MS to MS.
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Old December 17th, 2011, 12:50 PM   #5
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The ASC (from Alfred's day to well after 1066) is generally reliable, written by several scribes but supported by other evidence such as signed and witnessed charters, known events and people as well as the usual archaeology etc.

Like any historical record, it is not immune from accusations of inaccuracy or bias, but it's the premier source for late Anglo-Saxon England, despite it's scarcity at times and especially, oddly, hardly anything recorded for 1064- a time of hugely important changes in England?
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