Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 5 - by Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe (Hardcover)

About the Book

An important source of information for the reign of Edward the Confessor, with a unique political perspective on the ascendency of Godwine and his sons.

Book Synopsis

This volume presents a semi-diplomatic edition of the text of MS C (London, British Library Cotton, Tiberius B.i). This text of the Chronicle, usually referred to as 'the Abingdon Chronicle' was substantially copied in the mid-eleventh century and continued sporadically thereafter. Its precipitous ending (presumably by the loss of a leaf or leaves) in the midst of the Battle of Stamford Bridge, was supplemented by a twelfth-century reader, suggesting that this manuscript was still of interest in the period after the Conquest. The C-text is an important source of information for the reign of Edward the Confessor, and it brings a unique political perspective to the ascendency of Godwine and his sons.

The traditional association of the text, manuscript or both with the reformed monastery of Abingdon has been an important feature of the current understanding of the interrelationships among the several texts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The present edition examines the various arguments for associating the C-text with Abingdon and the difficulties inherent in these arguments. It brings to bear evidence from the palaeography and codicology of the manuscript as well as text historical and linguistic evidence. The introduction to the text considers the different strands composing the C-text, and the close relationships of this text to MSS B, D, and E. The editor has prepared the usual full indices of persons, peoples and places.

Review Quotes

Filled with a wealth of valuable detail... a major work. [A's] careful readings of manuscript and textual evidence provide crucial new insights into the central questions that concern the Chronicle's development and the development of the C-text in particular. SPECULUM AN authoritative edition.-- "JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY"