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The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great. Multiple copies were made of that one original and then distributed to monasteries across England, where they were independently updated. In one case, the ''Chronicle'' was still being actively updated in 1154. Nine manuscripts survive in whole or in part, though not all are of equal historical value and none of them is the original version. The oldest seems to have been started towards the end of Alfred's reign, while the most recent was written at Peterborough Abbey after a fire at that monastery in 1116. Almost all of the material in the ''Chronicle'' is in the form of annals, by year; the earliest are dated at 60 BC (the annals' date for Caesar's invasions of Britain), and historical material follows up to the year in which the chronicle was written, at which point contemporary records begin. These manuscripts collectively are known as the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. The ''Chronicle'' is not unbiased: there are occasions when comparison with other medieval sources makes it clear that the scribes who wrote it omitted events or told one-sided versions of stories; there are also places where the different versions contradict each other. Taken as a whole, however, the ''Chronicle'' is the single most important historical source for the period in England between the departure of the Romans and the decades following the Norman conquest. Much of the information given in the Chronicle is not recorded elsewhere. In addition, the manuscripts are important sources for the history of the English language; in particular, the later Peterborough text is one of the earliest examples of Middle English in existence. Seven of the nine surviving manuscripts and fragments now reside in the British Library. The remaining two are in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. ==Composition== All of the surviving manuscripts are copies, so it is not known for certain where or when the first version of the ''Chronicle'' was composed. It is generally agreed that the original version was written in the late 9th century by a scribe in Wessex.〔〔 After the original ''Chronicle'' was compiled, copies were made and distributed to various monasteries. Additional copies were made, for further distribution or to replace lost manuscripts, and some copies were updated independently of each other. Some of these later copies are those that have survived.〔Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. xx–xxi.〕 The earliest extant manuscript, the ''Winchester Chronicle'', was written by a single scribe up to the year 891. The scribe wrote the year number, DCCCXCII, in the margin of the next line; subsequent material was written by other scribes.〔Swanton, ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. xxi–xxviii.〕 This appears to place the composition of the chronicle at no later than 892; further evidence is provided by Bishop Asser's use of a version of the Chronicle in his work ''Life of King Alfred'', known to have been composed in 893.〔Keynes and Lapidge, ''Alfred the Great'', p. 55.〕 It is known that the Winchester manuscript is at least two removes from the original ''Chronicle''; as a result, there is no proof that the ''Chronicle'' was compiled at Winchester.〔Wormald, "Alfredian Manuscripts", p. 158, in Campbell ''et al.'', ''The Anglo-Saxons''.〕 It is also difficult to fix the date of composition, but it is generally thought that the chronicles were composed during the reign of Alfred the Great (871–99), as Alfred deliberately tried to revive learning and culture during his reign, and encouraged the use of English as a written language. The ''Chronicle'', as well as the distribution of copies to other centres of learning, may be a consequence of the changes Alfred introduced.〔Hunter Blair, ''Roman Britain'', p. 12.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Anglo-Saxon Chronicle」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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