The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Rating:
Summary: Ian Myles Slater on: A Great Replacement
Review: "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" is the collective name for a whole set of chronicles, originally scattered across England. Arranged mainly year-by-year, they contain contemporary, or purportedly contemporary, accounts of important events: wars, the deaths of kings, bishops, and popes, and some interesting poems about such events.

They are clearly derived from a single original form, but show considerable variation, due to different scribal practices and where and when they were copied and continued. Information in one copy can often be supplemented or corrected from another, allowing a better glimpse of "Dark Age" England. They are mainly in Old English, but some have Latin entries, and there are medieval translations into Latin. (The fact that chronicles were *not* kept it Latin was unusual, and suggests that King Alfred was right about the poor state of learning in Viking-assaulted England.) It has been recognized since Elizabethan times as an important work, and one or another manuscript served as the basis of series of translations into English since the nineteenth century. Eventually, efforts were made to present two or more manuscripts together, producing a new round of translations.

This translation was originally published by J.M. Dent in 1996, and intended as a replacement for that publisher's Everyman's Library "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" translation of 1953, the highly-regarded, and often disliked, work of Norman Garmonsway. Highly regarded, because it was very accurate and followed the layout of a standard text edition of 1892, which displayed the considerable variety among the manuscripts. This layout allowed the student referring to a copy of Earle and Plummer's edition to find the appropriate passage in the original language with little effort. Disliked, because the same arrangement is very hard to follow, and the small print in the notes and index was annoyingly hard to read. The 1953 edition was revised in 1954, and issued in paperback in the 1970s with a few bibliographic updates. It was a state-of-knowledge treasure at the time, but an explosion in historical and archeological work in the following decades made it ever more creaky with age. My copy of the paperback is falling apart from use, some of that use a matter of getting used to the layout -- I share both views about it.

Well, those who disliked the layout will have to try reading a single-text or composite translation, instead of this one. Michael Swanton has preserved the 1892 placement of the text. Fortunately, his translation seems as precise as Garmonsway's -- a statement I feel qualified to make, having worked through the Chronicle texts in "Bright's Old English Reader" and several other student's editions. On the whole, it is, I think, more readable (although I miss the old phrasing in a few passages). The pages are physically larger, and so is the type, (although the notes are still just below my comfort level), and the genealogical tables and maps are both easy to read and detailed enough to be useful.

Sooner or later, of course, Swanton's annotations will begin to show their age too, although the technology of the next fifty years may allow more frequent and more radical improvements in published works than was possible in the twentieth century. Meanwhile, a collaborative edition of all the texts is in the process of publication, and a new understanding of the growth of the Chronicle may emerge, suggesting new ways of arranging and presenting the material. For now, however, Michael Swanton has provided an essential tool -- and buried in it is a lot of good reading.

Rating:
Summary: Great source, not for casual readers.
Review: I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys exploring the Anglo-Saxons and is keen on studying History. This edition uses all of the manuscripts, and gives the same annals from seperate source. This setup gives the reader a very thorough look into Anglo-Saxon writen history. This edition is also very beautiful and contains many helpful Appendices, such as pictures and maps. The price isn't too high, I would highly recommend it. Although the Translator and editor Michael Swanton states that this edition is for reference, and not a steady read strait through, I still found it enjoyable to sit down and read it in order page by page.

Rating:
Summary: Good for the Price
Review: Well, I've seen better translations, but this is a good book for the price. It's thorough, if nothing else. I'd recommend it if you already have at least passing knowledge of the ASC.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating material
Review: With all due respect to the previous reviewer, this is a fine place to start with this fascinating work. Following the story of the Anglo-Saxons from their rather shadowy beginnings (the early parts of the book aren't precisely historical, as is explained in the introduction) through their battles with the Vikings and their conquest by the Normans, as told in their own words, one also gets to see the chronicle's authors grow in sophistication. Anyone interested in this period should have a copy of this book.

This particular edition is more readable than the Garmonsway, if only because it isn't printed in eye-demolishingly tiny print. It also has better footnotes. (The translation itself is just as good; it's a matter of taste if anything.) It shares a characteristic I wasn't all that enthralled with in Garmonsway, however: the multiple-text format. By trying to put all of the material into one volume, it scatters about various alternate readings from different manuscripts. Scholarly, perhaps, but it makes it harder to actually read as literature. But that's quibbling.

All told, this is a fine edition of a crucial primary source. Quite enjoyable.