Description
Book SynopsisAn examination of the linguistic and cultural construction of one of the texts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. In the twelfth century, a version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was rewritten at Peterborough Abbey, welding local history into an established framework of national events. This text has usually been regarded as an exception, a vernacular Chronicle written in a period dominated by Latin histories. This study, however, breaks new ground by considering the Peterborough Chronicle as much more than just an example of the accidental longevity of the Chronicle tradition. Close analysis reveals unique interpretations of events, and a very strong sense of communal identity, suggesting that the construction of this text was not a marginal activity, but one essential to the articulation of the abbey's image. This text also participates in a vibrant post-Conquest textual culture, in particular at Canterbury, including the writing of the bilingual F version of the Chronicle; its symbiotic relationship witha wider corpus of Latin historiography thus indicates the presence of shared sources. The incorporation of alternative generic types in the text also suggests the presence of formal hybridity, a further testament to a fluid and adaptable textual culture. Dr Malasree Home teaches at Newcastle University.
Trade ReviewAn important contribution that will be valued by all who wish to understand England's history over a centuries-long period. * HISTORY *
Home's work places the Peterborough Chronicle 'at the forefront of the development of hybrid historiographical forms,' and helps highlight the importance of that hybrid stage in the development of medieval English historiography (171). * COMITATUS *
A refreshing and challenging study which ably demonstrates the benefits to be had from a detailed study of the individuality of the surviving witnesses to the ASC. * REVIEW OF ENGLISH STUDIES *
This finely-researched and well-argued study not only represents a new departure in Chronicle studies, but also makes a deep impact on that neglected and unglamorous realm of text production in the 150 years after the Conquest. * THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The text, the world, and Peterborough abbey Textualizing the past Continuing the Chronicle Making the Chronicle: form, genre, identity Beyond the Chronicle: the perspective of house history Bibliography
