The Framework of Anglo-Saxon History
To A. D. 900

Kenneth Harrison examines how Anglo-Saxons reckoned time and the significant part played in the development of historical writing.

Kenneth Harrison (Author)

9780521143929, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 24 June 2010

184 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1 cm, 0.24 kg

What were the systems of dating during the various stages of early English history and how accurate were the dates assigned to events? In this study, Kenneth Harrison discusses these fundamental questions which have long occupied and puzzled historians. After a detailed examination of time reckoning and Easter tables, Mr Harrison suggests ways in which Bede and the compilers of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle were able to arrive at a series of dates and thus demonstrates the significant part played by Anglo-Saxons in the development of historical writing. This lucidly written account of complex technical problems will be of particular interest to Anglo-Saxon scholars, historians studying Irish and Welsh annals and continental sources, and to archaeologists of the period.

Preface
1. The moon and the Anglo-Saxon calendar
2. Raiding and settlement
3. The Easter tables of Dionysius
4. The Christian era in Britain
5. Bede's History
6. Annals and charters
7. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Appendices
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], British & Irish history [HBJD1]