Abbreviations and Primary Sources
Note on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Citations from and references to the manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle have made use of the editions published under the general supervision of David Dumville and Simon Keynes (see individual volumes below), with reference to the translated editions produced by Dorothy Whitelock and Michael Swanton: D. Whitelock (ed. and trans.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Revised Translation (1961, Eyre & Spottiswoode); M. Swanton (ed. and trans.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (2001, 2nd edition, Phoenix Press). Where a reference to the Chronicle is given in the notes simply as ASC, the material cited is common to all manuscripts (the ‘core’ text); otherwise, references specify the manuscript by letter when information is restricted to one or more versions.
Note on Irish Chronicles
Thomas Charles-Edwards has reconstructed and translated the joint stock of a putative ‘Chronicle of Ireland’ (CI) to the year 911 from annals surviving in a variety of manuscripts, principally the Annals of Ulster and the Clonmacnoise group (Annals of Tigernach, Annals of Clonmacnoise, Chronicum Scotorum), with some additions from the Annals of Innisfallen, Annals of the Four Masters and the Fragmentary Annals: T. Charles-Edwards (ed. and trans.), The Chronicles of Ireland (2006, Liverpool University Press). I have relied on this edition for translations from these texts until 911. Beyond this date, I have relied on the translations published online by University College Cork: Corpus of Electronic Texts (CELT) [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100001A/]
AC – Annales Cambriae; J. Morris (ed.), Nennius, British History and the Welsh Annals (1980, Phillimore)
AClon – Annals of Clonmacnoise (see ‘Note on Irish Chronicles’ above)
AFM – Annals of the Four Masters (see ‘Note on Irish Chronicles’ above)
AI – Annals of Innisfallen (see ‘Note on Irish Chronicles’ above)
Alfred-Guthrum – ‘The Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum’; S. Keynes and M. Lapidge (eds and trans.), Alfred the Great: Asser’s ‘Life of King Alfred’ and Other Contemporary Sources (1983, Penguin)
APV – Armes Prydein Vawr; J. K. Bollard (ed. and trans.), in M. Livingston (ed.), The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook (2011, University of Exeter Press), pp. 155–70, with notes pp. 155–69 and commentary pp. 245–6
ASC – Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (see ‘Note on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’ above):
A – J. M. Bately (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, vol. 3. MS. A (1986, Brewer)
B – S. Taylor (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, vol. 4. MS. B (1983, Brewer)
C – K. O’Brien O’Keeffe (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, vol. 5. MS. C (2001, Brewer)
D – G. P. Cubbin (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, vol. 6. MS. D (1996, Brewer)
E – S. Irvine (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, vol. 7. MS. E (2004, Brewer)
F – P. S. Baker (ed.), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, vol. 8: MS. F (2000, Brewer)
ASN – Annals of St Neots; D. N. Dumville and M. Lapidge (eds), The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition, vol. 17. The annals of St Neots with Vita prima Sancti Neoti (1985, Cambridge: Brewer)
ASPR – Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records; G. P. Krapp and E. V. Dobbie (eds), The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records: A Collective Edition, 6 vols (1931–53, New York: Columbia University Press) [ota.ox.ac.uk/desc/1936]
AU – Annals of Ulster (see ‘Note on Irish Chronicles’ above)
Beowulf – ASPR, volume 4
BM – British Museum registration number
Boethius – Boethius, Consolatio Philosophiae; J. J. O’Donnell (ed.), Boethius: Consolatio Philosophiae (1984, Bryn Mawr College)
Brunanburh – The Battle of Brunanburh (ASPR, volume 6)
BVSC – Bede, Vita Sancti Cuthberti; B. Colgrave (ed. and trans.), Two Lives of Cuthbert (1940, Cambridge University Press)
c. – circa (‘around’)
CA – Æthelweard, ‘Chronicon’ of Æthelweard; A. Campbell (ed. and trans.), The Chronicle of Æthelweard (1962, Thomas Nelson & Sons)
Canmore ID – Reference number to the Scottish database of archaeological sites, monuments and buildings [https://canmore.org.uk/]
CASSS – Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture [http://www.ascorpus.ac.uk/index.php]
CC – John of Worcester, Chronicon ex Chronicis; R. R. Darlington (ed.), P. McGurk (ed. and trans.) and J. Bray (trans.), The Chronicle of John of Worcester (1995, Clarendon Press)
CKA – Chronicle of the Kings of Alba; B. T. Hudson (ed. and trans.), ‘Chronicle of the Kings of Alba’, Scottish Historical Review 77 (1998), pp. 129–61
CS – Chronicon Scottorum (see ‘Note on Irish Chronicles’ above)
Deor – ASPR, volume 3
DR – Denmark (geographical reference; runestones)
EE – Geffrei Gaimar, Estoire des Engleis; I. Short (ed. and trans.), Gaimar: Estoire des Engleis/History of the English (2009, Oxford University Press)
Egil’s Saga – B. Scudder (ed. and trans.), ‘Egil’s Saga’, in J. Smiley (ed.), The Sagas of Icelanders (2000, Penguin), pp. 3–185
EHD – English Historical Documents; D. Whitelock, English Historical Documents 500–1041, Vol. 1 (1979, 2nd edition, Routledge)
Elene – ASPR, volume 2
Enc. – Encomium Emmae Reginae; A. Campbell (ed. and trans.) with S. Keynes (ed.), Encomium Emmae Reginae (1998, Cambridge University Press)
Ex. – Gildas, De Excidio Britanniae; M. Winterbottom (ed. and trans.), Gildas: The Ruin of Britain and Other Works (1978, Phillimore)
FA – Fragmentary Annals (see ‘Note on Irish chronicles’ above)
FH – Roger of Wendover, Flores Historiarum; H. O. Coxe (ed.), Rogeri de Wendover Chronica; sive, Flores Historiarum (1841–2, Sumptibus Societatis); translated passages in EHD
Finnsburg – The Fight at Finnsburg (ASPR, volume 6)
GD – Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum; P. Fisher (trans.) and K. Fries-Jensen (ed.), Saxo Grammaticus: The History of the Danes, Book I–IX. Volume I (1979, Brewer)
Genesis – ASPR, volume 1
GH – Adam of Bremen, Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum; F. J. Tschan (ed. and trans.), History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen (2002, Columbia University Press)
GRA – William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum; R. A. B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom (eds and trans.), William of Malmesbury: Gesta Regum Anglorum (1998, Oxford University Press)
Grímnismál – A. Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore (2011, Penguin), pp. 38–41
Gylfaginning – Snorri Sturluson, ‘Gylfaginning’; J. L. Byock (ed. and trans.), The Prose Edda (2006, Penguin), pp. 9–79
HA – Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum; D. Greenway, Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon: Historia Anglorum/The History of the English People (1996, Oxford Medieval Texts)
Hávamál – A. Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore (2011, Penguin), pp. 15–39
HB – Historia Brittonum; J. Morris (ed. and trans.), Nennius, British History and the Welsh Annals (1980, Phillimore)
HE – Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum; D. H. Farmer (ed. and trans.) and L. Sherley-Price (trans.), Ecclesiastical History of the English People (1991, Penguin)
Heimskringla I – Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla; A. Finlay and A. Faulkes (eds and trans.), Heimskringla Volume I: The Beginnings to Óláfr Tryggvason (2011, Viking Society for Northern Research)
Heimskringla II – Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla; A. Finlay and A. Faulkes (eds and trans.), Heimskringla Volume II: Óláfr Haraldsson (The Saint) (2014, Viking Society for Northern Research)
Helgakviða Hundingsbana fyrri – A. Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore (2011, Penguin), pp. 117–25
HR – Symeon of Durham, Historia Regum; T. Arnold (ed.), Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia (2012 [1885], Cambridge University Press); translated passages in
EHD
HSC – Historia Sancti Cuthberti; EHD (6)
Krákumál – B. Waggoner (ed. and trans.), The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok (2009, The Troth)
Lokasenna – A. Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore (2011, Penguin), pp. 83–96
Maldon – The Battle of Maldon (ASPR, volume 6)
Maxims II – ASPR, volume 6
N – Norway (geographical reference; runestones)
NMR – National Monument Record number (Historic England) [http://pastscape.org.uk]
NMS – National Museum of Scotland registration number
OE Boethius – The Old English Boethius. S. Irvine and M. Godden (eds), The Old English Boethius with Verse Prologues and Epilogues Associated with King Alfred (2012, Harvard University Press)
Orkneyinga saga – H. Palsson and P. Edwards, Orkneyinga Saga: The History of the Earls of Orkney (1981, Penguin)
PSE – Abbo of Fleury, Passio S. Eadmundi; F. Hervey (ed. and trans.), Corolla Sancti Eadmundi: The Garland of Saint Eadmun d King and Martyr (1907, E. P. Dutton)
r. – regnal dates
Ragnarssona þáttr – B. Waggoner (ed. and trans.), The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok (2009, The Troth)
Ragnars saga Loðbrókar – B. Waggoner (ed. and trans.), The Sagas of Ragnar Lodbrok (2009, The Troth)
RFA – Royal Frankish Annals; B. W. Scholz (ed. and trans.), Carolingian Chronicles: Royal Frankish Annals and Nithard’s Histories (1970, Ann Arbor)
Rígsthula – A. Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore (2011, Penguin), pp. 243–9
Rundata – Scandinavian Runic-text Database [http://www.nordiska.uu.se/forskn/samnord.htm/?languageId=1]
S – Charter number in P. H. Sawyer, Anglo-Saxon Charters: An Annotated List and Bibliography (1968, Royal Historical Society) [esawyer.org.uk]
s. a. – sub. anno (‘under the year’)
Sö – Södermanland, Sweden (geographical reference; runestones)
Thrymskvida – A. Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore (2011, Penguin), pp. 96–101
U – Uppland, Sweden (geographical reference; runestones)
VA – Asser, Vita Ælfredi Regis Angul Saxonum; S. Keynes and M. Lapidge (eds and trans.), Alfred the Great: Asser’s ‘Life of King Alfred’ and Other Contemporary Sources (1983, Penguin)
Vg – Västergötland, Sweden (geographical reference; runestones)
VKM – Einhard, Vita Karoli Magni; S. E. Turner (ed. and trans.), Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne (1880, Harper & Brothers)
Völuspá – A. Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore (2011, Penguin), pp. 5–15
VSG – Felix, Vita Sancti Guthlaci; B. Colgrave (ed. and trans.), Felix’s Life of Saint Guthlac (1956, Cambridge University Press)
Wanderer – ASPR, volume 3
Notes
1. Wanderer, lines 101–5
Preface
1. J. Jones, ‘Vikings at the British Museum: Great Ship but Where’s the Story?’, Guardian (4 March 2014) [http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/mar/04/vikings-british-museum-ship-story]
2. In recent years, spectacular Viking hoards have been discovered in Galloway (2014), at Lenborough, Buckinghamshire (2014) and at Watlington, Oxfordshire (2015)
3. The recently launched ‘Viking Phenomenon’ project, for example, directed by Professor Neil Price at the University of Uppsala, is a ten-year programme with a budget of approximately six million US dollars. [http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/Research/Projects/vikingafenomenet]
Chapter 1: Outsiders from Across the Water
1. Beowulf; trans. S. Heaney, Beowulf: A New Translation (1999, Faber), pp. 9–10
2. ASC D, sub anno 787
3. ASN
4. CA, p. 27
5. ASC D s.a. 787
6. CC s.a. 787
7. EHD, line 20
8. Although the poem’s story is set in a vaguely defined legendary epoch (seemingly the fifth century), it was written in Old English (and presumably in England) at some point between the seventh and the eleventh centuries. The manuscript in which the received form of the poem survives – the Nowell Codex – dates to around the year 1000, and attempts to refine the dating of an earlier archetype remain highly controversial. A recent survey of the issues can be found in L. Neidorf (ed.), The Dating of Beowulf: A Reassessment (2014, Boydell & Brewer)
9. Beowulf, lines 237–57; trans. Heaney (1999)
10. Gildas, De Excidio Britanniae (Ex.)
11. It should be noted that some recent research has proposed dates earlier than Offa’s reign for some sections of the dyke. It also remains unclear what should and should not be considered part of the continuous structure. The most detailed review of the evidence can be found in K. Ray and I. Bapty, Offa’s Dyke: Landscape & Hegemony in Eighth-Century Britain (2016, Oxbow)
12. ASC s.a. 796
13. R. Bruce-Mitford, The Sutton Hoo Ship-Burial, Volumes 1–3 (1975–1983, British Museum Press); M. Carver, Sutton Hoo: A Seventh-Century Princely Burial Ground and Its Context, report of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London 69 (2005, British Museum Press)
14. The principal source, aside from the ASC, is the Annales Cambriae (‘the Welsh Annals’) abbreviated henceforth as AC
15. The Ordovices (Gwynedd), Demetae (Dyfed), Silures (Gwent), and Cornovii (Powys); see T. Charles-Edwards, Wales and the Britons: 350–1064 (2013, Oxford University Press), pp. 14–21
16. R. Bartlett, The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change 950–1350 (1993, Penguin)
17. M. Carver, Portmahomack: Monastery of the Picts (2008, Edinburgh University Press)
18. Beowulf, lines 255–7
19. Mercian diplomas S134, 160, 168, 177, 186, 1264 (792–822)
20. C. Downham, ‘“Hiberno-Norwegians” and “Anglo-Danes”: Anachronistic Ethnicities and Viking-Age England’, Mediaeval Scandinavia 19 (2009), pp. 139–69
Chapter 2: Heart of Darkness
1. The Holy Bible, King James Version (1769, Cambridge Edition); [King James Bible Online, 2017. http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org]
2. Gylfaginning, ch. 49 (own translation)
3. This, and the subsequent extracts, are taken from the Old English boundary clause of a charter dated to 808 describing a grant of land at North Stoke, Somerset from the West Saxon king, Cynewulf, to the monks of St Peter’s Minster (S265)
4. All these creatures, and many others, are mentioned in Old English charter-bounds. A survey of some of the beastly entities that occur in Old English place-names more generally can be found in papers by John Baker (‘Entomological Etymologies: Creepy-Crawlies in English Place-Names’) and Della Hooke (‘Beasts, Birds and Other Creatures in Pre-Conquest Charters and Place-Names in England’), both of which appear in M. D. J. Bintley and T. J. T. Williams (eds), Representing Beasts in Early Medieval England and Scandinavia (2015, Boydell & Brewer)
5. There are many examples of parishes in England where this tradition is maintained or has been revived – a notable, and high-profile, beating of the bounds takes place at the Tower of London (http://blog.hrp.org.uk/blog/beating-the-bounds/); it is not possible, however, to determine if any of these traditions have been consistently performed from the early medieval period
6. D. Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979, Pan Books)
7. Recent books have increasingly addressed the cultural aspects of map-making, including Alastair Bonnett’s Off the Map (2015, Aurum Press) and Jerry Brotton’s A History of the World in Twelve Maps (2013, Penguin)
8. P. D. A. Harvey, Mappa Mundi: The Hereford World Map (2010, Hereford Cathedral)
9. Genesis, lines 103–15
10. Beowulf, lines 102–4
11. Ibid., line 710
12. On wolfish imagery in Britain and Scandinavia see A. Pluskowski, Wolves and the Wilderness in the Middle Ages (2006, Boydell & Brewer)
13. Beowulf, lines 1358–9
14. VSG, pp. 104–5
15. Irmeli Valtonen discusses the c
artographical material and the classical tradition of a monstrous north in her The North in the Old English Orosius: A Geographical Narrative in Context, Mémoires de la Société Néophilologique de Helsinki LXXIII (2008, Société Néophilologique): ‘Thule’ was first mentioned by Pytheas (330–320 BC), Hyperborea by Hecateus in the sixth century BC, with some references even earlier
16. VSG, pp. 104–5
17. Visio S. Pauli in Blickling Homily XVI, translated by Andy Orchard in Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf Manuscript (1995, 2nd edition, University of Toronto), p. 39
18. Jude S. Mackley, The Legend of St. Brendan: A Comparative Study of the Latin and Anglo-Norman Versions (2008, Brill), p. 85
19. By the thirteenth century at any rate; Gylfaginning, ch. 49
20. E. Christiansen, The Northern Crusades (1997, Penguin), p. 76
21. ASC DE s.a. 793
22. One of a number of islands around a dozen miles to the south-east of Lindisfarne
23. BVSC, ch. 17
24. VSG, ch. XXX
25. Alcuin’s letter to Ethelred, EHD (193)
26. See, in general, J. Palmer, The Apocalypse in the Early Middle Ages (2014, Cambridge University Press)
27. Alcuin’s letter to Higbald, EHD (194) (Accusing the survivors of an atrocity of having brought it all on themselves through their lifestyle choices, before berating them for defending themselves inadequately, is a form of sanctimony not new to the modern age.)
28. Alcuin’s letter to Ethelred, EHD (193)
29. See, for example, D. Bates and R. Liddiard (eds), East Anglia and Its North Sea World in the Middle Ages (2015, Boydell & Brewer); S. P. Ashby, A. Coutu and S. Sindbæk, ‘Urban Networks and Arctic Outlands: Craft Specialists and Reindeer Antler in Viking Towns’, European Journal of Archaeology 18.4 (2015), pp. 679–704
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