The Volokh Conspiracy - Monastic annals:

For research for a paper I'm working on, I got a book of Monastic Annals from the library. It's an 1869 volume containing the annals from the Osney monastery and from the Worcester priory. The part I was looking for, in the Worcester priory annals, said the following:

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MCCXXXI. . . . Tradidimus Herfertone ad firmam hominibus ejusdem villae usque ad X. annos, Fepsinton hominibus villae usque ad viii. annos, et dominicum de Pensex Edwino rotario tantum in vita sua pro tertia garba.

[Rough translation: 1231. . . . We handed over Harvington to be farmed by people of that same vill for 10 years, Fepsinton to people of the vill for 8 years, and the demesne of Pensax to Edwin the wheelwright for his life for 1/3 of the crop.]

But once I had the book in my hand, I got to browsing in it, and found the very first entry:

Adam vixit annos DCCCCXXX., Noe DCCCL., Abraham CLXXV. Prima aetas saeculi est ab Adam usque ad Noe; et fuerunt anni MDCLVI. Secunda aetas a Noe usque ad Abraham, et fuerunt anni CCXXII. Tertia aetas saeculi ab Abraham usque ad David, et fuerunt anni DCCCCXLII. Quarta aetas saeculi a David usque ad transmigrationem Babilonis, et fuerunt anni CCCCLXXIII. Quinta aetas saeculi a transmigratione Babilonis usque ad Christum, et fuerunt anni DLXXXV. Omnes igitur anni saeculi ab Adam usque ad Christum fuerunt anni V[M]CLXXXXIX. . . .

[Enough of a rough translation for you to get the idea: Adam lived 930 years, Noah 950, Abraham 175. The first age of man is from Adam to Noah, and there were 1656 years. The second age from Noah to Abraham . . . . So all the years from Adam to Christ were 5199. . . .]

Keep going, and you get "Anno XV. Obiit Octovianus Caesar; successit Tyberius Liviae filius" (Year 15. Octavius Caesar died, Tiberius the son of Livia succeeded him); "Anno LVI. Mortuo Claudio, successit Nero" (Year 56. Claudius being dead, Nero succeeded); "Anno LXIII. Obiit Sancta Maria Magdalena," etc.

Several pages of Anglo-Saxon church history later (you'd never know, from reading it, that the English were fighting the Vikings at the time), we get:

Anno MLXVI. Hic apparuit cometa. Obiit Edward rex pacificus, qui Londoniis sepultus est; cui successit Haroldus Goduuini ducis filius; et capta est Anglia a Normannis. Dux Normanniae transit mare et vicit Haroldum.

[Year 1066. Here a comet appeared. Edward the peaceful king died, who is buried in London; to whom succeeded Harold the son of duke Godwin; and England was captured by the Normans. The duke of Normandy crossed the sea and defeated Harold.]

And, some years later, we handed over the demesne of Pensax for sharecropping . . . .

The Osney book has somewhat less historical scope. It begins with the Christianization of England:

Anno ab incarnatione Domini DCI. Augustinus a Gregorio Papa in Angliam transmissus Adelbertum regem Cantiae ad fidem convertit.

[Year 601 from the incarnation of the Lord. Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory to England, converted Ethelbert king of Kent to the faith.]

And, occasionally, you'll find something like this:

MCLXXII. Nihil memoriale.

[1172. Nothing memorable.]

The moral? History is fun!

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	[Sasha Volokh, December 14, 2006 at 9:48am] Trackbacks Monastic annals: For research for a paper I'm working on, I got a book of Monastic Annals from the library. It's an 1869 volume containing the annals from the Osney monastery and from the Worcester priory. The part I was looking for, in the Worcester priory annals, said the following: (show) MCCXXXI. . . . Tradidimus Herfertone ad firmam hominibus ejusdem villae usque ad X. annos, Fepsinton hominibus villae usque ad viii. annos, et dominicum de Pensex Edwino rotario tantum in vita sua pro tertia garba. [Rough translation: 1231. . . . We handed over Harvington to be farmed by people of that same vill for 10 years, Fepsinton to people of the vill for 8 years, and the demesne of Pensax to Edwin the wheelwright for his life for 1/3 of the crop.] But once I had the book in my hand, I got to browsing in it, and found the very first entry: Adam vixit annos DCCCCXXX., Noe DCCCL., Abraham CLXXV. Prima aetas saeculi est ab Adam usque ad Noe; et fuerunt anni MDCLVI. Secunda aetas a Noe usque ad Abraham, et fuerunt anni CCXXII. Tertia aetas saeculi ab Abraham usque ad David, et fuerunt anni DCCCCXLII. Quarta aetas saeculi a David usque ad transmigrationem Babilonis, et fuerunt anni CCCCLXXIII. Quinta aetas saeculi a transmigratione Babilonis usque ad Christum, et fuerunt anni DLXXXV. Omnes igitur anni saeculi ab Adam usque ad Christum fuerunt anni V[M]CLXXXXIX. . . . [Enough of a rough translation for you to get the idea: Adam lived 930 years, Noah 950, Abraham 175. The first age of man is from Adam to Noah, and there were 1656 years. The second age from Noah to Abraham . . . . So all the years from Adam to Christ were 5199. . . .] Keep going, and you get "Anno XV. Obiit Octovianus Caesar; successit Tyberius Liviae filius" (Year 15. Octavius Caesar died, Tiberius the son of Livia succeeded him); "Anno LVI. Mortuo Claudio, successit Nero" (Year 56. Claudius being dead, Nero succeeded); "Anno LXIII. Obiit Sancta Maria Magdalena," etc. Several pages of Anglo-Saxon church history later (you'd never know, from reading it, that the English were fighting the Vikings at the time), we get: Anno MLXVI. Hic apparuit cometa. Obiit Edward rex pacificus, qui Londoniis sepultus est; cui successit Haroldus Goduuini ducis filius; et capta est Anglia a Normannis. Dux Normanniae transit mare et vicit Haroldum. [Year 1066. Here a comet appeared. Edward the peaceful king died, who is buried in London; to whom succeeded Harold the son of duke Godwin; and England was captured by the Normans. The duke of Normandy crossed the sea and defeated Harold.] And, some years later, we handed over the demesne of Pensax for sharecropping . . . . The Osney book has somewhat less historical scope. It begins with the Christianization of England: Anno ab incarnatione Domini DCI. Augustinus a Gregorio Papa in Angliam transmissus Adelbertum regem Cantiae ad fidem convertit. [Year 601 from the incarnation of the Lord. Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory to England, converted Ethelbert king of Kent to the faith.] And, occasionally, you'll find something like this: MCLXXII. Nihil memoriale. [1172. Nothing memorable.] The moral? History is fun! (hide)