UK: Annals and Chronicles

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EuroDocs > History of the United Kingdom: Primary Documents > UK Sources by Topic > UK: Annals and Chronicles



Contains the original and authentic testimony of contemporary writers to the most important transactions of our forefathers, both by sea and land, from their first arrival in this country to the year 1154.
(1-1154; English transcription)
The Annals of Wales
In cooperation with Fordham University
(447-954; English translation)
Chronicle of the affairs of England, from the settlement of the Saxons to the reign of King Cnut
(455-1023; Latin facsimile)
The decay of the province of Britain through the fourth and fifth centuries has left almost no traces in written records. The somewhat fanciful description of Gildas, who lived in Britain, and wrote about A. D. 550, and a few scattered references in continental chronicles, are the nearest we have to contemporary history.
Also available here: An Account of the Ravaging of Roman Britain
(6th century; English translation)
Including Ethelwerds Chronicle; Asser's life of Alfred; Geoffrey of Monmouth's British history; Gildas; Nennius; the spurious chronicle of Richard of Chichester. All relate to the history of Britain before the Norman Conquest.
(6th to 12th century; English facsimile)
Primary source for England in the medieval period, ending with the rebellion following the marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
(655-1486; English facsimile)
The Chronicle of Abingdon Abbey, containing Anglo-Saxon charters.
(7th-late 12th century; Latin; eBook)
A massive volume of primary sources derived from chronicles and annals, with direct links
(Middle Ages; English and Latin)
Chronicles of St. Alban's Monastery
Volume II
Volume III
(793-1411; Latin eBook)
His is a translation of a lost Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, with information surviving only in his version English selection from the beginning of the fourth book
(circa 975; Latin facsimile)
  • Works of Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis was a monk who chronicled Normandy and Anglo-Norman England
The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy
Battle of Bremule
On Henry I
Death of Edward the Confessor & Duke William's preparations for the invasion of England
The Gruesome Crowd; A True Medieval Ghost Story From Normandy
(11-12th century; English translations)
Written by Sir Thomas Grey while imprisoned by the Scots. It is a chronicle of England and Scotland.
(1066-1363; English facsimile)
A historical compilation including The Kentish Royal Legend, a list of Northumbrian rulers, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Angloru, Historia abbatum, lost Northumbrian annals, parts of Gesta Regum and the Chronicle of John of Worcester, etc.
(12th century; English translation)
Manuscript. Canute, son of Swein of Denmark and Carl Hacco attack York. Peace between England and France. Great fire in London.
From the DeGreorio Collection of Antiquities in cooperation with ARTSTOR.
(1121; Old English, French and Latin; facsimiles)
The original Annals of Rochester, digitized. A valuable collection of laws starting from the time of Æthelberht, along with secular documents and the chartulary of the Cathedral priory.
Click the title links, and then on the next page click the title links again to find the full PDF documents.
From the Rochester Cathedral Research Guide
(1122-1124; facsimiles; modern English translations)
Gesta Regum Anglorum. From the earliest period to the reign of King Stephen.
(12th century; English facsimile)
Commissioned by Henry II, with much of the text devoted to William the Conqueror. Includes the Battle of Hastings, much likely with information from family's eyewitness testimony.
(12th century)
See also The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester
A world history attributed to John of Worcester
(1140; Latin facsimile)
By Geoffrey Gaimar
(1147; English facsimile)
"The chronicle is a pseudo-history of Britain, beginning with its legendary founding. The chronicle contains a lot of material concerning the legendary King Arthur, including the earliest reference to Arthur’s Round Table...The manuscript also contains the earliest known image of Stonehenge (f. 30r – digitised image 5)."
From the British Library
(1155; facsimiles)
The chronicle of the reigns of Henry II. and Richard I.; known commonly under the name of Benedict of Peterborough.
(1169-1192; Latin; eBook)
The manuscripts which contain the poem of Jordan Fantosme. The metrical chronicle... has reference to the war which Henry II sustained against his eldest son, and chiefly against William the Lion, king of Scotland.
(1173-1174; English translation)
History of England. To which is added his table of the bailiffs, sherrifs, and mayors, of the city of London
(1189-1558; English facsimile)
(ca 1189-1199; Latin, English and other languages; eBook)
The Chronicle of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II, and Richard I
(late 12th century; Latin facsimile with English preface)
Includes the "Historia rerum anglicarum" by William of Newburght; "Draco normannicus" of Etienne de Rouen; "Gesta Stephani regis Anglorum" -- The chronicle of Richard; The "Relatio de standardo" of St. Aelred; The metrical chronicle of Jordan Fantosme; The chronicle of Richard of Devizes; The chronicle of Robert of Torigni
(ca 13th century; Latin facsimile)
A general history of England from 732 to 1201 by Roger of Hovedon. Only the years 1192-1201 are independent sources.
(1201; Latin facsimile)
A chronicle of England from 1066 to 1227.
(1227; Latin facsimile)
Including The Chronicle of Fabius Ethelwerd; Asser's Annals of King Alfred; The Book of Hyde; The Chronicles of John Wallingford; The history of Ingulf; Gaimar
(ca 1257; English transcriptions)
Records events from 1016 to the 14th century on and around the island whose thousand-year-old parliament, Tynwald, is the world's oldest continuous ruling body.
(1261, facsimile)
Includes the Wars of Scottish Independence and Robert the Bruce and offers details to daily life in Scotland and England
(1272-1346)
From the Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages
(1281-1237; English and Latin facsimile)
Available in PDF or HTML
The earliest prose chronicle in English, this copy starts with the legendary hero Brutus' conquest of Albion and continues, with the second continuation, to 1419 and Henry V's siege of Rouen.
(post 1272; English facsimile)
This chronicle includes events in which the writer was involved or lived during the time of. It includes detailed stories of the Norfolk floods, the Battle of Lews, the defeat of Prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, and the gory execution of Rhys ap Meredith.
(1290; Latin facsimile)
From the 1066 conquest through part of the reign of Edward III.
(14th century; Latin facsimile)
Virtual Book. Dating from the reign of Edward I and almost five metres long
From the British Library
(1300; facsimile)
This chronicle, written at the cathedral priory of Rochester between 1314 and 1350, includes a firsthand account of the Black Death, describing the changes in the everyday lives of people across the social scale.
From the British Library
(1348; facsimilie)
Excerpted accounts of the Hundred Years' War
(1369-1410; English translations)
See also details for reading Froissart's chronicles on the web in the original French or in modern French translation.
Containing the history of England, during the reign of Henry the Fourth, and the succeeding monarchs, to the end of the reign of Henry the Eighth, in which are particularly described the manners and customs of those periods.
(1399-1547; facsimile)
Containing John Page's poem on the Siege of Rouen; Lydgate's verses on the kings of England; William Gregory's Chronicle of London.
(15th century; English; online book format)
A primary source for the Wars of the Roses
and the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.
(1453-1486; transcriptions)
Chronicle of the History of the World from Creation to Woden, with a Genealogy of Edward IV
From the Free Library of Philedelphia
(1460; FACSIMILE)
The first Yorkish king of England
(1461; old English; facsimile)
A series of historical fragments, proclamations, letters, and other contemporary documents relating to the reign of King Edward the Fourth
(1461-1483; English; facsimile)
A rhyming chronicle from the beginning of English history to the reign of Henry IV.
Made available by The Oxford Text Archive
(1464; Old English transcription)
The Rebellion in Lincolnshire was one of the occurrences of that troubled period of the reign of Edward the Fourth, when he was struggling with the machinations of his overgrown subject, Richard Neville...
(1470; English facsimile)
(before 1471; facsimile)
A primary source for the Wars of the Roses.
and the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.
(1453-1486; transcriptions)
By Charles Wriothesley
(1485-1559; English facsimile)
In the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII
(ca 1485-1540; English; facsimile)
By Robert Fabyan. Named by himself The concordance of histories.
(1516; English facsimile)
And especially of the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat
(beginning 1536; English facsimile)
By John Stow. Conteynyng the true accompt of yeres, wherein euery kyng of this realme of England began theyr reigne, howe long they reigned: and what notable thynges hath bene doone durynge theyr reygnes.
Made available by The Oxford Text Library
(1565; Old English transcription)
Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland. A source used for Shakespeare's Macbeth, King Lear and Cymbeline. Organized by chapter.
HOLINSHED’S HISTORY OF KING RICHARD III
(1587; Old English transcription)
By Sr. R. Baker, Knight. A chronicle from the time of the Romans goverment unto the raigne of our soveraigne lord, King Charles containing all passages of state or church, with all other observations proper for a chronicle / faithfully collected out of authours ancient and moderne.
Made available by The Oxford Text Archive
(1643; Old English transcription)
Includes MS. of the Marquis of Bath; MS. Rawlinson B. 355; Bale's Chronicle; MS. Gough London 10; MS. Tanner 2; MS. Western 30745.
(compiled 1886; English Ebook)
Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores. Here are some of the 99 volumes, compiled and published between 1858 and 1965, now digitized.
(Old English and other languages)

See also History of Scotland                            


EuroDocs > History of the United Kingdom: Primary Documents > UK Sources by Topic > UK: Annals and Chronicles


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Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
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