EVIDENCE FROM ABSENCE: OMISSION AND INCLUSION IN EARLY MEDIEVAL ANNALS
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The reader of any set of early medieval annals is likely to be struck not only by the topics which the author included but also by his omissions. Why did the writer of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tell us about the profusion of snakes in Sussex in 774, but not mention the outcome of the Battle of Otford? This paper considers some of the possible methodological approaches to analysing omission as evidence in early medieval annals. The main focus is on eighth- and ninth-century sections of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, along with some consideration of contemporary Carolingian annals. It is argued that it is sometimes possible to appreciate the sources of information available to annalists through careful consideration of their texts. This can allow an assessment of whether the omission of apparently important information was deliberate or merely resulted from ignorance, which in turn can illuminate the underlying strategies of the text.