Changes of perspective and focus in the Peterborough Chronicle as reflected in the use and distribution of place elements modifying titles paired in apposition with personal names

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was first composed in retrospect over the important national events of the previous millennium probably in Wessex in the late ninth century and continued separately in multiple ecclesiastical centers across England contemporaneously or near-contemporaneously until as late as 1154 in the Peterborough Chronicle, one of its seven main extant versions. There was inevitably a shift in perspective from retrospective to contemporary after annals began to be recorded in real or near-real time, and this has implications on the use and non-use of place elements modifying titles paired in apposition with personal names, such as of Wessex in Alfred, king of Wessex. Titles help identify or introduce persons named, and the accompanying place elements assist in doing so. The amount of information deemed necessary for effective communication ultimately depends on the writers’ perspective and focus. From a contemporary perspective, with more out-of-text contextual information shared with readers, national matters may have been backgrounded and local matters foregrounded, potentially reflecting the aims and biases of the institutions in which the records were made.