He travelled through Hungary, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle stated that " he went to Jerusalem in such state as no-one had done before him ".

One modern historian feels that it was Ealdred who was behind the compilation of the D version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and gives a date in the 1050s as its composition.

In 853, at the age of four, Alfred is said to have been sent to Rome where, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, he was confirmed by Pope Leo IV who " anointed him as king ".

Although not mentioned by Asser or by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Alfred probably also paid the Vikings cash to leave, much as the Mercians were to do in the following year.

But, clearly, the author of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and probably Alfred himself regarded 897 as marking an important development in the naval power of Wessex.

The account of Ælfheah's death appears in the E version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

A contemporary report tells that Thorkell the Tall attempted to save Ælfheah from the mob about to kill him by offering them everything he owned except for his ship, in exchange for Ælfheah's life ; Thorkell's presence is not mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, however.

In the late 9th-century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ( around four hundred years after his time ) Ælle is recorded as being the first bretwalda, or " Britain-ruler ", though there is no evidence that this was a contemporary title.

The 12th century chronicler Henry of Huntingdon produced an enhanced version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that included 514 as the date of Ælle's death, but this is not secure.

These occurrences, along with a Bieda who is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under the year 501, are the only appearances of the name in early sources.

Besides the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the medieval writers William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey of Monmouth used his works as sources and inspirations.

The entry for 827 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which lists the eight bretwaldas

Bretwalda ( also brytenwalda and bretenanwealda ) is an Old English word, the first record of which comes from the late 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

The rulers of Mercia were generally the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kings from the mid-7th to the early 9th centuries, but are not accorded the title of bretwalda by the Chronicle, which is generally thought to be because of the anti-Mercian bias of the Chroniclers.

For some time the existence of the word bretwalda in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which was based in part on the list given by Bede in his Historia Ecclesiastica, led historians to think that there was perhaps a ' title ' held by Anglo-Saxon overlords.

Similarly powerful Mercia kings such as Offa are missed out of the West Saxon Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which sought to demonstrate the legitimacy of their kings to rule over other Anglo-Saxon peoples.

He may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic of Wessex, whom the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle represents as the leader of the first group of Saxons to come to the land which later became Wessex.

The historical accuracy and dating of many of the events in the later Anglo-Saxon Chronicle have been called into question, and his reign is variously listed as lasting seven, seventeen, or thirty-two years.

The Chronicle records several battles of Ceawlin's between the years 556 and 592, including the first record of a battle between different groups of Anglo-Saxons, and indicates that under Ceawlin Wessex acquired significant territory, some of which was later to be lost to other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the other main source that bears on this period, in particular in an entry for the year 827 that records a list of the kings who bore the title " bretwalda ", or " Britain-ruler ".

The two main written sources for early West Saxon history are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List.

For narrative history the principal sources are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Irish annals.

Among those noted by the Irish annals, the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are Ívarr — Ímar in Irish sources — who was active from East Anglia to Ireland, Halfdán — Albdann in Irish, Healfdene in Old English — and Amlaíb or Óláfr.

According to this view, Beowulf can largely be seen to be the product of antiquarian interests and that it tells readers more about " an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon ’ s notions about Denmark, and its pre-history, than it does about the age of Bede and a 7th-or 8th-century Anglo-Saxon ’ s notions about his ancestors ’ homeland.

The name, Ceawlin, is one of the names that does not have a convincing Anglo-Saxon origin ; it seems more likely to be from the native Britons.

It does not appear that William Rufus intended to provoke a war, but, as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports, war came:

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that " the Mercians and the inhabitants of Kent fought at Otford " in 776, but does not give the outcome of the battle.

The contemporary record of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports Eadwig's accession and Dunstan fleeing England-but does not explain why Dunstan fled.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not list Æthelbald as a bretwalda, or " Ruler of Britain ", though this may be due to the West Saxon origin of the Chronicle.

However, the earliest source for Cerdic, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, was put together in the late ninth century ; though it probably does record the extant tradition of the founding of Wessex, the intervening four hundred years mean that the account cannot be assumed to be accurate.

Some also would say that the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle proves that Cerdic was indeed a Saxon, however it does not prove that he had no Celtic blood.

The poem Beowulf describes a draca (= dragon ) also as wyrm (= worm, or serpent ) and its movements by the Anglo-Saxon verb bugan = " to bend ", and says that it has a venomous bite ; all of these indicate a snake-like form and movement rather than with a lizard-like or dinosaur-like body as in later belief ( though the dragon of Beowulf does show several features that would later become popularized with dragons ; namely, it breathes fire, lives underground, and collects treasure ).

Bede does not report the fighting, nor is it mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, but according to Stephen, Ecgfrith defeated Wulfhere, forcing him to surrender Lindsey, and to pay tribute.

" According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Charles succeeded to all of the kingdom of Carloman save Brittany, but this does not seem to have been true.

Writer Vladimir Nabokov, in his lectures at Cornell University, said: " In an Anglo-Saxon thriller, the villain is generally punished, and the strong silent man generally wins the weak babbling girl, but there is no governmental law in Western countries to ban a story that does not comply with a fond tradition, so that we always hope that the wicked but romantic fellow will escape scot-free and the good but dull chap will be finally snubbed by the moody heroine.

Charters, which recorded royal grants of land to individuals and to religious houses, provide further information on Coenred's reign, as does the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, compiled in Wessex at the end of the 9th century.

Charters of Ceolred's, recording royal grants of land to individuals and to religious houses, also survive, as does the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, compiled in Wessex at the end of the 9th century, but incorporating earlier material.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, after the death of Carloman II in 884, Charles the Fat succeeded to all of West Francia save Brittany, thus making Brittany an independent kingdom ; but this does not seem to have been true.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle does not make it clear that Wægdæg and Wecta are identical ( or perhaps it is Snorri or a source who has wrongly conflated Wecta with Wægdæg ).

The name Tærdebicga ( whose dative case is Tærdebicgan ) does not appear to have any likely meaning in Anglo-Saxon or Celtic or any other likely known language, and may be a stray survival from whatever aboriginal ( perhaps Pre-Indo-European ) language was spoken in England before the Celts came.

While the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle only briefly mentions the battle, it does draw attention to the capture of the banner, which is interesting considering that it does not single out any other trophy captured by the English in the many other victories they had against the Danes.

Fostering was a common Anglo-Saxon practice and does not indicate Beowulf's father, Ecgþeow did not want to raise him ; indeed, the practice was intended to further improve relations between families and family members, and create close ties of obligation, affection and shared responsibility.

The family name " Tinker " is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and does not have an Irish or Romany connection.

In fact, the name Penn suggests ( but does not prove ) that there was a pre-Anglo-Saxon settlement, with possible survival of Celtic language and culture locally into the Anglo-Saxon period.