Collation of the Imperial reign length data from Bede’s Mai. Chron., Jerome’s Chronicle, Annals of Tigernach (AT) and Isidore’s Chronicle

D.P. Mc Carthy - 19 June 1999

Introduction

This table is intended as a Web appendix to accompany the paper ‘The Status of the pre-Patrician annals’ to appear in Peritia 12. The purpose of the table is to disclose the places where the chronology of these chronicles diverge, and to study, when reign lengths are not given in integral number of years, whether the actual position of the entry in the chronicle represents a rounding up or down of the cited reign length. For example, Bede, Jerome and AT all cite Octavian’s reign as 56 years and six months; however Bede assigns him the years AM 3911-3966, i.e. 56 years, so he rounds it down and this is indicated as B- in the Round column. Jerome effectively assigns the the years from 43 BC to 13 AD, i.e. 56 years, so he also rounds down and this is indicated as J- in the Round column. AT effectively assigns the years AK 40 (BC) to 17 (PC), i.e 57 years, so it rounds up and this is indicated as T+ in the Round column. In the case of Isidore, he always cites reigns as integral numbers of years so that his rounding must be judged relative to Jerome; for example, since Isidore has 56 years for Octavian he has rounded down relative to Jerome, and this is indicated as I- in the Round column.

As can be seen, with the single exception of Pertinax, Bede always rounds in the same direction as Jerome, and his divergence at Pertinax is neutralised immediately by Bede giving only seventeen years to the next emperor, Seuerus, where Jerome gives him eighteen years. As can also be seen the rounding of AT does not correlate in any way with Jerome/Bede. Isidore on the other hand generally follows Jerome, except in the cases of the emperors Antoninus, Marcus, Pertinax, Constantinus and Iulianus. To highlight the close relationship between Bede’s reign lengths and Jerome’s, the latter are only entered if they differ.

1. Bede DTR C.W. Jones Bedae Venerabilis Opera in CCSL CXXIII B (Turnholt 1977), who refined Mommsen’s identifications, see T. Mommsen MGH Auctores Antiquissimi XIII (Chronica Minora III) (Berlin 1898) 223-354.
2. Isidore’s Chronicle T. Mommsen Isidori Iunioris episcopi Hispalensis chronica maiora in MGH Chron. Min II (Berlin 1894) 391-502.
3. Jerome’s Chronicle R. Helm Eusebius Werke - Die Chronik des Hieronimus, (Berlin 1956) in the series Die Griechischen Christlichen Schrisftsteller der Ehrsten Jahrhunderte.
4. Annals of Tigernach W. Stokes, The Annals of Tigernach, first published in Revue Celtique 16(1895), 374-419, 17(1896), 6-33, 119-263, 337-420, 18(1897) 9-59, 150-97, 267-303. Reprinted more conveniently in two volumes by Llanerch (Felinfach 1993).

The definitions of the column headings are as follows:

EB = Reign AD dates taken from Encylopedia Britannica.

AM = Bede’s Anno Mundi taken from Jones/Mommsen’s edition of DTR

AM’ = Bede’s AM in Arabic numerals.

AM" = AM of the end of the previous imperial reign so that Bede’s actual reign length -

Bede* = AM’- AM", cf. Figure 3 in article. Jerome* and AT* follow similarly.

AD’ = AM" – 3951 = conversion of Bede’s AM to AD using his AM 3952 for the birth of Jesus Christ;

AD² = AD data taken from Helm’s edition of Jerome’s Chronicle