ABSTRACT
The various versions of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle offer a curious set of entries for the four successive years 887-90, exemplified here by MS A:
The material stands out from its context because of its insistent focus on journeys to Rome undertaken by Alfred’s representatives. In a sense there is nothing extraordinary about this; why should a chronicler not choose to report missions to Rome amongst other memorable events for a particular year? But one entry in particular, that for 889, seems to lend an undue prominence to the Roman missions. The Roman mission is the only subject covered in 889, and yet no mission took place in that year. The annal for 889 is taken up with reporting that an event did not happen.
