This time has no high points or low points; it is, we may say, paratactical and endless. It has no gaps. The list of times is full even if the list of events is not.It's an interesting concept. The comparison that I came up with was that between the annals and a person who decides to begin keeping a diary, making sure to add an entry each day but not wanting to include anything but the most important happenings. It's likely that several entries in this diary would consist of nothing more than something along the lines of "nothing of note happened today." This is basically what White is saying is going on in the Annals of Saint Gall. Its writers are noting that there was, for example, a year 724, but that nothing that happened in that year was important enough to include in the annals.
A second interesting thing that White discusses is the authors' choice of events to include in the Annals of Saint Gall. In the first nine years of the period covered by the annals, five events are included:
- Hard winter.
- Duke Gottfried died.
- Hard year and deficient in crops.
- Flood everywhere.
- Pippin, the mayor of the palace, died.
All five of these events relate to either severe weather patterns or deaths of important people. As the annals continue, these themes remain prevalent, with the added category of military battles. White has this to say about the selection:
All of the events are extreme, and the implicit criterion for selecting them for remembrance is their liminal nature. Basic need - food, security from external enemies, political and military leadership - and the threat of their not being provided are the subjects of concern...It's all really interesting commentary and, although the article was tedious to read, I feel as though I gleaned something from it. That's always nice.
