 All of the surviving manuscripts are copies , so it is not known for certain where or when the first version of the Chronicle was composed . It is generally agreed that the original version was written in the late 9th century by a scribe in Wessex . After the original Chronicle was compiled , copies were made and distributed to various monasteries . Additional copies were made , for further distribution or to replace lost manuscripts , and some copies were updated independently of each other . Some of these later copies are those that have survived . 
