East Slavic Chronicles
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

, author(s) = chroniclers, who were mainly churchmen , language =
Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
and
Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
, date = 11–18th centuries , provenance = , genre = History , image = File:Radzivill chronicle 121.jpg , width = 200px , caption = '' Tale of Bygone Years (Primary Chronicle)'' in
Radziwiłł Chronicle The Radziwiłł Letopis (genre), Letopis, also known as the Königsberg Chronicle'','' is an Old East Slavic illuminated manuscripts from the 15th-century; it is believed to be a copy of a 13th-century original. Its name is derived from the roya ...
of 15th century. , dedicated to = , manuscript(s) = , MS class 1 = , MS class 2 = , MS class 3 = , MS class 4 = , MS class 5 = , MS class 6 = , principal manuscript(s)= , first printed edition = , subject = , below = Rus' chronicle or Russian chronicle or Rus'
letopis ''Letopis'' was a Russian monthly journal published in St Petersburg from December 1915 until December 1917. It had a range of material including literary, scientific and political material. Its political stance was to oppose nationalism and the ...
( orv, лѣтопись) is the main type of Rus' historical literature. Chronicles were composed from 11th to 18th centuries. Chronicles were one of the leading genres of Old Rus' literature.Lurye, Yakov. Chronicles // Literature of Old Rusʹ. Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary / ed. by Oleg Tvorogov. - Moscow: Prosvescheniye ("Enlightenment"), 1996. (russian
Лурье Я.С. Летописи
// Литература Древней Руси. Биобиблиографический словарь / под ред. О.В. Творогова. - М.: Просвещение, 1996).
Chronicles were the main form of historical narrative until the middle of the 16th century, the time of
Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...
, when they gave primacy to another
historiographical Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...
genre – chronographs.


Copies

Old Rus' chronicles survive in some hundreds copies (codices). Some chronicles are known in multiple versions, but others are known from only a single copy. Every chronicle was a , or "collection" because it included materials from various earlier chronicle texts. Individual chronicles were revised, shortened or added to with entries on the events of the last year or even decades. There are probably several tens of in existence.


Сharacteristic

The chroniclers (singular ''letopisets'') were mainly churchmen. Rus' chronicles were composed in monasteries, at the princely (see:
knyaz , or ( Old Church Slavonic: Кнѧзь) is a historical Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times of history and different ancient Slavic lands. It is usually translated into English as prince or duke, dependi ...
) courts (later at the courts of the
tsars Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
of Moscow and kings of Galicia-Volhynia) and in the offices of Metropolitans. Individual chronicles often contradicted each other. Chronicles typically consisted of collections of short factual entries for the preceding year, often including speeches and dialogues between princes. In some instances the chronicler would provide an extended narrative on the most significant events of Rus' history, often embellished with literary phrases, including standard speech formulas,
epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
s, rhetorical figures and others.
Aleksey Shakhmatov Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович Ша́хматов, – 16 August 1920) was a Russian Imperial philologist and historian credited with laying foundations for the science of tex ...
was the foremost expert in
textology Text linguistics is a branch of linguistics that deals with texts as communication systems. Its original aims lay in uncovering and describing text grammars. The application of text linguistics has, however, evolved from this approach to a point in ...
of the old Rus' chronicles. He considered that the main part of the chronicle texts were , that is collections of separate records from different sources, and every new chronicle was a svod of some previous chronicles and newly added historical records.
Aleksey Shakhmatov Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович Ша́хматов, – 16 August 1920) was a Russian Imperial philologist and historian credited with laying foundations for the science of tex ...
. Investigation on the Oldest Kievan Rusʹ chronicle svods. - Saint Petersburg: Printing-House of M.A. Aleksandrov, 1908. — XX, 686 p. — Reprint from Chronicle of Work of Imperial Archaeographic Commission. — Vol. 20. (russian
Шахматов А.А. Разыскания о древнейших русских летописных сводах
— СПб.: Типография М.А. Александрова, 1908. — XX, 686 с. — Оттиск из кн.: Летописи занятий Императорской Археографической Комиссии. — Т. 20).
Aleksey Shakhmatov. Review of Rusʹ chronicle svods of 14th—16th Century. Moscow / ed. by A.S. Orlov,
Boris Grekov Boris Dmitrievich Grekov (; in Mirgorod, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire – 9 September 1953 in Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet historian noted for his comprehensive studies of Kievan Rus and the Golden Horde. He was a member of the Sovi ...
;
Academy of Sciences of USSR The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
, Institute of Literature. — Moscow,
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
: Publisher of Academy of Sciences of USSR, 1938. — 372 p. (russian: Шахматов А.А. Обозрение русских летописных сводов XIV—XVI вв. / отв. ред.: А.С. Орлов, акад. Б.Д. Греков; АН СССР, Институт литературы. – М.; Л.: Издательство АН СССР, 1938. — 372 с.).
In recent studies much of the chronicles have become viewed as collections of annual records, produced in certain state or church offices – as are West European
annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...
. For example, the hypothetical "Novgorod Archbishop Chronicle" is believed to have been prepared at the office of Novgorod Archdiocese from 12th to 14th centuries and was the main basis of the
Novgorod First Chronicle The Novgorod First Chronicle (russian: Новгородская первая летопись) or The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016–1471 is the most ancient extant Old Russian chronicle of the Novgorodian Rus'. It reflects a tradition different ...
of the 15th century.Гиппиус А.А. К истории сложения текста Новгородской первой летописи
// Новгородский исторический сборник. — СПб., 1997. — Вып. 6 (16) / Рос. акад. наук, Институт рос. истории, С.-Петербургский филиал; отв. ред. В.Л. Янин. — C. 3—72; Гиппиус А.А. К характеристике новгородского владычного летописания XII–XIV вв. // Великий Новгород в истории средневековой Европы: К 70-летию В.Л. Янина. – М.: Русские словари, 1999. — С. 345–364; Гимон Т.В. События XI — начала XII в. в новгородских летописях и перечнях // Древнейшие государства Восточной Европы: 2010 год: Предпосылки и пути образования Древнерусского государства / отв. ред. серии Е.А. Мельникова. Институт всеобщей истории РАН. – М.: Рус. Фонд Содействия Образ. и Науке, 2012. — С. 584–706.


Sources

Sources for the oldest chronicles include
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
and South Slavic texts on
sacred history Sacred history is the parts of the Torah narrative on the boundary of historicity, especially the Moses and Exodus stories which can be argued to have a remote historical nucleus without any positive evidence to the effect. Rabbi Neil Gillman, pr ...
and other subjects, the Chronicle of
George Hamartolos George Hamartolos or Hamartolus ( el, ) was a monk at Constantinople under Michael III (842–867) and the author of a chronicle of some importance. Hamartolus is not his name but the epithet he gives to himself in the title of his work: "A compen ...
on the
Generations of Noah The Generations of Noah, also called the Table of Nations or Origines Gentium, is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, according to the Hebrew Bible (Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after the Flood, focusing on the major known socie ...
(in the Primary Chronicle), legends, legal documents such as the Rus'–Byzantine Treaties (in the Primary Chronicle) and the short redaction of
Russkaya Pravda The ''Russkaya Pravda'' (Rus' Justice, Rus' Truth, or Russian Justice; orv, Правда роусьскаꙗ, ''Pravda Rusĭskaya'' (13th century, 1280), Правда Руськая, ''Pravda Rus'kaya'' (second half of the 15th century); russian: ...
(in the Novgorod First Chronicle), historical records and others.


Genealogy

The
Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
of the beginning of the 12th century is the oldest surviving old Rus' chronicle, narrating the earliest history of Rus'. However
Aleksey Shakhmatov Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович Ша́хматов, – 16 August 1920) was a Russian Imperial philologist and historian credited with laying foundations for the science of tex ...
paid attention to the abundance of entries about the 11th century
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
, which are also present in the Novgorod First chronicle (of the 15th century), but absent in the Primary Chronicle. This and some others textual facts were a base for Shakhmatov's theory that the beginning of Novgorod First Chronicle includes text that is older than that in the Primary Chronicle. The scholar named it "Primary Svod" (Collection) and dated it to the end of the 11th century. This svod was also a basis for the Primary Chronicle. If two or more chronicles coincide with each other up to a certain year then either one chronicle is copied from another (more rarely) or these chronicles had a common source, an older svod. Shakhmatov discovered and developed a method of study on the chronicle (svod) genealogy. Based on textual analysis, Shakhmatov built extensive genealogy of the old Rus' chronicles. He connected most of these chronicles and created a genealogy table, in which the extant chronicles of the 14–17th centuries went back not only to the "Primary Svod", but also to earlier hypothetical of the 11th century and even to historical records of the end of the 10th century. Shakhmatov's method and theories became a mainstay in the Russian chronicle studies.


History

Old Rus' chronicles were systematically prepared from the middle of the 11th century. There were two centers of chronicle preparation in this early period:
Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
(the capital of early Rus') and
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
. The
Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
of the beginning of the 12th century was a combination of Kievan and Novgorodian chronicle records, as well as the Novgorod First Chronicle. The Primary Chronicle survives in the Laurentian and Hypatian codices. Chronicles of Kievan Rus'
princedoms A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
of the 12–13th centuries survive in the Hypatian Chronicle which includes the hypothetical
Kievan Chronicle The ''Kievan Chronicle'' or ''Kyivan Chronicle''; is an Old East Slavic chronicle of Kievan Rus'. It was written around 1200 in Vydubychi monastery as a continuation of the '' Primary Chronicle''. It is known from a single copy in the 15th-cent ...
, a continuation of the Primary Chronicle and covered events from 1118 to 1200, and the
Galician–Volhynian Chronicle The ''Galician–Volhynian Chronicle'' ( uk, Галицько-Волинський літопис), called "Halicz-Wolyn Chronicle" in Polish historiography, is a prominent benchmark of the Old Ruthenian literature and historiographyKotlyar, M. G ...
which covered events in Galicia and Volhynia from 1201 to 1292.Лихачева О.П. Летопись Ипатьевская
// Словарь книжников и книжности Древней Руси / АН СССР. ИРЛИ; Отв. ред. Д.С. Лихачев. — Л.: Наука, 1987. — Вып. 1 (XI – первая половина XIV в.). — С. 236
Лихачева О.П. Летопись Ипатьевская
// Литература Древней Руси. Биобиблиографический словарь / под ред. О.В. Творогова. - М.: Просвещение, 1996
Chronicles of
Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While t ...
,
Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
and Pereyaslavl of
Suzdal Suzdal ( rus, Суздаль, p=ˈsuzdəlʲ) is a town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located on the Kamenka River, north of the city of Vladimir. Vladimir is the admin ...
of the end of 12th – early 13th century better remained in the Laurentian, Radziwill chronicles (codices) and Chronicle of Pereyaslavl of Suzdal. Hypatian Chronicle of the end of the 13th – early 14th centuries is an All-Rus' svod in south redaction (presumably). It survives in сopies from the 15–18th centuries. Laurentian Chronicle of the 14th century is a svod from North-East Rus' (
Vladimir-Suzdal Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
). One copy of 1377. "
Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...
ian svod" of 1375 reflected in the Rogozhskiy Chronicle and Tverian Collection of the 16th century. Chronicle svod, related to
Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow Cyprian ( bg, Киприан, russian: Киприан, be, Кіпрыян, uk, Кипріан) (c. 1336 – 16 September 1406) was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Russia and Lithuania (2 December 1375–12 February 1376) and the Metropolitan of K ...
, was continued up to 1408 and survived in Troitskaya ("
Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
") Chronicle, which burnt in the Fire of Moscow of 1812. It was reconstructed by Mikhail Prisyolkov. Chronicle svod was made in Tver in , it reflected additional revision (similar to Troitskaya Chronicle) of All-Rus' svod of the end of the 14th – early 15th century. This "Tverian svod" reflected in the Simeon and Rogozhskiy chronicles. "
Novgorodsko-Sofiysky Svod According to Russian philologist Aleksey Shakhmatov, Novgorodsko-Sofiysky Svod (russian: Новгородско-Софийский свод, Novgorod-Sofia Compilation) is a tentative name for a hypothetical common source for the Novgorod Fourth Ch ...
" of the 1430s (or "Svod of 1448" according to Shakhmatov) was compiled at the office of Moscow Metropolitan and united All-Rus' and Novgorodian chronicles. The svod was preserved in the Sofia First and Novgorod Fourth chronicles. First known
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
grand prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king or ...
ly chronicles appeared at the middle of the 15th century. "Chronicle Svod of 1472" reflected in the
Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. ...
–Perm and Nicanor chronicles. Basis of "Svod of 1472" was "Novgorodsko-Sofiysky Svod", edited by Moscow grand princely chroniclers, who brought censorship, excluded in particular the mentions of Novgorodian liberty, because Novgorod State was joint to Moscow Grand Princedom. In the end of the 1470s, "Novgorodsko-Sofiysky Svod", the svod similar to Troitskaya Chronicle and other sources was compiled together. This compilation was censored even more than the "Svod of 1472". The "Compilation of the 1470s" reflected in "Moscow Grand Princely Svod of 1479", surviving in copy of the 18th century, and in its later redaction was continued up to 1492. This "Svod of 1479" underlaid all of official chronicles of the end of the 15th – 16th centuries. The compilation of the 1470s also reflected in the first part of Yermolin Chronicle. The "Svod of
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (russian: Кирилло-Белозерский монастырь), translated into English as White Lake ranslation of the town name of BeloozeroSt. Cyril's Monastery, used to be the largest monastery and the stron ...
" contained text, independent of Moscow Grand Princedom. This svod reflected in the second part of Yermolin Chronicle and in so-called Abridged Chronicle Svods of the end of the 15th century. "Rostov Archbishop Svod" of the 1480s reflected in Typographical Chronicle. Another "Chronicle Svod of 1480s", made in unofficial church sphere, reflected in the "Svod of 1518", which in turn reflected in the
Sofia Second Chronicle The Sofia Second Chronicle is a Russian chronicle from the 16th century. It is found in two redactions: The Archival redaction, from the first quarter of the 16th century and now in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents (RGADA) (Fond 181, ...
and
Lvov Chronicle The Lviv Chronicle ( uk, Львівський літопис) is a Ruthenian chronicle from the early seventeenth century Halychyna. This chronicle reflects the events in Kievan Rus from year 1498 to 1649, revealing valuable information about th ...
. Ioasaf Chronicle was made at the end of the 1520s at the office of Moscow Metropolitan. It covered events of 1437–1520. In the same years, the first redaction of the
Nikon Chronicle The ''Nikon Chronicle'' (russian: Никоновская летопись) is a compilation of Russian chronicles undertaken at the court of Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century. The compilation was named after Patriarch of Moscow and all Ru ...
was compiled using the Ioasaf Chronicle as its immediate source. Nikon Chronicle was the largest Rus' chronicle. Voskresenskaya ("
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
") Chronicle was another extensive chronicle created between 1542–1544. In late 1550s, during the reign of
Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...
, initial redaction of the Nikon Chronicle was united with passages from Voskresenskaya Chronicle and the Chronicle of the Beginning of
Tsardom Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
– chronicle of events of 1533–1552, i.e. the beginning of Ivan's reign. In 1568—1576, also during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the multivolume Illustrated Chronicle Svod was created. This was the last All-Rus' chronicle, as they were replaced by another form of historiographical texts – chronographs. Russian chronicles of the 17–18th centuries were local, provincial texts, like Siberian Chronicles of the late 16th – 18th centuries. Development of Rus' chronicles were
Lithuanian Chronicles The Lithuanian Chronicles ( lt, Lietuvos metraščiai, also called Belarusian-Lithuanian Chronicles) are three redactions of chronicles compiled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All redactions were written in the Ruthenian language and served the ...
of the 15–16th centuries and Ukrainian Chronicles of the 17–18th centuries.Марченко М. І., Українська історіографія (З давніх часів до сер. XIX ст.), К., 1959; Українські письменники. Біо-бібліографіч. словник, т. 1, К., 1960.


Some Rus' chronicles

*
Primary Chronicle The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
*
Novgorod First Chronicle The Novgorod First Chronicle (russian: Новгородская первая летопись) or The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016–1471 is the most ancient extant Old Russian chronicle of the Novgorodian Rus'. It reflects a tradition different ...
*
Galician–Volhynian Chronicle The ''Galician–Volhynian Chronicle'' ( uk, Галицько-Волинський літопис), called "Halicz-Wolyn Chronicle" in Polish historiography, is a prominent benchmark of the Old Ruthenian literature and historiographyKotlyar, M. G ...
*
Hypatian Codex The Hypatian Codex (also known as Hypatian Letopis or Ipatiev Letopis; be, Іпацьеўскі летапіс; russian: Ипатьевская летопись; uk, Іпатіївський літопис) is a ''svod'' (compendium) of three ''l ...
*
Laurentian Codex Laurentian Codex or Laurentian Letopis (russian: Лаврентьевский список, Лаврентьевская летопись) is a collection of chronicles that includes the oldest extant version of the '' Primary Chronicle'' and its ...
*
Academic Chronicle The Academic Chronicle (russian: Московско-Академическая летопись, translit=Moskovskaya akademicheskaya letopis) or Suzdal' Chronicle (russian: Суздальская летопись, translit=Suzdalskaya Letopis) is ...
*
Novgorod Fourth Chronicle The Novgorod Fourth Chronicle (Новгородская четвёртая летопись) is a Russian chronicle of 15th century. It is traditionally called "Fourth" according to the order of the modern publication of Novgorod chronicles, rather ...
*
Radziwiłł Chronicle The Radziwiłł Letopis (genre), Letopis, also known as the Königsberg Chronicle'','' is an Old East Slavic illuminated manuscripts from the 15th-century; it is believed to be a copy of a 13th-century original. Its name is derived from the roya ...
*
Sofia First Chronicle The Sofia First Chronicle (Софийская первая летопись) is a Russian chronicle associated with the St. Sophia Cathedral, Novgorod, Russia. Its copies exist in two versions: Early Redaction (''starshy izvod''), which ends by 1 ...
*
Novgorodsko-Sofiysky Svod According to Russian philologist Aleksey Shakhmatov, Novgorodsko-Sofiysky Svod (russian: Новгородско-Софийский свод, Novgorod-Sofia Compilation) is a tentative name for a hypothetical common source for the Novgorod Fourth Ch ...
*
Sofia Second Chronicle The Sofia Second Chronicle is a Russian chronicle from the 16th century. It is found in two redactions: The Archival redaction, from the first quarter of the 16th century and now in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents (RGADA) (Fond 181, ...
*
Nikon Chronicle The ''Nikon Chronicle'' (russian: Никоновская летопись) is a compilation of Russian chronicles undertaken at the court of Ivan the Terrible in the mid-16th century. The compilation was named after Patriarch of Moscow and all Ru ...
*
Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible The Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible (russian: Лицевой летописный свод, Litsevoy letopisny svod) is the largest compilation of historical information ever assembled in medieval Russia. It covers the period from the G ...
* Kazan Chronicle * Ioachim Chronicle *
Lithuanian Chronicles The Lithuanian Chronicles ( lt, Lietuvos metraščiai, also called Belarusian-Lithuanian Chronicles) are three redactions of chronicles compiled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All redactions were written in the Ruthenian language and served the ...
*
Bychowiec Chronicle The Bychowiec Chronicle (also spelled ''Bykhovets'', ''Bykovets'' or '' Bychovec'') is an anonymous 16th-century chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Although one of the least reliable sources of the epoch, it is considered the most extensive ...
*
Lvov Chronicle The Lviv Chronicle ( uk, Львівський літопис) is a Ruthenian chronicle from the early seventeenth century Halychyna. This chronicle reflects the events in Kievan Rus from year 1498 to 1649, revealing valuable information about th ...
* Siberian Chronicles, including: *
Stroganov Chronicle The Stroganov Letopis, also known under the name "On Capturing of the Siberian Land" (''Строгановская летопись'', ''"О взятии Сибирской земли"'' in Russian) is one of the earliest Siberian Letopises. The ...
* Kungur Chronicle * Yesipov Chronicle *
Remezov Chronicle The Remezov Letopis (''Ремезовская летопись'' in Russian) is one of the Siberian Letopises, compiled by a Russian historian Semyon Remezov Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov (russian: Семён Улья́нович Ре́мезов) ...
*
Pskov Third Chronicle Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: ...


See also

*
Nestor the Chronicler Saint Nestor the Chronicler ( orv, Несторъ Лѣтописецъ; 1056 – c. 1114, in Principality of Kiev, Kievan Rus') was the reputed author of ''Primary Chronicle'' (the earliest East Slavic letopis), ''Life of the Venerable Theodo ...
*
Kormchaia The ''Kórmchaia Book'', also known as the ''Books of the Pilot'' (russian: Ко́рмчая книга, from , cu, кръмьчии 'helmsman, ship's pilot'; ), ''Pidalion'' (russian: Пидалион from grc, Πηδάλιον, Πηδαλί ...
*
Merilo Pravednoye ''Merílo Právednoye'' or ''Just Measure'' ('measure of righteousness') (russian: Мерило Праведное, cu, мѣрило праведноѥ) is an Rus' (region), Old Russian legal collection from the late 13th or early 14th centur ...
*
Russkaya Pravda The ''Russkaya Pravda'' (Rus' Justice, Rus' Truth, or Russian Justice; orv, Правда роусьскаꙗ, ''Pravda Rusĭskaya'' (13th century, 1280), Правда Руськая, ''Pravda Rus'kaya'' (second half of the 15th century); russian: ...
* De moribus tartarorum, lituanorum et moscorum *
Freising manuscripts The Freising manuscriptsAlso ''Freising folia'', ''Freising fragments'', or ''Freising monuments''; german: Freisinger Denkmäler, la, Monumenta Frisingensia, sl, Brižinski spomeniki or are the first Latin-script continuous text in a Slavic ...


Notes


Some editions

*
Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles (, abbr. ''PSRL'') is a series of published volumes aimed at collecting all medieval East Slavic chronicles, with various editions published in Imperial Russia, the Soviet Union, and Russian Federat ...
: russian: Полное собрание русских летописей. — СПб.; М, 1843; М., 1989. — Т. 1—38. * Новгородская первая летопись старшего и младшего изводов. — М.; Л., 1950. * Псковские летописи.— М.; Л., 1941—1955. — Вып. 1—2. * Рассказы русских летописей XII—XIV вв. / Перевод и пояснения Т.Н. Михельсон. — М., 1968; 2-е изд. — М., 1973. * Рассказы русских летописей XV—XVII вв. / Перевод и пояснения Т.Н. Михельсон — М., 1976, * Севернорусский летописный свод 1472 года / Подг. текста и комм Я.С. Лурье; Перевод В.В. Колесова // Памятники литературы Древней Руси: Вторая половина XV века. — М., 1982. — С. 410—443, 638—655.
The Rus' Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Text
Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor. Cambridge, MA: The Mediaeval Academy of America, 1953.

is available at https://web.archive.org/web/20050309022812/http://hudce7.harvard.edu/~ostrowski/pvl/ together with an erudite and lengthy introduction in English. This is an ''interlinear collation'' including the ''five main manuscript witnesses'', as well as a new ''paradosis'', or reconstruction of the original.
The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016-1471. Intr. C. Raymond Beazley, A. A. Shakhmatov (London, 1914)
*


Bibliography

* Сухомлинов М.И. О древней русской летописи как памятнике литературном. — СПб., 1856. *
Aleksey Shakhmatov Alexei Alexandrovich Shakhmatov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Алекса́ндрович Ша́хматов, – 16 August 1920) was a Russian Imperial philologist and historian credited with laying foundations for the science of tex ...
. Investigation on the Oldest Rus' Chronicle Svods. — Saint Petersburg: Printing-House of M.A. Aleksandrov, 1908. — XX, 686 p. — Reprint from Chronicle of Work of Imperial Archaeographic Commission. — Vol. 20. (russian
Шахматов А.А. Разыскания о древнейших русских летописных сводах
– СПб.: Типография М.А. Александрова, 1908. — XX, 686 с. — Оттиск из кн.: Летописи занятий Императорской Археографической Комиссии. — Т. 20). * Aleksey Shakhmatov. Review of Rus' Chronicle Svods of 14th—16th Century. Moscow / ed. by A.S. Orlov,
Boris Grekov Boris Dmitrievich Grekov (; in Mirgorod, Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire – 9 September 1953 in Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet historian noted for his comprehensive studies of Kievan Rus and the Golden Horde. He was a member of the Sovi ...
;
Academy of Sciences of USSR The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
, Institute of Literature. — Moscow,
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
: Publisher of Academy of Sciences of USSR, 1938. — 372 p. (russian: Шахматов А.А. Обозрение русских летописных сводов XIV—XVI вв. / отв. ред.: А.С. Орлов, акад. Б.Д. Греков; АН СССР, Институт литературы. – М.; Л.: Издательство АН СССР, 1938. — 372 с.). * Приселков М.Д. История русского летописания XI—XV вв. — Л., 1940. * Приселков М.Д. Троицкая летопись: Реконструкция текста. – 2-е изд. – СПб.: Наука, 2002. – 512, с. * Лихачев Д.С. Русские летописи и их культурно-историческое значение. — М.; Л., 1947. * Дмитриева Р.П. Библиография русского летописания. — М.; Л., 1962 * Насонов А.Н. История русского летописания XI — начала XVIII века. — М., 1969 * Творогов О.В. Сюжетное повествование в летописях XI—XIII вв. / Истоки русской беллетристики: Возникновение сюжетного повествования в древнерусской литературы. — Л.: Наука, 1970. — С. 31—66. * Лурье Я.С. К изучению летописного жанра // Труды Отдела древнерусской литературы. — 1972. — Т. 27. — С. 76—93. * Лурье Я.С. Общерусские летописи XIV—XV вв. — Л., 1976. * Корецкий В.И. История русского летописания второй половины XVI — начала XVII века. — М., 1986.
Словарь книжников и книжности Древней Руси
/ АН СССР. ИРЛИ; Отв. ред. Д.С. Лихачев. — Л.: Наука, 1987. — Вып. 1 (XI – первая половина XIV в.). — С. 234—251; Л.: Наука, 1989. — Вып. 2, ч. 2. — С. 17—18, 20—69. * Лурье Я.С. Две истории Руси XV века. — СПб., 1994. * Literature of Old Rusʹ. Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary / ed. by Oleg Tvorogov. - Moscow: Prosvescheniye ("Enlightenment"), 1996. (russian
Лурье Я.С. Летописи
// Литература Древней Руси. Биобиблиографический словарь / под ред. О.В. Творогова. - М.: Просвещение, 1996). * Бобров А.Г. Новгородские летописи XV века. — СПб.: Дмитрий Буланин, 2000. — 287 с.

// Новгородский исторический сборник. — СПб., 1997. — Вып. 6 (16) / Рос. акад. наук, Институт рос. истории, С.-Петербургский филиал; отв. ред. В.Л. Янин. — C. 3–72. * Гиппиус А.А. К характеристике новгородского владычного летописания XII–XIV вв. // Великий Новгород в истории средневековой Европы: К 70-летию В.Л. Янина. — М.: Русские словари, 1999. — С. 345–364. * Гимон Т.В. События XI – начала XII в. в новгородских летописях и перечнях // Древнейшие государства Восточной Европы: 2010 год: Предпосылки и пути образования Древнерусского государства / отв. ред. серии Е.А. Мельникова. Институт всеобщей истории РАН. — М.: Рус. Фонд Содействия Образ. и Науке, 2012. — С. 584–706.
Сергеев В.И. Сибирские летописи
// Жуков Е.М. Советская историческая энциклопедия: В 16 т. - М.: Государственное научное издательство «Советская энциклопедия», 1961-1976. {{ref end East Slavic manuscripts East Slavic chronicles Old Church Slavonic literature Novgorod Republic Cyrillic manuscripts History of Russia