The ''Annales ianuenses'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: "Genoese annals") or ''Annali Genovesi'' form the

official history An official history is a work of history which is sponsored, authorised or endorsed by its subject. The term is most commonly used for histories which are produced for a government. The term also applies to commissions from non-state bodies includin ...

of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

during the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 150 ...

. It is the earliest medieval civic chronicle and the earliest set of annals composed by a layman. The ''Annales'' form a chronological account of the

history of Genoa Genoa, Italy, has historically been one of the most important ports on the Mediterranean. Prehistory and antiquity The Genoa area has been inhabited since the fifth or fourth millennium BC. In ancient times this area was inhabited by Ligures (a ...

from 1099 until 1294. The first annals were composed by

Caffarus Caffaro di Rustico da Caschifellone ( 1080 – c. 1164) was a statesman, diplomat, admiral and historian of the Republic of Genoa. Between 1122 and 1149 he served eight terms as a consul. His most enduring work was the '' Annales ianuenses'' ("Geno ...

, a private citizen, on his own initiative. In 1152, he petitioned the republic to keep a copy in the public archives (''comuni cartularium'') and thenceforth the annals were continued at public expense. Caffarus, who probably began the work around 1100, continued it himself down to 1163. A series of officials of the chancery continued the ''Annales'' between 1169 and 1197, when work was taken over by the scribe and diplomat Ogerius. He worked down to 1216; thereafter, the annalists were anonymous, and at times a committee, until the last entry was added in 1294. The public manuscript of the ''Annales ianuenses'' is now kept in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 10136. The content of the annals is confined to the names of the consuls, the changes to the constitution (the ''compagniae'' or sworn association), changes to the coinage and the victories of Genoa over her enemies, particularly Saracens and Pisans. In Caffarus' own words to the republic in 1152, the purpose of the chronicle was "that henceforth for all time the victories of the city of Genoa be known to future men."

Editions

;Modern critical edition by the Instituto Storico Italiano: * * * * *

Notes

Sources

* * * {{Authority control History of the Republic of Genoa Bibliothèque nationale de France collections 12th-century books 13th-century books Italian chronicles