Primary Chronicle The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: Повесть временных лет, Povest' vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years; sometimes also called Nestor's Chronicle or The Chronicle of Nestor after its compiler) is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus from around 850 to 1110, and is assumed to have been published in 1116 in Kiev (now the capital of Ukraine). The chronicle is a very important source of information on the history of the period and is of prime importance to the early history of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland. It is agreed that the chronicle may well have been a compilation of several Kievan and Novgorod chronicles. The original of the chronicle was lost, and the earliest known copies are the Laurentian codex (which dates from 267 years after 1110) and the Hypatian codex, so it is difficult to establish the exact content of the chronicle, how it was written and who wrote it. Many studies and published versions of the chronicle have been made, the earliest known being in 1767. These versions attempted to reconstruct the chronicle based on copies of the original and quotations of the chronicle in other, later, chronicles. For more detail on this, see the references below. For a long time the first compilation was attributed to a monk named Nestor, and hence in Russian, Ukrainian and German historiography it is also known under the name of Nestor's Chronicle, or Nestor's manuscript, and Nestor is known as Nestor the Chronicler. Other sources name Sylvestr, who was the hegumen of St. Michael's Monastery in the village of Vydubychi near Kiev, upon the order of Vladimir Monomakh. The chronicle begins with the deluge, as those of most chroniclers of the time did. The compiler appears to have been acquainted with the Byzantine historians; he makes use especially of John Malalas and George Hamartolus. He also had in all probability other Slavonic language chronicles to compile from, which are now lost. Many legends are mixed up with Nestor's Chronicle; the style is occasionally so poetical that perhaps he incorporated bylinas which are now lost. The early part is rich in these stories, among which are the arrival of the three Varangian brothers, the founding of Kiev, the murder of Askold and Dir, the death of Oleg, who was killed by a serpent concealed in the skeleton of his horse, and the vengeance taken by Olga, the wife of Igor, on the Drevlians, who had murdered her husband. The account of the labors of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius among the Slavic peoples is also very interesting, and to Nestor we owe the tale of the summary way in which Vladimir suppressed the worship of Perun and other idols at Kiev. As an eyewitness the chronicler could only describe the reigns of Vsevolod and Sviatopolk (1078-1112), but he gathered many interesting details from the lips of old men, two of whom were Giurata Rogovich of Novgorod, who gave him information concerning the north of Ruthenia, Petchora, and other places, and Jan, a man ninety years of age, who died in 1106, and was son of Vishata the voivode of Yaroslavl and grandson of Ostromir the Posadnik, for whom the Codex was written. Many of the ethnological details given by Nestor of the various races of the Slavs are of the highest value. There is a theory is that the Chronicle is a patchwork of many fragments of chronicles, and that the name of Nestor was attached to it because he wrote the greater part or perhaps because he put the fragments together. The name of Sylvester is also affixed to several of the manuscripts as the author. The Chronicle has come down to us in several manuscripts, but unfortunately no contemporary ones, the oldest being the so-called Lavrentievski of the 14th century (1377). It was named after the monk Lavrentii, who copied it out for Dmitri Constantinovich, the prince of Suzdal. The work, as contained in this manuscript, has had many additions made to it from previous and contemporary chronicles, such as those of Volhynia and Novgorod. The language of this work, as shown in the earliest manuscripts just mentioned, is Palaeo-Slavonic with many East Slavisms. It has formed the subject of a valuable monograph by Professor Miklosich. The Chronicle has been translated into Polish, Bohemian, German and French. The compiler can not very well be the author of the lives of Boris and Gleb, the martyrs, and of the life of St Theodosius, because they contradict many passages in the Chronicle. The work is of primary importance for early Ruthenian history, and, although devoid of literary merit, is not without its amusing episodes of an Herodotean character. Many such chronicles were written by monks, and they provide an important source of historical information. The importance of the Primary Chronicle comes from: it was the first of these chronicles known to have been written in Ruthenian. it covered the period of the birth and dominance of the early Ruthenian state Kievan Rus. This period was known as The Golden Age of Kiev. References A collation of the chronicle by Donald Ostrowski in Cyrillic is available at 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. Extracts from the chronicle translated into English are available at http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dml0www/kimohist.html. Note that this page also contains documents not from the chronicle. Chronicle extracts have the source noted at the end of the extract page. There is an English translation and commentary by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, The Russian Primary Chronicle. Medieval Academy of America Publication No. 60 (Cambridge: Mediaeval Academy, 1953). The main codices (Laurentian, Hypatian, Novgorodian) are placed in Cyrillic on http://litopys.org.ua/ Related article Freising manuscripts Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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