Historical chronicle. What is a chronicle - definition

Chronicle is a genre of ancient Russian literature, a form of historical writings in which events are combined according to annual, or "weather" articles (they are also called weather records). In this regard, the chronicle is fundamentally different from the Byzantine chronicles known in Ancient Russia, in which events were distributed not by years, but by the reigns of emperors. Chroniclers were usually monks and princely or royal officials. Chronicle writing was carried out at monasteries, at the courts of princes, kings and clergymen of the highest rank - bishops and metropolitans. Chronicles are divided by researchers into all-Russian and local. The earliest surviving to our time belong to the end of the 13-14th century. But the chronicle was conducted in Russia before. The hypothesis of A.A. Shakhmatov, according to which the most ancient Kievan annalistic code was compiled around 1037, received the greatest recognition. Russian wars with the Byzantine Empire, about the calling to Russia for the reign of the Scandinavians Rurik, Truvor and Sineus, about the history of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, about princely crimes. The probable author of this chronicle is the monk of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Nestor. In 1116, the monk Sylvester and in 1117-18 an unknown scribe from the entourage of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich, the text of The Tale of Bygone Years was revised. This is how the second and third editions of The Tale of Bygone Years arose; the second edition has come down to us as part of the Lavrentiev Chronicle (1377), and the third edition - the Ipatiev Chronicle (15th century). In North-Eastern Russia, Tver became one of the centers of chronicle writing after the Mongol-Tatar invasion, where in 1305 the first Tver chronicle was compiled at the court of Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich. At the beginning of the 15th century, the center of chronicle writing moved to Moscow, where in 1408, on the initiative of Metropolitan Cyprian, the first Moscow chronicle was created. It had a general Russian character. Following him, the all-Russian Moscow vaults of 1448, 1472 and 1479 were created. The final stage in the history of the grand ducal and royal annals was the illustrated edition of the Nikon chronicle - the Front (i.e., illustrated) annalistic code. Work on it was carried out in the 1560s or in the second half of 1570 - early 1580s. Apparently, the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible personally participated in this work.

In the 17th century, chronicle writing gradually declined.: frankly unreliable material begins to be included in it (about the relationship between Oleg the Prophet and Kiy, about the close relationship of Oleg and Yuri Dolgoruky, about the circumstances of the founding of Moscow by Yuri Dolgoruky). New, non-chronic forms of historical writings are emerging. Nevertheless, chronicles were kept at the patriarchal court until the very end of the century, and in some localities chronicles were preserved as early as the 18th century. Almost all Russian chronicles are vaults - a combination of several chronicle texts or news from other sources of an earlier time. Chronicle texts have a beginning, but their ending is usually conditional and coincides with some significant events: the victory of the Russian prince over enemies or accession to reign, the construction of cathedrals and city fortifications. For the annals, the principle of analogy, the roll call between the events of the past and the present is important: the events of the present are thought of as an “echo” of the events and deeds of the past, primarily those described in the Bible. The chronicler presents the murder of Boris and Gleb by Svyatopolk as a repetition and renewal of the homicide committed by Cain; Vladimir Svyatoslavich - the baptizer of Russia - is compared with St. Constantine the Great, who made Christianity the official religion in the Roman Empire. Chronicle is alien to the unity of style, it is an "open" genre. The simplest element in an annalistic text is a brief weather record that only reports the event, but does not describe it. It also includes legal documents, legends, biographies of saints, princely obituaries, stories about battles (military tales), descriptions of any significant events. So, the Second Sophia Chronicle and the Lvov Chronicle included "Journey Beyond Three Seas" by Athanasius Nikitin (1468-75). A significant part of the text in the annals is occupied by narratives about battles written in the so-called military style (see), and princely obituaries.

Chronicle traditions can be traced in Russian historical writings of the 18th and early 19th centuries.; orientation to the style of the chronicle is present in the "History of the Russian State" (1816-29) by N.M. Karamzin. For parodic purposes, the form of the Tradition of the Chronicle was used by A.S. Pushkin (“History of the village of Goryukhina”, 1830) and M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (“History of one city”, 1869-70). The similarity with the concept of history inherent in the chroniclers is characteristic of the historical views of LN Tolstoy, the author of the novel "War and Peace" (1863-69). Since 1841, the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles series has been published. In 1999, a new edition of the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles was launched; by the middle of 2000, seven volumes had been published (this edition included the Novgorod First Chronicle of the older and younger editions, which had not previously been published in the Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles).

Great philosophers have often said that people who do not know their past have no future. The history of your family, your people, your country should be known at least so that you do not have to make the same discoveries, make the same mistakes.

The sources of information about the events of the past are official documents of the state level, records of religious, social, educational institutions, surviving eyewitness accounts, and much more. Chronicles are considered the oldest documentary source.

The chronicle is one of the genres of Old Russian literature that existed from the 11th to the 17th centuries. At its core, this is a consistent presentation of events significant for history. The records were kept by year, and they could vary greatly in terms of volume and details of presentation of the material.

What events deserved to be mentioned in chronicles?

Firstly, these are turning points in the biography of Russian princes: marriage, the birth of heirs, the beginning of reigning, military exploits, death. Sometimes the Russian chronicles described miracles coming from the relics of the deceased princes, for example, Boris and Gleb, the first Russian saints.

Secondly, the chroniclers paid attention to the description of celestial eclipses, solar and lunar, epidemics of serious diseases, earthquakes, etc. Chroniclers often tried to establish a relationship between natural phenomena and historical events. For example, a defeat in a battle could be explained by the special position of the stars in the sky.

Thirdly, the ancient chronicles told about events of national importance: military campaigns, attacks by enemies, the construction of religious or administrative buildings, church affairs, etc.

Common features of famous chronicles

1) If you remember what a chronicle is, you can guess why this genre of literature got such a name. The fact is that instead of the word "year" the authors used the word "summer". Each entry began with the words "In summer", followed by an indication of the year and a description of the event. If, from the point of view of the chronicler, nothing significant happened, then a note was put - "In the summer of XXXX, there was silence." The chronicler had no right to completely skip the description of this or that year.

2) Some Russian chronicles do not begin with the emergence of the Russian state, which would be logical, but with the creation of the world. Thus, the chronicler sought to inscribe the history of his country into the universal history, to show the place and role of his homeland in the modern world for him. Dating was also conducted from the creation of the world, and not from the Nativity of Christ, as we do now. The interval between these dates is 5508 years. Therefore, the entry "In the summer of 6496" contains a description of the events of 988 - the Baptism of Russia.

3) For work, the chronicler could use the works of his predecessors. But he not only included the materials they left in his narrative, but also gave them his political and ideological assessment.

4) The chronicle differs from other genres of literature in its special style. The authors did not use any artistic devices to decorate their speech. The main thing for them was documentary and informative.

The connection of the chronicle with literary and folklore genres

The special style mentioned above, however, did not prevent chroniclers from periodically resorting to oral folk art or other literary genres. Ancient chronicles contain elements of legends, traditions, heroic epos, as well as hagiographic and secular literature.

Turning to the toponymic legend, the author sought to explain where the names of the Slavic tribes, ancient cities and the whole country came from. Echoes of ritual poetry are present in the description of weddings and funerals. Epic techniques could be used to depict the glorious Russian princes and their heroic deeds. And to illustrate the life of the rulers, for example, the feasts they arrange, there are elements of folk tales.

Hagiographic literature, with its clear structure and symbolism, provided the chroniclers with both material and a method for describing miraculous phenomena. They believed in the intervention of divine forces in human history and reflected this in their writings. Elements of secular literature (teachings, stories, etc.) were used by the authors to reflect and illustrate their views.

Texts of legislative acts, princely and church archives, and other official documents were also woven into the fabric of the narrative. This helped the chronicler to give the most complete picture of important events. And what is a chronicle if not a comprehensive historical description?

The most famous chronicles

It should be noted that the chronicles are divided into local, which became widespread during the time of feudal fragmentation, and all-Russian, describing the history of the entire state. The list of the most famous is presented in the table:

Until the 19th century, it was believed that The Tale of Bygone Years was the first chronicle in Russia, and its creator, monk Nestor, was the first Russian historiographer. This assumption was refuted by A.A. Shkhmatov, D.S. Likhachev and other scientists. The Tale of Bygone Years has not been preserved, but its individual editions are known from lists in later works - the Laurentian and Ipatiev Chronicles.

Chronicle in the modern world

By the end of the 17th century, the chronicles had lost their historical significance. More accurate and objective ways of fixing events have appeared. History began to be studied from the positions of official science. And the word "chronicle" has additional meanings. We no longer remember what a chronicle is when we read the headings “Chronicle of the life and work of N”, “Chronicle of a museum” (of a theater or any other institution).

There is a magazine, a film studio, a radio program called Chronicle, and computer game fans are probably familiar with the game Arkham Chronicle.

monthly literary, scientific and political journal, Petrograd, 1915-17. Founded by M. Gorky, it united writers and publicists of a socialist orientation who opposed the continuation of the war, nationalism, and chauvinism.

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CHRONICLES

in Russia were conducted from the 11th to the 18th centuries. Until ser. XVI century, the time of Ivan the Terrible, they were the main type of historical narrative, only from that time "yielding primacy to another historiographic genre - chronographs. L. were compiled in monasteries, at the courts of princes (and then kings), in the offices of metropolitans. Chroniclers almost were never private individuals, but carried out an order or order from spiritual or secular rulers, reflecting the interests of certain groups of people.That is why L. often contradicted each other not only in their assessments of events, but also in the factual basis itself, which creates significant difficulties for researchers of the chronicle and historians, on the basis of L. recreating the actual course of events. In terms of their structure, ancient Russian L. represented sets of weather articles, that is, reports of events that occurred in each year. Most often, the chronicler limited himself to brief information about what happened, For example: “In the summer of 6751 (1143) Vsevolod of the rebirth of his son Svyatoslav Vasilkovna, Prince of Polotsk. love to build (uncle. - Ya. L.) your Gyurgy and not settle with him, go to your brother Smolinsk, and from there go to your other brother Svyatopolk Novgorod, there and wintering. But in a number of cases, the chronicler resorted to a literary form of presentation, creating a narrative narrative about the most significant events in Russian history. It is from L. that we know in detail about the campaign, captivity and flight from captivity of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich, about the tragedy of the battle on Kalka, about the Battle of Kulikovo, the circumstances of the capture of Moscow by Tokhtamysh, about the feudal war of the 15th century, the culminating episode of which was the capture and blinding of the great Prince Vasily II Vasilyevich, etc. Even in the weather records, chroniclers often include appeals of princes, their dialogues, widely use literary cliches in them: stable speech formulas, colorful epithets, rhetorical turns, etc. L. not only the main sources of political history of Russia, but also the most extensive monuments of ancient Russian secular literature, and chronicle writing is one of its leading genres. Russian chronicle writing has a long history. With the current level of knowledge, it is not yet possible to establish when they began to keep records of historical events, replacing the previous form of historical knowledge - oral stories, traditions and legends. According to the majority of scientists, followers of Acad. A. A. Shakhmatova, L. takes on a stable form and begins to be systematically conducted from the middle. 11th century The oldest extant L. is the Tale of Bygone Years. Already this chronicle of the beginning. 12th century what distinguishes it is the combination of actual weather records with monuments of other genres and even documents. The Tale of Bygone Years contains texts of treaties with Byzantium, legends about the emergence of the Kiev Caves Monastery, a presentation of sacred history in the form of a “philosopher’s” story that prompted Prince Vladimir to adopt the Christian faith, etc. L. will retain this syncretic character later in further. Of particular interest are the so-called chronicle stories - plot stories about the most significant events in Russian history. To date, several hundred lists of chronicles have been preserved (some of the records are known in several lists, others in the only ones), and scientists have identified at least several dozen chronicle collections. Strictly speaking, each L. is a vault, since it combines - in a revised, abridged or, on the contrary, supplemented form - the previous L. and records of the events of recent years or decades, belonging to the chronicler himself. The consolidated nature of L. made possible the path of research into the chronicle, which was discovered and developed by Acad. Chess. If two or more L. up to a certain year coincide with each other, then it follows that either one was written off from the other (this is rare), or they had a common source that reached that year. Shakhmatov and his followers succeeded in identifying a whole chain of chronicle collections that preceded the extant L. XIV-XVII centuries: collections of the XIV, XV and earlier centuries, up to the XI century. Of course, determining the exact date and place of compiling the codes is hypothetical, but these hypotheses, based on the texts that have actually come down to us and the relationship between them, allow us to navigate the monuments included in the series that has been published for a hundred and fifty years - “The Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles” (PSRL ). The chronicle containing the exposition of the ancient history of Russia is the Tale of Bygone Years. L. South Russian principalities XII-XIII centuries. came to us as part of the Ipatievskaya L. (see Chronicle of Ipatievskaya). Chronicles of Rostov the Great, Vladimir and Pereyaslavl of Suzdal, late XII-beginning. 13th century best preserved as part of the Lavrentievskaya and Radzivilovskaya L. (see Chronicle of Lavrentievskaya, Chronicle of Radzivilovskaya), as well as the Chronicler of Pereyaslavl of Suzdal. The annalistic code, connected with Metropolitan Cyprian and brought to 1408, came to Troitskaya L., which burned down in the Moscow fire of 1812. Its text was reconstructed by M. D. Priselkov (Trinity Chronicle: Reconstruction of the text - M.; L., 1950). Around 1412, an annalistic code was created in Tver, reflecting the supplemented processing of the all-Russian annalistic code of the end of the XIV-beginning. XV century, close to Troitskaya L. It was reflected in Simeonovskaya L. (PSRL. - T. 18) and the Rogozhsky chronicler (PSRL. - T. 15. - Issue 1). Another source of the Rogozhsky chronicler was the Tver code of 1375, which was also reflected in the Tver collection of the 16th century. (PSRL.-T. 15). Of particular interest is the all-Russian, so-called Novgorod-Sofia code, compiled, apparently, in the 30s. 15th century (it is often defined as the “code of 1448”) and included extended chronicle stories about the battle on Kalka, the invasion of Batu and stories about the struggle of the princes of Tver with the Tatars, which were absent in Troitskaya L., lengthy editions of the stories about the Battle of Kulikovo, the story about the invasion of Tokhtamysh, “A WORD ON THE LIFE OF DMITRY DONSKOY”, etc. This code, compiled, apparently, at the metropolitan see during the feudal war in Moscow, connected the all-Russian chronicle with Novgorod. The code came to Sofia L. I (PSRL.-T. 5; 2nd ed. not completed: in 1925 only the first issue of this volume was published) and Novgorod IV L. (V. 4, issue 1 and 2; 2nd ed. not completed). The first monuments of the Moscow grand ducal chronicle, which have come down to us, were formed no earlier than ser. 15th century The chronicle of 1472 was reflected in the Vologda-Perm Leningrad (PSRL.-T. 26) and Nikanorovskaya L. (PSRL.-T. 27). It was based on the Novgorod-Sofia code, edited by the Grand Duke's chronicler (who excluded, in particular, the mention of Novgorod liberties). A more radical revision of the previous chronicle was carried out by the grand ducal archers in the late 70s. XV century: The Novgorod-Sofia arch was connected with the arch close to Troitskaya L. (with censored processing of the material from both sources), and with other monuments. The Grand Duke Moscow chronicle of 1479, which reflected this revision, formed the basis of all official chronicle writing at the end of the 15th-16th centuries. It has been preserved in an unpublished list of the 18th century. (in the Hermitage collection in the National Library), and its later edition, brought to 1492, was published in the 25th volume of the PSRL. 23), so named by Shakhmatov due to the fact that it contains a selection of news about the activities of the architect V. D. Yermolin in 1462-1472. The second part of L. contains material that is independent of the Grand Duke's chronicle and obviously goes back to the code compiled in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The same set was reflected in the so-called Abridged Chronicle Codes of the end of the 15th century. (PSRL.-T. 27). Rostov archiepiscopal code of the 80s. XV century was reflected in Typographic L. (PSRL. - T. 24). Sophia II (PSRL.-T 6) and Lvovskaya (PSRL.-T. 20) L. reflected the code of 1518, which, in turn, was based on a certain annalistic code of the 80s. XV century, compiled in unofficial church circles. At the end of the 20s. 16th century at the Moscow metropolitan department, a chronicle was compiled covering the events of 1437-1520, named after its owner Ioasafovskaya (its text was published in 1967 by A. A. Zimin as a separate edition). The compilation of the first edition of the largest of the Russian chronicles - Nikonovskaya (see Nikonovskaya Chronicle) also dates back to the same years. Between 1542-1544 another extensive chronicle was compiled - Resurrection (PSRL - T. 7-8). In the 2nd floor. 50s of the XVI century. the original edition of Nikonovskaya L. was combined with extracts from Voskresenskaya L. and the Chronicler of the beginning of the kingdom (annals that set out the events of 1533-1552, that is, the beginning of the great reign, and then the reign of Ivan the Terrible). Finally, in 1568-1576. under Ivan the Terrible, a multi-volume illustrated L., the so-called Facial Code, was created. These were the last all-Russian chronicles, which then gave way to a different type of historiographical work - chronographs (see Russian Chronograph). L., conducted in the 17th-18th centuries, were not monuments of all-Russian, but rather of local provincial chronicle writing. Publisher: Complete collection of Russian chronicles. - St. Petersburg; M, 1843; M., 1989.-T. 1-38; Novgorod first chronicle of the older and younger editions. - M .; L., 1950; Pskov Chronicles.-M, L., 1941-1955.-Iss. 1-2; Stories of Russian chronicles of the XII-XIV centuries. / Translation and explanations by T. N. Mikhelson.- M., 1968; 2nd ed. - M., 1973; Stories of Russian chronicles of the XV-XVII centuries / Translation and explanations by T. N. Mi-khelson - M., 1976, Northern Russian annals of 1472 / Text and commentary I S Lurie; Translation by V, V Kolesov // PLDR: The second half of the 15th century.-M., 1982.-S. 410-443, 638-655. Lit .: Sukhomlinov M.I. On the ancient Russian chronicle as a literary monument. - St. Petersburg, 1856; Shakhmatov A. A. Review of Russian chronicle codes of the XIV-XVI centuries - M., L., 1938, Priselkov M. D. History of Russian chronicle writing of the XI-XV centuries - L, 1940; L i-khachev D.S. Russian chronicles and their cultural and historical significance. - M; L., 1947; Dmitrieva R.P. Bibliography of Russian Chronicle.- M.; L., 1962; Nasonov A. N. The history of Russian chronicle writing in the XI - early XVIII century. - M .. 1969, O. V. Curds. // Origins of Russian fiction.-S. 31-66, Lurie Ya.S.; I) To the study of the chronicle genre // TODRL.- 1972.- T. 27.- S. 76-93; 2) All-Russian chronicles of the XIV-XV centuries - L., 1976; 3) Two stories of Russia of the XV century. SPb., 1994; Koretsky V.I. The history of Russian chronicle writing in the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries.-M., 1986. For articles on individual chronicles, see: Dictionary of Books.-Iss. 1.-S. 234-251; Issue. 2, part 2.-S. 17-18, 20-69. See also: Chronicles of Novgorod, Chronicles of Pskov, Chronicle of Ipatiev, Chronicle of Lavrentiev, Chronicle of Nikonovskaya, Chronicle of Radzivilovskaya, Front Code, Tale of Bygone Years. Ya. S. Lurie

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What is Chronicle? The meaning and interpretation of the word letopis, the definition of the term

1) Chronicle- - description of historical events in chronological order; the same as in the West "chronicle". The Russian chronicles contain the main material for the history of ancient Russia; in them there is information about the Cossack ancestors, who are called Kasags, Kazyags, Cherny Klobuks, Cherkasy, Brodniks and other names there.

2) Chronicle- - a special kind of historical narrative by years (years). Russian chronicle arose in the 11th century. and continued until the 17th century. Having reached significant development in the 11th-12th centuries, chronicle writing then fell into decay due to the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In many chronicle centers it is dying out altogether, in others it is preserved, but it has a narrow, local character. The revival of chronicle work begins only after the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). Old Russian chronicles have come down to us as part of later (mainly XIV-XV centuries) chronicle collections. The largest annalistic code of the Old Russian state is "The Tale of Bygone Years" (written at the beginning of the 12th century).

3) Chronicle- - a historical work in which the narration was conducted over the years. The story about the events of each year in the annals usually began with the words: "In the summer ...". Chronicle writing existed as early as the 10th century, but the early chronicles have come down to us only in the form of later lists, included in the chronicles of a later time (the so-called chronicle code). The most famous of the early chronicles is the Tale of Bygone Years (circa 1113). In the 17th century chronicle writings took on a different form, and chronicle writing gradually ceased.

4) Chronicle- A chronicle is a collection of historical records that served as sources for compiling 3 and 4 books of Kings and 1 and 2 books. Chronicles, to which they refer. See e.g. 1 Par. 29:29. Ref. "Bible".

5) Chronicle- monthly literary, scientific and political journal, Petrograd, 1915-17. Founded by M. Gorky, it united writers and publicists of a socialist orientation who opposed the continuation of the war, nationalism, and chauvinism.

chronicle

Description of historical events in chronological order; the same as in the West "chronicle". The Russian chronicles contain the main material for the history of ancient Russia; in them there is information about the Cossack ancestors, who are called Kasags, Kazyags, Cherny Klobuks, Cherkasy, Brodniks and other names there.

A special kind of historical narrative by years (years). Russian chronicle arose in the 11th century. and continued until the 17th century. Having reached significant development in the 11th-12th centuries, chronicle writing then fell into decay due to the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In many chronicle centers it is dying out altogether, in others it is preserved, but it has a narrow, local character. The revival of chronicle work begins only after the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). Old Russian chronicles have come down to us as part of later (mainly XIV-XV centuries) chronicle collections. The largest annalistic code of the Old Russian state is "The Tale of Bygone Years" (written at the beginning of the 12th century).

- a historical work in which the narration was conducted over the years. The story about the events of each year in the annals usually began with the words: "In the summer ...". Chronicle writing existed as early as the 10th century, but the early chronicles have come down to us only in the form of later lists, included in the chronicles of a later time (the so-called chronicle code). The most famous of the early chronicles is the Tale of Bygone Years (circa 1113). In the 17th century chronicle writings took on a different form, and chronicle writing gradually ceased.

A chronicle is a collection of historical records that served as sources for compiling 3 and 4 books of Kings and 1 and 2 books. Chronicles, to which they refer. See e.g. 1 Par. 29:29. Ref. "Bible".

You may be interested to know the lexical, direct or figurative meaning of these words:

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Yasak - (Turkic), natural tribute from the peoples of the Volga region (in 15 ...

Opening the question of what a chronicle is, it must be said that, being a documentary confirmation of the history of Ancient Russia, it is a handwritten collection of works that reveal events in chronological order.

These documents are of interest to historians, linguists, ethnologists and philologists, as they are a source of study of past years, thanks to which we have the opportunity to learn the events of a certain era, as well as language, culture and customs. In addition, modern history is written on their basis.

Chronicles of ancient Russia were written both by individuals and by whole groups (Ipatiev Monastery). To date, historical vaults have not been preserved in the original, they exist in copies copied from the source.

The Tale of Bygone Years, which was written in Kyiv in the 12th century, is considered to be the most ancient document of Russia. The task of the compilers was to describe the historical events that took place throughout the state. Until the 17th century, chroniclers wrote entire books at monasteries and princely courts. This profession was respected by people, because it was believed that it contributes to the creation of a huge legacy for posterity.

Considering what a chronicle is, it should be noted that it takes its name from the words "In the summer ...", with which each story began. Such records were gradually collected into codes, which were divided into categories depending on the place of their compilation or the events described (Kyiv, Pskov, Novgorod and others). All of them differed in expressions and selection of news, as a result of which, over time, they began to be divided into so-called izvods.

Chronicles were written in many of them, the following are considered to be the main ones:

1. Laurentian list (origin unknown) - reveals the origin of Kievan Rus and describes the reign of Prince Vladimir. Most of its content is the Tale of Bygone Years.

2. Nestorovsky or Khlebnikovsky list (origin unknown) - describes the reign

3. The Radziwill list (written in the 15th century) - has many illustrations, therefore it is called the front. The first copy was made in 1716, and in 1767 it was printed in full without any corrections.

Thus, knowing what a chronicle is, let's consider how it was compiled. Thus, small notes of incidents compiled in chronological order, as well as various legends and songs, served as a source for writing documents. All materials were processed by the compiler and historical codes were written on their basis.

Depending on the place of the events described, there are Novgorod, Kyiv, Pskov chronicles, as well as Galician-Volyn and northeastern Russia chronicles.

this is - these are those that have survived to this day and played a great role in the formation of our Fatherland. And although during the wars the opponents massively destroyed the storehouses of books in estates and monasteries, we still have the opportunity to study history from copies made from primary sources.

However, not all chronicles are official, many of them have private notes (for example, in the narrative about the campaign of Prince John Vasilyevich to the Ugra, one can find a letter from Vasian). Also, some people entered into them the time of the service of their ancestors, and chronographs - Russian events.

Thus, having understood what chronicles are and how they were created, we can conclude that today, thanks to these historical and literary documents, we have an idea about the life, customs and culture of our ancestors. This heritage plays an important role in the development of modern society.