Primary Chronicle
The Russian Primary Chronicle, commonly shortened to Primary Chronicle (Church Slavonic: Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, romanized: Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ, commonly transcribed Povest' vremennykh let (PVL), lit. 'Tale of Bygone Years'), is a chronicle of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110. It is believed to have been originally compiled in or near Kiev in the 1110s. Tradition ascribed its compilation to the monk Nestor beginning in the 17th century, but this is no longer believed to have been the case.
| Primary Chronicle | |
|---|---|
| Tale of Bygone Years Povest' vremennykh let | |
Sheet from Radziwiłł Chronicle | |
| Author(s) | Traditionally thought to have been be Nestor, now considered unknown |
| Language | Church Slavonic |
| Date | c. 1113 |
| Manuscript(s) | 5 main surviving codices:
|
| Period covered | From biblical times to 1117 CE |
The title of the work, Povest' vremennykh let ("Tale of Bygone Years") comes from the opening sentence of the Laurentian text: "These are the narratives of bygone years regarding the origin of the land of Rus', the first princes of Kiev, and from what source the land of Rus' had its beginning". The work is considered a fundamental source for the earliest history of the East Slavs.
The content of the chronicle is known today from the several surviving versions and codices, revised over the years, slightly varying from one another. Because of several identified chronological issues and numerous logical incongruities pointed out by historians over the years, its reliability as a historical source has been strictly scrutinized by experts in the field. (See § Assessment and critique.)