Medieval Rus′

Maintained by: David J. Birnbaum (djbpitt@gmail.com) Last modified: 2020-08-25T22:09:49+0000

Chronology of the Primary chronicle

Based on Cross’s 1930 summary.

1039: Kievan Metropolitanate established, providing an occasion for the compilation of the древнейший киевский свод. Uses folk songs, byliny, and other occasional written sources, as well as personal observations beginning with the reign of Jaroslav (1019–54).
1073: Continuation prepared in the Crypt Monastery: первый киевопечерский свод. Copies the 1039 text, but adds personal observations from 1054 on. Author is Nikon, who spent time in Tmutorakan, which gets a lot of attention.
1093: The 1073 text is supplemented with an account of the death of Theodosius and other details.
1095: Primitive monastic compilation (начальный свод). John, Abbot of the Crypt Monastery, prepares a general Rus′ chronicle with less citation from Hamartalos and other sources than prior chronicle redactions, but with sharp criticism of reigning Prince Svjatopolk (1093–1113). Includes content from eleventh-century Novgorod annalistic writing. Influences the 1432 Novgorod First Chronicle, younger redaction. Covers events through 1093.
1111: Nestor (?) compiles a chronicle in the Crypt Monastery, drawing on and extending the 1095 compilation. The style and contents differ substantially from the Life of Theodosius and Narrative of Boris and Gleb, also attributed to Nestor.
1116: Sylvester revises the text at St. Michael’s Monastery in Vydobiči (near Kiev) at the behest of Vladimir II (Monomax), whose father, Vsevolod, had founded the monastery, in order to produce a text less friendly to Svjatopolk. Sylvester continues the chronicle through 1113 (death of Svjatopolk) and leaves a colophon dated 1116.
1118: Someone at the Kievan Crypt Monastery produces a new version in a move to restore the prestige of the monastery.