Primary Chronicle
Sign in to saveliterary work of 12th century
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The Primary Chronicle is a 12th-century literary work that records the history of early Eastern Slavic peoples and the establishment of the Kievan Rus' state. It matters as a foundational historical document that shaped how we understand the origins of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian civilizations.
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The Primary Chronicle, shortened from the common Russian 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 the Kiev area in the 1110s. Tradition ascribed its compilation to the monk Nestor (Nestor's Chronicle) beginning in the 12th century, but this is no longer believed to have been the case.
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.