The Kievan Chronicle or Kyivan Chronicle [lower-alpha 1] is a chronicle of Kievan Rus'. It was written around 1200 in Vydubychi Monastery as a continuation of the Primary Chronicle . [1] It is known from two manuscripts: a copy in the Hypatian Codex (c. 1425), and a copy in the Khlebnikov Codex (c. 1560s); in both codices, it is sandwiched between the Primary Chronicle and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle . [2] [3] It covers the period from 1118, where the Primary Chronicle ends, until about 1200, although scholars disagree where exactly the Kievan Chronicle ends and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle begins. [lower-alpha 2]
Among the sources used by the anonymous chronicler were:
There is evidence that a redactor added material from the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century. [1] Because its sources, save for the monastic chronicle, are secular and were probably not written by monks, the Kievan Chronicle is a politico-military narrative of the disintegration of Kievan Rus', in which princes are the main players. [5] It contains a historiographical account of the events celebrated in the epic Tale of Igor's Campaign , in which the basic sequence of events is the same. [6] It also contains a passion narrative of the martyrdom of the prince Igor Olgovich in 1147. [7]
Pelenski (1987) pointed out that the Kievan Chronicle has a length of 431 columns, describing a period of about 80 years; a much higher information density than the Primary Chronicle, which describes as many as 258 years in only 283 (actually 286) columns. [8] Nevertheless, at the time, the Kievan Chronicle had received far less attention from scholars than the Primary Chronicle. [8] The text of the Kievan Chronicle shows strong similarities with that of the Suzdal'–Vladimirian Chronicle found in the Laurentian Codex and elsewhere, but also some remarkable differences. [9]
Based on the 1661 Paterik of the Kievan Caves Monastery, 17th-century writers started to assert that Nestor wrote many of the surviving chronicles of Kievan Rus', [10] including the Primary Chronicle, the Kievan Chronicle and the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle, [11] even though many of the events described therein were situated in the entire 12th and 13th century (long after Nestor's death c. 1114). [11] From the 1830s to around 1900, there was fierce academic debate about Nestor's authorship, but the question remained unresolved, and belief in Nestorian authorship had persisted. [12]
Lisa Lynn Heinrich (1977) divided the Kievan Chronicle into the following chapters: [14]
The Kievan Chronicle is a direction continuation of the text of the Primary Chronicle. [15] The original text of the Kievan Chronicle has been lost; the versions preserved in the Hypatian Codex and Khlebnikov Codex are not copied from each other, but share a common ancestor that has (so far) not been found. [4] [16]
Unlike the Primary Chronicle, in which the Lithuanians were portrayed as a people which had been subdued by Yaroslav the Wise, and paid tributed to Kievan Rus' until at least the early 12th century, the Kievan Chronicle narrates about a 1132 campaign in which a Rus' army burnt down Lithuanian settlements, only to be ambushed by Lithuanians on the way back and taking heavy losses. [17]
The Kievan Chronicle contains references to the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 and the death of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa on the Third Crusade in 1190, considering the former—and the failure of the crusade—divine punishment for sin and the latter a martyrdom. [18]
The (pen)ultimate entry of the Kievan Chronicle is the year 1200 (erroneously named "1199" in the text), which contains a long panegyric praising Rurik Rostislavich (intermittently Grand Prince of Kiev between 1173 and 1210, died 2015), ending with "Amen". [15] However, in the Khlebnikov Codex , the text of the Kievan Chronicle ends in the year 6704 (1196). [2]
There is some disagreement amongst scholars [19] [lower-alpha 2] whether the entry of the year 6709 (1201), [lower-alpha 3] which is not found in the Khlebnikov Codex or the Pogodin text, [19] should be considered the final sentence of the Kievan Chronicle (Perfecky 1973, [19] Heinrich 1977 [15] ), or the first sentence of the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle (earlier scholars such as Bestuzev-Rjumin, A. Galakhov 1863, [19] and A. Shakhmatov 1908 [20] ). Perfecky stated: 'I believe that [the entry of 6709] and not Roman's quarrel with his father-in-law Prince Rjurik of Kiev under 1195–96 (Hruševs'kyj, Istorija, p. 2) is the last information about Roman in the Kievan Chronicle, of which it is an integral part (or more specifically "abrupt-ending" - to which the chronicler perhaps planned to return or possibly even returned, but that fragment never reached us).' [19]
The Russian Primary Chronicle, commonly shortened to Primary Chronicle, 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.
Yuri I Vladimirovich, commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm, was a Monomakhovichi prince of Rostov and Suzdal, acquiring the name Suzdalia during his reign. Noted for successfully curbing the privileges of the landowning boyar class in Rostov-Suzdal and his ambitious building programme, Yuri transformed this principality into the independent power that would evolve into early modern Muscovy. Yuri Dolgorukiy was the progenitor of the Yurievichi, a branch of the Monomakhovichi.
The Principality or, from 1253, Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia historically known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia was a medieval state in Eastern Europe which existed from 1199 to 1349. Its territory was predominantly located in modern-day Ukraine, with parts in Belarus, Poland, Moldova, and Lithuania. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus'. The main language was Old East Slavic, the predecessor of the modern East Slavic languages, and the official religion was Eastern Orthodoxy.
Andrey Bogolyubsky, was Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1157 until his death. During repeated internecine wars between the princely clans, Andrey accompanied his father Yuri Dolgorukiy during a brief capture of Kiev in 1149; 20 years later, he led the Sack of Kiev (1169), and made efforts to elevate Vladimir on the Klyazma as the new capital of Kievan Rus'. He was canonized as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church in 1702.
Mikhail Vsevolodovich, known as Michael or Mikhail of Chernigov, was Grand Prince of Kiev ; he was also Prince of Pereyaslavl (1206), Novgorod-Seversk (1219–1226), Chernigov, Novgorod, and Galicia (1235–1236).
The Galician–Volhynian Chronicle (GVC), also known as Chronicle of Halych–Volhynia and The Dynastic Chronicle of the Romanovichi, is a prominent work of Old Ruthenian literature and historiography covering 1201–1292 in the history of the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia.
The Hypatian Codex is a compendium of three Rus' chronicles: the Primary Chronicle, Kievan Chronicle and Galician-Volhynian Chronicle. It is the most important source of historical data about Kievan Rus'. The language of this work is Old Church Slavonic with many East Slavisms.
Roman Mstislavich, also known as Roman the Great, was Prince of Novgorod (1168–1170), Volhynia, and Galicia. He founded the Romanovichi branch of Rurikids, which would rule Galicia–Volhynia until 1340.
The Principality of Halych, or Principality of Halychian Rus', was a medieval East Slavic principality, and one of the main regional states within the political scope of Kievan Rus', established by members of the oldest line of Yaroslav the Wise descendants. A characteristic feature of the Halych principality was the important role of the nobility and citizens in political life, and consideration a will which was the main condition for the princely rule. Halych as the capital mentioned in around 1124 as a seat of Ivan Vasylkovych the grandson of Rostislav of Tmutarakan. According to Mykhailo Hrushevsky the realm of Halych was passed to Rostyslav upon the death of his father Vladimir Yaroslavich, but he was banished out of it later by his uncle to Tmutarakan. The realm was then passed to Yaropolk Izyaslavich who was a son of the ruling Grand Prince Iziaslav I of Kiev.
The inner Principality of Kiev was a medieval East Slavic state, situated in central regions of modern Ukraine around the city of Kiev.
The Prince of Pereyaslavl was the ruler of the Principality of Pereyaslavl, a lordship based on the city of Pereyaslavl on the Trubezh River, and straddling extensive territory to the east in what are now parts of Ukraine. It was situated on the southern frontier of Kievan Rus' and bordered the steppe.
Yaropolk Iziaslavich was Prince of Turov and Prince of Volhynia from 1078 until his death.
The Rurik dynasty, also known as the Rurikid or Riurikid dynasty, as well as simply Rurikids or Riurikids, was a noble lineage allegedly founded by the Varangian prince Rurik, who, according to tradition, established himself at Novgorod in the year 862. The Rurikids were the ruling dynasty of Kievan Rus' and its principalities following its disintegration.
The siege of Kiev by the Mongols took place between 28 November and 6 December 1240, and resulted in a Mongol victory. It was a heavy morale and military blow to the Principality of Galicia–Volhynia, which was forced to submit to Mongol suzerainty, and allowed Batu Khan to proceed westward into Central Europe.
Vladimir II Yaroslavich was a Rus’ prince. He was prince of Halych.
Andrew of Hungary was Prince of Halych–Volhynia between 1227 and 1230, and between 1231 and 1234, and Prince of Zvenyhorod in 1226.
The sack of Kiev took place on 8–12 March 1169 when a coalition of 11 princes, assembled by prince Andrey Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal, attacked the Kievan Rus' capital city of Kiev during the 1167–1169 Kievan succession crisis. The conflict, caused by the death of grand prince Rostislav I of Kiev, was between rival branches of the Monomakhovichi clan: the Iziaslavichi of Volhynia on the one hand, and the Rostislavichi of Smolensk, the Yurievichi, and the Olgovichi of Chernigov on the other. Prince Mstislav II of Kiev sought to defend Kiev against the Rostislavichi–Yurievichi–Olgovichi coalition.
The Khlebnikov Codex is a codex of Rus' chronicles compiled in the 1560s.
Textual criticism or textology of the Primary Chronicle or Tale of Bygone Years aims to reconstruct the original text by comparing extant witnesses. This has included the search for reliable textual witnesses ; the collation and publication of such witnesses; the study of identified textual variants ; discussion, development and application of methods according to which the most reliable readings are identified and favoured of others; and the ongoing publication of critical editions in pursuit of a paradosis.
The Suzdalian Chronicle, also known as the Chronicle of Vladimir-Suzdal, Suzdal–Vladimirian Chronicle or Laurentian–Radziwiłł–Academic Chronicle (LRAC), is a Rus' chronicle. It is one of several continuations of the Primary Chronicle (PVL).