A chronicle ( Latin : chronica , from Greek χρονικά chroniká , from χρόνος , chrónos – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline . Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the chronicler . A chronicle which traces world history is a universal chronicle . This is in contrast to a narrative or history , in which an author chooses events to interpret and analyze and excludes those the author does not consider important or relevant.
21-506: The Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris , meaning "Chronicle of Alfonso the Emperor", is a chronicle of the reign of Alfonso VII of León , Emperor of Spain , lasting from 1126 to 1157. The author is anonymous, but he covers far more than just the imperial court. The Chronica is not hagiographical of the emperor, but is supportive of his imperial policies and takes the concept of an imperium Hispaniae most seriously. The interrelations of
42-650: A book written by a chronicler in the Middle Ages describing historical events in a country, or the lives of a nobleman or a clergyman, although it is also applied to a record of public events. The earliest medieval chronicle to combine both retrospective ( dead ) and contemporary ( live ) entries, is the Chronicle of Ireland , which spans the years 431 to 911. Chronicles are the predecessors of modern " time lines " rather than analytical histories. They represent accounts, in prose or verse, of local or distant events over
63-437: A chronicle with information not available to the original chronicler. Determining the reliability of particular chronicles is important to historians . Many newspapers and other periodical literature have adopted "chronicle" as part of their name. "It is well known that history, in the form of Chronicles, was a favourite portion of the literature of the middle ages. The annals of a country were usually kept according to
84-401: A considerable period of time, both the lifetime of the individual chronicler and often those of several subsequent continuators . If the chronicles deal with events year by year, they are often called annals . Unlike the modern historian, most chroniclers tended to take their information as they found it, and made little attempt to separate fact from legend. The point of view of most chroniclers
105-406: A form of journalism or non-professional historical documentation. Before the development of modern journalism and the systematization of chronicles as a journalistic genre, cronista were tasked with narrating chronological events considered worthy of remembrance that were recorded year by year. Unlike writers who created epic poems regarding living figures, cronista recorded historical events in
126-548: Is a term for a historical chronicler, a role that held historical significance in the European Middle Ages . Until the European Enlightenment , the occupation was largely equivalent to that of a historian, describing events chronologically that were of note in a given country or region. As such, it was often an official governmental position rather than an independent practice. The appointment of
147-587: Is highly localised, to the extent that many anonymous chroniclers can be sited in individual abbeys . It is impossible to say how many chronicles exist, as the many ambiguities in the definition of the genre make it impossible to draw clear distinctions of what should or should not be included. However, the Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle lists some 2,500 items written between 300 and 1500 AD. Entries in chronicles are often cited using
168-427: Is one where the author assembles a list of events up to the time of their writing, but does not record further events as they occur. A live chronicle is where one or more authors add to a chronicle in a regular fashion, recording contemporary events shortly after they occur. Because of the immediacy of the information, historians tend to value live chronicles, such as annals , over dead ones. The term often refers to
189-661: Is trilingual, with articles in English, French and German. As well as the proceedings of the society's conferences, and also of the Cambridge Chronicle Symposium, the journal includes research submitted independently of the conferences. A number of text editions of chronicles have also been published here. Conferences to date: A number of interdisciplinary projects have been inspired by the society, including Repertorium Chronicarum an on-line database of Latin chronicle manuscripts maintained by Dan Embree on
210-654: The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , started under the patronage of King Alfred in the 9th century and continued until the 12th century, and the Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (1577–87) by Raphael Holinshed and other writers; the latter documents were important sources of materials for Elizabethan drama. Later 16th century Scottish chronicles, written after the Reformation , shape history according to Catholic or Protestant viewpoints. A cronista
231-815: The Medieval Chronicle The Medieval Chronicle Society is an international and interdisciplinary organization founded to facilitate the work of scholars interested in medieval annals and chronicles , or more generally medieval historiography . It was founded in 1999 and in February 2011 had 380 members. Annals and chronicles were the main genres of historical writing in the Middle Ages . Consequently, they have always been of great importance to historians . The extent to which they are also of interest to students of medieval literature or of historical linguistics
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#1732801384229252-498: The abbreviation s.a. , meaning sub anno (under the year), according to the year under which they are listed. For example, " ASC MS A, s.a. 855" means the entry for the year 855 in manuscript A of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle . The same event may be recorded under a different year in another manuscript of the chronicle, and may be cited for example as " ASC MS D, s.a. 857". The most important English chronicles are
273-433: The chronicler's direct knowledge, others from witnesses or participants in events, still others are accounts passed down from generation to generation by oral tradition . Some used written material, such as charters , letters , and earlier chronicles. Still others are tales of unknown origin that have mythical status. Copyists also changed chronicles in creative copying, making corrections or in updating or continuing
294-436: The lives of individuals in an ostensibly truthful and reality-oriented way. Even from the time of early Christian historiography, cronistas were clearly expected to place human history in the context of a linear progression, starting with the creation of man until the second coming of Christ , as prophesied in biblical texts . Rhymed or poetic chronicles, as opposed to prosaic chronicles, include: Encyclopedia of
315-507: The logo because they aptly represented the twin disciplines of history and literature, and the city where the Society was established in 1999. Volumes of proceedings of the first three conferences were published by Rodopi. When the society was founded, this triennial publication was transformed into a yearbook, now the peer-reviewed journal The Medieval Chronicle . It is edited by Erik Kooper and (since volume 8) Sjoerd Levelt. The journal
336-438: The official chronicler often favored individuals who had distinguished themselves by their efforts to study, investigate and disseminate population -related issues. The position was granted on a local level based on the mutual agreements of a city council in plenary meetings. Often, the occupation was honorary, unpaid, and stationed for life. In modern usage, the term usually refers to a type of journalist who writes chronicles as
357-617: The various peninsular kingdoms are laboured extensively, as are Alfonso's pretensions. The Chronica provides the best source of information on twelfth-century Castile-León. Simon Barton and Richard Fletcher, The World of El Cid: Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquest , 2000, ISBN 0 7190 5226 2 ; "Introduction to the Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris", pp. 148-161. Chronicle The information sources for chronicles vary. Some are written from
378-567: The website of Mississippi State university. A major project of the society was the Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle published in Leiden by Brill , edited by Graeme Dunphy. The EMC contains around 2500 usually quite short articles on individual authors or on anonymous works. A majority of these are from Western Christendom, but there are also entries on Slavic, Byzantine, Syriac, Islamic and Jewish chronicles. These give information on
399-574: The years of the sovereign's power, and not those of the Christian æra. The Chronicles compiled in large cities were arranged in like manner, with the years reckoned according to the annual succession of chief magistrates." – John Gough Nichols , critical edition foreword to Chronicle of the Grey Friars of London (1852) Scholars categorize the genre of chronicle into two subgroups: live chronicles, and dead chronicles. A dead chronicle
420-572: Was at the second of these conferences, in 1999, that the society was formally founded. The society maintains a website financed by the University of Liverpool , and publishes a regular newsletter with information on recent publications in the chronicles field. The Society's logo, depicting two interlocked dragons, was inspired by a unique series of fifteenth-century Utrecht manuscripts, all containing one or two dragons as part of their historiated initials. These two particular dragons were adopted for
441-564: Was only fully realised in the latter part of the 20th century. Since many chronicles are illustrated, they are also a fruitful object of study for art historians . It was the desire for a forum in which these disciplines could operate together that led to the foundation of the society. The history of the society began with a series of triennial conferences initially in Utrecht , but later moving from place to place. These early conferences were hosted by Erik Kooper (English studies, Utrecht). It
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