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.
31-554: Joyous Gard (French Joyeuse Garde and other variants) is a castle featured in the Matter of Britain literature of the legend of King Arthur . It was introduced in the 13th-century French Prose Lancelot as the home and formidable fortress of the hero Lancelot after his conquest of it from the forces of evil. Le Morte d'Arthur identified it with Bamburgh Castle . As told in the Vulgate Cycle 's Lancelot en prose and
62-650: 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
93-437: 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
124-401: 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
155-406: 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
186-479: Is a central component of the Matter of Britain. Geoffrey drew on a number of ancient British texts, including the 9th-century Historia Brittonum . The Historia Brittonum is the earliest known source of the story of Brutus of Troy . Traditionally attributed to Nennius , its actual compiler is unknown; it exists in several recensions. This tale went on to achieve greater currency because its inventor linked Brutus to
217-548: 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
248-840: Is also possible to read the Arthurian literature, particularly the Grail tradition, as an allegory of human development and spiritual growth, a theme explored by mythologist Joseph Campbell amongst others. Chronicle The information sources for chronicles vary. Some are written from 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
279-587: 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
310-427: 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
341-656: Is the best-known part of the Matter of Britain. It has succeeded largely because it tells two interlocking stories that have intrigued many later authors. One concerns Camelot , usually envisioned as a doomed utopia of chivalric virtue, undone by the fatal flaws of the heroes like Arthur, Gawain and Lancelot . The other concerns the quests of the various knights to achieve the Holy Grail ; some succeed ( Galahad , Percival ), and others fail. The Arthurian tales have been changed throughout time, and other characters have been added to add backstory and expand on other Knights of
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#1732801847485372-615: Is under sentence of death from Arthur, and brings her to the Joyous Gard. In the Stanzaic Morte Arthur and elsewhere, Arthur and Gawain unsuccessfully besiege the castle. Eventually, Lancelot abandons his castle and goes to an exile in today's France. After his death, Lancelot's body is taken to the Joyous Gard for burial. In the French prose cycles, he is laid to rest next to the grave of his dear friend Galehaut (in
403-654: 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
434-600: The Post-Vulgate Queste del Saint Graal , their remnants are later dug up and destroyed by King Mark). In his Le Morte d'Arthur , the late-medieval English writer Thomas Malory identified the Joyous Gard with Bamburgh Castle , a coastal castle in Northumberland that was built on former location of a Celtic Briton fort known as Din Guarie. Before writing his work, Malory personally participated in
465-614: The Saxon -allied king Brandin of the Isles; the various motifs and perceived symbolism of the Dolorous Gard episode were subjects of several analyses by modern scholars. In the prose stories of Tristan and Iseult , the pair later lives in the castle with Lancelot's permission as refugees from King Mark of Cornwall . Following Lancelot's adulterous and treasonous affair with Arthur's wife Queen Guinevere , Lancelot rescues Guinevere, who
496-452: The legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur . The 12th-century writer Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae ( History of the Kings of Britain) is a central component of the Matter of Britain. It was one of the three great Western story cycles recalled repeatedly in medieval literature, together with the Matter of France , which concerned
527-493: The Round Table . The medieval legend of Arthur and his knights is full of Christian themes; those themes involve the destruction of human plans for virtue by the moral failures of their characters, and the quest for an important Christian relic. Finally, the relationships between the characters invited treatment in the tradition of courtly love , such as Lancelot and Guinevere , or Tristan and Iseult . In more recent years,
558-455: The Saxons") contains the lines: Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant: De France et de Bretaigne et de Rome la grant There are only three subject matters for any discerning man: That of France, that of Britain, and that of great Rome. The name distinguishes and relates the Matter of Britain from the mythological themes taken from classical antiquity , the " Matter of Rome ", and
589-742: The Yorkist siege of the castle during the War of the Roses . He also proposed the nearby Alnwick Castle . Joyous Gard is further associated with Château de Joyeuse Garde , an early medieval castle site in Brittany where the continental Arthurian tradition began. Matter of Britain By century The Matter of Britain ( French : matière de Bretagne ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and
620-498: 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
651-903: The diaspora of heroes that followed the Trojan War . As such, this material could be used for patriotic myth-making just as Virgil linked the founding of Rome to the Trojan War in The Æneid . Geoffrey lists Coel Hen as a King of the Britons , whose daughter, Helena marries Constantius Chlorus and gives birth to a son who becomes the Emperor Constantine the Great , tracing the Roman imperial line to British ancestors. It has been suggested that Leir of Britain, who later became King Lear,
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#1732801847485682-609: The early Arthurian and pseudo-historical sources of the Matter of Britain. The Scots , for instance, formulated a mythical history in the Pictish and the Dál Riata royal lines. While they do eventually become factual lines, unlike those of Geoffrey, their origins are vague and often incorporate both aspects of mythical British history and mythical Irish history. The story of Gabrán mac Domangairt especially incorporates elements of both those histories. The Arthurian literary cycle
713-475: The legends of Charlemagne and his companions , as well as the Matter of Rome , which included material derived from or inspired by classical mythology and classical history . Its pseudo- chronicle and chivalric romance works, written both in prose and verse, flourished from the 12th to the 16th century. The three "matters" were first described in the 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel , whose epic Chanson des Saisnes [ fr ] ("Song of
744-438: 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
775-593: The tales of the Paladins of Charlemagne and their wars with the Moors and Saracens , which constituted the " Matter of France ". King Arthur is the chief subject of the Matter of Britain, along with stories related to the legendary kings of Britain , as well as lesser-known topics related to the history of Great Britain and Brittany , such as the stories of Brutus of Troy , Coel Hen , Leir of Britain (King Lear), and Gogmagog . The legendary history of Britain
806-401: The trend has been to attempt to link the tales of King Arthur and his knights with Celtic mythology , usually in highly romanticized, 20th-century reconstructed versions. The work of Jessie Weston , in particular From Ritual to Romance , traced Arthurian imagery through Christianity to roots in early nature worship and vegetation rites, though this interpretation is no longer fashionable. It
837-494: The works based on it, the Joyous Gard is given its name by the young Lancelot (who had just discovered his own identity) when he sets up his household at the castle. He does it after single-handedly capturing it against all odds and ending its evil enchantment during the task to prove his knighthood to King Arthur (even rescuing Arthur's illegitimate son in the process). Up until then, it had been known as Dolorous Gard (French Douloureuse Garde and other variants), belonging to
868-574: 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
899-434: Was created partly to form a body of patriotic myth for the country. Several agendas thus can be seen in this body of literature. According to John J. Davenport, the question of Britain's identity and significance in the world "was a theme of special importance for writers trying to find unity in the mixture of their land's Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Roman and Norse inheritance." Geoffrey of Monmouth 's Historia Regum Britanniae
930-660: Was interested in the legendary history of Britain, and was familiar with some of its more obscure byways. Shakespeare's plays contain several tales relating to these legendary kings, such as King Lear and Cymbeline . It has been suggested that Shakespeare's Welsh schoolmaster Thomas Jenkins introduced him to this material. These tales also figure in Raphael Holinshed 's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland , which also appears in Shakespeare's sources for Macbeth . Other early authors also drew from
961-627: Was originally the Welsh sea-god Llŷr , related to the Irish Ler . Various Celtic deities have been identified with characters from Arthurian literature as well: for example Morgan le Fay was often thought to have originally been the Welsh goddess Modron or Irish the Morrígan . Many of these identifications come from the speculative comparative religion of the late 19th century and have been questioned in more recent years. William Shakespeare