Chronicle in Novgorod has a long tradition, originating in the XI century and lasting for seven centuries. Documents that came from the pen of ancient authors have become the most important sources for studying the history of the socio-political development of this vast region.
The beginning of the annals
The Novgorod annals that have reached us are conventionally designated by five numbers. Each of them has several lists called recurs. For example, the Novgorod First Chronicle in its early edition covers the period from the beginning of the XIII to the forties of the XIV century. It was preserved in the form of a small parchment list, having a format not exceeding a quarter of the standard page, and consisting of one hundred and sixty-nine sheets.
A later exodus represents a somewhat augmented processing, and the events set forth in it encompass a longer historical stage, extending to the thirties of the 15th century. In addition to a brief edition of “Russian Truth” - a unique collection of the XI century, containing an exposition of legal norms of Kievan Rus, - it contains a number of other monuments of ancient Russian lawmaking. The Novgorod annals of the younger edition, as well as its later version, are kept in the collection of the Synodal Department of the State Historical Museum.
Accepted sequence of Novgorod annals
It should be noted that the conditional serial numbers of the annals were given based on the dating of the events presented in them, and not on the order in which the texts themselves were written. For example, the chronology of events that contains the Novgorod annals of the first edition and the second following it, has a direct continuation in the fourth annals, also preserved in several texts.
The chronicler narrates in it about events that took place until the forties and fifties of the 15th century, and in a separate list made from it, a later period is also covered. Many scholars are inclined to believe that a significant part of it is a processing of the Novgorod-Sofia Arch, not preserved to this day, referred to in other historical documents as the Sofia First Chronicle.
Fifth Novgorod Chronicle
Studying the material contained in the annals, conventionally indicated by the fifth number, it is easy to notice that it is nothing more than a slightly revised and partially supplemented version of the fourth annals, which was discussed above. The description of historical events breaks off in it in 1446.
Chronicle telling about the times of Ivan the Terrible
The Novgorod annals, having second and third serial numbers, are nevertheless written much later than the fourth and fifth. This is clearly evidenced by the linguistic analysis of the text. Comparison with other historical documents shows that the second chronicle contains a large number of borrowings from various different annals compiled in Novgorod.
Reaching us on a single list, part of which, according to researchers, has been irretrievably lost, it contains a significant amount of interesting facts relating to the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Of particular value is the information relating to the Livonian Wars and the Kazan campaign.
Testimonies of Church and National Life
The third chronicle following it has preserved extensive information for us on the history of the religious life of Novgorod, and in particular on the construction of temple buildings in it. This document is an invaluable material on the study of ancient Russian architecture of the Late Middle Ages. Like some other Novgorod annals, the document is known in several editions, and if the main edition brings the description of events to 1675, then they are continued in separate lists further.
In addition to the above listed monuments, published in our time and made public, there are also a large number of other historical documents that are similar in nature to the Novgorod-Sofia group. These, in particular, include the so-called sixth Novgorod Chronicle. Unlike its predecessors, along with a description of events that took place directly in the city, it contains a significant amount of national materials relating to the history of the entire state.
Priceless monuments
Many unpublished historical monuments, to one degree or another, supplement the materials set forth in the main six codes discussed above. On the whole, the Novgorod annals are one of the most numerous and capacious in content in the Russian annals. Many monuments of ancient writing, compiled in other areas of Ancient Russia, bear the imprint of their influence.
Despite the fact that the presentation of events in the annals is somewhat tendentious, due to the ideology of the ruling classes of the boyar republic prevailing in the country , nevertheless, in a number of cases, the sympathies of the authors are clearly on the side of the common people.