The first time of discovery and the most ancient, and therefore the main one, is the Radzivilov Chronicle. All subsequent lists of The Tale of Bygone Years are in fact a copy of it.
First owners
Janusz Radziwill, Vilnius governor and commander of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was the owner of the scroll in the 17th century. Actually, on behalf of his magnate family, the chronicle got its name.
According to the record made at the end of the Chronicle, it becomes known that Stanislav Zenovich, a representative of the petty gentry, who owned the manuscript earlier, presented it to Janusz Radziwill, as evidenced by the postscript in the margins. Janusz’s father, the prince of the Holy
Roman Empire Bohuslav Radziwill, in 1671 identified the annals in the Königsberg library, where he met her in 1715 and ordered a copy of
Peter I to be taken (according to some reports, the tsar was sent a copy in 1711). And when in 1761 the city was taken by Russian troops, the chronicle was seized and transported to St. Petersburg, to the Academy of Sciences. This is where the second name that the Radzivilov Chronicle comes from is Königsberg, named after the city where it was stored in the 18th century until it arrived in Russia as a trophy that took part in the Seven Years War. This document is the first and only giving a concept about the history of Russia, as well as its neighbors from the 5th to the 13th centuries. One can imagine the significance of this monumental historical evidence.
The first book with illustrations
But its uniqueness also lies in the fact that the Radzivilovskaya Chronicle is the oldest and only illustrated or facial document (painted on the face) dating back to that time. It contains 618 miniatures that give, despite the schematic, a good idea of that era.
The Königsberg Chronicle (another often mentioned title of the annals) is on a par with other similar European historical documents, which are universally recognized world masterpieces - the Bulgarian Chronicle of Constantine Manassey, the Hungarian chronicle of the XIV century and the famous Great French chronicles. And in this series, the Radzivilovskaya Chronicle stands out by the number and richness of illustrations. It should be noted that the invaluable document for long periods of existence has suffered significantly, as a result of which frayed edges were cut off, the rotten binding was replaced several times.
Chronicles of the Vladimir-Suzdal branch of the annals
The place of origin and authenticity of the Chronicles is still undergoing endless debate. West Russian origin, supposedly Smolensk, is now the most reasonable version
by. They confirm the combination of Belarusian and Great Russian dialects and miniatures in which Western European influence is felt. The Radzivilovskaya Chronicle is extremely close to the Moscow-Academic List of the Suzdal Chronicle. This collection is stored in Moscow, at the State Library. Lenin.
Both manuscripts coincide from the construction of Novgorod and until 1206, which ends the narrative part of the document, then in the Moscow Academic Chronicle there is another text describing events up to 1419. The Radzivilov Chronicle is an invaluable monument, presumably written in the 13th century. He survived on two lists, namely: the Radzivilovskii proper and the Moscow Academic one.
What are the chronicles talking about?
The Radzivilovskaya Chronicle tells of the campaign of Igor Svyatoslavovich, how he was captured by Konchak and escaped from it with Ovlur, the call by Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of the Russian princes to speak to Kanev. It tells about the sortie against Konchak Vladimir Glebovich, describes campaigns on Constantinople, battles with the Pechenegs and Polovtsy. There is a collection of tribute, and other comments on miniatures depicting the glorious deeds of Russian princes.
There are a lot of ambiguities around the Königsberg Chronicle. It is not known by whose order and where it was written, whether the drawings and text are primary.
Historical document or falsification?
The fact that the most ancient historical document of the Radzivilovsky Chronicle is a fake, many wrote. Some of them considered Polish paper, on which the Chronicle is written, to be the most important evidence. Missing sheets are doubtful, riddles the text that runs into the drawings. Later studies showed that the manuscript was edited at least three times, and a rather significant period passed between the second and third times. The third artist was especially aggressive: he changed people's poses and clothes in miniatures. Many mysteries were clearly caused by European clothes, which in Russia at that time could not be. Here they are attributed to the third ruler. In short, the Königsberg chronicles give rise to many puzzles and disputes. But research methods are being improved all the time, and someday the truth will be revealed. There were always plenty of lovers to rewrite history, to falsify it for their immediate goals.
"Own" Rurik - neither Norman, nor English, nor Swede, nor Dutch
Now there is a lot of talk about why the Russians called for the reign of foreigners and whether they called them at all. Maybe day
it would have been beneficial for someone to show the Russians weak-witted, and for centuries. The Radzivilov Chronicle
vocation of the Varangians states. And this, too, causes doubt in some of her bias. Other researchers, who also do not really like the fact of inviting foreigners to reign, say, referring to V.N. Tatishchev, that Rurik was generally Slavic and spoke the Slavic language. Others wonder why V.N. Tatishchev, an industrialist and economist, and in general a descendant of Rurik, was entrusted with work on the history of Russia. They believe that so many facts in it are mystified.