Primary Chronicle

Numerous monographs and published versions of the chronicle have been made, the earliest known being in 1767. Aleksey Shakhmatov published a pioneering textological analysis of the narrative in 1908. Dmitry Likhachev and other Soviet scholars partly revisited his findings. Their versions attempted to reconstruct the pre-Nestorian chronicle, compiled at the court of Yaroslav the Wise in the mid-11th century.^{[citation needed]}

Contents

The early part of the PVL features many anecdotal stories, among them:

• those of the arrival of the three
  Varangian brothers
  ,
• the founding of Kiev
• the murder of Askold and Dir, ca. 882
• the death of
  Oleg
  in 912, the "cause" of which was reported foreseen by him
• the thorough vengeance taken by Olga, the wife of Igor, on the Drevlians, who had murdered her husband;^[40] (Her actions secured Kievan Rus' from the Drevlians, preventing her from having to marry a Drevlian prince, and allowing her to act as regent until her young son came of age.)^{[citation needed]}

The PVL also contains an account of the labors of

Although, as a result of aggression on the part of the Vlachs, one group of the Slavs made their homes by the Vistula (Polyanians), another settled on the Dnieper (Drevlians and Polyanians), while the third resided along the Dvina (Dregovichians), and another group dwelt about the Lake Il’men. All this migration is dated back to the time of Andrew the Apostle who visited the Slavs on Il’men.^{[citation needed]}

The Polyanians built Kiev and named it after their ruler,

The chronology offered by the Primary Chronicle (PVL) is sometimes at odds with that of other documents such as the Novgorod First Chronicle (NPL) and Byzantine literature.^[42] Sometimes the Primary Chronicle also contradicts itself, especially between narrative and chronological parts, which appear to have been written by two different authors.^[43] Several scholars including Aleksey Shakhmatov (1897), Mikhail Tikhomirov (1960), Ia. S. Lur’e (1970), and Constantin Zuckerman (1995) have concluded that the 9th- and 10th-century dates mentioned in the PVL were not added to the text until the 11th century, unless directly copied from the Chronicle of George the Monk.^[34]

Opening date error

The historical period covered in the Tale of Bygone Years begins with

Chronology of major events:[49]^{[page needed]}

• 852 (6360): The principal date mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, when the land of Rus' was first named in the Greek chronicle of George Hamartolos; this is evidence that the compiler used it as one of the sources for the Primary Chronicle.^[50]
• 859: 'The Varangians from beyond the sea imposed tribute upon the
  Merians, the Ves', and the Krivichians. But the Khazars imposed it upon the Polyanians, the Severians, and the Vyatichians'.^[48]
• 862: The calling of the Varangians. The various tributaries of the Varangians attempted to rid themselves of the Varangian lordship, which led to quarrels among the tribes and culminated in them inviting a knyaz ("prince") from the Varangians to rule over them.^{[48][non-primary source needed]} As a result, the three Varangian brothers Rurik, Sineus and Truvor and their kinsfolk crossed the sea and settled themselves in various localities, and it is claimed that it was after these Varangians that the land of Rus' would eventually be named.^{[51][non-primary source needed]} Around the same time, two other Varangians called Askold and Dir captured the town of Kiev.^{[51][non-primary source needed]}
• 866 (6374): The Siege of Constantinople (860) by Rus' forces. According to Byzantine sources, this happened in 860, not 866.^[52][8]
• 881/2 (6390): Rurik's successor,
  Church Slavonic: къняжа въ Киеве, romanized: kŭnyaza vŭ Kyeve^[46]) 'and declared that it should be the mother of Rus' cities.'^[53] According to the text's aforementioned chronology of Oleg's accession 29 years after Michael III in 860, Oleg's reign should have begun in 889 rather than 881/2.^[46]
• 883: Prince Oleg conquers the Derevlians.^{[citation needed]}
• 884–885: Prince Oleg defeats the Radimichians and the Severians, bringing them under his rule.^{[citation needed]}
• 907: Prince Oleg launched an incursion against the Greeks, resulting in a favorable treaty for Rus'. The Greek emperor Leo conceded to provide allowances for Oleg's men, award them a right to stay and trade in Constantinople free of tax, and to enter unconditional peace. This event is not mentioned in Byzantine sources.^[8]
• 912: After Oleg's prophetic death from a snakebite, prince Igor succeeded him as the ruler of Rus' and was neither “successful in his military campaigns nor popular with people.”^{[citation needed]} According to the Novgorod First Chronicle, Oleg died in 922; if Oleg (Helgi) is the same person as HLGW, "king of the Rus'", in the Genizah Letter, he would still have been alive in the 940s.^[54]
• Ca. 945: Prince Igor was murdered in the act of uprising by the Derevlians. His wife
  Svyatoslav, who went on to have an extensive military career as an adult, venturing East against the Khazars and the Bulgars.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• 972: Svyatoslav was killed in a Pecheneg ambush while returning from one of his frequent campaigns against the Greeks.^[citation needed]
• 973: The reign of Yaropolk began and was complicated by quarrels with his two brothers, Oleg and Vladimir.^{[citation needed]}
• 978–980: Yaropolk proved himself victorious against his brother Oleg but died at the hands of men of his other brother Vladimir. After inheriting the throne, Vladimir initially upheld pagan practices and worshipped Perun.^{[citation needed]}
• 986–988: The
  conversion of Volodimer: Vladimir was baptized into Orthodoxy, which later became referred to as the "Baptism of Rus'" because it was followed by a widespread Christianization of Kievan Rus'.^{[citation needed]} The entire conversion story covers a large chunk of the Primary Chronicle: pages 84–121, or 37 out of a total of 286 pages (12.9%) of the entire text.^[55]
• 1015: Following Vladimir's death,
  Svyatopolk the Accursed for his violent actions towards his siblings.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• 1019: Svyatopolk was overthrown by his brother Yaroslav the Wise, whose reign brought an end to the unified kingdom of Rus but laid the foundation for the development of the written tradition in the Kievan Rus'.^{[citation needed]}
• 1054: After Yaroslav's death, the kingdom was split into five princedoms with
  Svyatoslav in Chernigov, Igor in Volodymyr, Vsevolod in Pereiaslav, and Rostislav in Tmutarakan’.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• 1076: Vsevolod held a victory over his four rivals and became the Grand Prince of Kiev.^{[citation needed]}
• 1093: After Vsevolod’s death, Svyatopolk reigned over the Kievan Rus.^{[citation needed]}
• 1113: Rise to power of
  St. Michael’s monastery in 1116.^{[citation needed}
  ]

The Primary Chronicle is vibrant with Christian themes and biblical allusions, which are often said to reflect the text’s monastic authorship. Aleksandr Koptev remarks that the Chronicle belongs to the genre of Christian literature.^[56] In the introduction, the chronicler explores the biblical origin of the Slavic people, and traces their heritage back to Noah. On numerous occasions throughout the text, the chronicler discusses the pagan Slavs in a condescending manner, saying “for they were but pagans, and therefore ignorant.”^{[57][non-primary source needed]} Later in the Chronicle, one of the most pivotal moments of the narrative is Vladimir the Great's conversion to Orthodox Christianity, which ignited extensive Christianization of Kievan Rus'.^{[citation needed]}

Biblical origin

The Primary Chronicle traces the history of the Slavic people all the way back to the times of Noah, whose three sons inherited the Earth:

• Persia, Bactria, Syria, Media, Babylon, Cordyna, Assyria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Elymais, India, Coelesyria, Commagene, Phoenicia.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Troas, Aeolia, Bithynia, Sardinia, Crete, Cyprus.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• Japheth gained north-western territories: Armenia, Britain, Illyria, Dalmatia, Ionia, Macedonia, Media, Paphlagonia, Cappadocia, Scythia, and Thessaly.^{[citation needed]}

The

Slavic race was derived from the line of Japheth, “since they are the Noricians, who are identified with the Slavs.”^{[58][non-primary source needed}

]

Korsun legend

Main article:

Conversion of Volodimer

According to the so-called "Korsun legend", presented in the Chronicle just preceding the

Crimean Peninsula, in an attempt to gain certain benefits from Emperor Basil. Following Vladimir's successful conquest of the city, he demanded that the Emperor's 'unwedded' sister be given up for marriage with him. Upon hearing the news from Korsun, emperor Basil responded that "It is not meet for Christians to be given in marriage to pagans. If you are baptized, you shall have her to wife, inherit the kingdom of God, and be our companion in faith."^{[59][non-primary source needed]} The legend concludes with Vladimir's embrace of Christianity at the church of St. Basil in Korsun and his marriage to the Emperor's sister, Anna Porphyrogenita.^{[citation needed}

]

Archaeological findings

For centuries after the Chronicle’s creation, the legend's factuality was subject to extensive debate. Many historians, antiquarians, and archaeologists had attempted to determine the actual location of Vladimir's conversion by synthesizing textual evidence of the Chronicle with material evidence from Crimea. Their efforts became known in the realms of historical discipline as the “archaeology of the Korsun legend.”^[60] This search culminated under Archbishop Innokentii's diocesan administration (1848–57), when in the ruins of Chersonesos, archaeologists unearthed the foundations of three churches and determined that the one containing the richest findings was allegedly used for the baptism of the Kievan Prince.^[61] The unearthed material evidence proved sufficient to pinpoint the real location of the legend's events with reasonable accuracy.^[60]

In the early 1860s, the Eastern Orthodox Church began construction of The Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonesos, which has been destroyed on three separate occasions after first being erected and was renovated each time thereafter. The cathedral last faced destruction during the October Revolution and was not restored until the fall of the Soviet Union. It has been argued that by honoring Vladimir the Great and his contribution to the Eastern Orthodoxy, the cathedral serves the purpose of validating Russia's historical ties with the Crimean Peninsula, the accounts of which are preserved by the Chronicle.^[60]

Assessment and critique

Further information: Textual criticism of the Primary Chronicle

Unlike many other medieval chronicles written by European monks, the Tale of Bygone Years is unique as the only written testimony on the earliest history of East Slavic people.

Rus' is unmatched in other sources, but important correctives are provided by the Novgorod First Chronicle.^[63] It is also valuable as a prime example of the Old East Slavonic literature.^{[49][page needed}

]

However, its reliability has been widely called into question and placed under careful examination by contemporary specialists in the field of the Old East Slavonic history. The first doubts about trustworthiness of the narratives were voiced by

Dmitry Likhachov (1950), the chronicle exhibits the presence of plentiful "fillers" that were added post factum and, in effect, "destroyed the narrative's logical progression."^[65]

According to

propagandists who rewrote the annals to make political claims that best suited their own purposes."^[32] Shakhmatov further described the Tale of Bygone Years as a literary creation that fell under heavy influence of the Church and the State.^[66]

Dmitry Likhachov famously wrote in his 1950 critique of the Rus Primary Chronicle, "No other country in the world is cloaked in such contradictory myths about its history as Russia, and no other nation in the world interprets its history as variously as do the Russian people."[67] The need to interpret the Chronicle, mentioned by Likhachov as essential to making sense of its narrative, stems from the facts that the text was initially compiled and edited by multiple authors with different agendas and that it had to be translated from Old East Slavic language, which proved to be an arduous task.^[67]

Horace G. Lunt (1988) found it important to "admit freely that we are speculating" when tales – such as Yaroslav the Wise being more than just "a patron of Slavonic books" – are reconstructed and the logical incongruities of the text are faced.^[68]

Polish historian Wladyslaw Duczko (2004) concluded that the compiler of the Primary Chronicle 'manipulated his sources in the usual way: information that was not compatible was left aside, while the elements that should be there but did not exist, were invented.'[31] Russian historian and author Igor Danilevsky mentioned that the Rus Primary Chronicle was more concerned with exploring the religious significance of the events rather than conveying to the reader the information about how it actually happened.^[69] As a result, a sizable portion of the text was directly borrowed from earlier works that contained a religious undertone like some Byzantine sources, and most notably, the Bible.^[69] The protagonists are frequently identified with biblical personages and so are ascribed certain relevant qualities and deeds that did not necessarily match the reality.^[69]

Ukrainian historian

Rurikid clan's entry into Kiev, were invented "so as to produce a meaningful reconstruction of past events and include these well-known names" in the author's "historical scenario."^[70] Tolochko called the Rus Primary Chronicle an outstanding work of literature with an untrustworthy story and concluded that "there is absolutely no reason to continue basing our knowledge of the past on its content."^[71]

Paul Bushkovitch (2012) from Yale University writes “the author was serving his rulers, identifying princes and people and leaving historians with a muddle virtually impossible to sort out.”^[72] He also mentions that there are discrepancies when overlapping Scandinavian history with the narrative of the Primary Chronicle. For example, “archeological evidence does not fit the legends of the Primary Chronicle” such as: “in Scandinavia itself, there were no sagas of Viking triumphs and wars in Russia to match those recounting the conquest of Iceland and the British Isles”. The credibility of the Primary Chronicle should be taken with a grain of salt for its undertone of being a political tool to justify rule.^[72]

Translations

August Ludwig von Schlözer produced a German translation with commentary of the Povest' vremennykh let through 980 in five volumes (Hecтopъ. Russische Annalen in ihrer Slavonischen Grund–Sprache. Göttingen, 1802–1809).^[73]

In 1930, Harvard professor Samuel Hazzard Cross published an English translation of the Laurentian Codex's version of the PVL under the title The Russian Primary Chronicle. Laurentian Text., which became very influential amongst American readers.^[74] Cross was working on a revised edition when he died; it was completed and published by Georgetown University professor Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor in 1953.^[75] By the early 21st century, Primary Chronicle had become the common shortened English name for the text shared by the surviving five main manuscripts of the PVL.^[3] Nevertheless, Cross' translation was often found inaccurate, with Waugh (1974) writing that Perfecky (1973) had produced a more reliable English translation of the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle than how Cross translated the PVL.^[76]

See also

• Academic Chronicle
• Freising manuscripts
• Ioachim Chronicle
• Izbornyk
• Nestor the Chronicler
• Russkaya Pravda

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} English-language scholarly publications often only transcribe the title to Latin script without translating it, leading to Povest' vremennykh let,^[6][7][8][3] or Povest' vremennyx let,^[9] and abbreviate it as PVL.^{[7][6][10][8][3]}
2. ^ Primary Chronicle^[1][2][3] is shortened from Russian Primary Chronicle,^[4] the title given by Samuel Hazzard Cross for his English translation of The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text. (1930).^[4] Alternatively, it has been named Rus' Primary Chronicle.^[5]
3. ^ Belarusian: Аповесць мінулых часоў, romanized: Apoviesć minulych časoŭ; Russian: Повесть временных лет, romanized: Povest' vremennykh let; Ukrainian: Повість минулих літ, romanized: Povist' mynulykh lit.
4. ^ The often careless Vasily Tatishchev (1686–1750) claimed that three Chronicle texts that were somehow "lost" later also identified "Nestor" as the author.^[21] Modern scholars distrust all such "Tatishchev statements [ru]" unless they are supported by another extant source.^[23][24]
5. ^ 'In any case, the internal evidence of the Povest', along with the lack of coincidence of its contents with Nestor's works wherever the two are related, is distinctly opposed to the tradition of Nestorian authorship.'^[28]
6. Church Slavonic: Игуменъ силивестръ стаг михаила· написах книгы си лѣтописець·, romanized: Igumenʺ silivestrʺ stag mikhaila· napisakh knigy si lětopisecʹ·, lit. 'Abbot Silivestr" of St. Michael's Abbey – I wrote this chronicle [lit. "book of year writings"].^[30]
   '
7. ^ According to Gippius (2014), the six main manuscripts can be divided in three groups of two: Laurentian/Trinity (LT), Radziwiłł/Academic (RA), and Hypatian/Khlebnikov (HX). Gippius considered the last group the "southern, Kievan branch" and the other four the "Vladimir-Suzdal branch".^[38]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Lunt 1994, p. 10.
2. ^ ^{a b} Martin 2007, p. 97.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Isoaho 2018, p. 637.
4. ^ ^{a b} Lunt 1988, p. 251.
5. ^ Lunt 1995, p. 335.
6. ^ ^{a b c} Dimnik 2004, p. 255.
7. ^ ^{a b} Ostrowski 1981, p. 11.
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Ostrowski 2018, p. 32.
9. ^ Gippius 2014, p. 341.
10. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Gippius 2014, p. 342.
11. ^ Zhukovsky, A. (2001). "Povist' vremennykh lit – The Tale of Bygone Years". Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
12. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, pp. 3–4.
13. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 51.
14. JSTOR 308891
    . The major source of information about early East Slavic history is Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ (=PVL) Americans usually know it as the Russian Primary Chronicle, for that is the title Samuel Hazzard Cross gave to his 1930 translation into English."
15. ^ "Mol, Leo" (PDF).
16. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 6.
17. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 3.
18. ^ Tolochko 2007, p. 31.
19. ^ ^{a b} Tolochko 2007, p. 47.
20. ^ Maiorov 2018, p. 339.
21. ^ ^{a b c} Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 17.
22. ^ ^{a b c} Ostrowski 1981, p. 28.
23. ^ Tolochko 2005, pp. 458–468.
24. ^ Ostrowski 2018, pp. 36, 38, 47.
25. ^ Ostrowski 2003, pp. xvii–xviii.
26. ^ Tolochko 2007, pp. 32–33.
27. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, pp. 6–12.
28. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 12.
29. ^ ^{a b c d} Ostrowski 2003, p. xvii.
30. ^ Ostrowski & Birnbaum 2014, 286.1–2.
31. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Duczko 2004, p. 202.
32. ^ ^{a b} Isoaho 2018, p. 642.
33. ^ ^{a b c d} Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 30.
34. ^ ^{a b} Ostrowski 2018, p. 43–44.
35. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 18.
36. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 43.
37. ^ Duczko 2004, pp. 202–203.
38. ^ Gippius 2014, pp. 342–343.
39. ^ "Chronicles– Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine".
40. ^ Hubbs, Joanna. Mother Russia, The Feminine Myth in Russian Culture. Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1988, p. 88
41. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 116.
42. ^ Ostrowski 2018, p. 40–43.
43. ^ Ostrowski 2018, p. 44–45.
44. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, pp. 24, 58.
45. ISBN 9780511779657
    .
46. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Ostrowski 2018, p. 44.
47. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 58–59.
48. ^ ^{a b c} Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 59.
49. ^ ^{a b} Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953.
50. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 24.
51. ^ ^{a b} Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 60.
52. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 32.
53. ^ ^{a b} Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 61.
54. ^ Ostrowski 2018, p. 42–43.
55. ^ Ostrowski & Birnbaum 2014, 0.1–286, 7pp.
56. ^ Koptev, Aleksandr. “The Story of ‘Chazar Tribute’: A Scandinavian Ritual Trick in the Russian Primary Chronicle.” Scando-Slavica 56, no. 2 (December 2010): 212.
57. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 65.
58. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 52.
59. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 112.
60. ^ ^{a b c} Mara Kozelsky. “Ruins into Relics: The Monument to Saint Vladimir on the Excavations of Chersonesos, 1827-57.” The Russian Review, no. 4 (2004): 656-670.
61. ^ Romey, Kristin M., and Ludmila Grinenko. “Legacies of a Slavic Pompeii.” Archaeology 55, no. 6 (2002): 21.
62. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, p. 23.
63. Zenkovsky, Serge A.
    : Medieval Russia’s epics, chronicles, and tales. A Meridian Book, Penguin Books, New York, 1963, p. 77
64. ^ Karamzin, Nikolaj Mihajlovič. Istoriâ gosudarstva Rossijskogo. Moskva: OLMA Media Group, 2012, v. I, Chapter II.
65. ^ Likhachov, Dmitry. Velikoe nasledie: Klassicheskie proizvedenija literatury Drevnej Rusi. Zametki o russkom. Moscow, Russia: Logos, 2007, p. 342.
66. ^ Konstantonovich, Konstantin, and Aleksey Shakhmatov. Povest’ Vremennikh Let. Introduction. Petrograd, Russia: Izdanie Arheograficheskoj Komissii, 1916, v. I.
67. ^ ^{a b} Likhachev, D.S, Deming Brown, and et al. “Russian Culture in the Modern World.” Russian Social Science Review 34, no. 1 (February 1, 1993): 70.
68. ^ Lunt 1988, p. 261.
69. ^ ^{a b c} Danilevskiy, I.N. Povest’ vremennyh let: Germenevticheskie osnovy izuchenija letopisnyh tekstov. Monography - Moscow: Aspekt-Press, 2004, p. 133.
70. ^ Isoaho 2018, p. 643.
71. ^ Romensky A.A. “Primary Rus’ Without The Primary Chronicle: New Round Of Debate About The Early History Of Eastern Europe (Book Review: Tolochko A. P. 2015. Ocherki Nachalnoj Rusi. Kiev; Saint Petersburg: 'Laurus' Publ.).” Materialy Po Arheologii i Istorii Antičnogo i Srednevekovogo Kryma, no. 9 (2017): 543.
72. ^ ^{a b} Bushkovitch, Paul (2012). A Concise History of Russia. Cambridge Press. p. 4.
73. ^ Maiorov 2018, p. 322.
74. ^ Lunt 1988, p. 10.
75. ^ Cross & Sherbowitz-Wetzor 1953, Preface.
76. ^ Waugh 1974, p. 769–771.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Critical editions of original texts

• Лаврентьевская летопись [The Laurentian Chronicle.], Полное собрание русских летописей (ПСРЛ) (online edition) (in Russian), vol. 1, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1928, from the Laurentian Codex
• Ипатьевская летопись [Ipatiev Chronicle], Полное собрание русских летописей (ПСРЛ) (in Russian), vol. 2, Imperial Archaeological Commission, 1908, from the Hypatian Codex
• Новгородская первая летопись старшего и младшего изводов [Novgorod First Chronicle Older and Younger Editions] (in Russian), USSR Academy of Sciences, 1950, from the Novgorod First Chronicle
• Ostrowski, Donald, ed. (2003). The Povest' vremennykh let: An Interlinear Collation and Paradosis. 3 volumes (in Russian and English). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Archived from the original on 2005-03-09. Retrieved 2002-03-23. (assoc. ed. David J. Birnbaum (Harvard Library of Early Ukrainian Literature, vol. 10, parts 1–3) – This 2003 Ostrowski et al. edition includes an interlinear collation including the five main manuscript witnesses, as well as a new paradosis ("a proposed best reading").
• Ostrowski, Donald; Birnbaum, David J. (7 December 2014). "Rus' primary chronicle critical edition – Interlinear line-level collation". pvl.obdurodon.org (in Church Slavic). Retrieved 17 May 2023. – A 2014 improved digitised version of the 2002/2003 Ostrowski et al. edition.

Translations of original texts

Modern English

• Cross, Samuel Hazzard; Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Olgerd P. (1953). The Russian Primary Chronicle, Laurentian Text. Translated and edited by Samuel Hazzard Cross and Olgerd P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor (PDF). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Mediaeval Academy of America. p. 325. Retrieved 26 January 2023. (First edition published in 1930. The first 50 pages are a scholarly introduction.)
  • Cross, Samuel Hazzard; Sherbowitz-Wetzor, Olgerd P. (2013) [1953]. SLA 218. Ukrainian Literature and Culture. Excerpts from The Rus' Primary Chronicle (Povest vremennykh let, PVL) (PDF). Toronto: Electronic Library of Ukrainian Literature, University of Toronto. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
• Excerpts from "Tales of Times Gone By" [Povest' vremennykh let] (Lecture Notes), University of Oregon, archived from the original on 2008-12-07, retrieved 2007-10-10.

Modern Russian

• "Laurentian Codex 1377: digitisation of the Laurentian Codex, including transliteration and translation into modern Russian, with an introduction in English" (in Church Slavic and Russian). National Library of Russia. 2012.

Modern German

• Müller, Ludolf (2001). Die Nestorchronik: die altrussische Chronik, zugeschrieben dem Mönch des Kiever Höhlenklosters Nestor, in der Redaktion des Abtes Silvestr aus dem Jahre 1116, rekonstruiert nach den Handschriften Lavrentevskaja, Radzivilovskaja, Akademiceskaja, Troickaja, Ipatevskaja und Chlebnikovskaja (in German). Munich: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. p. 366.
  ISBN 377053428X
  . Retrieved 24 March 2024.
• Trautmann, Reinhold, Die altrussische Nestorchronik (Leipzig 1931, Wiesbaden 1948), pp. 76. Leipzig: Markert & Petters. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. (based only on the Laurentian Codex).

Modern Dutch

• Thuis, Hans (2015). Nestorkroniek. De oudste geschiedenis van het Kievse Rijk (in Dutch). Nijmegen: Uitgeverij Vantilt. p. 304.
  ISBN 9789460042287
  .

Literature

• Dimnik, Martin (January 2004). "The Title "Grand Prince" in Kievan Rus'". Mediaeval Studies. 66: 253–312.
  doi:10.1484/J.MS.2.306512
  .
• Duczko, Władysław (2004). Viking Rus: Studies on the Presence of Scandinavians in Eastern Europe. Leiden: Brill. p. 290.
  ISBN 9789004138742
  . Retrieved 19 February 2023.
• Gippius, Alexey A. (2014). "Reconstructing the original of the Povesť vremennyx let: a contribution to the debate". Russian Linguistics. 38 (3). Springer: 341–366.
  S2CID 255017212
  . Retrieved 17 May 2023.
• Isoaho, Mari (2018). "Shakhmatov's Legacy and the Chronicles of Kievan Rus'".
  S2CID 159688925
  . Retrieved 25 September 2022.
• JSTOR 308891
  . Retrieved 6 May 2023.
• Lunt, Horace G. (June 1994). "Lexical Variation in the Copies of the Rus´ "Primary Chronicle": Some Methodological Problems". Ukrainian Philology and Linguistics. 18 (1–2). Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute: 10–28.
  JSTOR 41036551
  . Retrieved 5 May 2023.
• Lunt, Horace G. (1995). "What the Rus' Primary Chronicle Tells Us about the Origin of the Slavs and of Slavic Writing". Harvard Ukrainian Studies. 19: 335–357.
  JSTOR 41037009
  .
• Maiorov, Alexander V. (November 2018). ""I Would Sacrifice Myself for my Academy and its Glory!" August Ludwig von Schlözer and the Discovery of the Hypatian Chronicle".
  S2CID 191820897
  . Retrieved 19 May 2023.
• Martin, Janet (2007). Medieval Russia: 980–1584. Second Edition. E-book. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-511-36800-4
  .
• JSTOR 41035890
  . Retrieved 6 May 2023.
• Ostrowski, Donald (2018). "Was There a Riurikid Dynasty in Early Rus'?". Canadian-American Slavic Studies. 52 (1): 30–49.
  doi:10.1163/22102396-05201009
  .
• Tolochko, Oleksiy (2005). "История Российская" Василия Татищева: источники и известия "Istoriia Rossiiskaia" Vasiliia Tatishcheva: istochniki i izvestiia [Vasily Tatishchev's "History of Russia": Sources and Information]. Moscow: Новое литературное обозрение Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie. p. 543.
  ISBN 9795867933462
  . Retrieved 17 May 2023. (also published at Kritika, Kyiv, 2005)
• Tolochko, Oleksiy (2007). "On "Nestor the Chronicler"".
  JSTOR 41304501
  . Retrieved 30 September 2022.
• S2CID 163559666
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Further reading

• ISBN 0-404-14651-1
  .
• García de la Puente, Inés. 2006. “Single Combats in the PVL. An Indo-European Comparative Analysis”. In: Studi Slavistici 3 (1): 19-30. https://doi.org/10.13128/Studi_Slavis-2143.
• Velychenko, Stephen (1992). National history as cultural process: A survey of the interpretations of Ukraine's past in Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian historical writing from the earliest times to 1914. Edmonton.
  ISBN 0-920862-75-6
  .
• Velychenko, Stephen (2007). "Nationalizing and Denationalizing the Past. Ukraine and Russia in Comparative Context". Ab Imperio (1).

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