Chronicon Pictum, the "Illuminated Chronicle" from the royal Hungarian court from 1358
Achronicle (Latin:chronica, fromGreekχρονικάchroniká, fromχρόνος,chrónos – "time") is a historical account of events arranged inchronological order, as in atimeline. 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 thechronicler. A chronicle which traces world history is auniversal chronicle. This is in contrast to anarrative orhistory, in which an author chooses events to interpret and analyze and excludes those the author does not consider important or relevant.
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 fromgeneration to generation byoral tradition.[1] Some used written material, such ascharters,letters, and earlier chronicles.[1] Still others are tales of unknown origin that havemythical status.[1] Copyists also changed chronicles in creative copying, making corrections or in updating or continuing a chronicle with information not available to the original chronicler.[1] Determining the reliability of particular chronicles is important tohistorians.[1]
"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 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."
Scholars categorize the genre of chronicle into two subgroups: live chronicles, and dead chronicles. Adead chronicle 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. Alive 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 asannals, over dead ones.[citation needed]
The term often refers to 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 theChronicle of Ireland, which spans the years 431 to 911.[3]
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 a considerable period of time, both the lifetime of the individual chronicler and often those of several subsequentcontinuators. If the chronicles deal with events year by year, they are often calledannals. 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 is highly localised, to the extent that many anonymous chroniclers can be sited in individualabbeys.[citation needed]
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, theEncyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle lists some 2,500 items written between 300 and 1500 AD.[citation needed]
Entries in chronicles are often cited using the abbreviations.a., meaningsub 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 theAnglo-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 importantEnglish chronicles are theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, started under the patronage of King Alfred in the 9th century and continued until the 12th century, and theChronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland (1577–87) byRaphael Holinshed and other writers; the latter documents were important sources of materials for Elizabethan drama.[4] Later 16th century Scottish chronicles, written after theReformation, shape history according to Catholic or Protestant viewpoints.
Acronista is a term for a historical chronicler, a role that held historical significance in theEuropean Middle Ages. Until the EuropeanEnlightenment, 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 the official chronicler often favored individuals who had distinguished themselves by their efforts to study, investigate and disseminatepopulation-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 ofjournalist who writes chronicles as a form ofjournalism or non-professional historical documentation.[5]
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 createdepic poems regarding living figures, cronista recorded historical events in the lives of individuals in an ostensibly truthful and reality-oriented way.[citation needed]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 thesecond coming of Christ, as prophesied inbiblical texts.[6]
Rhymed Chronicle of Flanders, part of theComburg Manuscript [nl]. It is unique as all other surviving Dutch-language chronicles of Flanders were written in prose.
Die olde Freesche cronike (1474), anonymous history ofFriesland until 1248[12]
Stein, Robert (2021)."Levend verleden: de Cronijck van Brabant". In van Anrooij, W.; Verbij-Schillings, J. (eds.).Werken van Gelre (in Dutch). Hilversum: Verloren. pp. 299–315. Retrieved27 June 2024.
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