Annals (Latin:annāles, fromannus, "year")[1][2] are a concisehistorical record in which events are arrangedchronologically, year by year,[1] although the term is also used loosely for anyhistorical record.[2]
The nature of the distinction between annals and history is a subject based on divisions established by the ancient Romans.[1]Verrius Flaccus, quoted byAulus Gellius,[3] stated that the etymology ofhistory (fromGreekιστορειν,historein, equated withLatininspicere, "to inquire in person") properly restricts it to primary sources such asThucydides's which have come from the author's own observations, while annals record the events of earlier times arranged according to years.[1]Hayden White distinguishes annals fromchronicles, which organize their events by topics such as the reigns of kings,[4] and from histories, which aim to present and conclude a narrative implying the moral importance of the events recorded.[5][6][4] Generally speaking, annalists record events drily, leaving the entries unexplained and equally weighted.[5]
The chief sources of information in regard to the annals of ancientRome are two passages inCicero[7][1] and inServius[8][9] which have been the subject of much discussion. Cicero states that, from thefounding of the Republic down to the pontificate ofPublius Mucius Scaevola (c. 132 BC), it was usual for thepontifex maximus to record the name of the magistrates and the noteworthy events of each year on a white tablet (analbum), which was exhibited in an open place at his house so that the people might read it.[1] Servius states the events were written for each day.[n 1] In the late Republic, these were known as theAnnales Maximi.[1] After the pontificate of Publius, annals were compiled by various unofficial writers, of whom Cicero namesCato,Pictor, andPiso.[1] These annals have been generally regarded as the same with theCommentarii Pontificum cited byLivy, but there seems reason to believe that the two were distinct, with theCommentarii being fuller and more circumstantial.[1] Verrius Flaccus's division of genres is borne out in the common division of Tacitus's works intoAnnals andHistories,[1] although he did not use those titles to refer to his own works.
Among the early Christians, it was common to establish the date ofEaster by asking local Jews for the date ofPassover (Nisan 14 in theJewish calendar) and either using that date or the nearest Sunday to it.[10][11] By the end of the 3rd century, this date sometimes occurred before thespring equinox and frequently varied from city to city.[12] Following the325 Council of Nicaea,Easter tables began to be drawn up according tovarious methods of computing Easter, often running from thePassion until decades or centuries into the future. Beginning inIreland, Wales, and England in the 7th century, monks began to briefly note important events of the year asmarginalia in these tables.[9] Thereafter the compilation of annals became by and large a monastic activity, with the earliest recorded monastic annals being compiled in Ireland and known as theChronicle of Ireland.[13] Not all early annalistic texts, however, were monastic, and some in fact were made under royal patronage. For example, what is now called theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, a text concerned mainly with the activities of kings, was written in annalistic form. Other examples of insular annals, written under various kinds of patronage, include theAnnals of the Four Masters, theAnnals of Ulster, theAnnals of Innisfallen, and theAnnals of Wales (Annales Cambriæ).
Introduced byinsular missionaries to the continent, these texts were recopied, augmented, and continued, especially inAustrasia.[9] During the 9th-centuryCarolingian Renaissance, they became the usual form of contemporary history: major examples include theRoyal Frankish Annals, theAnnals of Fulda (Annales Fuldenses), theAnnals of St Bertin (Annales Bertiniani), and theAnnals of Lorsch (Annales Laureschamenses).[9] As the annals developed into fuller and more descriptive entries, they became more indistinguishable fromchronicles, although the term was still used for various works, such as theAnnals of Waverley.[9]
In modern literature, the term "annals" is similarly loosely applied to works which more or less strictly adhere to the order of years,[9] both in western contexts (EnglishAnnual Registers, FrenchAnnuaires de la Revue, GermanJahrbücher) and to equivalent styles in other cultures (such as the ChineseSpring and Autumn Annals).
It is also applied to variousperiodicals, particularlypeer-reviewed journals in thesciences, after the model ofLavoisier'sAnnales de chimie et de physique.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Bémont, Charles (1911), "Annals", inChisholm, Hugh (ed.),Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, p. 61| International | |
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