Rus' chronicles
| Rusʹ chronicle | |
|---|---|
| Old East Slavic: лѣтопись | |
Illustration from the illuminated 15th-century Radziwiłł Chronicle | |
| Author(s) | Primarily clergy |
| Language | Old Church Slavonic and Old East Slavic |
| Date | 11–18th centuries |
| Genre | History |
The Rus' chronicles, Russian chronicles: 51 or Rus' letopis (Old East Slavic: лѣтопись, romanized: lětopisʹ) was the primary Rus' historical literature. Chronicles were composed from the 11th to the 18th centuries, generally written in Old East Slavic (and, later, Ruthenian and Muscovite Russian), about Kievan Rus' and subsequent Rus' principalities and history. They were one of the leading genres of Old Rus' literature in medieval and early modern Eastern and Central Europe.
The chronicle was distributed in Belarus, the Czech lands, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. Chronicles were the main historical narrative until the mid-16th century (the reign of Ivan the Terrible), when they were superseded by chronographs.