The Russian Primary Chronicle
also called Chronicle of Nestor or Kiev Chronicle ,
Russian Povest vremennykh let (“Tale of Bygone Years”) medieval Kievan Rus
historical work that gives a detailed account of the early history of the
eastern Slavs to the second decade of the 12th century. The chronicle, compiled
in Kiev about 1113, was based on materials taken from Byzantine chronicles, west
and south Slavonic literary sources, official documents, and oral sagas; the
earliest extant manuscript of it is dated 1377. While the authorship was
traditionally ascribed to the monk
Nestor, modern scholarship considers the chronicle a
composite work.
