Nestor the Chronicler

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Nestor the Chronicler

Saint Nestor the Chronicler (c. 1056 - c. 1114 Kyiv) was the reputed author of the Primary Chronicle
Primary Chronicle

The Primary Chronicle , or Russian Primary Chronicle, is a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113....
, (the earliest East Slavic chronicle

Chronicle

Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronology order. 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 the chronicler....
), the Life of the Venerable Theodosius of the Kiev Caves
Theodosius of Kiev

Theodosius of Kiev is an 11th century saint who brought Cenobitic Monasticism to Kievan Rus' and, together with St Anthony of Kiev, founded the Kiev Kiev Caves Lavra ....
the Life of the Holy Passon Bearers, Boris and Gleb
Boris and Gleb

Boris and Gleb , Christian names David and Roman, respectively, were the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus' after the Christianization of Kievan Rus'....
, and of the so-called Reading.

Nestor was a monk

Monk

A Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the unconditioning of mind and body in favor of the realization of one's true nature, and does so living either alone or with any number of like-minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose....
of the Monastery of the Caves

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Kiev Pechersk Lavra , also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Monastery#Orthodox Christian monasteries in Kiev, Ukraine....
in Kiev

Kiev

Kiev, also known as Kyiv , is the Capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River....
from 1073.

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Encyclopedia

Chronicle

Monk

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

Kiev Pechersk Lavra , also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Monastery#Orthodox Christian monasteries in Kiev, Ukraine....
in Kiev

Kiev

Kiev, also known as Kyiv , is the Capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River....
from 1073. The only other detail of his life that is reliably known is that he was commissioned with two other monks to find the relic

Relic

A relic is an object or a personal item of Religion significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other religions....
s of St. Theodosius of Kiev

Theodosius of Kiev

Theodosius of Kiev is an 11th century saint who brought Cenobitic Monasticism to Kievan Rus' and, together with St Anthony of Kiev, founded the Kiev Kiev Caves Lavra ....
, a mission which he succeeded in fulfilling. It is also speculated that he supported the reigning prince Svyatopolk II

Sviatopolk II of Kiev

Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich was supreme ruler of the Kievan Rus for 20 years, from 1093 to 1113. He was not a popular prince, and his reign was marked by incessant rivalry with his cousin Vladimir Monomakh....
and his pro-Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical subregion in northern Europe that includes the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities also include Finland and some might even include Iceland....
n party and disliked Greek

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
influence in Kiev

Kiev

Kiev, also known as Kyiv , is the Capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River....
.

His chronicle begins with the Deluge, as those of most Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
chroniclers of the time did. The compiler appears to have been acquainted with the Byzantine

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
historians; he makes use especially of John Malalas

John Malalas

John Malalas or Ioannes Malalas was a , Byzantine Empire chronicler. He was born at Antioch....
and George Hamartolus

George Hamartolus

George Hamartolus was a monk at Constantinople under Michael III and the author of a chronicle of some importance. Hamartolus is not his name but the epithet he gives to himself in the title of his work: "A compendious chronicle from various chroniclers and interpreters, gathered together and arranged by George, a sinner "....
. He also had in all probability other Slavonic language chronicles to compile from, which have since been lost. Many legends are mixed up with Nestor's Chronicle; the style is occasionally so poetical that perhaps he incorporated bylina

Bylina

Bylina is a traditional Epic poetry, heroic narrative poem of the early East Slavs of Kievan Rus. This poetic tradition continued in Russia and Ukraine....
s which are now lost.

As an eyewitness

Witness

A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a crime or dramatic event through their senses , and can help certify important considerations to the crime or event....
he could describe only the reigns of Vsevolod I and Svyatopolk II (1078-1112), but he could have gathered many interesting details from the lips of old men, two of whom could have been Giurata Rogovich of Novgorod, who could give him information concerning the north of Rus'

Kievan Rus'

Kievan Rus' , also written as Kyivan Rus', was a medieval state which existed from approximately 880 to the middle of the 12th century. Founded by the Scandinavian traders called "Rus' " and centered in the city of Kiev , Rus' polity is considered an early predecessor of three modern East Slavs nations: Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrai...
, Pechora River

Pechora River

Pechora is a major river in European Russia . It is 1,809 km long.The river rises in the Ural Mountains in the south-eastern corner of the Komi Republic, and flows north or north-west through Yaksha, Komi Republic, Ust-Ilych, Troitsko-Pechorsk, Vuktyl, Pechora, and Naryan-Mar before entering the Pechora Bay inlet of the Pechora Sea...
, and other places, and Yan Vyshatich

Yan Vyshatich

Yan Vyshatich was a Kievan nobleman and military commander . The last known representative of the Dobrynya dynasty, Yan Vyshatich was the son of Vyshata and grandson of Ostromir....
, a nobleman ninety years of age, who died in 1106. Many of the ethnological details given by Nestor of the various races of the Slavs are of the highest value.

The current theory about Nestor is that the Chronicle is a patchwork of many fragments of chronicles, and that the name of Nestor was attached to it because he wrote the greater part or perhaps because he put the fragments together. The name of the hegumen

Hegumen

Hegumen, hegumenos, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot....
Sylvester is affixed to several of the manuscripts as the author.

The great historian Sergey Solovyov

Sergey Solovyov

Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov was one of the greatest Russian historians whose influence on the next generation of Russian historians was paramount....
remarked that Nestor cannot be called the earliest Russian chronicler, but he is the first writer who took a national point of view in his history, the others being merely local writers. The language of his work, as shown in the earliest manuscripts just mentioned, is Palaeo-Slavonic with many Russisms.

St Nestor died around the year 1114, and was buried in the Near Caves

Near Caves

The Near Caves or the Caves of Saint Anthony are historic caves and a network of tunnels of the medieval cave monastery of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine....
. He has been glorified

Canonization

Canonization is the act by which a particular Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints....
(canonized) as a saint

Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
by the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church ; or The Moscow Patriarchate , also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christianity who constitute an Autocephaly Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the List of Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, in full communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches....
The reputed body of the ancient chronicler may be seen among the relics preserved in the Kiev Caves Laura. His feast day is celebrated on October 27. He is also commemorated in common with other saints of the Kiev Caves Laura on September 28 (Synaxis

Synaxis

In Eastern Christianity , a Synaxis is an assembly for liturgical purposes, generally through the celebration of Vespers, Matins, Little Hours, and the Divine Liturgy....
of the Venerable Fathers of the Kiev Caves) and on the Second Sunday of Great Lent

Great Lent

Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter ....
.

External links

Orthodox icon
Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
and synaxarion