Past and Present in Medieval Chronicles

The articles in the present volume represent the papers of an international symposium 'Past and Present in Medieval Chronicles' which took place at Helsinki in January of 2013, which brought together scholars from both Greek and Latin chronicle traditions, including annals and Scandinavian sagas, as well as medieval Russian chronicles. The word 'chronicle' has a strong medieval echo, since historiographical writings in the Middle Ages are usually seen in something of an epic light, as a means of creating a distant world of beginnings and forefathers. Despite the medieval focus of the conference, chronicles were discussed across a broad time perspective. In our exploration we travelled both geographically and chronologically, beginning in antiquity, then moving east to study Byzantine traditions, thereafter entering into the realm of the Rus' letopisi and Scandinavian sagas and finally continuing well into modern times with discussions of later western chronicles. The conference brought together scholars from various disciplines in both eastern and western medieval studies, which is essential to understanding the wider context of how people in the Middle Ages saw their place in history. In a similar way this publication makes a contribution to modern chronicle studies through its broad interdisciplinary approach.