10 Examples of Historical Chronicle

The historical chronicle It is a type of text in which the most important facts of a person, a place or an event are narrated chronologically. For example: Chronicon, by Tietmar of Marseburg (975-1018).

Generally, the historical chronicles are or were written by people who witnessed what happened or who were informed of the facts from testimonies, letters or other types of documents.

The historical chronicle emerged in Antiquity as a writing that allowed local events or distant places to be recorded and that was closely linked to mythology and legends.

Over time, this type of story changed its characteristics and, starting in the 20th century, it is a genre that is produced almost exclusively by historians and that is more objective and scientific than before.

However, historical chronicles prior to the 20th century have great cultural and literary value. Furthermore, they are used as sources of research in history and in other disciplines, although it is always necessary to corroborate the information that is mentioned in these texts with other documents, because it is very common for false or little information to appear reliable.

Characteristics of the historical chronicle

Examples of historical chronicle

1. Chronicle of Don Álvaro de Luna, anonymous. It is estimated that it was published in 1545 and it is a chronicle that focuses on telling the story of a single character, since it narrates the life of Don Álvaro de Luna, a man close to King Juan II of Castile.
2. Chronicle of the Catholic Monarchs Don Fernando and Doña Isabel de Castilla and from Aragon, by Hernando del Pulgar (1436-1492). The author of this work is contemporary to the narrated events and this chronicle focuses on recounting the most important events of Fernando II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.
3. Actual comments of the Incasby Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616). This work tells the story of the Inca civilization from its beginnings until the death of Túpac Amaru I. In addition, the chronicle focuses on revaluing the culture of the Incas through the description of their customs, their religion, their politics, their myths and their knowledge.
4. Chronicleby Eusebius of Caesarea (263-339 AD C). In this work the most important events of universal history are narrated, from events related to Abraham, a biblical character, until the year 325 AD. c.
5. Second letter of relationship from Hernán Cortés to Emperor Carlos Vby Hernan Cortes (1485-1547). This work describes the invasion and conquest of the Mexica Empire. The author writes as a witness, since he participated in the narrated events. In addition, the chronicle has a letter format and is addressed to Carlos V, King of Spain, since Hernán Cortés had to inform the emperor about the events that were happening in America.
6. chronicon, of Hydacio (AD 400-469) C). This work narrates the conflicts between different peoples and the Roman Empire that took place in Hispania between 379 and 468 AD. c.
7. Universal Chronicle, by Isidore of Seville (556-636). This work narrates different events from the origin of the world to the present of the author and focuses on revaluing the Kingdom Visigothic (a form of government that held power in the Iberian Peninsula after the Romans) and in spreading the Christianity.
8. Abridged Chronicle of Spainby Diego de Valera (1412-1488). In this work, the historical content ranges from the invasion of Spain by the Goths at the beginning of the 5th century to the end of the reign of Enrique de Castilla (1474). In addition, an enumeration and a description of the different places known so far and, especially, of Spain are made.
9. Chronicle of Valladolid, anonymous. This chronicle narrates different historical events that occurred in Spain from 1333 to 1539.
10. Nuremberg Chroniclesby Hartmann Schedel (1440-1514). This chronicle narrates the most important historical events from the creation of the world to 1492, including a great diversity of myths and legends. In addition, it is one of the most important works of this time, because there are woodcut illustrations in it.

References:

• Anon, V. and Battcock, C. (2013). The colonial chronicles from America: approaches and new approaches. Latin America. Journal of Latin American Studies, (57), 153-159. Retrieved on April 28, 2022, from http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php? script=sci_arttext&pid=S1665-85742013000200007&lng=en&tlng=en
• Palau-Sampio, D. (2018). The identities of the chronicle: hybridity, polysemy and historical echoes in a genre between literature and journalism. Keyword, 21(1), 191-218. DOI: 10.5294/pacla.2018.21.1.9
• Santiago Rivera, J. A. (2019). The historical chronicle and the explanation of the geohistorical reality of the communities. Heuristics: digital journal of the history of education, (22), 142-155.

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