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Mykola Zharkikh (Kyiv)

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Short chronicle Lithuania

Nicholas Zharkikh

Shortened text of the section. Full text in ukrainian version

Two other copies of "Lithuanian" chronicle after VitL have the continuation other than AKS. In Lit4L this article has a separate heading, "The Chronicle of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was written shortly", so we’ll call it the "Short chronicle Lithuania" (SCL).

Dependence of copies

Table contain 46 rows, 2 copies are compared.

Conclusions

The comparative table shows that in the two copies we text a work that is better preserved in Lit4L and worse – in Lit7L. Recent episodes in Lit7L (40 – 46) do not belong, in my opinion, to SCL, and these additional notes are individual.

What could be the SCL?

My first thought was that this reduction AKS-2. In favor say two things: the style of annual articles and 21 episode from 39, common to AKS, that is, more than half of the content.

But there are serious objections to this assumption:

1. SCL is an independent work, which begins the story from the baptism of Lithuania. This – a special concept only of this work, which is not present in the AKS, nor in other works of the 16th century. The author does not care either for Palemon, either for Gediminas, but only to the Jagiello as the first king and his descendants.

2. The SCL has no trace of the Polish chronicles that abundantly used in the AKS-2.

3. AKS-2 in the form, in which we have obtain it, created at the turn of 16 – 17 centuries; but SCL preserved in the Lit4L copy, which dates from the year 1550, that is, it was written at least 50 years earlier.

SCL was designed not for complement "Lithuanian" chronicle, but for its replacement, presentation of the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the shortest form. Therefore, it can not be considered as a supplement LitL, but as the article that accompanies LitL in the collections of historical content.

So, we can assume probable time of preparation of SCL – 1540s, and the place of his writing – Vilna.