Annals

Annals (Latin: , from annus, "year") are properly a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.

The nature of the distinction between annals and history is a subject that has received more attention from critics than its intrinsic importance deserves, based on divisions established by the ancient Romans.Verrius Flaccus is quoted by Aulus Gellius as stating that the etymology of history (from Greek ιστορειν, historein, equated with Latin inspicere, "to inquire in person") properly restricts it to primary sources such as Thucydides's which have come from the author's own observations, while annals record the events of earlier times arranged according to years.White distinguishes annals from chronicles, which organize their events by topics such as the reigns of kings, and from histories, which aim to present and conclude a narrative implying the moral importance of the events recorded. Generally speaking, annalists record events drily, leaving the entries unexplained and equally weighted.

The chief sources of information in regard to the annals of ancient Rome are two passages in Cicero and in Servius which have been the subject of much discussion. Cicero states that, from the founding of the Republic down to the pontificate of Publius Mucius Scaevola (c. 132 BC), it was usual for the pontifex maximus to record the name of the magistrates and the noteworthy events of each year on a white tablet (an album), which was exhibited in an open place at his house so that the people might read it. Servius states the events were written for each day. In the late Republic, these were known as the Annales Maximi. After the pontificate of Publius, annals were compiled by various unofficial writers, of whom Cicero names Cato, Pictor, and Piso. These annals have been generally regarded as the same with the Commentarii Pontificum cited by Livy, but there seems reason to believe that the two were distinct, with the Commentarii being fuller and more circumstantial. Verrius Flaccus's division of genres is borne out in the common division of Tacitus's works into Annals and Histories, although he did not use those titles to refer to his own works.

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