Lithuanian Chronicle

The Lithuanian Chronicles (Lithuanian: Lietuvos metraščiai), or Belarusian-Lithuanian Chronicles (Belarusian: Беларуска-літоўскія летапісы; Russian: Белорусско-литовские летописи) are three redactions of chronicles compiled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. All redactions were written in the Ruthenian language and served the needs of Lithuanian patriotism. The first edition, compiled in the 1420s, glorified Vytautas the Great and supported his side in power struggles. The second redaction, prepared in the first half of the 16th century, started the myth of Lithuanian Roman origin: it gave a fanciful genealogy of Palemon, a noble from the Roman Empire who founded the Grand Duchy. This noble origin of Lithuanians was important in cultural rivalry with the Kingdom of Poland. The third redaction, known only from the Bychowiec Chronicle, elaborated even further on the legend, but also provided some useful information about the second half of the 15th century. The three redactions, the first known historical accounts produced within the Grand Duchy, gave rise to the historiography of Lithuania. All medieval historians used these accounts, that survived in 22 known transcriptions, as basis for their publications and some of the myths created in the chronicles persisted even to the beginning of the 20th century.

The first or the short redaction (also known as Chronicle of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania or Letopisec Litovskii) was compiled sometime in the 1420s in Smolensk, when Vytautas the Great hoped to be crowned as King of Lithuania. This redaction included the earliest known historical account produced in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Dis ist Witoldes sache wedir Jagalan und Skargalan, a complain and memorial written by Vytautas in 1390 during the Lithuanian Civil War (1389–1392). It detailed his power struggles against cousins Jogaila and Skirgaila in 1379–1390 and supported his claims to his patrimony in Trakai and title of Grand Duke of Lithuania. Two translations of this document survive: Latin Origo regis Jagyelo et Witholdi ducum Lithuaniae from the 15th century and Russian Litovskomu rodu pochinok from the 14th century. Later this document was expanded to include events up to 1396. It formed the backbone of the first chronicle.

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