employed as diplomatic agents, or acted
as secretaries to the ruling princes. The earliest and most celebrated
among these ancient Russian historical works is the Chronicle of
Nestor, a monk of the Catacombs Monastery in Kieff (born about 1056),
the reputed author of the document which bears his name. Modern
scientists have proved that he did not write this Chronicle, the
earliest copy of which dates from the fourteenth century, but its
standing as a priceless monument of the twelfth century has never been
impunged, since it is evident that the author gathered his information
from contemporary eye-witnesses. The Chronicle begins by describing how
Shem, Ham, and Japhet shared the earth between them after the flood, and
gives a detailed list of the countries and peoples of the ancient world.
It then states that, after the building of the Tower of Babel, God
dispersed all the peoples into seventy-two tribes (or languages), the
northern and western lands falling to the tribe of Japhet. Nestor
derives the Slavonians from Japhet--describes their life, first on the
banks of the Danube, then their colonization to the northeast as far as
the River Ilmen (the ancient Novgorod), the Oka, in central Russia, and
the tributaries of the Dniepr, delineating the manners and customs of
the different Slavonic tribes, and bringing the narrative down to the
year 1110, in the form of brief, complete stories. The style of the
Chronicle is simple and direct. For example, he relates how, in the year
945, the Drevlyans (or forest-folk) slew Igor, prince of Kieff, and his
band of warriors, who were not numerous.

Then said the Drevlyans, "Here we have slain the Russian
Prince; let us now take his wife, Olga, for our Prince Malo;
and we will take also Svyatoslaff (his son), and will deal with
him as we see fit"; and the Drevlyans dispatched their best
men, twenty in number, in a boat, to Olga, and they landed
their boat near Boritcheff, and Olga was told that the
Drevlyans had arrived, and Olga summoned them to her. "Good
guests are come, I hear"; and the Drevlyans said: "We are come,
Princess." And Olga said to them, "Tell me, why are ye come
hither?" Said the Drevlyans: "The land of the Drevlyans hath
sent us," saying thus: "We have slain thy husband, for thy
husband was like unto a wolf, he was ever preying and robbing;
but our own princes are good. Our Drevlyan land doth flourish