Universal Chronicles in the Early Medieval West

Abstract

This paper considers the modern concept of a ›universal chronicle‹, examining its validity for Latin texts written before the mid-ninth century. It notes that while modern his- torians of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages concentrate on the most recent material in chronicles and other historical writings, the original authors were usually concerned to set events of their own day within a framework that began with the Creation, the Birth of Adam, or of Abraham, and that as a result most historical texts should be seen primarily as tracing the history of Salvation. As such they need to be understood as one manifestation of a more general concern with the nature of Time.