CHRONICLES, HISTORIES, MEMOIRS. 



First Historians of the Church. The Last Latin and Greek Historians. Latin Chronicles: 

 Marius, Cassiodorus, Jornandes. Gregory of Tours. Fr6deguire. Monastic Chronicles. 

 Chronicles from the Eighth to the Eleventh Century Historians of the Crusades. Historians 



of Foreign Countries. Latin Chronicles of the Abbey of St. Denis Chronicles in Rhyme. 



Early French Chronicles. Villehardouin. The Sire de Joinville Chronicles of St. -Denis. 

 Froissart. Monstrelet. Chastcllain. French Translations of the Ancient Historians. 

 Library of Charles V. Chroniclers of the Fifteenth Century. Historians of the Court of 

 Burgundy. Private Chronicles and Lives of Illustrious Men. Personal Memoirs. Histories 

 of France in the Sixteenth Century. 



|ONG before the invasions of the Barbarians the 

 countless books of history written by Greek 

 and Latin authors concerning the annals of 

 the ancient peoples had been falling into 

 disfavour. Even the best of them were little 

 read, for the Christians felt but slight interest 

 in these pagan narratives, and this is why 

 works relating to the history of antiquity 

 were already so scarce. 



The Church, however, inspired some new 

 historians, who set to write its early annals. Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, 

 during the reign of Coustantine, composed in Greek an Ecclesiastical History 

 in ten books, from the birth of Christ to the death of Licinius (324) ; and 

 Paulus Orosius, a disciple of St. Augustine, composed in Latin, during the 

 early part of the fifth century, seven books of History against the Pagans 

 (" Historiurum adversus Paganos Libri VII."), into which he introduced 

 many interesting popular traditions, narrating the history of the world from 

 the time of Adam to the year 316 A. D. A few Latin writers still strove, as 

 late as the fourth century, to write history after the fashion of Livy, Tacitus, and 

 Suetonius ; and Aurelius Victor, surnamed Af ricanus, wrote at Rome, of which 



