The Chronicle of Nestor in the Early Slovak Historiography

The study deals with the early Slovak historiography which referred to the Russian chronicles as one of the sources to understand the development of the early Slavic history. This chronicle also contributed to the creation of the historical concept of the modern Slovak nation at the end of the 18th th century and in the 19th th century. The chronicle of Nestor is a valuable source of knowledge and information for the earliest history of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine; for the history of the Slavs; ecclesiastical history; and medieval European history in general. As far as the national history of the Slovaks is concerned, this chronicle is perhaps the most detailed description of the events with regards to the arrival of the saints Constantine and Methodius in Great Moravia. It details their prolific activity, their influence on the development of the Slovak literature and the integration of Great Moravian Slavs into the family of civilized European cultures with their national, linguistic, and Christian core. In the context of the emergence of the Slovak historiography and during the period of the national revival of the Slovaks in the 19th th century, the chronicle of Nestor became an important source of scholarly arguments against the Hungarian historical scholarship in particular. In the first half of the 20th th century, the study of Nestor's chronicle was primarily the work of two Russian scholars-emigrants, working in Slovakia - the linguist V. Pogorelov and historian E. Perfetski. Post-war and contemporary Slovak science (especially history and linguistics) approaches the issue of Russian chronicles and the chronicle of Nestor mainly in the context of the interpretation of the old Slavic and Slovak history and literature.