Chronicles of Ayutthaya

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The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya ( Thai : พระ ราช พงศาวดาร กรุง ศรีอยุธยา , phraratcha phongsawadan krung sri ayutthaya ) record the historical events in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya .

Even if the reports of foreign travelers from Persia, China, Japan and Europe in Siam have often proven to be a valuable source for historians and other researchers, the royal chronicle of Ayutthaya remains the most important source for the historiography of the kingdom. It is not known exactly when they were actually written down; but we can assume that the Siamese rulers ensured that historical events were constantly recorded. From the chronicle one can read off when which rulers ascended the throne or which wars occurred. Sometimes you can also find information on current events, such as the current prices for rice and other everyday foods. Events from nature, such as solar eclipses and earthquakes , were also noted in the chronicle.

When the Burmese destroyed the capital Ayutthaya in 1767, much of the historical annals were destroyed. Today only a few versions are known, almost all of which are in the National Library in Bangkok. The versions are usually named after those who discovered them or who presented them to the National Library.

Another version is in the British Museum in London and was published in 2005. It contains a foreword by David K. Wyatt to the Chronicles of Ayutthaya and a facsimile of the text in Thai script.

Versions

Versions described by Prince Damrong

Prince Damrong describes in an article in the Journal of the Siam Society , which was based in part on an exchange of letters between him and the king (probably King Chulalongkorn ), how the historiography of the Kingdom of Siam , known at the time , was presented. The Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya initially consisted of only one known version, which was based on the work of Krom Somdet Phra Paramanuchit (Prince Wasukri). Prince Paramanuchit, a son of King Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I) , was the supreme monastic patriarch of Thailand from 1851 until his death in 1853 . His edition of the Chronicle of Ayutthaya was kept in the National Library and consisted of two parts. The first part was called "Mahayuddhakar", the other "Chulayuddakar".

The first print version of Prince Paramanuchit's Chronicle was published in 1863 by Dr. Bradley made in Bangkok in two parts.

When King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) ordered the establishment of a national library in 1905 and when the Royal Research Society was founded a little later, several historical documents were gradually found that are now kept in the library.

According to Prince Damrong, there were a total of six known versions of the Royal Chronicles at the time:

  1. Version of Luang Prasoet ( พระ ราช พง สาว ดาร กรุง เก่า, ฉบับ หลวง ประเสริฐ อักษร นิ ติ์ ) - found in a private house by Luang Prasoet Aksonit (later Phra Pariyati Dharmadhata ) and given to the National Library on January 19, 1907. It was probably made on behalf of King Narai in 1042 CS ( AD 1680). The copy in the National Library was written in yellow ink on black paper in the traditional way of an “accordion book”. Scientists determined that it must have been written using script at the end of the Ayutthaya Empire or at the beginning of the Rattanakosin period.
  2. The "Version from the year 1145 CS" (AD 1783) - the original was written at the beginning of the Thonburi era, hence it is also known as the "Thonburi fragment". It can no longer be determined how many volumes it originally consisted of.
  3. The "Version from the year 1157 CS" (AD 1795) - King Phutthayotfa Chulalok Maharat (Rama I) had commissioned this version. There are three copies of this fragment today. One copy states that His Majesty made some small additions. This version is also called “Phan Canthanumat”, it begins with the foundation of Ayutthaya, but here too it is uncertain how far the descriptions go.
  4. The "Phetchaburi version", also called "Phra Cakkraphatdiphong" - it was found in Phetchaburi and written on palm leaves . This appears to be an abridged version arranged by Somdet Phra Paramanuchit on behalf of King Phra Nang Klao (Rama III) . Dr. Bradley received this short version along with a long version which he then printed.
  5. The "Version of King Mongkut " (Rama IV.) Was commissioned by King Mongkut. An identical "version of Prince Mahisra" was later found. Both originally consisted of 42 books, but King Mongkut's version in the National Library only consists of 22 books. They are likely based on Prince Paramanuchit's version, to which the king made small adjustments and comments.
  6. The “Version of 1136 CS” (AD 1774) is only available in one book in the version of the National Library. It is no longer possible to determine when historiography began, when it ended and how many books it originally consisted of.

Current status

Today, 18 versions of the chronicles are known, of which only six are complete and two versions are identical copies:

  1. 15th century fragment, covers the years 1438-1444
  2. Van Vliet's Chronicle (1640) - translated and compiled by a Dutch merchant, the original manuscripts in Thai have disappeared.
  3. Luang Prasoet version (1680)
  4. CS 1136 version (1774)
  5. Nok Kaeo version (1782)
  6. CS 1145 version (1783)
  7. Sanggitiyavamsa - Pali Chronicle compiled by Phra Phonnarat, covers the general history of Buddhism in Siam.
  8. CS 1157 version of Phan Chanthanumat (1795)
  9. Thonburi Chronicle (1795)
  10. Somdet Phra Phonnarat version (1795) - identical to the Bradley version, s. u.
  11. Culayuddhakaravamsa Vol.2 - Pali Chronicle
  12. Phra Chakraphatdiphong (Chat) Version (1808)
  13. British Museum version (1807)
  14. Wat Ban Thalu Version (1812)
  15. Culayuddhakaravamsa Sermon (1820) - Pali Chronicle
  16. Bradley's version or two-volume version (1864) - formerly known as the Krom Phra Paramanuchit Chinorot Version, Vol. 1–3, also in a two-volume version
  17. Abridged version of Pramanuchit (1850)
  18. Royal Autograph Version (1855)

Richard D. Cushman, an American scientist, translated all chronicles known to date into English in the 1970s and 1980s. He discovered the above-mentioned version of the British Museum from 1807.

Others

The travelogues of European seafarers and diplomats who visited Siam from around the 16th century onwards offer further valuable information on the history of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya . The four books that the Dutch merchant Jeremias Van Vliet wrote between 1636 and 1640 are particularly detailed . The Dutch text was translated into French in the 17th century and this version was translated into English by WH Mundie in 1904. In 2005, Alfons van der Kraan translated the original texts into English again. An annotated edition of all four books appeared in 2005 as “Van Vliet's Siam”.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya: The British Museum Version . (Bibliotheca Codicum Asiaticorum; 14). Tokyo: The Center for East Asian Cultural Studies for UNESCO 2005. Ref.nr. OR 11827.
  2. ↑ Online edition: Vol.1 and Vol.2 in the "Rarebooks" of the library of the Silpakorn University (in Thai)
  3. ↑ Online edition of the "Rarebooks" of the library of the Silpakorn University (in Thai)
  4. ↑ See also article in the Thai Wikipedia
  5. ^ O. Frankfurter : "Events in Ayutthaya from Chulasakaraj 686-966". In: The Siam Society Fiftieth Anniversary Commemorative Publication - Selected Articles From The Siam Society Journal , Vol. I. (1904-29), The Siam Society, Bangkok 1954. The original article is available online at [1] (PDF, last accessed on 31 October 2012; 4.4 MB)
  6. ^ David K. Wyatt : Chronicle of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Tokyo: The Center for East Asian Cultural Studies for UNESCO, The Toyo Bunko. ISBN 9784896566130 . P. 14
  7. ↑ http://www.thapra.lib.su.ac.th/dbcollection/rarebook/showrarebook.asp?id=80
  8. ↑ [2]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / library.tu.ac.th  
  9. ↑ [3]  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , [4]  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , [5]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / library.tu.ac.th  @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / library.tu.ac.th  @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / library.tu.ac.th  
  10. ↑ http://www.thapra.lib.su.ac.th/dbcollection/rarebook/showrarebook.asp?id=296 , http://www.thapra.lib.su.ac.th/dbcollection/rarebook/showrarebook .asp? id = 976
  11. ^ Richard D. Cushman (David K. Wyatt ed.): The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. The Siam Society, Bangkok 2000, ISBN 974-8298-48-5

literature

  • Prince Damrong: "The Story of the Records of Siamese History". In: The Siam Society (ed.): The Journal o the Siam Society , Vol. 11.2 1914-15, Bangkok; 1.9MB PDF file
  • Richard D. Cushman ( David K. Wyatt , ed.): The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. The Siam Society, Bangkok 2000, ISBN 974-8298-48-5 .
  • David K. Wyatt, Chris Baker , Dhiravat na Pombejra, Alfon van der Kraan: Van Vliet's Siam. Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2005, ISBN 974-9575-81-4 .