Annales Cavenses

The so-called Annales Cavenses are not originally conceived as an independent work, because their com-pilation depends, in a symbiotic way, on preexisting chronological tables; nevertheless, they are an important source for the history of Southern Italy. With their unique and sometimes ingenious system of marginal an-notations, they provide, initially, only a list of emperors or events, such as eclipses, election of abbots, deaths of local lords. However, as we go forward over the years and we approach the time of their compiler, or compilers, the simple catalogue comprehends longer and more structured information, showing also the ideo-logical leaning and the culture of the author. Some particular information, however, could be so compromis-ing that the next compiler was forced to correct or erase what had been written earlier. Annales Cavenses, in short, represent an eloquent example of the most characteristic products of medieval historiography.