Беларуска-літоўскія летапісы і польскія хронікі

Scientists learn about the most ancient periods of Belarus' history from written sources. The age of cities is usually determined by the earliest mentioning of a city's name in manuscripts or other written sources, not on the basis of archeological research. However, those who wrote manuscripts often took a subjective approach, expressing their opinion or entering data they thought to be "correct or needed" and omitting important information. Nevertheless, researchers have learned about many historical events in Belarus' ancient history from records. The author notes that although few original Belarusian manuscripts survived the many wars that hit the nation, there are Polish records that lift the veil on mysteries of joint history. The author studies many records, including ones that have disappeared, but their existence has been proved by other original documents.