Rus’ chronicle or Russian chronicle or Rus’ letopis (Old East Slavic: лѣтопись) is the main type of Rus' historical literature. Chronicles were composed from 11th to 18th centuries. Chronicles were one of the leading genres of Old Rus’ literature. Chronicles were the main form of historical narrative until the middle of the 16th century, the time of Ivan the Terrible, when they gave primacy to another historiographical genre — chronographs.