Novgorod First Chronicle
Chronicles are the earliest kind of literature known to originate in Novgorod, the oldest one being the Novgorod First Chronicle. Other genres appear in the XIV and XV centuries: travel diaries (such as the account of Stefan the Novgorodian's travel to Constantinople for trade purposes), legends about local posadniks, saints and Novgorod's wars and victories. The events of many bylinas – traditional Russian oral epic poems – take place in Novgorod. Their protagonists include a merchant and adventurer Sadko and daredevil Vasily Buslayev.