Chronicon Paschale (The Easter Chronicle)

The chronicle takes its modern name from the discussion of the date of Easter with which it begins. The title under which it was first printed describes it as running from the creation to the twentieth year of the emperor Heraclius, about 630. Each year’s entry is headed by the indiction, the regnal year and the consuls, and under them stand short notices of events, many of them concerning Constantinople.

For the reign of Constantine the work is therefore a late compilation, three centuries after the events, and its notices are only as good as the sources behind them, which it does not name. Where they can be tested they are often exact: the entry on the dedication of Constantinople gives the day of the week together with the date, and the two agree.