lAnnales

L'Annales is a term used in French to denote annals, that is, year-by-year records of events. It functions both as a generic descriptor for certain kinds of historical writings and as the title or name adopted by various publications. The form is widely found in medieval and early modern contexts, where a compiler would assemble events in chronological order, often focusing on a single realm such as a monastery, city, or realm.

Historically, annals differ from full narrative chronicles in their emphasis on sequence and concise entries. They typically record notable happenings year by year, sometimes with brief notes on causes or consequences. The entries are usually terse and factual, with less interpretive commentary than more literary histories. The practice flourished across Europe and influenced later historiography by providing structured, year-based records that later historians could reference.

In modern usage, L'Annales may appear as the title of French-language publications that embrace historical, social science, or humanities subjects. Because the term is generic rather than tied to one work, it can refer to multiple distinct projects or journals across different periods. It is also used in academic discourse as a shorthand for annalistic corpora and for discussions about the annals genre in history.

See also: Annales, a broader term for year-by-year historical records and for various works and journals that carry the name Annales in different languages and contexts.