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The Medieval Church · c. 1468–1477
The Chronicle
George Sphrantzes · 1401–c. 1478
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What it is
A courtier's diary-like record of the last emperors, ending with his own enslavement, the loss of his children in the sultan's household, and his retirement to a monastery.
Why it lasted
The most personal witness to the fall of the empire, kept by a man who had been in the room for much of what he describes.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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