A.D. 1238. A.m. 6746. The wife of Semen Borisovich made a monastery at the Church of St. Paul. That same year foreigners called Tartars came in countless numbers, like locusts, into the land of Ryazan, and on first coming they halted at the river Nukhla, and took it, and halted in camp there. And thence they sent their emissaries to the [Princes] of Ryazan, a sorceress and two men with her, demanding from them one-tenth of everything; of men and rprincesl and horses of everything one-tenth. And the [Princes] of Ryazan, George Ingvor's brother, Oleg, Roman Ingvorevicb, and those of Murom and Pronsk, without letting them into their towns, went out to meet them to Voronazh. And the [Princesl said to them: 'Only when none of us remain then all will be yours.' And thence they let them go to Yuri in Volodimir, and thence they let the Tartars at Voronazh go back to the Nukhla. And the [Princes] of Ryazan sent to Yuri of Volodimir asking for help, or himself to come. But Yuri neither went himself nor listened to the request of the [Princes] of Ryazan, but he himself wished to make war separately. But it was too late to oppose the wrath of God, as was said of old by God, to Joshua,son of Nun, when leading them to the promised land, then he said: 'I shall before you send upon them perplexity, and thunder, and fear, and trembling.' Thus also did God before these men take from us our strength and put into us perplexity and thunder and dread and trembling for our sins. And then the pagan foreigners surrounded Ryazan and fenced it in with a stockade. And [Prince] Yuri of Ryazan, shut himself in the town with his people, but [Prince] Roman Ingorovich began to fight against them with his own men. Then [Prince] Yuri of Volodimir sent Yeremei as Voyevoda with a patrol and joined Roman; and the Tartars surrounded them at Kolomno, and they fought hard and drove them to the ramparts. And there were they killed Roman and Yeremei and many fell here with the [Prince] and with Yeremei. And the the men of Moscow ran away having seen nothing. And the Tartars took the town on December 21, and they had advanced against it on the 16th of the same month. They likewise killed the [Prince] and Knyaginya, and men, women and children, monks, nuns and priests, some by fire, some by the sword and violated nuns, priests' wives, good women and girls in the presence of their mothers and sisters. But God saved the Bishop, for he had departed the same moment when the troops invested the town. And who, brethren, wouldd not lament over this, among those of us left alive when they suffered this bitter and violent death? And we, indeed, having seen it, were terrified and wept with sighing day and night over our sins, while we sigh every day and night, taking thought for our possessions and for the hatred of brothers.

But let us return to what lied before us. The pagan and godless Tartars, then, having taken Ryazan, went to Volodimir, a host of shedders of Christian blood. And [Prince] Yuri went out from Volodimir and fled to Yaroslavl, while his son Vsevolod with his mother and the [Arch-bishop] and the whole of the province shut themselves in Volodimir. And the lawless Ismaelites approached the town and surrounded the town in force, and fenced it all around with a fence. And it was in the morning [Prince] Vsevolod and [Arch-bishop] Mitrofan saw that the town must be taken, and entered the Church of the Holy Mother of God and were all shorn into the monastic order and into strictest monastic order, the Prince and the Knyaginya, their daughter and daughter-in-law, and good men and women, by [Arch-bishop] Mitrofan. And when the lawless ones had already come near and set up battering rams, and took the town and fired it on Friday before Sexagesima Sunday, the [Prince] and Knyaginya and [Arch-bishop], seeing that the town was on fire and that the people were already perishing, some by fire and others by sword, took refuge in the Church of the Holy Mother of God and shut themselves in the Sacristy. The pagans breaking down the doors, piled up wood and set fire to the sacred church; and slew all, thus they perished, giving up their souls to God. Others went in pursuit of [Prince] Yuri to Yaroslavl. And [Prince] Yuri sent out Dorozh to scout with 3,000 men; and Dorozh came running, and said: 'They have already surrounded us, [Prince]. And the [prince] began to muster his forces about him, and behold, the Tartars came up suddenly, and the [prince,] without having been able to do anything, fled. And it happened when he reached the river Sit they overtook him and there he ended his life. And God knows how he died; for some say much about him. And Rostov and Suzhdal went each his own way. And the accursed ones having come thence took Moscow, Peryaslavl, Yurev, Dmitrov, Volok, and Tver; there also they killed the son of Yaroslav. And thence the lawless ones came and invested Torshok on the festival of the first Sunday in Lent. They fenced it all round with a fence as they had taken other towns, and here the accursed ones fought with battering rams for two weeks. And the people in the town were exhausted and from Novgorod there was no help for them; but already every man 6egari to be in perplexity and terror. And so the pagans took the town, and slew all from the male sex even to the female, all the priests and the monks, and all stripped and reviled gave up their souls to the Lord in a bitter and a wretched death on March 5, the day of the commemoration of the holy Martyr Nikon, on Wednesday in Easter week. And there, too, were killed Ivanko the (Arch-bishop] of Novitorg, Yakim Vlunkovich, Gleb Borisovich, and Mikhailo Moisievich. And the accursed godless ones then pushed on from Torshok by the road of Seregeri right up to Ignati's cross, cutting down everybody like grass, to within 100 and [66 miles] of Novgorod. God, however, and the great and sacred apostolic cathedral of St. Sophia, and St. Kyuril, and the prayers of the holy and orthodox [Arch-bishop], of the faithful [Princes] and of the very reverend monks of the hierarchical [assembly], protected Novgorod. And who, brothers, fathers, and children, seeing this, God's infliction on the whole Russian Land, does not lament? God let the pagans on us for our sins. God brings foreigners on to the land in his Wrath, and thus crushed by them they will be reminded of God. And the internecine war comes from the prompting of the devil: for God does not wish evil amongst man, but good; but the devil rejoices at the wicked murder and bloodshed. And any other land which has sinned God punished with death of famine, or with infliction of pagans, or with drought, or with heavy rain, or with other punishment, to see whether we will repent and live as God bids; for He tells us by the prophet: 'Turn to me with your whole heart, with fasting and weeping.' And if we do so we shall be forgiven of all our sins. But we always turn to evil, like swine ever wallowing in the filth of sin, and thus we remain; and for this we receive every kind of punishment from God; and the invasion of armed men, too, we accept at God's command; as punishment for our sins.