Early modern local chronicles are a largely neglected, yet stable genre of texts that can be used for comparative research over time and space. The NWO-funded research project Chronicling Novelty (2018–24) investigated the reception of new media and new knowledge among early modern chroniclers in the Low Countries. For this purpose, we created a digitized corpus of 204 Dutch-language chronicles from the period 1500–1850. This article presents the methodological decisions made in creating this corpus and their implications for its representativeness. The second part examines the social, religious and political profile of the chroniclers: who wrote chronicles and what does this reveal about chronicling as a cultural and social practice? Particularly interesting in this respect is how the chroniclers’ strong involvement in local public affairs authorized their chronicling practices, and vice versa.

Folklore experts have shown that for a legend to be remembered it is important that it is historicised. Focusing on three case-studies from early modern Germany and the Netherlands, this article explores how the historicisation of mythical narratives operated in early modern Europe, and argues that memory practices played a crucial role in the interplay between myth and history. The application of new criteria for historical evidence did not result in the decline of myths. By declaring such stories mythical, and by using the existence of memory practices as evidence for this, scholars could continue to take them seriously.