[1] Verrius Flaccus, quoted by Aulus Gellius,[3] stated that the etymology of history (from Greek ιστορειν, historein, equated with Latin inspicere, "to inquire in person") properly restricts it to primary sources such as Thucydides's which have come from the author's own observations, while annals record the events of earlier times arranged according to years.
[5] The chief sources of information in regard to the annals of ancient Rome are two passages in Cicero[7][1] and in Servius[8][9] which have been the subject of much discussion.
Cicero states that, from the founding of the Republic down to the pontificate of Publius Mucius Scaevola (c. 132 BC), it was usual for the pontifex maximus to record the name of the magistrates and the noteworthy events of each year on a white tablet (an album), which was exhibited in an open place at his house so that the people might read it.
Beginning in Ireland, Wales, and England in the 7th century, monks began to briefly note important events of the year as marginalia in these tables.
[9] In modern literature, the term "annals" is similarly loosely applied to works which more or less strictly adhere to the order of years,[9] both in western contexts (English Annual Registers, French Annuaires de la Revue, German Jahrbücher) and to equivalent styles in other cultures (such as the Chinese Spring and Autumn Annals).