Rus' letopises (Russian: Русские летописи) or Russkiye Letopisi are the main type of Old Russian historical literature. Composed from 11th to 18th centuries the letopises are one of the leading genres Russian literature and among the most extensive monuments to it. Letopises were the main form of historical narrative until the middle of the 16th century, the time of Ivan the Terrible, when they gave primacy to another historiographical genre — chronographs.