The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

REVIEW ARTJCL~ 235
Above, p. 111, I made a statement about the concurrence of vV
and S in certain details not found in other chronicles. In fact, some of
these details appear in RA, although not in its direct ancestors of the
1157 tradition, nor in LP. The circumstance that RA, just because it is
the Royal Autograph Chronicle, bas become a sort of official version, has
obscured the fact that it is the final link in a long chain of transmission,
and as a source of history is much less valuable than its several extant
ancestors. The chain of transmission that led to RA's incorporation of
details from the vV-S tradition is rather easy to determine.
Salzgitiyavahs was compiled by Somdet Phra Phonnarat63, who,
together with his pupil, Prince Paramanucbit Cbinorot, prepared in 1807
a version of the 1157 chronicle.64 Later on, in 1850, Prince
Paramanucbit wrote a short chronicle (Satikhep), which was an
abridgement of the 1157 tradition, but included some of the diagnostic
features of the S-vV tradition, such as the names of the Suphanburi
princes and the reign of Intharacba following Trailokanat. At the time
these details must have been taken over from S, the work of Prince
Paramanuchit's teacher, since the earlier versions of the I 157 tradition
did not contain them. Then when RA was prepared in the reign of King
Mongkut these features, for unknown reasons, were adopted, probably
from Sankhep, in preference to the pure 1157 traditon. This is the
reason for my statement that these details are not part of either major
tradition.
The evidence on the filiation of these texts and the role of Somdet
Phra Phonnarat in their preparation provides material for some
interesting speculation about his view of the historian's task and his
beliefs concerning the true history of Ayuttbaya, for the works in which
be had a band comprise three different chronologies and for certain
events and periods two differing textual traditions. There isS, which
63) His title has been variously transcrib~d elsewhere as Phonrat, Wannarat,
Wanratna, Banatatn, Vanatatn.
64) For more details and further references see David K. Wyatt, "The Abridged
Royal Chronicle of Ayudhya of Prince Paramanuchitchinorot," JSS LXI (1),
January 1973, pp. 25-50, see pp. 26-27.