diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65e2caa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+^^^^^^^^^
+Changelog
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+1.16.1 (2026-10-22)
+-------------------
+* fix(release): name what an override downgrades in the release summary (#31)
+
+1.16.0 (2026-10-21)
+-------------------
+* feat(release): carry a package's source tarball to the archive (#27)
+* feat(release)!: build the .deb for amd64 and arm64 on native runners (#26)
+
+1.15.0 (2026-10-21)
+-------------------
+* feat(ci)!: evaluate also repos.list of every dependency (#29)
+* fix(release): detect packages whose package.xml is at the repository root (#25)
+
+1.14.0 (2026-10-19)
+-------------------
+* fix(ici): send CI_PAT as an auth header and disable git prompts (#24)
+* feat(ici): install every requirements.txt in the repository (#23)
+
+1.13.0 (2026-10-14)
+-------------------
+* No changes.
+
+1.12.0 (2026-10-14)
+-------------------
+* fix: title check for new packages with previously empty version (#21)
+
+1.11.0 (2026-10-14)
+-------------------
+* feat(orchestrator): add extra_distros input (#22)
+
+1.10.0 (2026-10-12)
+-------------------
+* feat(ci): publish status badges to a badges branch (#20)
+
+1.9.0 (2026-10-05)
+------------------
+* feat: publish a built package into a signed archive root (#19)
+
+1.8.0 (2026-09-14)
+------------------
+* fix: make workflows composite actions and expand allowed title types (#18)
+
+1.7.3 (2026-09-10)
+------------------
+* chore: add gh all workflows that require it (#16)
+
+1.7.2 (2026-09-10)
+------------------
+* chore: add gh to runner scratch environment (#15)
+
+1.7.1 (2026-09-09)
+------------------
+* fix: release regex coverage and runner inputs to workflows (#14)
+
+1.7.0 (2026-09-09)
+------------------
+* feat(release): generate release pull requests, per package or per repo (#13)
+* ci: update CI orchestrator workflow to use duatic_devtools (#12)
+* ci: add reusable title check workflow (#11)
+
+1.6.1 (2026-09-03)
+------------------
+* ci: pin the shared pre-commit config to devtools v1 (#10)
+
+1.6.0 (2026-09-03)
+------------------
+* feat: add release helpers (#9)
+* ci: add reusable release check workflow (#8)
+
+1.5.1 (2026-08-26)
+------------------
+* fix: increase job timeout from 30 to 60 minutes (#7)
+
+1.5.0 (2026-08-25)
+------------------
+* feat(ci): test with cyclonedds (#6)
+
+1.4.1 (2026-08-05)
+------------------
+* fix: stop @claude review from cancelling itself (#5)
+
+1.4.0 (2026-08-05)
+------------------
+* feat: add  @claude review on PRs (#4)
+
+1.3.2 (2026-07-22)
+------------------
+* feat(ci): run all orchestrator jobs on the configured runner
+
+1.3.1 (2026-07-16)
+------------------
+* fix: update badges for skipped or cancelled runs
+
+1.3.0 (2026-07-14)
+------------------
+* feat(ci): add opt-in gist-backed status badges (#3)
+
+1.2.0 (2026-07-04)
+------------------
+* feat(ci): auto-detect requirements.txt and Aptfile in reusable_ici.yml
+* feat(ci): add Release workflow (#2)
+
+1.1.0 (2026-07-03)
+------------------
+* feat(ci): add orchestrator entry point, centralize matrix and policy
+
+1.0.0 (2026-07-03)
+------------------
+* feat(ci): add reusable ROS industrial_ci and pre-commit workflows
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 53a1da2..797c1a6 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -446,7 +446,8 @@ with `release:` is left alone.
 Once that `CHANGELOG.rst` exists, the `release-check` and `title-check` actions check the repository
 on it:
 a new version section needs a `release:` title naming it, must come after the last tag, and a
-`release:` title needs a new section.
+`release:` title needs a new section. A section for a version already tagged is history, which any
+pull request may add.
 
 ```yaml
 # .github/workflows/release.yml
diff --git a/release/check_release_pr.py b/release/check_release_pr.py
index dbfaacf..eefac09 100755
--- a/release/check_release_pr.py
+++ b/release/check_release_pr.py
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@
 A repository whose root holds CHANGELOG.rst and no package.xml is versioned by that changelog and
 its v<version> tags instead, and any package.xml deeper in it is not released: a release adds one
 version section there, ahead of the base's and of every tag, and a section added in any other pull
-request is a release nobody titled as one.
+request is a release nobody titled as one. A section for a version already tagged is history, not a
+release, so the changelog of earlier releases can be added at any time.
 
 Usage:  check_release_pr.py --base origin/main [--head HEAD] [--title "release: ..."]
 Exit 0 if consistent, 1 if not.
@@ -112,20 +113,25 @@ def changelog_versions(ref, path):
     return {m.group(1) for m in SECTION.finditer(blob)}
 
 
-def latest_repo_tag():
-    """The highest version among the v<version> tags, or None."""
-    versions = [
+def repo_tags():
+    """The versions of the v<version> tags."""
+    return {
         t[1:]
         for t in git("tag", "--list", "v*").split()
         if as_tuple(t[1:]) and len(as_tuple(t[1:])) == 3
-    ]
+    }
+
+
+def latest_repo_tag():
+    """The highest version among the v<version> tags, or None."""
+    versions = repo_tags()
     return max(versions, key=as_tuple) if versions else None
 
 
 def check_changelog_repo(merge_base, head, title, is_release):
     """The release check for a repository released by its root CHANGELOG.rst. Returns the exit code."""
     path = "CHANGELOG.rst"
-    added = changelog_versions(head, path) - changelog_versions(merge_base, path)
+    added = changelog_versions(head, path) - changelog_versions(merge_base, path) - repo_tags()
     problems = []
     new = None
     if len(added) > 1:
diff --git a/release/test_check_release_pr.sh b/release/test_check_release_pr.sh
index 076d2ff..b3620d0 100755
--- a/release/test_check_release_pr.sh
+++ b/release/test_check_release_pr.sh
@@ -139,6 +139,26 @@ check 1 "root package bumped, titled as a feature" "feat: something"
 
 WORK="${WORK%/root_pkg}"  # so the trap removes the outer repository too
 
+echo "=== a repository released by its root changelog may add the history of its tags ==="
+WORK="$WORK/changelog_repo" && mkdir "$WORK" && cd "$WORK"
+git init -q -b main . && git config user.email t@duatic.invalid && git config user.name t
+echo readme > README.md && git add -A && git commit -qm baseline
+git tag v1.0.0 && git tag v1.1.0
+section() { printf '%s\n%s\n* something\n\n' "$1" "$(printf '%*s' ${#1} '' | tr ' ' '-')"; }
+history() { printf '^^^^^^^^^\nChangelog\n^^^^^^^^^\n\n'; for v in "$@"; do section "$v (2026-01-01)"; done; }
+git checkout -qb h1
+history 1.1.0 1.0.0 > CHANGELOG.rst && git add -A && git commit -qm "docs(changelog): add the earlier releases"
+check 0 "sections for tagged versions, titled as docs" "docs(changelog): add the earlier releases"
+git checkout -q main && git checkout -qb h2
+history 1.2.0 1.1.0 1.0.0 > CHANGELOG.rst && git add -A && git commit -qm "release: 1.2.0"
+check 0 "the earlier releases and a new one, titled as a release" "release: 1.2.0"
+check 1 "the same, titled as docs" "docs(changelog): add the earlier releases"
+git checkout -q main && git checkout -qb h3
+history 1.0.1 1.0.0 > CHANGELOG.rst && git add -A && git commit -qm "release: 1.0.1"
+check 1 "a section for an untagged version behind the tags" "release: 1.0.1"
+
+WORK="${WORK%/changelog_repo}"
+
 echo
 echo "  $pass passed, $fail failed"
 [ "$fail" -eq 0 ]