Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres
Encyclopedia
The three-volume Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres ("The Deeds of the Saxons, or Three Books of Annals") is a chronicle of 10th century Germany
written by Widukind of Corvey
. Widukind wrote as a Saxon
, proud of his people and history, beginning his annals, not with Rome
, but with a brief synopsis derived from the orally-transmitted history of the Saxons
, with a terseness that makes his work difficult to interpret. Widukind omits Italian
events in tracing the career of Henry the Fowler and he never mentioned a pope
.
. However, in four of five manuscripts, the history was continued down to 973 (adding chapters 70-6 of Book III), whether by Widukind himself or another author. Since its composition must have been a long process, it is likely that the dedication was not originally part of Widukind's design and that he consequently had to make a number of adjustments to suit other needs. Three main recensions called A, B and C have been distinguished:
Thuringian
dynasty. In his version, Amalaberga
is the daughter of the Frankish
king Huga. After Huga's death Thiadrich
, his son by a concubine is crowned as king, but Amalaberga convinces her husband, Irminfrid
, with the help of the warrior Iring, that it is really she who should inherit the kingdom. A war starts, and after the Franks under Thiadrich have won a battle at Runibergun, the Thuringii
retreat into the fortress of Scithingi (modern Burgscheidungen
).
The Franks get the help of the newly immigrated Saxons who are looking for land, and a bloody battle is fought at Scithingi. After many warriors have been slain, Irminfrid sends Iring as a messenger to Thiadrich to ask for peace. The kings reach an agreement and plan to slay the Saxons on the morrow, but the Saxons get word of this, storm Scithingi during the night and kill all adults. Only Irminfrid and his family escape. The Saxons celebrate their victory for three days, afterwards they return to Thiadrich, who gives the country over to them.
By the order of Thiadrich, Iring convinces Irminfrid to return to the Frankish court. When Irminfrid kneels in submission before Thiadrich, Iring slays him. Thiadrich banishes him, as he has become despicable to all men by this deed, and he wants to have no part of this crime. Iring announces that he will atone for his crime and get revenge for his former master and slays Thiadrich as well. He places the body of Irminfrid over that of Thiadrich, so he will be victor in death at least, and leaves.
Widukind ends by doubting the truth of this story, but recounts that the Milky Way
is called "Iring's Street" to his day. An allusion to the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity
under Charlemagne
brings him to the early Saxon duke
s and details of the reign of Henry the Fowler.
in 946. He dedicates his writings to Matilda, daughter of Otto and abbess of Quedlinburg
, a descendant of the Saxon leader Widukind
, his own namesake.
and Otto's Franconia
n campaign.
Kingdom of Germany
The Kingdom of Germany developed out of the eastern half of the former Carolingian Empire....
written by Widukind of Corvey
Widukind of Corvey
Widukind of Corvey was a Saxon historical chronicler, named after the Saxon duke and national hero Widukind who had battled Charlemagne. Widukind the chronicler was born in 925 and died after 973 at the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in East Westphalia...
. Widukind wrote as a Saxon
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, proud of his people and history, beginning his annals, not with Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, but with a brief synopsis derived from the orally-transmitted history of the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
, with a terseness that makes his work difficult to interpret. Widukind omits Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
events in tracing the career of Henry the Fowler and he never mentioned a pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
.
Manuscripts
Widukind's Gesta is known from five manuscripts, one of which came to light at the beginning of the twentieth century. The contexts and dates of the various versions which these represent have occasioned much discussion. The work was first completed in 967 or 968, when it was dedicated to Mathilda, the young daughter of Otto I and newly appointed abbess of QuedlinburgQuedlinburg
Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....
. However, in four of five manuscripts, the history was continued down to 973 (adding chapters 70-6 of Book III), whether by Widukind himself or another author. Since its composition must have been a long process, it is likely that the dedication was not originally part of Widukind's design and that he consequently had to make a number of adjustments to suit other needs. Three main recensions called A, B and C have been distinguished:
- Recension A. Ends at Book III, chapter 69, year 967/9.
- MS A. MS J 38 (Sächsischen LandesbibliothekSaxon State LibraryThe Saxon State Library in Dresden is the Staatsbibliothek of Saxony and the academic library of the Technische Universität Dresden. It is one of the main public archival centers of Germany. Its treasures, collected over four centuries, were located in the Japanisches Palais and in temporary...
, Dresden). Date: 1200 x 1220.
- MS A. MS J 38 (Sächsischen Landesbibliothek
- Recension B (continues until 973)
- MS B 1. MS Addit. 21109 (British LibraryBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, London), pp. 138–181. Date: mid-12th century. - MS B 2. Lost manuscript, once housed in the Eberbach AbbeyEberbach AbbeyEberbach Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near Eltville am Rhein in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its impressive Romanesque and early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the most significant architectural heritage sites in Hesse, Germany...
in the Rheingau. Date: mid-12th century. Its contents can be reconstructed based on a transcript and an official edition, both of the 16th century:- B 2a. Clm 4029 (Münchener Staatsbibliothek), paper MS, a transcript written in the 16th century for the humanist Konrad PeutingerKonrad PeutingerConrad Peutinger was a German humanist diplomat, politician, and economist, who was educated at Bologna and Padua. Known as a notorious antiquarian, he collected, with the help of Marcus Welser and his wife Margareta Welser, one of the largest private libraries north of the...
. - B 2b. Martin Frecht (ed.), Witichindi Saxonis rerum ab Henrico et Ottone I impp. gestarum libri III [...], the editio princeps published in Basel, 1532. Available for viewing online
- B 2a. Clm 4029 (Münchener Staatsbibliothek), paper MS, a transcript written in the 16th century for the humanist Konrad Peutinger
- MS B 1. MS Addit. 21109 (British Library
- Recension C (also continues until 973)
- MS C 1. MS no. 298, f. 81-244 (Monte CassinoMonte CassinoMonte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
monastery). Date: 11th century. Transcribed at BeneventoBeneventoBenevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, the Lombard duchyDuchy of BeneventoThe Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in medieval Italy, centred on Benevento, a city central in the Mezzogiorno. Owing to the Ducatus Romanus of the popes, which cut it off from the rest of Lombard Italy, Benevento was from the first practically...
south of Rome. - MS C 2. MS Lat. oct. 198 (Berliner StaatsbibliothekBerlin State LibraryThe Berlin State Library is a library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.-Buildings:The State Library runs several premises, three of which are open for users, namely House 1 in Unter den Linden 8, House 2 in Potsdamer Straße 33 and the newspaper archive...
), f. 1-39'. Date: 13th century. Donated to the library in 1909 and before that time unknown to scholarship.
- MS C 1. MS no. 298, f. 81-244 (Monte Cassino
First
Widukind of Corvey starts book one with the fall of the GermanicGermanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
Thuringian
Thuringii
The Thuringii or Toringi were a Germanic tribe which appeared late during the Völkerwanderung in the Harz Mountains of central Germania around 280, in a region which still bears their name to this day — Thuringia. They evidently filled a void left when the previous inhabitants — the...
dynasty. In his version, Amalaberga
Amalaberga
Amalaberga was the daughter of Amalafrida, daughter of Theodemir, king of the Ostrogoths. Her father is unknown, her uncle was Theodoric the Great. She married Hermanfrid, king of the Thuringii. They had a son named Amalafrid and a daughter Rodelinda, who married the Lombard king Audoin...
is the daughter of the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
king Huga. After Huga's death Thiadrich
Theuderic I
Theuderic I was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 533 or 534....
, his son by a concubine is crowned as king, but Amalaberga convinces her husband, Irminfrid
Hermanafrid
Hermanfrid was the last independent king of the Thuringii. He was one of three sons of King Bessinus and the Lombard Menia...
, with the help of the warrior Iring, that it is really she who should inherit the kingdom. A war starts, and after the Franks under Thiadrich have won a battle at Runibergun, the Thuringii
Thuringii
The Thuringii or Toringi were a Germanic tribe which appeared late during the Völkerwanderung in the Harz Mountains of central Germania around 280, in a region which still bears their name to this day — Thuringia. They evidently filled a void left when the previous inhabitants — the...
retreat into the fortress of Scithingi (modern Burgscheidungen
Burgscheidungen
Burgscheidungen is a village and a former municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Laucha an der Unstrut....
).
The Franks get the help of the newly immigrated Saxons who are looking for land, and a bloody battle is fought at Scithingi. After many warriors have been slain, Irminfrid sends Iring as a messenger to Thiadrich to ask for peace. The kings reach an agreement and plan to slay the Saxons on the morrow, but the Saxons get word of this, storm Scithingi during the night and kill all adults. Only Irminfrid and his family escape. The Saxons celebrate their victory for three days, afterwards they return to Thiadrich, who gives the country over to them.
By the order of Thiadrich, Iring convinces Irminfrid to return to the Frankish court. When Irminfrid kneels in submission before Thiadrich, Iring slays him. Thiadrich banishes him, as he has become despicable to all men by this deed, and he wants to have no part of this crime. Iring announces that he will atone for his crime and get revenge for his former master and slays Thiadrich as well. He places the body of Irminfrid over that of Thiadrich, so he will be victor in death at least, and leaves.
Widukind ends by doubting the truth of this story, but recounts that the Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
is called "Iring's Street" to his day. An allusion to the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
under Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
brings him to the early Saxon duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
s and details of the reign of Henry the Fowler.
Second
The second book opens with the election of Otto the Great as German king, treats of the risings against his authority, omitting events in Italy, and concludes with the death of his wife EdithEadgyth
Edith of England , also spelt Eadgyth or Ædgyth, was the daughter of Edward the Elder, and the wife of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.-Life:...
in 946. He dedicates his writings to Matilda, daughter of Otto and abbess of Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....
, a descendant of the Saxon leader Widukind
Widukind
Widukind was a pagan Saxon leader and the chief opponent of Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars. Widukind was the leader of the Saxons against the Frankish king Charlemagne...
, his own namesake.
Third
Book three tells the story of Liudolf, Duke of SwabiaLiudolf, Duke of Swabia
Liudolf was the duke of Swabia from 950 until 954. He was the only son of Otto I, king of Germany, from his wife Eadgyth, daughter of Edward the Elder, king of England....
and Otto's Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n campaign.
Editions and translations
- Bauer, Albert and Reinhold Rau (eds and trs.). "Die Sachsengeschichte des Widukind von Korvei." In Quellen zur Geschichte der sächsischen Kaiserzeit. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe 8. Darmstadt, 1971 (5th print: 2002). 1-183. Edition and German translation.
- Rotter, Ekkehart and Bernd Schneidmüller (eds. and trs.). Die Sachsengeschichte. Stuttgart: Reclam-Verlag, 1981. Edition and German translation. ISBN 3-15-007699-4.
- Hirsch, Paul and H.-E. Lohmann (eds.), Die Sachsengeschichte des Widukind von Korvei. MGHMonumenta Germaniae HistoricaThe Monumenta Germaniae Historica is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published sources for the study of German history from the end of the Roman Empire to 1500.The society sponsoring the series was established by the Prussian reformer Heinrich Friedrich Karl Freiherr vom...
Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum 60. Hanover, 1935. Available online from the Digital Monumenta Germaniae Historica - Waitz, G. MGH Scriptores. Hanover and Berlin, 1826.
- Metelmann, Ernst (tr.). Chroniken des Mittelalters: Widukind, Otto von Freising, Helmold. Munich, 1964. German translation, with introduction by Anton Ritthaler.
- Wood, Raymond F. (tr.). "The three books of the deeds of the Saxons, by Widukind of Corvey, translated with introduction, notes, and bibliography." Dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles, 1949. English translation.
- Schottin, Reinhold (tr.) and Wilhelm Wattenbach (intro.). Widukinds Sächsische Geschichten. Die Geschichtschreiber der deutschen Vorzeit 33. Berlin, 1852. German translation.
Secondary literature
- Althoff, Gerd. "Widukind von Corvey. Kronzeuge und Herausforderung." Frühmittelalterliche Studien 27 (1993): 253-72.
- Bagge, Sverre. Kings, Politics, and the Right Order of the World in German Historiography c. 950-1150. Studies in the History of Christian Traditions 103. Leiden et al.: Brill, 2002. Chapter 1.
- Beumann, Helmut. Widukind von Korvey. Untersuchungen zur Geschichtsschreibung und Ideengeschichte des 10. Jahrhunderts. Weimar, 1950. The classic study of Widukind and the Res gestae.
- Beumann, Helmut. "Historiographische Konzeption und politische Ziele Widukinds von Corvey." In: La storiografia altomedievale (1970). 857-94.
- Vester, Helmut. "Widukind von Korvei - ein Beispiel zur Wirkungsgeschichte Sallusts." Altsprachlicher Unterricht 21.1 (1978): 5-22.
- Hartke, Adrian. Die Res gestae saxonicae von Widukind von Corvey: Sachsengeschichte und Fürstenspiegel. GRIN Verlag, 2005. ISBN 978-3-638-67456-0.