Rogerius of Apulia
Encyclopedia
Rogerius of Apulia (c. 1205 – 1266) was a medieval Roman Catholic monk
and chronicle
r, born in Torremaggiore
, Apulia
. He became bishop of Oradea in 1249, and is best known for his account of the Tatar invasions
.
and the Pannonian Plain by the Tatars
(see: Battle of Mohi
) in his work Carmen Miserabile
("Sad Song"). Mongol-Tatar
Golden Horde
forces led by Batu Khan
began attacking Europe
in 1223, starting with Kievan Rus'
. They continued to defeat Imperial
, Polish, and Hungarian
armies before turning back to go home, upon learning of the death of their Great Khan in 1241.
Rogerius survived the devastation by hiding in the marsh
es, and writes that the Tatars annihilated the population to the last infant, besides committing many other atrocities.
Rogerius subsequently assumed other posts, including dean of Sopron
(1243), dean at Zagreb
(1249), secretary to Johannes Toletanus in Lyon
, and archbishop of Split, where he died.
, A Documented Chronology of Roumanian History
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
and chronicle
Chronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
r, born in Torremaggiore
Torremaggiore
Torremaggiore is a town and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.It lies on a hill, 169 m over the sea, and is famous for production of wine and olives.-History:...
, Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
. He became bishop of Oradea in 1249, and is best known for his account of the Tatar invasions
Tatar invasions
The Mongol invasion of Europe from the east took place over the course of three centuries, from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.The terms Tatars or Tartars are applied to nomadic Turkic peoples who, themselves, were conquered by Mongols and incorporated into their horde...
.
Life
After 1241, he wrote a description of the conquest of TransylvaniaTransylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
and the Pannonian Plain by the Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
(see: Battle of Mohi
Battle of Mohi
The Battle of Mohi , or Battle of the Sajó River, was the main battle between the Mongol Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary during the Mongol invasion of Europe. It took place at Muhi, Southwest of the Sajó River. After the invasion, Hungary lay in ruins. Nearly half of the inhabited places had...
) in his work Carmen Miserabile
Carmen Miserabile
Carmen Miserabile super Destructione Regni Hungariae per Tartaros is an account written by Rogerius of Apulia. After 1241, Rogerius wrote a description of the conquest of Transylvania and the Great Hungarian Plain by the Tatars in this work...
("Sad Song"). Mongol-Tatar
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
forces led by Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...
began attacking Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1223, starting with Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
. They continued to defeat Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, Polish, and Hungarian
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
armies before turning back to go home, upon learning of the death of their Great Khan in 1241.
Rogerius survived the devastation by hiding in the marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, and writes that the Tatars annihilated the population to the last infant, besides committing many other atrocities.
Sopron
In 1910 Sopron had 33,932 inhabitants . Religions: 64.1% Roman Catholic, 27.8% Lutheran, 6.6% Jewish, 1.2% Calvinist, 0.3% other. In 2001 the city had 56,125 inhabitants...
(1243), dean at Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
(1249), secretary to Johannes Toletanus in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, and archbishop of Split, where he died.
Comments and renditions of his work
- Carmen Miserabile super Destructione Regni Hungariae per Tartaros, ed., L. Juhasz, in I Szentpetery, ed., Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum, 2 vols. (Budapest 1937-1938) 11, 543-88;
- German translation by H. Gockenjan in Ungarns Geschichtsschreiber, 111: Der Mongolensturm
- C. de Bridia, Historia Tartarorum, ed., A. Onnerfors (Berlin 1967); an English translation in R.A. Skelton, T.E. Marston, and G.D. Painter, The Vinland MapVinland mapThe Vinland map is claimed to be a 15th century mappa mundi with unique information about Norse exploration of America. It is very well known because of the publicity campaign which accompanied its revelation to the public as a "genuine" pre-Columbian map in 1965...
and the Tartar RelationGiovanni da Pian del CarpineGiovanni da Pian del Carpine, or John of Plano Carpini or John of Pian de Carpine or Joannes de Plano was one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. He is the author of the earliest important Western account of northern and central Asia, Rus, and other...
(New Haven 1965) 54-101. - William of RubruckWilliam of RubruckWilliam of Rubruck was a Flemish Franciscan missionary and explorer. His account is one of the masterpieces of medieval geographical literature comparable to that of Marco Polo....
, Itineraarium, ed., A. Van den Wyngart, Sinica Franciscana 1, 147-332; an English translation in Dawson, op. cit. (At n. 6)87-220.
See also
- Rogerius quarterRogerius, RomaniaRogerius is a district or quarter of Oradea, the largest city of Bihor County, Romania. It was named after Rogerius of Apulia, a bishop from the 13th century....
, a district in Oradea, Romania, named after Rogerius of Apulia
External links
Matyla GhykaMatyla Ghyka
Prince Matila Costiesco Ghyka , K.C.V.O., M.C. , was a novelist, mathematician, historian, philosopher and diplomat at the Romanian Plenipotentiary Minister in the United Kingdom during the late 1930s and until 1940...
, A Documented Chronology of Roumanian History