Widukind of Corvey
Encyclopedia
Widukind of Corvey was a Saxon historical chronicler, named after (and possibly a descendant of) 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. His three-volume Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres
is an important chronicle of 10th-century Germany.
Widukind entered the monastery at Corvey around 940. He left very important historical accounts of the times of Henry I the Fowler and Otto I the Great. 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. He omitted Italian events in tracing the career of Henry the Great, nor does he ever mention a pope, but one of the three surviving mss. of his Gesta was transcribed at Beneventum, the Lombard duchy south of Rome. http://www.evellum.com/ductus/demo/engine/ductus/frames/bibliography/lowe_loew1972a.html. A manuscript of Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres was first published in Basle in 1532 and is today in the British Library
. There are two other surviving manuscripts. The best edition was published in 1935 by Paul Hirsch and Hans-Eberhard Lohmann in the series Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum editi. A German translation appears in the Quellen zur Geschichte der sächsischen Kaiserzeit published by Albert Bauer and Reinhold Rau in 1971. An English translation is found in an unprinted doctoral dissertation: Raymond F. Wood, The three books of the deeds of the Saxons, by Widukind of Corvey, translated with introduction, notes, and bibliography (University of California, Berkeley, 1949).
Widukind of Corvey starts with the wars between Theuderich I, King of Austrasia
, and the Thuringii
, in which the Saxons played a large part. An allusion to the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity under Charlemagne brings him to the early Saxon dukes and details of the reign of Henry the Fowler. 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 Edith in 946. He dedicates his writings to Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg
, daughter of Emperor Otto I the Great
, a descendant of the Saxon leader Widukind.
Widukind is credited with a vita of St Paul and St Thecla doubtless based on the 2nd century Acts of Paul and Thecla
, but no traces of it now remains.
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...
who had battled Charlemagne. Widukind the chronicler was born in 925
925
Year 925 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Alfonso IV the Monk becomes king of Leon....
and died after 973
973
Year 973 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Europe :* Edgar of England is crowned king by Saint Dunstan.* Otto II becomes Holy Roman Emperor and King of Germany....
at the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in East Westphalia. His three-volume Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres
Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres
The three-volume Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres is a chronicle of 10th century Germany written by Widukind of Corvey...
is an important chronicle of 10th-century Germany.
Widukind entered the monastery at Corvey around 940. He left very important historical accounts of the times of Henry I the Fowler and Otto I the Great. 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
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. He omitted Italian events in tracing the career of Henry the Great, nor does he ever mention a pope, but one of the three surviving mss. of his Gesta was transcribed at Beneventum, the Lombard duchy south of Rome. http://www.evellum.com/ductus/demo/engine/ductus/frames/bibliography/lowe_loew1972a.html. A manuscript of Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres was first published in Basle in 1532 and is today in the British Library
British Library
The 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,...
. There are two other surviving manuscripts. The best edition was published in 1935 by Paul Hirsch and Hans-Eberhard Lohmann in the series Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum editi. A German translation appears in the Quellen zur Geschichte der sächsischen Kaiserzeit published by Albert Bauer and Reinhold Rau in 1971. An English translation is found in an unprinted doctoral dissertation: Raymond F. Wood, The three books of the deeds of the Saxons, by Widukind of Corvey, translated with introduction, notes, and bibliography (University of California, Berkeley, 1949).
Widukind of Corvey starts with the wars between Theuderich I, King of Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
, and 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...
, in which the Saxons played a large part. An allusion to the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity under Charlemagne brings him to the early Saxon dukes and details of the reign of Henry the Fowler. 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 Edith in 946. He dedicates his writings to Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg
Matilda, Abbess of Quedlinburg
Matilda , also known as Mathilda and Mathilde, was the first Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg. She was the daughter of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, and his second wife, Adelaide of Italy.- Taking the veil :...
, daughter of Emperor Otto I the Great
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
, a descendant of the Saxon leader Widukind.
Widukind is credited with a vita of St Paul and St Thecla doubtless based on the 2nd century Acts of Paul and Thecla
Acts of Paul and Thecla
The Acts of Paul and Thecla is an apocryphal story— Goodspeed called it a "religious romance"— of St Paul's influence on a young virgin named Thecla. It is one of the writings of the New Testament Apocrypha.- The text :...
, but no traces of it now remains.