The ''Annales Petaviani'' (''AP'') is one of the so-called "minor annals group", three related ''

Reichsannalen The ''Reichsannalen'' are a class of annals composed anonymously in the Carolingian Empire throughout the 9th century. They first appeared under Pepin the Short in 741 and became ubiquitous at monasteries throughout the empire in the following deca ...

'', year-by-year histories of the

Carolingian empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

composed in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

.The others are the ''

Annales sancti Amandi The ''Annales sancti Amandi'' (''maiores'') are a set of imperial Frankish annals composed in Latin in the 8th and 9th centuries at the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux. They share text with the related ''Annales Tiliani'', ''Annales ...

'', ''

Annales laubacenses Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'', and ''

Annales tiliani The ''Annales Tiliani'' are an anonymous set of Latin annals from the Frankish kingdom, covering the years 708–807. They are considered minor annals. Rosamond McKitterick groups the ''Annales Tiliani'', '' Annales sancti Amandi'' and '' Annales ...

''. They are named after the former owner of the manuscript, the French Jesuit

Denis Pétau Denis Pétau (21 August 158311 December 1652), also known as Dionysius Petavius, was a French Jesuit theologian. Life Pétau was born at Orléans, where he had his initial education; he then attended the University of Paris, where he successfully ...

(1583–1652), whose name, in Latin, is Dionysius Petavius. The standard

critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...

of the ''Annales'' is that of

Georg Pertz Georg Heinrich Pertz (28 March 17957 October 1876) was a German historian. Personal life Pertz was born in Hanover on 28 March 1795. His parents were the court bookbinder Christian August Pertz and Henrietta Justina née Deppen. He married twi ...

in the ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'' (''MGH'') is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of Northwestern and Central European history from the end of the Roman Empire ...

''. The first entry in the ''Annales Petaviani'' is for the year 687 and records the

Battle of Tertry The Battle of Tertry was an important engagement in Merovingian Gaul between the forces of Austrasia under Pepin II on one side and those of Neustria and Burgundy on the other. It took place in 687 at Tertry, Somme, and the battle is presented as ...

. There is then a gap until 708, when the annals begin again and continue to 799 in chronological order. Those entries through to 771 were compiled from earlier annals, such as the ''Annales sancti Amandi'' and the '' Annales mosellani'', and do not comprise an independent source. Together with the ''Annales sancti Amandi'', the ''Annales Petaviani'' are the primary source of the entries for 741–88 in the ''

Annales laurissenses maiores The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...

''. Both of these may have been based on an earlier exemplar originally compiled contemporaneously with events at the convent of Sankt Martin in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. For the years 771–99 the ''Annales Petaviani'' are an independent and contemporary source. They are the only source to date

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

's birth to 747. They are also the only source to name either of

Carloman I Carloman I (28 June 751 – 4 December 771), also Karlmann, was king of the Franks from 768 until his death in 771. He was the second surviving son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon and was a younger brother of Charlemagne. His death allow ...

's two known sons, who fled to Italy with his widow in 771. The one born towards 770, whom

Pope Stephen III Pope Stephen III ( la, Stephanus III; died 1 February 772) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 7 August 768 to his death. Stephen was a Benedictine monk who worked in the Lateran Palace during the reign of Pope Zachary. In ...

offered to baptise himself, was named Pepin. Carloman's widow, Gisela, is also named in only one source: the ''

Annales mettenses priores The ''Annals of Metz'' ( la, Annales Mettenses) are a set of Latin Carolingian annals covering the period of Frankish history from the victory of Pepin II in the Battle of Tertry (687) to the time of writing (c. 806). Although the annals do cover e ...

''. The ''Annales Petaviani'' also provide a unique explanation for the retirement of Carloman's uncle and namesake,

Carloman, son of Charles Martel Carloman (between 706 and 716 – 17 August 754) was the eldest son of Charles Martel, '' majordomo'' or mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, and his wife Chrotrud of Treves. On Charles's death (741), Carloman and his brother Pepin the ...

, who entered the

Abbey of Montecassino An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

in 747, leaving power in the hands of his brother,

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

. The ''Annales'' claim that Carloman's conversion to the religious life came about because his conscience was unsettled by his defeat in Alemannia, where he lost thousands of men: ''Karolomannus intravit Alamanniam ubi fertur quod multa hominum millia ceciderit. Unde compunctus regnum reliquit'' ("Carloman entered Alemannia where it is said that many thousands of men died. In remorse he relinquished the kingdom"). The ''Annales'' also provide evidence of an

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

presence in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, the great seaport of

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, when they note under the year 790 the death of the son of Botto, an English ''negotiator'' in Marseille.

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External links

Annales Petaviani
in the Repertorium ''Geschichtsquellen des Deutschen Mittelalters'' (Historical Sources of the German Middle Ages) {{Authority control Early medieval Latin literature Historiography