The ''Annales Palidenses'' (german: Pöhlder Annalen or ''Pöhlder Chronik'') are a set of medieval
annals
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
written 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 ...
in the late 12th century.
The manuscripts probably arose at the
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...
monastery of
Pöhlde Pöhlde is a village in southern Lower Saxony in Germany. It is part of the town Herzberg am Harz. It has a population of 2207 (1 October 2006). Archaeological excavation has revealed traces of settlement dating to the 2nd through 4th centuries AD. ...
in the
Harz
The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...
region, composed by a monk named Theodore (''Theodorus monachus'') some time between 1182 and 1197. In 1877, the original was rediscovered by the German historian
Georg Waitz
Georg Waitz (9 October 1813 – 24 May 1886) was a German medieval historian and politician. Waitz is often spoken of as the leading disciple of Leopold von Ranke, though perhaps he had more affinity with Georg Heinrich Pertz or Friedrich Christo ...
at the Oxford
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
(''
Laud Misc. 633''). The
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
shelves a 17th-century copy.
The ''Annales'' fall in the Christian tradition of
universal history
A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...
and are an important source for the history of high medieval
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
as pictured in the later
Saxon World Chronicle. Nevertheless, they have little to say about the history of
Pöhlde Pöhlde is a village in southern Lower Saxony in Germany. It is part of the town Herzberg am Harz. It has a population of 2207 (1 October 2006). Archaeological excavation has revealed traces of settlement dating to the 2nd through 4th centuries AD. ...
itself, despite the fact that it was the site of an
imperial palace under the
Ottonian dynasty
The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...
.
The early centuries, from the beginning of the world, are covered by adapting text from the early twelfth-century chroniclers
Honorius of Autun
Honorius Augustodunensis (c. 1080 – c. 1140), commonly known as Honorius of Autun, was a very popular 12th-century Christian theologian who wrote prolifically on many subjects. He wrote in a non-scholastic manner, with a lively style, and his wor ...
,
Ekkehard of Aura
Ekkehard of Aura ( la, Ekkehardus Uraugiensis; died 1126) was the Abbot of Aura (a monastery founded by Otto, Bishop of Bamberg, on the Franconian Saale river, near Bad Kissingen, Bavaria) from 1108. A Benedictine monk and chronicler, he made upd ...
and
Sigebert of Gembloux
Sigebert of Gembloux (Sigebertus Gemblacensis; 1030 – 5 October 1112) was a medieval author, known mainly as a pro-Imperial historian of a universal chronicle, opposed to the expansive papacy of Gregory VII and Pascal II. Early in his life h ...
. Only from the year 469 onwards is the text mostly unique, although parts are based on
Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...
. The last annals concentrate on the history of the
German kingdom
The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...
down to the exile of Duke
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180.
Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...
in 1182. An annex lists all
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
s and
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
s since the birth of Christ down to Emperor
Frederick II (1220). Some supplements on the history of Pöhlde Abbey and the
Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg (german: Herzogtum Braunschweig und Lüneburg), or more properly the Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was a historical duchy that existed from the late Middle Ages to the Late Modern era within the Holy Roman ...
reach up to the year 1421.
The ''Annales Palidenses'' are the only source to claim that
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily
Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...
became a monk shortly before his death. They are also the first to mention the epithet of King
Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
(i.e., one who hunts with fowl).
Editions
* This edition is based on the Göttingen copy.
Notes
Sources
*
*{{cite encyclopedia , first=Thomas , last=Schauerte , title=Annales Palidenses , encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle , publisher=Brill Online , year=2013 , accessdate=22 December 2013 , url=http://www.encquran.brill.nl/entries/encyclopedia-of-the-medieval-chronicle/annales-palidenses-EMCSIM_000407
German chronicles
12th-century Latin books