Engelbert Wusterwitz (c. 1385–1433) was a chronicler of the history of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...

. He wrote during the time when the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzol ...

, the dynasty of the later

kings of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

, gained rulership over Brandenburg. Born in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

to a family originally from

Wusterwitz Wusterwitz is a municipality in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Wusterwitz has a population of approximately 3,000 inhabitants. Demography File:Wusterwitz Kirche (03).jpg, Church File:Wusterwitz Bahnhof (01).jpg, ...

, Engelbert studied at the

University of Erfurt The University of Erfurt (german: Universität Erfurt) is a public university located in Erfurt, the capital city of the German state of Thuringia. It was founded in 1379, and closed in 1816. It was re-established in 1994, three years after Germ ...

in 1404 and at the University of Prague in 1406/7. He worked as a clerk and jurist in Brandenburg and

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

. In Magdeburg, the ''Schöppenchronik'' is continued in his hand for the period of 1411 to 1421. In 1427, he was in the service of the bishop of

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bombi ...

. His own chronicle covered the period of 1391 to 1423. During this time, Frederick VI,

Burgrave of Nuremberg The Burgraviate of Nuremberg (german: Burggrafschaft Nürnberg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from the early 12th to the late 15th centuries. As a burgraviate, it was a county seated in the town of Nuremberg; almost two centuries pas ...

of the

, was appointed governor of Brandenburg in order to restore order and stability amid excessive

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

s between the nobility and later elevated to the rank of Elector and

Margrave of Brandenburg This article lists the Margraves and Electors of Margraviate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg during the period of time that Brandenburg was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Mark, or ''March'', of Brandenburg was one of the primary c ...

as Frederick I. Engelbert supported Frederick and was critical of the feudal quarrels of the local nobility. The text survives only in excerpts quoted by the 16th-century chroniclers

Andreas Angelus Andreas Angelus (German name ''Andreas Engel'', 16 November 1561 – 9 August 1598) was a German clergyman, teacher and government inspector, known for his chronicles of the history of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Biography Engel was bor ...

and

Peter Hafftiz Peter Hafftiz (also ''Haftiz''; ''Petrus Haftitius, Hafftitius'', c. 1525 – c. 1601) was a German educator and historiographer. From 1550 he was teacher at the schools of St. Nicolai and St. Marien in Berlin, from 1560 as rector. He rece ...

. A reconstruction of the text was presented by Ribbe (1973). Earlier printed editions are found in

Riedel Riedel is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * August Riedel (Johann Friedrich Ludwig Heinrich August Riedel) (1799–1883), German painter *Bruce Riedel (born c. 1953), U.S. foreign policy analyst and author *Eberhard Ried ...

, ''Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis'' IV.1 (1862), Heidemann (1878) and Tschirch (1912).

References

*Wolfgang Ribbe, ''Die Aufzeichnungen des Engelbert Wusterwitz'', Berlin (1973). *O. Tschirch, ''Bilder aus der Geschichte der Stadt Brandenburg. Eine Festgabe zur Hohenzollernjubelfeier 1912'', Evenius, Brandenburg (1912). *J. Heidemann, ''Markische Chronik Nach Angelus Und Haffitz'' (1878). * *"Engelbert Wusterwitz" In: ''Lexikon des Mittelalters'' vol. 9, München 1998, col. 383f. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wusterwitz, Engelbert 1380s births 1433 deaths German chroniclers People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg History of Brandenburg