Theodoric the Monk ( la, Theodoricus monachus; also ''Tjodrik munk''; in Old Norse his name was most likely ''Þórir''
[) was a 12th-century Norwegian ]Benedictine monk
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( la, Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedic ...
, perhaps at the Nidarholm Abbey
Nidarholm Abbey was a Benedictine monastery located on the island of Munkholmen in Trondheim Fjord on the sea approach to Trondheim, Norway.
History
The monastery was founded either in 1028 by King Canute the Great or in about 1100 by Sigurd Ull ...
. He may be identical with either Bishop Tore
Tore is a Scandinavian masculine name. It is derived from the Old Norse name ''Thórir'', which is composed of ''thorr'' which means thunder, and ''arr'' which means warrior. So Thunder Warrior or Thor's Warrior. The most famous person by this nam ...
of the Diocese of Hamar or Archbishop Tore Gudmundsson, of the Archdiocese of Nidaros who both went under the Latin name ''Theodoricus'' in the Abbey of St. Victor, Paris.kings of Norway
The list of Norwegian monarchs ( no, kongerekken or ''kongerekka'') begins in 872: the traditional dating of the Battle of Hafrsfjord, after which victorious King Harald Fairhair merged several petty kingdoms into that of his father. Named afte ...
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 ...
, ''Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium'' sometime between 1177 and 1188. The work covers Norwegian history from the reign of the 9th century King Haraldr hárfagri up to the death of King Sigurðr Jórsalafari in 1130. His work, which was dedicated to Archbishop Eystein Erlendsson
Eysteinn Erlendsson (Modern Norwegian ''Øystein Erlendsson'', Latin ''Augustinus Nidrosiensis'') (died 26 January 1188) was Archbishop of Nidaros from 1161 to his death in 1188.
Background
His family came from Trøndelag, and he was related to m ...
of Nidaros (1161-1188), remains an important source to the oldest parts of Norway's modern-time history. In his work, Theodoricus left out the most recent period of Norwegian history. Theodoric states that he considered it "utterly unfitting to record for posterity the crimes, killings, perjuries, parricides, desecrations of holy places, the contempt for God, the plundering no less of the clergy than of the whole people, the abductions of women and other abominations which it would take long to enumerate" which followed the death of King Sigurðr.Per G. Norseng: ''Theodoricus monachus'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref>
Theodoric's work is one of the Norwegian synoptics, the oldest preserved kings' sagas
Kings' sagas ( is, konungasögur, nn, kongesoger, -sogor, nb, kongesagaer) are Old Norse sagas which principally tell of the lives of semi-legendary and legendary (mythological, fictional) Nordic kings, also known as saga kings. They were comp ...
. The others include ''Historia Norwegie
Historia may refer to:
* Historia, the local version of the History channel in Spain and Portugal
* Historia (TV channel), a Canadian French language specialty channel
* Historia (newspaper), a French monthly newspaper devoted to History topics
* ...
'' and ''Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum
''Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum'' ( Icelandic for "''Summary of the Norwegian Kings' Sagas''"), often shortened to ''Ágrip'', is a history of the kings of Norway. Written in Old Norse, it is, along with the ''Historia Norvegiæ'', one of the N ...
''. Theodoric relied heavily on Icelandic sources, possibly including the '' Oldest Saga of St. Olaf'' and Oddr Snorrason
Oddr Snorrason whose name is also sometimes Anglicized as Odd Snorrason was a 12th-century Icelandic Benedictine monk at the Þingeyraklaustur monastery (''Þingeyrarklaustur''). The monastery was founded in 1133 and was the first in Iceland.
Work ...
's ''Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar''.
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See also
* Civil war era in Norway
The civil war era in Norway ( no, borgerkrigstida or ''borgerkrigstiden'') began in 1130 and ended in 1240. During this time in Norwegian history, some two dozen rival kings and pretenders waged wars to claim the throne.
In the absence of f ...
References
Bibliography
*
* Bagge, Sverre (2011) ''Theodoricus Monachus: The Kingdom of Norway and the History of Salvation'' (Chapter 4, ''Historical Narratives and Christian Identity on a European Periphery'' Editor: Ildar H. Garipzanov, Publisher: Turnhout Brepols)
External links
Theodoricus Monachus (Universitetet i Bergen)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric the Monk
Kings' sagas
12th-century Norwegian historians
Norwegian Benedictines
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown