John of Viktring (german: Johann von Viktring, sl, Janez Vetrinjski, la, Iohannis abbatis Victorensis; 12 November 1347) was a
late medieval
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Rena ...
chronicler and political advisor to Duke
Henry of Carinthia.
Life
Nothing is known of John's early life; of aristocratic birth, he possibly was of
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of G ...
descendance from the area of
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Es ...
. Having received a thorough spiritual education, he was elected abbot of the
Cistercian monastery of
Viktring in
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
on 15 February 1312. His high-mindedness and distinction opened him the doors to the Carinthian nobility and administration. John served as a
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
and confidential secretary to the ''
Meinhardiner
The Counts of Gorizia (german: Grafen von Görz; it, Conti di Gorizia; sl, Goriški grofje), also known as the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in ...
'' duke Henry of Carinthia; in 1330, he accompanied King
John of Bohemia
John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King o ...
on his campaign from Tyrolean
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label= Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a ...
across the
Brenner Pass
The Brenner Pass (german: link=no, Brennerpass , shortly ; it, Passo del Brennero ) is a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has ...
to
Trent, presumably at the behest of the Carinthian duke.
Upon the Henry's death in 1335, John journeyed to the
Austrian city of
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
at the request of Henry's daughter, Countess
Margaret of Tyrol, in order to defend her claims to her father's estates before the
Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...
emperor
Louis IV. Though Margaret could rely on her marriage with Prince
John Henry of Luxembourg, the mission ultimately failed when the two
Habsburg dukes,
Albert II of Austria
Albert II (12 December 1298 – 16 August 1358), known as ''the Wise'' or ''the Lame'', a member of the House of Habsburg, was duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as duke of Carinthia and margrave of Carniola from 1335 until his deat ...
and his brother
Otto the Merry, took possession of the contested Carinthian lands in her stead. The Austrian dukes thereby also became the lords of Viktring Abbey, they too learned to value the abbot's abilities and consulted him in all important government matters. John frequently stayed at their residence in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
as a confidential secretary until 1341, when he withdrew to the quiet of his Carinthian monastery to write a history of his own time. He also appeared as chaplain of Patriarch
Bertram of Aquileia.
Work
His chronicle, which he titled ''Liber certarum historiarum'' ("Book of certain histories"), has come down to us in various forms. In its original form, as preserved in a manuscript at the
Bavarian State Library
The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and H ...
, it is a history of the Austrian and Carinthian lands from the accession of the last
Babenberg
The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its ...
duke
Frederick II the Warlike in 1230 until 1341, dedicated to the Habsburg duke Albert II. The information on the earlier period was based on the rhyming chronicle of the medieval historian Ottokar from
Gaal and the works by
Martin of Opava, while the rest was written from data which he himself had collected during his many travels.
In 1342, he enlarged the book into a chronicle of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
, which began with the year 1217. He rewrote it again in 1343, this time beginning with the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...
period. This revised work has only reached us through a later compilation, the so-called ''Chronicon Anonymi Leobiensis''. John ranks among the most important chroniclers of the late Middle Ages. He was a very learned man and well acquainted with the Latin and Greek poets. His narrative is lucid, and his judgments on the events of his own time show great impartiality. He is influenced by
Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising ( la, Otto Frisingensis; c. 1114 – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carries valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was Otto I ...
(d. 1158), and condemns in his chronicle the anti-Roman policy of Emperor Louis.
References
* Fedor Schneider, in: ''
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 ...
, Scriptorum, rer. Germ. 36'', two volumes, 1909/10;
* Urban Bassi, ''Studien zur Geschichtsschreibung Johanns von Viktring'', 1997; Neue Deutsche Biographie
*
{{Authority control
1347 deaths
Austrian diplomats
Austrian abbots
Carinthia (state)
Chroniclers
14th-century historians from the Holy Roman Empire
Cistercians
German diplomats
German abbots
Politicians from Klagenfurt
Year of birth uncertain
1270 births
14th-century German writers
14th-century Latin writers