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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