The ''Liber universalis'' ('universal book') is a work of
Gottfried von Viterbo Godfrey of ViterboAlso called Geoffrey of Viterbo, in Italian ''Goffredo da Viterbo'' and in German ''Gottfried von Viterbo'', from Latin ''Gaufridus'', ''Godefridus'' or ''Gotefredus Viterbensis''. (c. 1120 – c. 1196) was a Roman Catholic chronic ...
(c. 1120 – c. 1196). In this study which is completed in 1185, he chronicles
world history
World history may refer to:
* Human history, the history of human beings
* History of Earth, the history of planet Earth
* World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective
* ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...
from the
creation of the world to the time of
Heinrich VI
Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...
(Henry VI). The ''liber'' was written around 1185 and is an extended version of the previous ''Memoria seculorum'' ('remembrance of the ages') by the same author which again builds on the ''
Speculum regum
Mirrors for princes ( la, specula principum) or mirrors of princes, are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Renaissance. ...
'' ('mirror for kings/princes') dated to around 1185. It is subdivided into 20 ''particulae'' ('(small) parts'), the last of which is the so-called ''Gesta Friderici ('Frederic's achievements') first dedicated to Heinrich VI but ultimately to
Pope Gregory VIII
Pope Gregory VIII ( la, Gregorius VIII; c. 1100/1105 – 17 December 1187), born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Aposto ...
. The famous
prosimetrum
A ''prosimetrum'' (plural ''prosimetra'') is a poetic composition which exploits a combination of prose (''prosa'') and verse (poetry), verse (''metrum'');Braund, Susanna. Prosimetrum. In Cancil, Hubert, and Helmuth Schneider, eds. ''Brill's New P ...
''Pantheon'' builds upon the liber universalis and exists in 3 editions (1187,1188,1191). The ''Pantheon''
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
enjoyed a wide distribution in the
late middle ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, 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 Eur ...
.
[http://www.geschichtsquellen.de/repOpus_02482.html Gesta Friderici]
References
Literature
*
Universal history books
{{Hist-book-stub