Richerus or Richer of Reims ( fl. 10th century) was a monk of Saint-Remi, just outside

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, and a historian, an important source for the contemporary

kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

Life

He was a son of Rodulf, a trusted councillor and captain of

Louis IV of France Louis IV (September 920 / September 921 – 10 September 954), called ''d'Outremer'' or ''Transmarinus'' (both meaning "from overseas"), reigned as King of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son o ...

(r. 936-954). He studied at Reims under Gerbert, afterwards

Pope Silvester II Pope Sylvester II ( – 12 May 1003), originally known as Gerbert of Aurillac, was a French-born scholar and teacher who served as the bishop of Rome and ruled the Papal States from 999 to his death. He endorsed and promoted study of Arab and Gre ...

, who taught him mathematics, history, letters and eloquence. He was also well versed in the medical science of his time, and in 991 travelled to

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

to consult the medical manuscripts there. He was still living in 998, but there is no mention of him after that date.

''Historiae''

In the 19th century, it was thought by both French and German scholars that Richerus was an ardent supporter of the

Carolingians 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 Pippin ...

and French supremacy, as opposed to the

Ottonians The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...

, but this view has since been tempered somewhat. Whatever one makes of Richer's political biases, inaccuracies and his taste for stylistic embellishment, his ''Historiae'' has a unique value as giving us the only tolerably full account by a contemporary of the memorable revolution of 987, which placed the

Capet The House of Capet (french: Maison capétienne) or the Direct Capetians (''Capétiens directs''), also called the House of France (''la maison de France''), or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most s ...

s on the throne of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The ''Historiae'', in four books, spans the period from 888 to 995. It begins with

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

and Eudes, and goes down to the year 995. For the first two books, Richerus made extensive use of the annals and church history written by

Flodoard Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are m ...

(d. 966). From 969 onwards Richerus had no earlier history before him, and his work is the chief source for the period. The history survives in a single manuscript (

Bamberg State Library The Bamberg State Library (german: Staatsbibliothek Bamberg) is a combined universal, regional and research library with priority given to the humanities. Today it is housed in the New Residence, the former prince-bishop's new palace. The Free ...

, Msc.Hist.5), discovered in the early part of the nineteenth century. It was the author's

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

and showed signs of continuous revision, probably until his death.

References

Bibliography

Editions and translations

*Lake, Justin (ed. and tr.) ''Richer of Saint-Rémi. Histories''.

Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library The Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library (est. 2010) is a series of books published by Harvard University Press in collaboration with the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. It presents editions of texts originally written in medieval Lati ...

, HUP. 2 vols. 2011. Facing-page English translation. *Hoffmann, Hartmut (ed.). ''Richer von Saint-Remi. Historiae''. MGH Scriptores 38. Hanover, 2000. *Latouche, Robert (ed. and tr.). ''Histoire de France (888-995)''. 2 vols: vol 2 (AD 954-995). Les classiques de l'histoire de France au moyen age 17. Paris: Belles Lettres, 1964. * Pertz, Georg Heinrich (ed.). MGH Scriptores 3. 561–657. First printed as ''Richeri historiarum libri IIII''. Hanover, 1839. Superseded by Hoffmann's edition. *Osten-Sacken, Karl Freiherr von (tr.). ''Richers vier Bücher Geschichte''. Die Geschichtsschreiber der deutschen Vorzeit 2. vol 10. Leipzig, 1891. German translatio
available from Google-USA
*Poinsignon, A.M. (tr.). ''Richeri historiarum quatuor libri''. Reims: Pub. de l'Academie de Rheims, 1855. French translatio
available from Gallica
*Guadet, J. (tr.). ''Histoire de son temps''. Societé de l'histoire de France. 2 vols. Paris, 1845. French translatio

and from Google Books
vol 1
an
vol 2

Secondary literature

* Bur, M. "Richer von Reims." In: ''Lexikon des Mittelalters'' 7. 830 ff. * Glenn, Jason. ''Politics and History in the Tenth Century: The Work and World of Richer of Reims''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004
See CUP for information
* Kortüm, Hans-Henning. ''Richer von Saint-Remi: Studien zu einem Geschichtsschreiber des 10. Jahrhunderts''. Stuttgart, 1985. * Molinier, A. ''Les sources de l'histoire de France des origines aux guerres d'Italie''. Vol 1. 1901. 284 ff.

External links

*
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
{{Authority control 10th-century French historians French Christian monks 10th-century Latin writers 10th-century births Year of death unknown French male non-fiction writers