Wigand of Marburg (german: Wigand von Marburg)Note that ''von

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

'' is a purely descriptive title added to his original name of Wigand by later historians, rather than a proper surname. Also the ''

von The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de ...

'' should not be confused with a preposition used in later times to denote someone's noble status was a German

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and one of the notable

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

rs of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Wigand expanded upon the earlier work of

Nikolaus von Jeroschin Nikolaus von Jeroschin (c. 1290 – 1341) was a 14th-century German chronicler of the Teutonic Knights in Prussia. Nikolaus joined the Teutonic Order as a chaplain of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, during the time of Grand Master Gottf ...

. His ''Chronica nova Prutenica'' (''New Prussian Chronicle'') is one of the principal sources of information used for the history of the Prussian lands and parts of the adjoining

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

, covering the period between 1293 and 1394. Originally written in

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...

rhymed prose Rhymed prose is a literary form and literary genre, written in unmetrical rhymes. This form has been known in many different cultures. In some cases the rhymed prose is a distinctive, well-defined style of writing. In modern literary traditions ...

, the work combined actual accounts with legends, folk tales, and myths. Out of an estimated length of 17,000 lines, only about 500 have survived to the present day. However, in 1464, the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

chronicler

Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histor ...

, speaking little German, requested that translate Wigand's chronicle into

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 ...

, and Gesselen's translation has survived almost intact. Wigand's ''Chronica nova Prutenica'' is sometimes referred to in German sources simply as " he'chronicle of Thorn'/'Thorn chronicle' from 1293 to 1394", possibly because Gesselen's Latin translation was found in

Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...

in 1821 or because Gesselen spent part of his life there.

Notes and references

External links

Latin translation of ''Chronica nova Prutenica'' published by Theodor Hirsch, with commentary, in ''Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum''

Information about the edition of ''Chronica nova Prutenica'' in ''Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum''
14th-century German historians Lithuanian chronicles German chroniclers People from Marburg Teutonic Knights People from the State of the Teutonic Order Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown German male non-fiction writers 14th-century Latin writers {{Lithuania-hist-stub