Thomas Kantzow
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Thomas Kantzow (died 1542) was a chronicler in the
Duchy of Pomerania The Duchy of Pomerania (german: Herzogtum Pommern; pl, Księstwo Pomorskie; Latin: ''Ducatus Pomeraniae'') was a duchy in Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, ruled by dukes of the House of Pomerania (''Griffins''). The country ha ...
. He studied at the universities of
Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
and
Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...
, and was a secretary of the Pomeranian dukes. His manuscripts, rediscovered in 1729, 1832 and 1973, are written in Low German and Standard German language, and were printed in the 19th and 20th centuries. They contain a Low German and three Standard German chronicles covering the
history of Pomerania The history of Pomerania starts shortly before 1000 AD with ongoing conquests by newly arrived Polans rulers. Before that, the area was recorded nearly 2000 years ago as Germania, and in modern-day times Pomerania is split between Germany and Po ...
until 1536.


Biography

Kantzow was born in Stralsund.von Bülow in ADB XV (1882), pp. 97-98 His year of birth is uncertain,Berger (2001), p. 8 a date around 1505 is suggested by Kosegarten (1842)Kosegarten (1842), p. 3 and in the ADB. No reports about his parents and his childhood survived. The earliest report of Kantzow is in the
University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...
's matriculae. This entry covers a matriculation period from 29 September 1525 to 1 April 1526 and reads "Thomas Cantzouw eSzundensis". Kantzow's matriculation was accordingly dated to " ao. 1525" by Kosegarten, to "probably 1525" in the ADB, to 1526 in the NDBSchmidt in NDB XI (1977), pp. 128f. and to "verifiably 1526" by Berger (2001). In Rostock, he probably graduated as a magister of theology before he is reported as a secretary of the
Pomeranian dukes This is a list of the duchies and dukes of Pomerania. Dukes of the Slavic Pomeranian tribes (All Pomerania) The lands of Pomerania were firstly ruled by local tribes, who settled in Pomerania around the 10th and 11th centuries. Non-dynastic ...
in 1528 and thereafter. Until 1532, Kantzow was secretary of the dukes Barnim IX and
George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George I of Antioch (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgor ...
at the court in Stettin (now Szczecin), but followed
Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) (1 ...
to the court in
Wolgast Wolgast (; csb, Wòłogòszcz) is a town in the district of Vorpommern-Greifswald, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the bank of the river (or strait) Peenestrom, vis-a-vis the island of Usedom on the Baltic coast that can b ...
after the duchy was partitioned between Barnim IX and Philipp I, nephew of the deceased George I. As a ducal secretary, Kantzow participated in the implementation of the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
in Pomerania. In the spring of 1538, Kantzow was matriculated at the
University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...
,Berger (2001), p. 9 probably as a member of Pomeranian count Ludwig von Everstein's entourage. In Wittenberg, Kantzow was instructed by
rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
Philipp Melanchthon while upholding contacts to Pomerania. He continued to hold several
prebendaries A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...
and benefices, which he had obtained from the Pomeranian dukes for his secretary services. In 1542, he left Wittenberg due to an illness and on 25 September died on his way home in Stettin, where he was buried in St. Mary's church.


Chronicles

In contrast to
Johannes Bugenhagen Johannes Bugenhagen (24 June 1485 – 20 April 1558), also called ''Doctor Pomeranus'' by Martin Luther, was a German theologian and Lutheran priest who introduced the Protestant Reformation in the Duchy of Pomerania and Denmark in the 16th ce ...
, who in 1518 based his
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 ...
''Pomerania'' on a limited amount of sources from abbeys and printed sources, Kantzow also had access to the extensive ducal archives, where he gathered most of the information for his chronicles, and further derived historiographic information from archeological remnants, inscriptions, coins, folklore, eyewitness accounts and own experiences. The table below provides an overview of the major chronicles written by Kantzow:


''Fragmenta der pamerischen geschichte''

The first chronicle written by Kantzow was ''Fragmenta der pamerischen geschichte'', full title: 'Böhmer (1835), p. 48 (English translation: "Fragments of the Pomeranian History, from which (if one orders the time properly, and makes right what is not right) one may well gain a good access to a chronicle"). Wilhelm Böhmer, teacher in Stettin and member of the Society for Pomeranian History and Antiquity Studies,von Bülow in ADB XLVII (1903), pp. 79-81 rediscovered the handwritten chronicle in landlord von Löper's library in Stramehl (now Strzmiele) in 1832.Kosegarten (1842), p. 5 In 1835, Böhmer published the transliterated script in a printed book titled ''Thomas Kantzows Chronik von Pommern in niederdeutscher Mundart sammt einer Auswahl aus den übrigen ungedruckten Schriften desselben'' (English translation: "Thomas Kantzow's chronicle of Pomerania in Low German tongue including a selection of further unprinted scripts of the same uthor), which did not alter Kantzow's spelling. In the preface, Böhmer postulates that the chronicle was written after 1531 or 1532, and a few years before 1538,Böhmer (1835), p. 51 a determination also followed by Berger (2001). In ADB and NDB, a date prior to 1538 is assumed. Kantzow's friend Nicolaus (also Niklaus) Klempzen (also Klemptzen) had added a note to the original manuscript's title reading "by Thomas Kantzow anno 1538", also a second front page was attached to Kantzow's original one, which Böhmer assumed to originate from the ducal chancellory, which read "First volume of fragments, from which deceased Thomas Kantzow has written the Chronicon Pomeraniae", written in
Fraktur Fraktur () is a calligraphic hand of the Latin alphabet and any of several blackletter typefaces derived from this hand. The blackletter lines are broken up; that is, their forms contain many angles when compared to the curves of the Antiqu ...
letters, with "1538" added in another handwriting. The chronicle, written in Pomeranian Low German, covers the
history of Pomerania The history of Pomerania starts shortly before 1000 AD with ongoing conquests by newly arrived Polans rulers. Before that, the area was recorded nearly 2000 years ago as Germania, and in modern-day times Pomerania is split between Germany and Po ...
prior to 1536, with the first part beginning with the death of duke Eric II in 1459 and ending in 1536, and a second and third part beginning in the Slavic period and ending in 1459. While overall the chronicle is not as detailed as later works of Kantzow, it offers a much more comprehensive coverage of the years 1523 to 1536, when Pomerania became
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
. Part of the work remains unfinished.


''Ursprunck, Altheit vnd Geschicht der Volcker vnd Lande Pomern, Cassuben, Wenden vnd Rügen''

The second chronicle written by Kantzow was the Standard German variant of the abovementioned Low German chronicle, written before 1538Böhmer (1835), p. 52Kosegarten proposed 1536, Kosegarten (1842), p. 6 and also rediscovered by Böhmer in von Löper's library.Kosegarten (1842), p. 6 The title ''Ursprunck, Altheit vnd Geschicht der Volcker vnd Lande Pomern, Cassuben, Wenden vnd Rügen'' (English translation: "Origin, oldness and history of the peoples and lands of Pomerania(ns), Cashubia(ns), Wendland (resp. Wends) and Rügen") was proposed by Kosegarten, who derived it from the preface in Kantzow's manuscript. While the Low German chronicle was not structured, the Standard German chronicle is divided into eleven books, the sixth of which is missing in the manuscript. It is not simply a translation of its Low German counterpart, but is more comprehensive, while lacking information about the period after the death of
Bogislaw X Bogislaw X of Pomerania, ''the Great'', (3 June 1454 – 5 October 1523) was Duke of Pomerania from 1474 until his death in 1523. Biography Bogislaw was born in Rügenwalde (now Darłowo, Poland). His parents were Eric II, Duke of Pomerania ...
in 1523.Böhmer (1835), p. 53 Standard German was chosen over Low German to reach a wider audience, and because the court of Philipp I, who had been raised in the
High German The High German dialects (german: hochdeutsche Mundarten), or simply High German (); not to be confused with Standard High German which is commonly also called ''High German'', comprise the varieties of German spoken south of the Benrath and ...
-speaking
Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
, adopted Standard German as its official language at about the same time the chronicle was written. An edition of the manuscript was first printed by Baron von Medem in 1841 as ''Thomas Kantzows Chronik von Pommern in hochdeutscher Sprache'' (English translation: "Thomas Kantzow's chronicle of Pomerania in Standard German language"). In the edition, von Medem changed Kantzow's spelling to resemble the contemporary one, and filled incomplete parts with fragments of other chronicles of Kantzow.


''Ursprunck, altheit vnd geschicht der volcker vnd lande Pomern, Cassuben, Wenden vnd Rhügen''

The chronicle ''Ursprunck, altheit vnd geschicht der volcker vnd lande Pomern, Cassuben, Wenden vnd Rhügen'' (same translation as above) was written between 1538 and 1542Berger (2001), p. 9 and consists of 14 books.Böhmer (1835), p. 56 Though in part identical with the first Standard German chronicle, it is more comprehensive, has an abundance of sidenotes, yet is also unfinished.Böhmer (1835), pp. 56-57 Kantzow's manuscript was discovered in 1729 by Albert Schwartz, professor at the
University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
, in
Zudar The Zudar is a peninsula on the German Baltic Sea island of Rügen. It is about 18  square kilometres in area and sharply divided. Location The peninsula lies between the bay of Schoritzer Wiek, the lagoon of Rügischer Bodden (the northe ...
, where it was in the possession of the children of deceased pastor Joachim Wildahn.Kosegarten proposed 1536, Kosegarten (1842), p. 4 Schwartz made a copy which was stored in the library of the university, In 1816, Hans Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten published a printed edition of Schwartz's copy titled ''Pomerania oder Ursprunck, Altheit und Geschicht der Völcker und Lande Pomern, Caßuben, Wenden, Stettin, Rhügen''. Mildahn's original had disappeared before 1835, but was rediscovered by Kosegarten in 1836 in the archives of
Putbus Putbus () is a town on the southeastern coast of the island of Rügen, in the county of Vorpommern-Rügen in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, close to the Baltic Sea. The town has 4,741 inhabitants and is a significant tourist destina ...
.Kosegarten (1842), p. 7 In 1897, a largely unchanged transcription of the Putbus manuscript was printed by Georg Gaebel in ''Des Thomas Kantzow Chronik von Pommern in hochdeutscher Mundart'' (English translation: "Thomas Kantzow's chronicle of Pomerania in Standard German tongue"), vol. I.


''Vom alten Pomerland''

The book ''Vom alten Pomerland'' (English translation: "Of the old Pomerania") was an incomplete work written in Wittenberg, with seven writings constituting preparatory works for the eighth one, of which a ninth one is largely a copy written by someone else but corrected by Kantzow. The manuscripts were part of Kantzows handwritings discovered in the abovementioned von Löper's library, and published by Böhmer together with the abovementioned Low German chronicle.


''Pomerania, Ursprunck, Aldtheitt vnd Geschicht der Volcker und Lande Pommern, Cassuben, Wenden, Stettin vnd Rugenn''

After Kantzow's death, Nicolaus von Klempzen compiled this chronicle from Kantzow's legacy, and published it in four books known either as ''Kantzow's'' or ''Klempzen's Pomerania''. A corresponding manuscript was discovered only in 1973 in the archives of Copenhagen ("Thott 644 Fol."),Petersohn (1973), p. 40 proving that Klempzen was merely publishing, not re-organizing Kantzow's chronicle, as was assumed before. A transcription of this chronicle was published as print edition in 1908, before the discovery of the Copenhagen manuscript, by Georg Gaebel, titled ''Pomerania. Eine pommersche Chronik aus dem sechzehnten Jahrhundert'' (English translation: "Pomerania. A Pomeranian chronicle from the 16th century").


Sources


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *Petersohn, Jürgen (1973) (in German): ''Die dritte hochdeutsche Fassung von Kantzows pommerscher Chronik. Identifikation eines verkannten Geschichtswerks'', in: Baltische Studien NF 59, pp. 27–41. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kantzow, Thomas People from Stralsund 1542 deaths Chroniclers History of Pomerania University of Rostock alumni Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Year of birth unknown