The ''Sächsische Weltchronik'' ("Saxon World Chronicle") is a

universal history Universal history may refer to: * Universal history (genre), a literary genre **''Jami' al-tawarikh'', 14th-century work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia ** Universal History (Sale et al), ''Universal History'' ...

written in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

prose. It is not clear in which regional form of German the original was written. Of the twenty-four surviving manuscripts, ten are in

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

, nine in

High German The High German languages (, i.e. ''High German dialects''), 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 Ben ...

and five in

Central German Central German or Middle German () is a group of High German languages spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German divides into two subgroups, West Central German and East Central Ger ...

. These can be divided into three

recension Recension is the practice of editing or revising a text based on critical analysis. When referring to manuscripts, this may be a revision by another author. The term is derived from the Latin ("review, analysis"). In textual criticism (as is the ...

s, the earliest dated to 1229 and the latest to 1277. The 98-line verse prologue is always in High German. The ''Weltchronik'' is the oldest historical work in German prose. The ''

Kaiserchronik The ''Kaiserchronik'' (''Imperial Chronicle'') is a 12th-century chronicle written in 17,283 lines of Middle High German verse. It runs from Julius Caesar to Conrad III, and seeks to give a complete account of the history of Roman and German em ...

'' is earlier, but in verse. The ''Weltchronik'' of

Rudolf von Ems Rudolf von Ems ( – 1254) was a Middle High German narrative poet. Life Rudolf von Ems was born in the Vorarlberg in Austria. He took his name from the castle of Hohenems near Bregenz, and was a knight in the service of the Counts of Montfor ...

is contemporary, but also verse. Ludwig Weiland, who made a critical edition for the

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The (Latin for "Historical Monuments of Germany"), frequently abbreviated MGH, is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of parts of Northwestern, Central and Souther ...

in 1877, gave it the conventional title by which it is most commonly known. The

first edition The bibliographical definition of an edition is all copies of a book printed from substantially the same setting of type, including all minor typographical variants. First edition According to the definition of ''edition'' above, a book pr ...

was prepared by

Hans Ferdinand Massmann Hans Ferdinand Massmann (; 15 August 1797 – 3 August 1874) was a German philologist, known for his studies in Old German language and literature, and for his work introducing gymnastics into schools in Prussia. Biography Massmann was born in ...

in 1857, but was based on only one manuscript.Massmann titled his work ''Das Zeitbuch des Eike von Repkow'' (Stuttgart). The manuscripts are classified into three recensions—A, B and C—and the oldest group (A) is entirely High German. Michael Menzel classifies a fifteenth-century manuscript from

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

as the '' Leittext''. It was once thought that the ''Weltchronik'' might be the work of

Eike of Repgow Eike of Repgow (, also ''von Repkow'', ''von Repko'', ''von Repchow'' or ''von Repchau''; – ) was a medieval German administrator who compiled the ''Sachsenspiegel'' code of law in the 13th century. Life Little is known about Eike of Repgow, b ...

, the author of the ''

Sachsenspiegel The (; ; modern ; all literally "Saxon Mirror") is one of the most important law books and custumals compiled during the Holy Roman Empire. Originating between 1220 and 1235 as a record of existing local traditional customary laws and ruling ...

'' (a Low German work on law), but this hypothesis—which depended in part on the assumption that the original work was Low German—has been abandoned. The author employed at least thirty-six different

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

chronicles in his research. The most important were the ''Chronicle'' of

Frutolf of Michelsberg Frutolf of Michelsberg (died 17 January 1103) was a monk in Michelsberg Abbey in Bamberg, Germany, of which he became prior. He was probably a native of Bavaria. Frutolf was possibly a teacher of the quadrivium in the monastery, but principally a ...

, the continuation of the same by

Ekkehard of Aura Ekkehard of Aura (; born ''c.'' 1080, died 20 February 1126) was the first Abbot of Aura (a monastery founded by Otto, Bishop of Bamberg, on the Franconian Saale river, near Bad Kissingen, Bavaria) from 1108. It is thought that Ekkehard was a mem ...

and the '' Annales Palidenses''.

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

''Sächsische Weltchronik'' at Monumenta Germaniae Historica

''Sächsische Weltchronik'' and other chronicles at the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sachsische Weltchronik German-language chronicles about Germany German literature