Opera Historica, Part II — Chronicon Hirsaugiense & Sponheimense

Johannes Trithemius of Spanheim, first abbot of Spanheim, then of St. James the Greater at Würzburg, a man most learned in his age: two distinguished chronicles of the second part.

I. Of the monastery of Hirsau, in the diocese of Speyer: comprising its foundation and progress from the year of Christ 830 down to the year 1370.

II. Of the monastery of Spanheim, in the diocese of Mainz: comprising its foundation and progress from the year of Christ 1143 down to the year 1526; or rather the memorable events carried out in the whole Church and Empire during those eight centuries.

Of these, the former is issued more correctly and fully through collation with the archetype written in the author’s own hand; the latter, now for the first time rescued from darkness, is brought to light in the best faith because of its outstanding usefulness.

There are added his familiar letters, written after his departure from the monastery of Spanheim to princes and distinguished men, full of the histories of that age.

From the library of the distinguished Marquard Freher, Palatine councillor.

With a very full index.

Frankfurt, from the Wechelian press, at Claudius Marnius and the heirs of Johann Aubrius. 1601.

[unclear]

To the most reverend and most illustrious prince, Lord Johann Adam, Archbishop of Mainz, Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire throughout Germany, and Prince Elector, etc., my most gracious lord.

From the time when, as a boy, I began to perceive the wondrous delight of history, and, as my years increased, learned also to appreciate its usefulness, I long ago resolved that nothing more right could be done in letters, and nothing for which this age ought more to be congratulated, than that learned men should labor, as if in rivalry, to bring forth from every side all writings that serve to illuminate the earlier age, and not only those monuments of the highest antiquity but also those of the middle period, and should eagerly contribute them to the public. Since in this kind of work the republic of letters has also thus far willingly credited some things to our little efforts, I desire, meanwhile, that this not regrettable work of Trithemius’s Annals should stand in no last place: a work which, known until now only by its title, and alike desired and lamented by the learned, has at last by me, by good fortu-

[unclear] recovered, I at once judged it worthy of publication and of continual use by posterity. He, a prelate by no means among the lowest in your diocese, but more by the merit of his learning having acquired a most celebrated name (a rare thing in that age, when knowledge even a little above the common level could give rise to slander about magic), among other memorable affairs carried on throughout the Church and Empire, recorded especially the affairs of Mainz with a diligent pen and preserved them for posterity. When, according to custom, I was looking about for a suitable patron for him, I could not reckon whose name it might more justly be inscribed to, and indeed ought to be inscribed to, than yours, Most Reverend Prince-Elector. I also easily commended this plan to your chancellor, a truly noble man, Philipp Wolf von Rosebach (a man whom I count it part of my good fortune to be connected with by some affinity of family, but still more by the union of minds and studies). And this not so much because that author of ours, as I have just said, committed to writing with particular care the affairs of your Church above all others, so that I would venture to say that an almost continuous Chronicle of Mainz is contained in these commentaries, as because he accurately noted the principal moments and changes of the whole German Empire; in which you, by your great merit, hold that dignity joined to so ample and ancient a prelacy, which the Greek author Nicetas Choniates, speaking of some one of your predecessors, calls [unclear Greek], logothete.

For to your care and ordering belong the dispatch, recording, and publication of affairs to be carried on throughout wide-stretching Germany by the Caesars; to yours the preservation of justice and of the imperial tribunal; to yours the ordering of diets and solemn assemblies. To you, therefore, belong archives, record offices, and chartularies. In these, I do not know whether it is of less public concern that monuments of this kind and commentaries on deeds done in every age be preserved than any other class of acts and registers; without them we would surely be involved in great ignorance of very many matters of the highest importance. Certainly we have this Trithemius, just as he had diligently gathered, turned over, and excerpted the writers and all the remains of preceding ages, so too as a most ample witness of the deeds of his own age, on which he chiefly expatiates. But I have always judged, and I do not yet repent of the opinion, that History, which is called the Witness of Times, cannot better give credibility to its words than if it gives the reason for its knowledge from its own proper perception, as the sons of advocates say. For this reason learned men certainly judge that those old writings, of whatever kind, should be religiously preserved, rather than that new ones should continually be hammered out and compiled according to one's own inclination. Would that Trithemius himself, and after him Nauclerus, Aventinus, and others, had done this: indeed, how much more gladly would we have read the authors whom they follow than those men themselves.

But since those authors either lie hidden somewhere, captive or buried, or have even very plainly perished, meanwhile we must be content with this Cato, as Augustus used to say. In the meantime, if I should present this Trithemius just as he came into my hands, with the best faith, sincere and unblemished, I thought that I would have discharged the duty of a faithful editor as properly as the editor is by no means obliged to guarantee the good faith and truth of the writers themselves. For those men are not to be tolerated who wish to be clever in other people's writings, especially writings of antiquity; still less those who wish to be bold; least of all those who permit themselves to alter anything in the authors of history according to their own judgment or feeling. But if it is counted a fault in a historian to have inserted judgment among the things narrated, what of his editor? And let them indeed have written as each one pleased, as it seemed, as it was discovered; since we wish it to be free for us to believe as we please, and to judge about what has been believed. Let it suffice for us to have used such conscientiousness in editing that we did not allow ourselves to change a single little word, but rather checked it carefully against the author's archetypes, manuscripts of venerable antiquity and remarkable elegance, and, as far as possible, left it to its own integrity. Whatever this work is, it has been completed at that very point of time and [unclear] you to come forth into the light, when you, most illustrious prelate, with your most highly praised predecessor departing from life, were taking up the helm of that most ample [unclear] succession; and of that fortune most friendly

you recently had the most serene prince Frederick, the Palatine Elector, your colleague, my lord, as one congratulating you; and this very thing, besides the earlier reasons, seemed to supply a further new occasion, and even to give me courage, to congratulate you with humble devotion on that same honor owed to your virtue and merit, and to pray from my heart that God Most High may will it to be firm and lasting for you, and salutary for your Church and province. That you may deign, in your extraordinary clemency, to regard this zeal of mine favorably, most clement lord, I humbly and earnestly ask and beseech with all the submission of spirit that I can. Farewell. From Myrtiletum, May 31, in the year of Christ 1601.

Most devoted to Your Most Reverend Highness,

Marquard Freher.

To the Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Prince Johann Adam, of the Most Noble Family of the Bickens, Archbishop-Designate of Mainz, Elector of the Empire.

Up to this point, having duly been called to great affairs, endowed with the keen valor of Pallas, offspring of the Bicken stock; and, the difficulty and mass of business overcome, raised to an illustrious summit, you touch the stars with your lofty head, O long-lived Adam, appointed to the office of supreme prelate after the faithful [unclear] of the lords of Dalberg fell through great age. All congratulate you on this honor, at the same time on this burden, on this tiara.

For how great is the care of the weary empire, and of the realm already threatening collapse and drawing with it whatever props are applied to walls that are to be well sustained, you know most clearly; and you know the manner in which the commonwealth ought justly to be ruled and administered. With this better Minerva as pilot, when the ship is shaken by the motions of the wave-tossed sea and its oarsman is weary, you as helmsman will steer it and will set the swimming keel in a fixed station amid the slippery whirlwind.

You have Philip Rosebach, a relief to your weary right hand, ready to bring you aid, a pillar of equity, a safeguard of Justice. But you yourself, divine prince, with how many and how great arts are you more elegantly cultivated, and with gifts of talent! Abundant plenty [unclear], and much knowledge of languages adorns the man; elegant historians, critics, and philosophers delight you as you read. Indeed you also examine poetry inwardly, acting, as we know, as a competent censor. Therefore a marvelous love burns freely in you toward the learned company: among whom Themis loves to set, under the auspices of sacred law, the distinguished Freher, now bringing forth many serene monuments of historians into the breezes, some shaken free from ancient decay, some lying almost buried, and some by private labor published for public reading.

You, highest prelate, patron of men of Mercury, will rightly think him both to be cherished and to be embraced before the rest with a singular affection of mind and with triple Grace. His candor deserves this, and his learning, virtue, keenness, and the watchful lamps of his works: through them monarchs, and the famous deeds of Caesars and kings, and the lineages of princes, gain an immortal name, never to perish in any other age.

Paulus Melissus, a Franconian, Count Palatine and golden knight, citizen of Rome.

Chron[unclear]

An Excellent Chronicle of the Monastery of Hirsau, of the Order of St. Benedict, published by Johannes Trithemius, Abbot of Sponheim.

The ancients applied incredible diligence to the writing of histories, believing that the commonwealth could be adorned by them no less than defended by arms. For history is, as it were, a preserver of memory, an example of virtue, the companion of prudence; and by itself alone it renders immortal, with a certain everlasting renown, the fame of good men who strove to surpass others in wisdom, holiness, and courage.

Who would make known today to those who do not know it the origin of the world, the reckoning of the years, and the things done in the meantime? Who would persuade unbelievers of the incarnation, the birth from the Virgin, the teaching, miracles, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior and the Son of the eternal Father? Or who would disclose to the ignorant, in writing, the sufferings of the martyrs, the lives of the saints, the destruction of the Trojans, the wide empire of the Romans throughout the world, the various deeds of kings and princes, and the other matters of antiquity worthy of remembrance that have become known to us; or even, if the possibility were granted to narrators, who would believe them, if no writers of histories had existed before us? History alone, therefore, is that by which it comes about that we, who are separated from the ancients by the interval of a very long time, seem to have been present at their deeds and to have lived in the same times. Indeed, history bestows immortality among mortals upon human beings; it adorns and preserves the commonwealth; by seasoned prudence it keeps it free from many dangers; it instructs faith, raises up hope, sets before us the reward of eternity, and adds strength to laws; since it has shown that everything which sense either desires or fears is nothing other than a dream, it cares for the immortality of the soul and renders men eager for the contemplation of divine things.

The difficulty of writing human history.

How great a benefit comes to us from the reading of histories no one who has even moderate understanding can be ignorant. Knowledge of the deeds of the ancients, if they were good, teaches and instructs us toward the imitation of virtues and toward the wisdom and courage of heroes. But if they were evil or wrongly done, then by warning us not to become imitators of the depraved it makes us cautious and prudent. For history, the living model of the dead and the inextinguishable light of mortals, sets before us the merits, virtues, and praises of good men in such a way that, stirred by their glory, fame, and immortality, [unclear] to be what they themselves were, so that we too may leave to posterity an example of virtue and holiness such as we received from those who preceded us in time and in virtue.

But when it shows readers the impious deeds, disgraces, and deserved punishments of the wicked, should we suppose that these things were written as though proposed to us for imitation? Rather, we should believe that we are being warned, lest, by committing similar acts, we incur like punishments to those that they paid. Add that prudence can be grasped by us only through experience of many things; and to this, since art is long and life is short, no easier access lies open to anyone than to the man who, from love of truth, runs through whatever histories of past time he has found with diligent inquiry of mind.

Since this is so, I should believe, most excellent Blasius, distinguished Abbot of the monastery of Hirsau, that you were moved not by a zeal for vanity but rather by the divine Spirit: you who do not cease to urge me, by so many importunate prayers, indeed by so many magnificent benefactions, that I should be willing to write, for the knowledge of posterity, the history of that same monastery over which, by God’s favor, you preside, from the notes and records offered to me by you and from the various chronicles of our men, of which there is a great abundance among us.

There are two precepts of history: tru—

For among the many precepts given to those who wish to write history, two especially must be observed. The first is that in the narrative the truth should everywhere remain inviolate; the oth—

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

... secondly, that the very integrity of the narrative, most aptly adorned with proper and fitting words, may by its antiquity attract those who behold it. In the first matter, indeed, I do not deny that I both can and wish to give sufficient satisfaction, since the monastic profession itself, indeed the Christian faith, does not permit me to be a liar, as Sacred Scripture attests when it says, “The mouth that lies slays the soul.” And since I am a lover of truth, no necessity compels me to lie. In the second matter, however, I do not promise that I shall be obedient, unless perhaps a tepid will may suffice, which, moved by brotherly reasoning, neither sufficiently wills nor, if it desires, can do much. For I wished to accommodate myself to those lovers of simplicity for whom I am about to write the history, for their benefit; and, because of my rusticity, as all will judge, I easily could.

There are three kinds of histories. One is called general, embracing the solemn deeds of the kings and princes of the whole world or of many provinces. In this kind of writing there were Titus Livius, Orosius, Eusebius the bishop, Cornelius Tacitus, Cassiodorus, Freculphus the bishop, Vincent of Beauvais, Marianus Scotus, monk of Fulda, Martinus the preacher, Antoninus the archbishop, Hernandus the monk, Rupert the monk, Hugh of Fleury the monk, John de Columna, Jacobus Philippus of Bergamo, Marcus Antonius Sabellicus the Venetian, Sebald Schedel of Nuremberg, and many others.

The second kind is special, which describes the deeds of one kingdom or a few kingdoms, provinces, or a people. In this kind Josephus, Hegesippus the Jew, Bede in the deeds of the English, Gregory of Tours the bishop, Windichinus the monk of Corvey, Saxo, Regino abbot of Prum, Otto bishop of Freising, the aforesaid Marcus Antonius Sabellicus in the history of the Venetians, and many others, whose number is uncertain, made use of it.

The third kind of histories is called topical or local, which narrates the history of one city, family, or place. In this kind there were Bede the monk, Sigebert the monk of Gembloux, Strabus of Fulda, and very many others who wrote the histories of their own monasteries. In this very kind of writing also, out of love for the brothers of Hirsau, I have resolved, driven by their exceeding charity, to weave a history. And although I cannot apply to it the polish of eloquence, I nevertheless promise that I shall observe truth before all, so far as it pertains to my conscience.

The materials have been taken from those whose names are these. From the annalistic records and the letters of privilege of the aforesaid monastery of Hirsau I received the names and successions of the abbots, together with their deeds. I have also obtained many things from various authors, histories, legends of saints, and letters. The authors are Windichinus the monk in the history of the Saxons, another who completed that same history, Regino abbot of Prum in the history of the people of Metz, Berno abbot of Reichenau in the history of the Alemanni, Theoderic the monk in the history of the people of Trier, Golscherus the monk in the deeds of the same, Marianus Scotus, monk of Fulda, in an all-embracing German history, Otto bishop of Freising in his history, Andreas monk of St. Emmeram of Regensburg in the deeds of the dukes of Bavaria, Henry of Erfurt in the history of memorable things, Godfrey of Viterbo in his chronicle Pantheon, Gottfried the monk of St. Pantaleon in the history of the people of Cologne, John of Hildesheim, Carme-[unclear], Hugh the monk of Fleury, John the monk of Kastl in the book on the illustrious men of our order, Everwinus the monk of Segenburg in his chronicle, Bernard the monk of Corvey in his history of the Saxons, and Bertrand the monk in the history of the people of Hersfeld. And from many other various histories of the Bavarians, Swabians, Mainz people, Speyer people, and from the deeds of the counts palatine of the Rhine, described by a certain monk of the monastery of Lorsch, I have inserted here and there, scattered throughout, not without great labor, those things that seemed to me to pertain to the plan of the history.

Finally, many things by digression [unclear], cannot lie hidden in the narrow confines of one monastery, but by the zeal of men, not to say curiosity, had at last been drawn out and had come into the hands of very many to be examined. Therefore, so that it may nowhere proceed empty and may become burdensome to no one, I wished, with a certain moderation, to adorn it with the more memorable clauses of events carried out in Germany. Insofar as the variety of things...

The Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

The foundation of the monastery of Hirsau, made by Count Erlafrid and Notting, his son, bishop of Vercelli, in the year of the Lord's incarnation 830.

[unclear]

With God's help intending to write the history of the distinguished monastery of Hirsau, I have thought it worthwhile to begin from its first foundation, and to show what cause moved the founders themselves to undertake this matter. At the time when Louis the First governed the empire of the Romans, Erlafrid, count of Calw, was a rich and powerful man with the emperor. He had a son named Notting, a man learned in every doctrine of the Scriptures, who, because of his knowledge of letters and the honorableness of his life, had obtained the bishopric of the church of Vercelli under the Emperor Charlemagne, father of Louis. After he had ruled his church well for some time according to the canonical ordinances, there came upon him a sweet desire to see his homeland; and, lest he should seem to have returned to it empty-handed, he began to consider what special gift he might bring with him by which he could make it more illustrious.

Indeed, not long before, at very great cost he had obtained the relics of the most holy bishop of the [Rediciani?], Aurelius Armenius, more precious than jasper and gold; and, carrying them to his own church of Vercelli, he placed them in a very beautiful mausoleum which he had prepared. And so, when he had resolved, on going to see his homeland and his dear parents, to bring this treasure to the Germans, wavering in mind between hope and fear lest this removal should perhaps displease Saint Aurelius, or, if it were learned by the people of the church of Vercelli, he should be forced to draw back from his purpose, he committed the whole matter to be settled by divine counsel. Therefore, turning his whole mind to God, and lying sleepless prostrate on the ground beside the tomb of Saint [unclear] the most gentle Aurelius, he addressed Aurelius himself, the divine friend of Christ, with burning desire and tears, saying: Holy father Aurelius, my glory, and after God the protection of my soul, to you I lay open the desire of your servant, which, being joined to God, you undoubtedly cannot fail to know. I beg you, by the divine love which has made you venerable to me, celebrated in the Church, and one with God, holy and immortal, do not permit me to waver longer in this uncertainty, but hear me, your servant prostrate before you, and teach me, that I may know what I ought to do according to God's will and yours.

When he had persevered for a long time in prayer, in tears and lying on the ground, wearied by prayer and the prolonging of his vigils, he fell asleep for a little while. To him as he slept, divine Aurelius, clothed in pontifical vestments and more splendid than the sun, soon stood by; and, addressing Notting by name, said: Peace be with you, brother Notting. Rise; do not weep. I have come for this purpose, that I may go with you into Germany, to bring more peoples there to Christ when dead than if, still living among the nations and preaching, I were shining with miracles. When you come there, you shall establish a monastery of servants of God in the place where you shall suddenly behold a blind man meeting us restored to sight. Having said these things, he vanished.

But the venerable bishop Notting, rising from sleep, joyfully opened the sarcophagus in secret at once in that very night, and secretly carried the relics themselves of the most sacred bishop Aurelius home. The mausoleum, most carefully closed again, deceived the people of Vercelli for a long time, since they thought they had a guest whom they did not have. But Bishop Notting, when all things had been prepared which seemed to pertain to the plan of the journey, took as companions of so great a pilgrimage certain of the more faithful among his household; and, placing on a pack-animal the little bundle containing the sacred relics of Aurelius, accompanied by the best guide for the journey, he entered upon the road he had set before him.

And when, having happily entered Germany, he came after some days into his own homeland, he was received with great joy by his people; and what a treasure he was bringing into the region he showed to his father and to all the other inhabitants of the land, while absent by letters, and while present by words and by the display of the deed. But since there was not at hand a place consecrated by the gift of blessing and worthy of so great a guest, and since they were unwilling to keep such venerable relics beyond three days [unclear], rising early in the morning Bishop Notting with his household, and Erlafrid his father with his other son, Ermefrid, the pontiff's brother, together with very many of the more noble [unclear].

Chapel of Saint Nazarius, martyr.

Notting, bishop of Vercelli.

Erlafrid, count in Calw.

Notting, bishop of Vercelli, was his son.

Notting's prayer to Saint Aurelius.

The people of Vercelli were deceived.

Notting sets out for Germany.

and commoners, whom the count, in honor of such great guests, had caused to be present; and, after the necessary things had been arranged in reverence for the saint, they began to carry the holy body, circling along the slope of the mountain, to the aforesaid chapel of Saint Nazarius. When they came to the place where today the monastery of Saint Aurelius has been built, behold, a certain blind man, coming among the crowd to meet the holy relics, began to cry out in a loud voice, saying, “Give me sight, most holy worshipper of God, Aurelius, by your prayers, just as you promised.” To him the bishop said, “Where did Saint Aurelius promise that he would give you sight?” He said, “Lord, this night, as I was sleeping, in the anguish of my mind, a certain [unclear] in the midst of [unclear] said: ‘[unclear] of Christ, you will be given sight.’ And I said, ‘Lord, who are you?’ ‘I am,’ he said, ‘Aurelius the bishop, a new guest in Germany, whom the son of your lord Count Erlafrid brought here some time ago.’”

When these things had been said, he cried out again: “Saint Aurelius, help me, that I may see you.” And immediately his eyes were opened, and he saw perfectly. All who were present, seeing so unusual a miracle, magnified God, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God.” And each said to the one standing at his side: “Oh, how great is this saint, who can even give sight to the blind.” Bishop Nottingus said to Erlafrid the father: “Father, Saint Aurelius has chosen this place for his dwelling”; and, climbing the mountain at a quickened pace, the pontiff, after offering the sacrifice of our redemption, placed the relics that had been made in the prepared place.

Then, after a few days, Bishop Nottingus explained to the patrician Erlafrid and to his brother Ermesrid the vow which he had long before conceived in his mind, at Saint Aurelius’s urging in dreams, admonishing, asking, and beseeching them that, for love of almighty God, in honor of blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, and of Saint Aurelius the bishop, [they should build?] a monastery [unclear]. The thirtieth year [unclear], the seventh of Louis the first emperor, the two hundred and thirty-first from the passing of our most holy father, which with swift completion he happily finished in seven years. Indeed that land produces an abundant supply of both stone and timber, so that there is no need for these to be brought from elsewhere, as [unclear]. Meanwhile [unclear] provision would be made more freely for God. He also sent gold crosses and silver chalices for the service of divine worship, and books too, and various ornaments for the adornment of the house of the Lord, all of which he knew to be necessary for this.

But Erlafrid kept saying that the undertaking was impossible [unclear]; if he himself, overtaken by death, should depart, the unfinished work would either be completed more slowly or be abandoned altogether. For although Ermesrid, the son, was a collaborator with his father in this holy work, nevertheless, because of his youthful age, the zeal of divine love did not seem to burn in him as much as so great an undertaking required.

Therefore, in the seventh year after the monastery of Hirsau had begun to be built, it was completed; this was from the birth of the Lord 837, in the fifteenth indiction, through the untiring diligence of Count Erlafrid, who spared no expense in order to complete what he had conceived in his mind. The church was quite beautiful, built in the manner of the ancients without the support of columns, spacious, covered above with a wooden ceiling, and adorned within with four altars. Moreover the arrangement of the cloister, in imitation of the ancients, had been spacious indeed, but of a simpler construction, likewise covered above with a wooden ceiling, such as [unclear] not so much for the dwellings arranged around the circuit of the cloister as for the custom of that time.

837. 831.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

[unclear] contained, were quite handsome and well ordered; although, if our monks today were shut up in similar little cells, they would cry out that they had been handed over to chains and darkness. We shall give the reason for this. The monks of old once had cells, churches, and other dwellings that were humble and dark, but their hearts were very bright in the love of almighty God and in the knowledge of the divine Scriptures. Our men, however, now build churches, cells, houses, and all dwellings exceedingly bright, but their hearts are dark, full of vices and idleness, since they neither love God as they ought nor apply their minds to readings of the Scriptures. Thus too, when the chalices once were of copper, the priests were of gold; today, however, the chalices are of gold, and the priests of copper. This monastery, built by Erlafrid, had been in the place where, as we have said, the blind man was enlightened, and where he himself, because of his hunts, had a house in the forest. Yet after almost two hundred thirty-four years, as we shall say below in its proper place, it was demolished by Count Adelbert and reformed into the shape in which it is seen today. For today no trace at all of the earlier monastery remains, although the site of both is one and the same.

When and whence the first monks were brought to Hirsau, and who was appointed their first abbot.

After the most noble Count Erlafrid, having completed so notable a work, had brought his purpose to effect, not without very great expenses, he was impatient of delay, since he said that he desired nothing more than to live to see that day on which he might behold choirs of monks in his little estate praising God together. He began anxiously to consider whence he might obtain for the new monastery gloriously founded by him monks of the old way of life, religiously instructed according to the rule of the most holy father Benedict, who would both themselves be most holy in their conduct and fit for that same purpose, [unclear].

At that time, it was said that the religion of monks flourished very greatly at Fulda above many others, and that they were learned. Hence many of them were raised in various churches to the summit of the pontificate. Therefore Erlafrid sent messengers to Rabanus, abbot of Fulda, [unclear]. The praise and memory of the monks of Fulda was in the mouths of all, and was held in great esteem among emperors, kings, and princes, not only because of the holiness of their life, but also because of their incomparable knowledge of the Scriptures. [He asked] Rabanus [Maurus], abbot of Fulda, for the monks and an abbot to be brought into his monastery which he had built; and he promised that he would do everything that, in their judgment, should seem fitting for the usefulness of monastic institution.

In the year 838, in the first indiction, Abbot Lindbert came to Hirsau with fifteen monks, sent by Rabanus, abbot of Fulda. In the year 839, [unclear] religious men, and for the most part most learned in the sacred Scriptures. Therefore Rabanus, having heard [unclear], sent [unclear]. The most devout Count Erlafrid, receiving with great rejoicing the abbot himself and the monks appointed for him, joyfully brought them into the new monastery, and thereafter discussed [matters] by their counsel. At that time they were still keeping the body of Saint Aurelius in the chapel of blessed Nazarius the martyr, since the church of the monastery had not yet been consecrated. Therefore after a few months, so that everything might obtain the desired effect, Count Erlafrid [went] to the imperial court at Frankfurt with many other princes [unclear].

6. Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Assembly of the princes of the Franks and dukes of Germany.

summoned, and, when the affairs of the empire for which the convocation of princes had been proclaimed had been settled, he asked, invited, and obtained Otgar, archbishop of the church of Mainz, who was then present with many other bishops, to consecrate the new monastery. In what manner this consecration was carried out must next be told.

When, by whom, and in whose presence the dedication and consecration of the first monastery of Hirsau was made.

Since at that time a grave dispute over the empire was being waged between Emperor Louis and his sons, it happened that the convocation of princes to which we have said Erlafrid was called was transferred from Frankfurt to the city of the Nemetes, which in common speech we call Speyer. Since this is not far from Hirsau, it gave the most Christian count occasion for the dedication of the newly founded monastery to be performed with greater solemnity. For many bishops, abbots, and princes had assembled, summoned to the imperial synod, and, at the invitation of Count Erlafrid, a good number of them took part in the office of dedication. Therefore in the year of the Lord 838, in the first indiction, in the month of September, Otgar, most reverend bishop of the church of Mainz, at the request of Count Erlafrid and his son Ermefrid, consecrated the monastery of Hirsau in honor of Peter, prince of the Apostles, and of Saint Aurelius, bishop, in the presence of many princes, bishops, and abbots who at that time were following the emperor’s court. Present there were Hildebold, archbishop of Cologne; Willeric, bishop of Bremen in Saxony; Ebo, bishop of Hildesheim; Thiagrius, bishop of Halberstadt; Rabanus Maurus, abbot of Fulda; Bruno, abbot of Hersfeld; [unclear] of Lindbert, the first abbot of this Hirsau; Hilduin, abbot of Saint-Denis, [unclear] archchaplain of the palace; Duke Henry; Duke Bernard; Ludolph, his son; Count Erlafrid, founder of the monastery; Ermefrid, his son; Count Ortrung; Count Adelhard; and many others, whose names, together with the foregoing, were not entered in the book of the deeds of Bishop Otgar, or perhaps were omitted through the carelessness of scribes. When the consecration of the church had been solemnly performed, as was the custom, Archbishop Otgar, together with the other bishops, abbots, and princes, [unclear] the body of the most holy prelate Aurelius, brought with great devotion from the chapel of Saint Nazarius, honorably [unclear] at the high altar; through his merit many miracles were performed. But when, after fifty years, under Emperor Arnulf, the Northmen were devastating Worms, Abbot Hardrad, fearing that such holy relics might by some fraud or violence come into the hands of foreigners, and with the counsel of the brothers added to this, made an underground vault in the church, in which he placed the body of the precious confessor of Christ Aurelius in a stone sarcophagus, with an inscription of his name and dignity, and again covered that chamber with earth in such a way that thereafter no one could suspect that anything was hidden there. Thus so great a treasure of relics remained hidden beneath the earth for almost one hundred and seventy years.

Lindbert becomes abbot in Hirsau.

The body of Saint Aurelius is [unclear] into the monastery.

Thus so great a [unclear] of relics of the time of the precious confessor of Christ Aurelius, placed in a stone sarcophagus, with an inscription of his name and dignities, and the chamber itself was again covered with earth in such a way that thereafter no one could suspect that anything else was hidden there. Hence, however, so great a treasure of relics was thus hidden beneath the earth for almost one hundred and seventy years.

The earlier donation of the monastery made by the count.

[unclear] received [unclear] of all. Then Count Erlafrid, approaching the altar with his son, before the [unclear] who were present, handed over to almighty God and to his saints, Peter the Apostle and Aurelius the bishop, the monastery itself which he had built, with little villages, woods, and pastures.

Names of the villages which he gave.

The church also in Deckenpfronn, with everything that he had there. In Gültstein he gave twelve hides. In Münchingen twelve hides and the church. In Döffingen a good estate. And these are the names of the vil-

[unclear] inserted in the document, which he handed over at that same hour to Saint Aurelius: Lutzelhart, Altburg, Luzenhart, Ebersbuel, Kallenbach, Kugelbach, Nagalthart, Ottenbrunnen, Hugsteten, Gumprecht, Wilar, half the villa of Altriburan, and many other good estates, which were written down in the book of donations.

When this donation had been solemnly made, the aforesaid Archbishop Otgar, in the place of the Apostolic Lord Pope Gregory IV and of the most pious Emperor Louis I, fortified it with the ban of perpetual stability, and delivered the monastery itself, with all donations already made and those duly to be made in future, into the hands of the aforesaid abbot Lintbert and of his successors, to be canonically appointed according to the rule of our most holy father Benedict, to be possessed forever. This was on the condition that the monastic life, according to the standard of the aforesaid father, should remain vigorous in it all its days; and that, whenever the monks should happen to be bereft of a spiritual pastor, they should have free power, without contradiction from anyone, to choose another suitable man, either from among themselves or from another monastery of the same order, in place of the deceased father.

The aforesaid archbishop appointed Count Erlafrid himself advocate of the monastery of Hirsau, under this condition: that when the father died, the son should not succeed in the advocacy unless he had been taken up into it by the abbot and the monks who should be there at the time, by their free and spontaneous will. For the most devout count feared lest the monastery, after his death, should suffer some injury or violence through his son or grandsons, as we see happening today among many, if the advocacy were to pass to descendants by hereditary right. Therefore he decreed that it should depend on the abbot's will whom he wished to have as a suitable advocate for his monastery. And this liberty, confirmed in the course of time by many privileges, both apostolic and imperial, has remained inviolate in the monastery of Hirsau down to the present day.

In the same year, too, this privileged endowment and delivery, made by Count Erlafrid, was confirmed by Emperor Louis the Pious. For when all things had been completed that pertained to the solemn office of dedication, [unclear].

Imperial confirmation.

The liberty of this monastery, concerning its advocate.

Nottingus, bishop of Vercelli, who was the first author of the foundation of the monastery of Hirsau, had sent many things for the adornment of the house of the Lord: gold and silver crosses, chalices, books, and various ornaments of the divine ministry. Whether he was present at this dedication we do not know for certain. But now [unclear] to the emperor Louis in the city of Speyer, where he was at that time, as we have said, holding court with his sons, together with the venerable archbishop and certain others; and when the document of donation had been read before him, he obtained from him perpetual confirmation of all things.

Life of Saint Aurelius, bishop.

Therefore blessed Aurelius, born in Armenia of Christian and most noble parents, as soon as his age permitted, was given over to letters. Instructed by divine prudence, and in a short time making no small progress in every learning of the Scriptures, he turned everything that he could either learn or know to the exercise of divine love. [unclear] as the plan of this work requires, we have gone through the old history of his way of life that was offered to us, so that we omit very much of the words, but either nothing or little of the thoughts.

As his years increased, [born] of Christian and most noble parents, as soon as his age permitted, he was given over to letters. Instructed by divine prudence, [unclear] not in mediocrity an example of Christian [unclear], adorned with all virtues, he shone with outstanding holiness and was made, to the admiration of all, the standard and example of Christian conduct: as one who, though young in age, appeared by his character and wisdom older than many old men. Hence, through all the grades of the ecclesiastical order, he deserved to ascend, though reluctant, to the summit of the episcopate in the city of Rediciana, with the greatest applause of the people no less than of the clergy; and, established in this honor, he shone more brightly with greater virtues than before.

The form of the Lord's flock.

He presented himself as irreproachable [unclear], and stirred the people to the observance of God's commandments no less by example than by speech. He was a father of the poor, furthermore a consoler of widows; whatever he could have, he ministered it all to the uses of the needy.

Aurelius was a true bishop in deed and speech.

He was of so holy and irreproachable a way of life that there was no one at that time in Armenia who did not fear Aurelius the bishop, servant of God, with proclamation of praise. He was accustomed to visit all the villages of the diocese of Rediciana, admonishing and preaching in his own most holy person, ministering the word of salvation to all. He instructed the ignorant, strengthened the faint-hearted, raised up the downcast, and exhorted the good and humble, in order that they might advance to better things.

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S. of the Monastery of Hirsau

Dionysius, bishop of Milan, is sent into exile into Armenia.

... he pricked the idle [unclear], and recalled the proud and restless to penitence. Meanwhile, while he was intent upon these holy works, it happened that blessed Dionysius, archbishop of the church of Milan, because he refused to subscribe to the blasphemies of the Arians, was relegated by command of the emperors to exile in Armenia, namely to that city of Rediciana, over which Saint Aurelius was set as bishop. This relegation of the most holy man Dionysius was made by the impious bishops of the Arian faction under Constantine and Constans, emperors, in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 361, Liberius presiding as pope over the Roman church; and he himself also was sent into exile in the same year.

But Saint Aurelius received blessed Dionysius, when he came into his city Rediciana, as a true disciple of Christ, with great joy, and after [unclear]. The greatest charity between them. When he heard [unclear], “Brother, restrain your tears; the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, and the whole world is a homeland for a Christian.” Bishop Dionysius was received by blessed Aurelius with the greatest reverence, and provided for by him with no less kindness of hospitality and generosity; and in that same city he remained, relegated in exile, until his death. Therefore, when the habit of mutual association had been established, a great friendship and familiarity arose between them, which then began in time and now remains and is perfected in eternity.

So great, indeed, was the holiness of them both that their fame ran through all Armenia and drew all people into admiration. The sick flowed together to them and were cured of long-standing illnesses; those also possessed by demons were freed by the prayers of these men. For almighty God deigned to work such miracles through these servants of his that, as a merciful father, he converted all Armenia to his worship by their virtue and teaching. Finally Saint Aurelius, by his teaching and preaching, most diligently warned each of the faithful to flee the pestilence of the Arian heresy and to remain with the church of the saints in the faith of the Holy Trinity.

Although blessed Saint Dionysius was held under guard, as exiles were customarily kept at that time, nevertheless access to him was open to Saint Aurelius whenever he wished; and they were joined to one another by such great affection that they agreed both to live together while alive and to be buried together when dead. But after some years, when blessed Dionysius saw that death was near him, he addressed blessed Aurelius in these words, saying: “I know, dearest brother, that the end of my living in this world is at hand, and the time of my dissolution is now near. I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. In the present age there remains one thing that I ask of you: when I have died, as soon as you can, carry my body back to my Milanese church, so that the church which could not have me alive may at least deserve to have me dead. Let not the inconvenience of a long journey frighten you; the Lord will be with you, and your reward will be very great.” Saint Aurelius, bound to him by great affection and love, consented and promised that he would do what was asked.

And so the holy confessor of Christ, indeed also martyr, Dionysius, having completed the order of his life, died on the eighth day before the Kalends of June, in the year of the Lord 379. There are those who write that he was relegated to Cappadocia, died there, and that his relics were sent back to Milan to Saint Ambrose through Saint Basil the bishop. But this difference of opinions can easily be reconciled among those who know the histories. After a long space of journeying, Saint Aurelius [unclear]. The body of Dionysius is brought into Milan.

With what great exultation of all the corpse was received, no one could easily say, since all regarded it as worthy of reverence, as though sent back from heaven. Aurelius sets out for Italy. Aurelius dies. But Saint Aurelius, to be brief, after the duty of piety had been performed, when he was thinking of returning to his own church, at the urging of Ambrose, whom he considered it unlawful to contradict, remained [unclear]. “When the Lord calls you to the joys of eternal happiness, you will die, and beside the little chapel of my poor body [unclear] desired [unclear].”

Dionysius appears to Aurelius. Ambrose. Concerning Ambrose and the prayer made at the burial of Aurelius. Ambrose.

And when he entrusted to the Lord that his pilgrimage should be directed [unclear] daily, after the revolution of the year in which he had come to Milan, Saint Dionysius appeared to him, saying, “He has heard [unclear].” And, making his testament, he bade farewell to his homeland, and took care to teach and inflame [unclear]. And when in his daily prayers [unclear], commended into the hands of the holy Ambrose, bishop of Milan, he yielded up his spirit to the Lord on the eighth day before the Kalends of June, that is, on the same day on which Saint Dionysius also had departed in Armenia three years before, in the year of the Lord 383, Gratian ruling with his brother Valentinian. He was buried in his own sarcophagus at the side of Saint Dionysius in the Milanese church. The most blessed bishop Ambrose followed his funeral rites with many tears, and delivered to the people that notable sermon which begins: [unclear].

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... we have lost a brother and most beloved pastor; rather, we have sent ahead an advocate. In this he raises to heaven, with great powers of eloquence, the praises and encomia of that holy bishop Aurelius. He remained buried at Milan for 437 years. Thus the body of Saint Aurelius, buried there and shining with many miracles, remained from the time of the empire of Gratian until the reign of Charles the Great, for almost 437 years, until Nottingus, bishop of Vercelli, having obtained it with great entreaties from the archbishop of Milan, transferred it to his church in the fifth year of the first Emperor Louis. Not long afterward, under the same Louis, he carried it away into Germany, his homeland, and, as we have said before, placed it in the monastery of Hirsau, where to the present day almighty God works many virtues and great wonders through his merits.

10. On Lintbert, the first abbot of this monastery, who presided for sixteen years, and on his manner of life and the deeds of that time.

838.

In the year of the Lord 838, therefore, under the most pious Emperor Louis, Lintbert, a monk of Fulda, was appointed first abbot of this monastery by the election of the brethren who had come with him from the bosom of the monastery of Fulda. He was given the pastoral staff by Otgar, most reverend archbishop of the church of Mainz, and presided over the government of this monastery for sixteen years. He was born in Swabia of parents not of the lowest rank, according to worldly dignity, the brother of Buno, abbot of Hersfeld, who himself also had been for many years a monk of Saint Boniface under Abbot Baugolf. Moreover Lintbert, devoted to God from infancy, became a monk in the monastery of Fulda in the eighteenth year of his age, under the aforementioned Abbot Baugolf, who had succeeded Saint Sturm; and as his age increased, both under Baugolf himself and under his successors Eigil and Rabanus, he made great progress in holy conduct and in learned knowledge. Thus he put on the monk in the year of the Lord 796, in the fourth indiction. But he was sent to Hirsau and received the abbacy, as we have said before, in 838, in the [unclear] year of his age and the forty-second of his conversion, and ruled for sixteen years.

He was a very reverend man, known and familiar to kings and princes. From the time when he entered the monastery he not only lived irreproachably, but, what is judged to belong to greater virtue, shone with such holiness that in his way of life he furnished to all an example of true perfection. Some compositions of his teacher Rabanus on sacred letters are extant addressed to him, which seem to have been requested by the talent of a studious man. I have read under the name of Abbot Lintbert a most beautiful little work on the Song of Songs of Solomon, in which he described the desire and condition of the faithful soul thirsting for its God so beautifully, elegantly, and fittingly that, in my judgment, no one whom I have read has ever treated this subject more clearly. But that the author of this work is the same as our abbot Lintbert of Hirsau I do not hold as sufficiently proved. Yet one might persuade someone willing to believe it, because whoever he finally was, he wrote under Emperor Lothar, the son of Louis, as is clear from the preface of the work itself.

Since, however, this Lintbert our abbot was for a long time the hearer and fellow student of Rabanus of Fulda, a man most learned in all respects, it must be believed that he could only have turned out most learned. For Rabanus himself, while still a monk, had held the public monastic school in the monastery of Fulda, which he continued also as abbot; in it he instructed the monks in every way, not only in sacred Scripture but also in secular letters. Nor did he train only the monks of the monastery of Fulda, but also many pupils in every kind of learning who had been sent to him from various other places. Of these, very many afterward in the course of time were promoted to great dignities. He had had as teacher, from among the disciples of Bede the English monk, the most reverend man Albinus, monk and abbot of the monastery of Saint Martin of Tours, formerly teacher of the great Emperor Charles; from him he himself had drawn in Gaul what he later taught others in Germany.

But Lintbert, first the fellow student and afterward the hearer of Rabanus, did not neglect as abbot what he had learned as a monk from a good teacher. He was indeed a most zealous cultivator of regular discipline, who not only [unclear], but, going before them as a good pastor, was open to view by the example of good work. His meditation, day and night, was always continued in the law of the Lord; praying without ceasing to the Lord, he remained to the end a true disciple of Christ. As the fame of his holiness and learning spread through every region round about, many noble men entrusted their sons to be instructed by his teaching. Very many also of those who seemed distinguished among men in the world,

The Monastery of Hirsau.

Corvey is founded in Saxony.

[unclear] submitted themselves to that discipline for love of the heavenly kingdom; hence the number of brothers, soon increased, began to grow greatly, and their temporal substance was enlarged by the offerings of many. In these same times the monastery of Corvey in Saxony, under the rule of our holy father Benedict, took the beginning of its new foundation; it began to be founded in the year of the Lord 822, in the fifteenth indiction, and, having been completed almost at the same time as this monastery of the holy bishop Aurelius, began to be inhabited. At almost the same time the monastery of the martyrs Saints Marcellinus and Peter, in the place called Seligenstadt in the diocese of Mainz, under the rule of our holy father Benedict, was first founded by Emperor Louis, with the cooperation of the venerable man Einhard, formerly chancellor, but then a monk and the first abbot of that same monastery; [unclear], in which the bodies of the aforesaid two martyrs Marcellinus and Peter, brought from Rome in the month of November in the year of the Lord 838 through the emperor’s agency, were honorably laid to rest.

840. Distinguished men of our order. Foundation of the monastery of Seligenstadt.

In the times of Lintbert, first abbot of Saint Aurelius of Hirsau, around the year of the Lord 840, under the most pious Emperor Louis and his sons, many very celebrated men flourished in our Benedictine order, distinguished for holiness and learning in the Scriptures; like stars of heaven, they wonderfully illuminated the whole Church by their morals and doctrine. Rabanus Maurus, abbot of Fulda, of whom we spoke above, was held in esteem by everyone in these times because of the integrity of his life and the inestimable discipline of his knowledge. What and how much he wrote, both in our book On Ecclesiastical Writers and in the second On Illustrious Men [unclear].

842.

Finally, in the year of the Lord 842, which was the fourth year of Abbot Lintbert, stirred up by the deceits of certain men, he left the monastery of Fulda and, fleeing to Louis, son of the elder Emperor Louis, remained almost as an exile until the death of Otgar, archbishop of Mainz, who had expelled him for what cause I do not know. But after five years, when [Otgar?] had died, he was appointed in his place in the year of the Lord 847, in the tenth indiction, by the vote of all, and sat for nine years.

Haymo [unclear], third bishop of Halberstadt, who in the year of the Lord 840, in the third indiction, was ordained bishop and presided for thirteen years, was outstanding in all holiness and doctrine. He wrote many excellent volumes, of which we have made mention in our aforesaid books. Einhard also, from imperial chancellor a monk, and from monk the first abbot in Seligenstadt, a learned and most religious man, among other monuments of his learning wrote the deeds of Charles the Great, emperor, in one volume; also a history of his own time, and certain other things, by which he showed himself skilled not only in the Latin language but also in Greek. Frechulf, a monk of Fulda, who wrote a very notable chronicle from the origin of the world down to the incarnation of the Lord, which he entitled On the Seven Ages of the World, was bishop of Lisieux in these times.

There also flourished around these times Hetti, from abbot of [Mediolanum?] archbishop of Trier, who founded, at the admonition of Saint Maternus in dreams, a monastery of regular canons at Koblenz, where the Moselle flows into the Rhine; into it he transferred and placed the body of Saint Castor from Karden. But [unclear] of Saint Castor [unclear] the eighth, in which Hirsau was founded, he died, and he was buried at Saint Matthias outside Trier.

Hilduin also, abbot of Saint-Denis of Paris, a man most learned in every respect, wrote the life and passion of Saint Dionysius for Emperor Louis the First. In the year of the Lord 827 he transferred the bones of the holy martyr Sebastian from Rome into Gaul; after many years, his head was placed by its founder in a monastery of our order in the diocese of Trier, which is called Viridisaugia.

At the same time Theodulf, from abbot of the monastery of Fleury bishop of Orléans, was in great esteem among the Gauls, venerable to all the people no less for the holiness of his life than for his learning in the Scriptures. Placed in custody by Emperor Louis, I know not on account of what suspicion of conspiracy with the sons who were then very much at variance with their father, he composed the hymn which we are accustomed to sing on Palm Sunday, at the station. When on that day, as the emperor was passing near the prison in solemn procession, he had sounded it forth in sweet melody with tuneful voice, that man, delighted

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... he, moved both by the man's constancy and by the sweetness of the harmony, soon ordered him to be released by the voice of a herald. The hymn itself, composed in suitable verse, begins: "Glory, praise, and honor be to you," etc.

Strabus also, a monk of Fulda, the pupil and scribe of Rabanus, flourished in the same times. He wrote many various works, as we have declared in other published books on writers. He began the Chronicle of the monastery of Fulda, which, continued by others who succeeded him, gave us no small help in the publication of this work. But Angelomus, a monk of the monastery of Luxeuil, appeared in this period most learned in expounding the divine Scriptures. Of him we have made mention elsewhere.

Ansegisus, formerly abbot of the monastery of Bobbio, archbishop of Sens, a man learned in the Scriptures and very highly celebrated in the councils of kings, wrote several works, of which an account is given elsewhere. John, abbot of Vercelli, a Scot by nation, very learned in Greek and Latin, flourished in these times. At the command of Charles, son of the first Emperor Louis, he was the first of all to translate the books of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite into Latin, and adorned them with commentaries not to be despised. He also composed a book of great subtlety On the Division of Nature, together with several other works which we have not seen. Alderic, abbot of the monastery of Ferrieres, of our order, after Jeremiah but immediately before Ansegisus archbishop of Sens, was made in these times. The bodies also of the saints Severus, bishop of Ravenna, Vincentia his wife, and Innocentia his daughter, were translated with the greatest honor to Mainz by Archbishop Otgar.

Ansegisus, formerly abbot, bishop of Sens. John, abbot of Vercelli. Alderic, formerly abbot, bishop. Saint Severinus is translated. The king of the Danes is baptized. Monks of Corvey preach. Amalarius, formerly monk, archbishop of Trier.

Heriolus, king of the Danes, with his wife and sons, is baptized at Mainz in the time of this first Abbot Linthert. A great part of the Danes are converted to the faith of Christ through the monks of the monastery of Corvey, who, out of love for heavenly happiness, had entered Dacia to preach the holy Gospel to the nations. Amalarius Fortunatus, a monk of Luxeuil, afterwards archbishop of Trier, and then cardinal of the holy Roman Church, wrote in these days to Emperor Louis books on the divine offices.

In the twenty-third year of Emperor Louis, under Linthert, the first abbot of this monastery, the Northmen first landed on the borders of Holland and Gaul; afterwards, for many years, wandering here and there with a strong army, they perpetrated boundless evils.

In the year of the Lord 838, which was the first year of Abbot Linthert, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of August, Saint Frederick, the eighth bishop of the church of Utrecht, in the treasury of the same church, after the solemnities of Mass, while he was devoutly intent upon prayer, was cruelly slain by two attendants hired for pay by the empress Judith, and became a martyr of the highest truth. For the bishop had said to the emperor: "It is not lawful for you to have Judith, daughter of the duke of Bavaria, near to you in blood, as your wife: either cast her away, or I shall excommunicate you by the authority of the Almighty." Exasperated by these words, the impious Judith not long afterwards killed the herald of truth. When Gregory IV, the pope, heard of this monstrous crime, he placed Emperor Louis in the monastery of Soissons to perform penance. And Jesse, bishop of Amiens, placed a veil on the empress Judith, a second Herodias, and made her a nun.

By this empress Louis had a son, Charles, surnamed the Bald, who afterwards, in the year of the Lord 876, was made emperor. He appointed him duke of Bavaria, Swabia, and Burgundy, while his other sons by his former wife bore this with considerable displeasure.

Finally, in the year of the Lord 840, when Emperor Louis, after completing his penance, was pursuing his future [unclear] son Lothair, who had rebelled against his father, and came to the monastery of Hersfeld, he fell gravely ill; reduced to a cart and then by boat, he immediately died at the imperial palace of Ingelheim, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of July, in the twenty-sixth year since he had received the empire. His corpse was honorably buried at Metz, in the church of Saint Arnulf, by Drogo his brother, bishop of Metz. This Drogo was a son of the great Emperor Charles, brother of Louis the First, a learned man and a lover of religion; from a monk he was made bishop of the aforesaid church of Metz, for whose adornment he did much.

When the most pious Emperor Louis had died, his son Lothair succeeded him and ruled as emperor for sixteen years. He had three brothers by his father: Pippin, whom he made duke of Aquitaine; Charles the Bald, to whom in the paternal division the western part fell, from the British Ocean as far as the river Meuse; and Louis, who obtained the eastern kingdom, that is, all Germany as far as the streams of the Rhine, together with certain other adjacent cities and districts across the Rhine, perhaps because of the abundance of wine. Lothair himself, the eldest by birth, received in his portion the name of emperor together with the whole kingdom which to the present day we call from his name Lotharingia, although now it is a duchy, the whole province, and also all the kingdoms of Italy together with the city of Rome itself. He had as wife Egilla, daughter of the king of England, who bore him two sons, Lothair and Louis, later emperor.

Strabus, monk of Fulda. Angelomus, monk. Ansegisus, formerly abbot, bishop of Sens. John, abbot of Vercelli. Alderic, formerly abbot, bishop. Saint Severinus is translated. First incursion of the Northmen. Saint Frederick, bishop of Utrecht, is martyred. Great wickedness of the empress Judith. The emperor is deposed together with his wife. Charles the Bald, son of Louis. Emperor Louis dies. Drogo, brother of the emperor, formerly monk, bishop. Louis has sons. A division is made among the brothers. Lothair, emperor.

Monastery of Hirsau

Alfrid flourished in these times, formerly a monk of the monastery of Corvey, the fourth bishop of Hildesheim, a man truly beloved of God and most holy in his whole life. He governed the Church committed to him vigorously for 28 years, and built the greater church of the aforesaid city, in which he was also buried. He was elected bishop in the ninth year of Abbot Lintbert, which was the year of the Lord’s incarnation 847, in the tenth indiction.

848.

Rabanus, archbishop of Mainz, at the command of Emperor Lothar, convened a synod of bishops and abbots at Mainz in the year of the Lord 848, in the eleventh indiction. In it he condemned a certain heretic, a priest named Gottschalk, and established many things for the adornment and utility of the Church. Among others there were present the most celebrated men, the bishops: Hetti, archbishop of Trier; Hildebold, archbishop of Cologne; Alfrid, bishop of Hildesheim; Haymo, bishop of Halberstadt; Luderic, bishop of Bremen; Lintbert, this first abbot of Saint Aurelius of Hirsau; Waldo, abbot of Fulda; Einhard, abbot of Seligenstadt; Brunwart, abbot of Hersfeld; Bertolph, abbot of Mettlach; Adventitius, abbot of Metz, afterward bishop there; Radulf, abbot of Saint-Médard of Soissons, afterward archbishop of Bourges; and many other bishops, abbots, and monks, among whom several were most renowned for life and learning.

In these days a certain woman, pretending that an angel of God had appeared to her and had announced that the last day of judgment was soon at hand, deceived many, both of the clergy and of the people, throughout the diocese of Mainz. At length, when she had been seized by Archbishop Rabanus, she confessed that she had been led into this, for the sake of gain, by the counsel of a certain priest [unclear].

849.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Lintbert, the body of the holy empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, was transferred from Rome to Gaul by the monk Theogisus, and was placed in the territory of Reims; her head is shown today in the church of Trier.

For in the thirteenth year, a very severe famine so devastated Germany that a father [unclear] his son [unclear]. In these days of the most excellent Abbot Lintbert, his mercy toward the poor greatly increased both his own name and the profit of the monastery of Hirsau. For the more he distributed to the use of the poor, the greater things he received. Rabanus the archbishop also displayed great generosity to the poor while [unclear] endured.

Around these times Adolphus, the most Christian king of England, going to Rome under Pope Leo IV, out of very great devotion to the Roman Church made his province tributary, instituting that from each house each year a silver coin should be paid to Saint Peter.

851.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Lintbert, Lupus Servatus the priest, a most learned man, to whom Rabanus, while still abbot, once wrote eight books on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, departed to the Lord. Two years earlier, being present at the synod of Mainz, he had plainly overcome and confuted before all who were there, in a very powerful disputation, that priest Gottschalk, who held erroneous opinions on free will, predestination, and the blood of Christ, and was troubling many. He also, for a clearer declaration of the truth, among other things that he wrote, composed a very fine treatise on these matters as well.

853.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Lintbert, which is the year of the Lord 853, Saint Haymo died, the third bishop of Halberstadt, formerly a monk of Hersfeld, a man beloved of God in every respect, who by word, writing, and example recalled many to the paths of righteousness; he was buried in the greater church of Halberstadt. Saint Hildegrin succeeded him in the episcopate for almost 34 years.

Saint Ansgar flourished in these times, formerly a monk of the monastery of Corvey, the first archbishop of Bremen, before whom there were three bishops, namely Wilhard, Willeric, and Luderic, under the archbishop of Cologne. But Emperor Lothar, after [unclear].

Leo IV, pope, formerly a monk.

At this time there also flourished Pope Leo IV, formerly a monk of the monastery of Saint Martin in the city, then of our order, first cardinal priest of the title of the Four Holy Crowned Saints [the text breaks off].

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

13

[unclear] ordained by Pope Sergius; and, succeeding him after his death in the supreme pontificate, he presided for eight years and three months. He was a learned man, of most holy life, who after his death was entered in the catalogue of the saints; his feast is observed on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of August.

853.

Lintbert, the first abbot, a very venerable man, after many labors borne in holy religion for the love of God, and worn out with age, sighing for Christ with his whole heart, died on the third day before the Ides of June, under Emperor Lothar, in the year of the Lord 854, in the second indiction, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and before the sixteenth year of his administration of the abbacy had yet been completed. He had laudably and usefully presided over this monastery, and through his most holy conduct acquired many goods for it by the donation of the faithful. Gerungus, a monk, succeeded him in the abbacy of this monastery for thirty-two years; concerning him we shall see below.

The Northmen harass Gaul.

In this very year in which the most reverend abbot Lintbert died, the Northmen cruelly devastated Brittany, Gaul, and Francia; they overthrew the city of Nantes, and killed the bishop, who on Holy Saturday was intent upon the consecration of baptism, together with all the clergy.

A woman obtained the papacy.

They also [unclear] the churches of Saint Martin of Tours.

With [the account of] Lintbert completed, let us turn the pen to his successor.

Concerning the venerable Gerungus, the second abbot, who presided for thirty-two years, and what things were done in his times.

Therefore, after the most reverend abbot Lintbert had died and been buried, not without great sadness on the part of the brothers, since they were held by the greatest love for him, they immediately proceeded to an election [unclear].

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Gandersheim is founded in Saxony.

[a convent?] in Saxony, called Gandersheim, in which he placed nuns living according to the Rule of our holy father Benedict. After him came his son Duke Liudolf, who completed the work begun by his father. The first abbess of the same monastery was Hadmodis, the elder daughter of that same Duke Liudolf; she presided over the virgins of Christ for twenty-two years, in great holiness of life and conduct. When she died, her sister, named Gerburga, succeeded in the abbacy for 14 years, herself also a most holy virgin, who shone forth in life and after death with many bright virtues. When she too was at last taken from their midst, a third daughter of Duke Liudolf was elected abbess, named Christina; by living religiously in the holy resolve of virginity she did not depart from the holiness of the sisters who had preceded her. The same Duke Liudolf also built another monastery of virgins in Saxony, called Brunshausen, and obtained confirmation of both from Pope Nicholas, together with many relics of saints. In these times there flourished from the monastic order many most excellent bishops, distinguished for holiness and knowledge of letters, and also abbots and monks very celebrated both for life and for learning in the Scriptures, who published many and varied volumes in literary study for the edification of posterity.

Abbo, from being abbot of the monastery of Saint Germanus, became bishop of Auxerre; his brother Helibald had been bishop there before him. Both were energetic and most holy men, and nobly learned both in the divine Scriptures and in secular knowledge. Christianus, also called Druthmar, a monk of Corbie and a venerable priest, composed in these times many volumes in exposition of the divine Scriptures. Of him we have made fuller mention in other books on ecclesiastical writers. Egil, abbot of the monastery of Prum in the parish of Trier, was appointed in the first year of Gerung: a noble and very learned man, a friend of kings and princes, who acquired a very great name of praise in regular observance.

855.

In the second year of Abbot Gerung, which was the year of the Lord 855, the Emperor Lothar, worn out with age, summoned the leading men of the realm and divided the empire among his sons: to Louis he entrusted Italy, and appointed him emperor; to Lothar he granted the kingdom which, from his name, we have said was called Lotharingia; and to Charles, who was the younger by birth, he gave the kingdom of Provence. When these matters had been duly arranged, bidding farewell to his people he left the world and entered the monastery of Prum under the aforesaid Abbot Egil, and was made a monk. Having lived laudably in holy religion according to the Rule of our most holy father Benedict until the end, he at last died most happily on 29 September, and was buried there. Therefore, after Lothar became a monk, his son Louis reigned as emperor for twenty-one years.

856.

In the third year of Abbot Gerung, which was the year of the Lord 856, King Lothar, brother of the Emperor Louis, took as wife Theutberga, daughter of his uncle Charles the Bald, later emperor. But not long afterward he repudiated her and brought in Waldrada, his former concubine, sister of Gunther, archbishop of Cologne, from which union [unclear]. In the same year Rabanus, archbishop of Mainz, died, and in the monastery of Saint [unclear]; for in a time of famine, which in the thirteenth year of Abbot Lintbert had oppressed all Germany, he relieved the need of the maimed. For at that time he was staying in a certain estate in his parish, where, receiving those coming from various places, he daily sustained with food more than three hundred, from among those who were constantly fed in his presence. One day, among the other beggars, there came a certain woman, almost consumed by starvation, with a very small boy; before [unclear] she breathed her last. The child, drawing out the breast of his dead mother as she lay there, as though she still lived, and trying to suck, compelled all who looked on to groan and weep. There followed him [unclear].

The invasion of the Northmen. The districts are destroyed by the Northmen.

Note his mercy in misfortunes.

Around these times the Northmen, together with the Danes, landing with fleets in Holland in a great multitude, utterly destroyed the very famous village called Dorestad, in which there are remembered to have been fifty-five parish churches, after all its inhabitants had been killed. Then, taking the city of Utrecht, they destroyed it, cruelly killing utterly all the people together with the whole clergy. Hunger, bishop of Utrecht at that time, escaping in flight with a few canons, came to Lothar, formerly emperor, in the monastery of Prum.

859.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

859.

In the sixth year of Gerung, abbot of Hirsau, Huchertus, formerly a duke, a monk, and abbot of the monastery of Saint Richarius, brother of Queen Thiedberga, flourished: a wise and energetic man, to whom Lotharius entrusted the duchy between Mount Jura and Mount Veneris to govern. But when Lotharius later cast off Queen Thiedberga, Huchertus’s sister, after taking the concubine Wuldrada in addition, he found the abbot his enemy; through his action he was at last compelled to receive his sister back.

860.

In the seventh year of Abbot Gerung, which was the year of the Lord 860, and the fourth of Emperor Louis, in the city of Mainz the devil was plainly exercising his wickedness and hatred toward man. He hurled stones from the windows of houses at people, struck the walls strongly by night and by day as if with certain hammers, knocked at the doors of many people, and from there, speaking openly, everywhere disclosed thefts and sowed great discord among men. Then he stirred up the minds of all against one man, as if for that man’s sin the others were suffering such things; he set fire to that man’s crops, heaped together into one place. Wherever that man entered, at once the house was set on fire by that demon, so that now no place remained for him to stay except in the fields. Because of this, while priests were conducting litanies and sprinkling blessed water, the enemy of human nature for some time ceased from throwing stones. When they withdrew, the devil, shouting horribly, said that while the blessed water was being sprinkled he had hidden under the cope of one priest, whose name he stated, as if with a familiar friend; he accused him publicly of having lain with the steward’s daughter. And so it persisted continuously for three years, until in that place it consumed many buildings by fire. It was heard shouting, howling, speaking, knocking, striking the walls, and throwing stones at people, but absolutely nothing was seen. Yet elsewhere we read that these things happened not in the city of Mainz, but in a certain village of its diocese.

In this same seventh year of Gerung, in the eighth indiction, Probus, priest and monk of Saint Alban’s, died at Mainz, a holy and most learned man, whose conduct and zeal wonderfully adorned that same church of Mainz.

In this same year Saint Meginradus, formerly a monk of the monastery of Reichenau and a hermit in the Black Forest, was martyred by night in his cell by two robbers, who thought that they would find a large sum of money with him, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of February. His body, brought back to the monastery of Reichenau and buried, shone for a long time with countless miracles. Moreover, the thieves, betrayed by two ravens which Saint Meginradus had reared, and with these repeatedly pursuing them, were broken on the wheel according to the laws of the country. In these days Egilo flourished, formerly a monk of Sens, afterwards archbishop after Wanlo, a man conspicuous for every goodness, a worthy shepherd of Christ’s sheep.

In the same year Ego, abbot of Prum, voluntarily resigned his abbey, and Ansbald succeeded him. [unclear]

At that time a great famine and mortality raged through the kingdom of the Franks; it converted very many to the love of the heavenly fatherland.

In the same times Mico, monk of Saint Richarius, flourished, a very studious and learned man, who wrote many varied works, excellently composed both in meter and in prose. Among these we have read a book of various epigrams, also excerpts from the poets, a book of riddles, and certain other things. Notgerus, formerly a monk of Saint Gall and bishop of Liege, is held to have been famous in these times among ecclesiastical writers; he first devised the use of sequences, which Pope Nicholas I consented should be sung in the church on this side of the Alps. The disciple of this Notgerus was Salomon, formerly a monk and afterwards bishop of Constance, who himself left to posterity some monuments of a distinguished talent. Wandelbertus also, monk of the monastery of Prum under the venerable abbot Ansbald, flourished at this same time; among other little works of his talent, he comprised in two books the life and miracles of Saint Goar, priest and hermit, resting beside the Rhine in the parish of Trier.

861.

In the eighth year of Abbot Gerung, Waldo, abbot of Fulda, was deposed by Emperor Louis, and Thuode succeeded him.

863.

In his tenth year, which was the year of the Lord 863, Charles of Mainz died, and Lintbertus succeeded him. To this Lintbertus, Otfridus, monk of Weissenburg, wrote, [unclear]

The devil terribly harasses Mainz for three years.

Wickedness of this demon.

Saint Probus, monk and priest, dies.

Meginradus the monk is martyred.

Ego, formerly a monk, archbishop.

Ansbald, famous abbot.

Mico, monk of Saint Richarius.

Notgerus, formerly a monk, bishop.

Wandelbertus, monk of Prum.

Salomon, formerly a monk, bishop.

The abbot of Fulda is deposed.

Otfridus, monk of Weissenburg.

Huchertus, abbot, formerly a duke.

16

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

[unclear], a pupil of Rabanus, [wrote?] four books of the Gospels in verse in our Teutonic language, formed according to certain rules, so that very few are found today who understand his writings. He also wrote many other things, of which we made mention in the smaller catalogue of the Germans.

Werenbertus also, a monk of St. Gall, a man most learned in every kind of knowledge, both secular and divine, is held to have been distinguished among writers in these times; he composed many monuments of his talent for posterity to read.

Ruthardus too, a monk, one of the first of this monastery of Hirsau sent from Fulda, formerly a hearer and disciple of the monks Rabanus and Strabus, a man most learned in every respect, excelling in meter and prose, was among the writers of this age of a most celebrated name. As Meginfridus, monk of Fulda, writes in the Chronicle, he was a man conspicuous in every kind of knowledge and holiness, and of such learning and uprightness that, when Emperor Louis, after the death of Bishop Haymo, wished to ordain him bishop in his place for the church of Halberstadt, he refused to consent, uttering a memorable saying: “Give the bishopric to another who is fit for it; I have held the quiet of the regular life and the study of the Scriptures incomparably preferable to all the riches and honors of the world.” Among the other little works of his talent he wrote the passion of St. Boniface the archbishop, most beautifully in heroic verse, in two books. He was the first, among all whom I have read, who ventured to gloss with a commentary the Rule of our most holy father Benedict. The prologue of that exposition begins thus, after the opening of the Rule itself: “the third, logic, that is, moral; for physics, [unclear], that is, natural; the second, ethics, that is, rational; for physics is derived from what is physis, nature,” etc. He wrote, in addition, several little works on music, geometry, arithmetic, and the other arts of humanity. For he himself was the first, in the monastery of St. Aurelius, as Meginfridus is witness, to begin to have the monks read the divine Scriptures and secular letters, according to the custom of Fulda. He was indeed so learned in every kind of knowledge that not only monks from other monasteries, but also secular persons, flocked eagerly to hear him.

865.

He died full of days and holiness in the twelfth year of Abbot Gerung, which was the year of the Lord 865, in the fourteenth indiction, and was buried in the church of St. Aurelius on the eighth day before the Kalends of November.

Ruthardus, the aforesaid head of the school of the monks.

“O you who duly go along this road, traveler, I ask you, halt your step a little, and read this inscription: remember in supplication the very [unclear] of the buried man; pious [unclear] of Ruthardus, say: ‘Have mercy, O God.’”

[unclear] the aforesaid of Weissenburg, our Ruthardus here of St. Aurelius, wrote many letters; he sharpened his talent by publishing various things; appointed publicly, after Notger, to the school of the monks, he left after him several disciples most learned in every wisdom. Saint Pope Nicholas I [unclear] King Lothar, brother of the emperor, on account of Queen Theutberga, [unclear] brought the case to the hearing of the apostolic see. For the same cause Gunther of Cologne and Theutgaud of Trier, archbishops, were deposed by the same pope, and, all the way to the lay estate, received the worthy reward of their wickedness. For, by false charges artfully fabricated, they presumed to condemn an innocent queen.

866.

These things were done in the thirteenth year of Abbot Gerung, which was the year of the Lord 866. But [unclear] of Emperor Louis II, through fear of the Northmen, from Glanfeuil to the monastery of Fossés in Burgundy [unclear]. When he attempted to return to the worship of paganism, his father, resuming his belt and royal attire, pursued him with [unclear], seized him, and, his eyes having been put out, thrust him into prison. And placing his younger son in the kingdom, he returned to the monastery and remained in the monastic profession until death.

859.

In the sixteenth year of Abbot Gerung, the body of St. Maurus, disciple of the holy father Benedict our abbot, because of fear of the Northmen, was transferred from Glanfeuil to the monastery of Fossés in Burgundy. In these times Hincmarus, archbishop, flourished among the Gauls in great esteem

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius.

bishop of Rheims; from being a monk of Saint-Denis of Paris, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures, who wrote many distinguished volumes, of which we have made mention elsewhere.

871. In the eighteenth year of Abbot Gerung, after the deposition of Archbishop Thietgaud, Bertholf, abbot of [Mediolanum?] of our order, became archbishop of Trier, a man keen in intellect, who did not allow the privileges of his church to be violated even in the least; in his time the people of Trier, from fear of the Northmen, hid all the ornaments, holy things, and relics in underground chambers.

882. In the nineteenth year of Abbot Gerung, Saint Edmund, king of the English, martyred by the Northmen, was renowned for countless miracles.

883. In his twenty-first year, which was the year of the Lord 874, in the Italian region, in the city of Brescia, blood rained from heaven for three days, and the Northmen did many evils to the Christians.

In these times Walo flourished, after Christianus, a monk and himself [from a monk?], bishop of Auxerre; brother of Ansegisus, archbishop of Sens, of whom we spoke at length above, in the first year of Abbot Lintbert. This Walo was a man distinguished in learning and conduct. His greatest zeal was to embrace teachers and professors of letters charitably, to use their counsels, to enjoy their conversations, and rather often to refresh them at his own table. In all his conduct he always wished to have certain men of the clergy with him, lest even a slight occasion be given to laymen for [unclear], so that no trace of habitation remained at all.

About these times flourished Eric, a monk of Auxerre, [chaplain?] of Bishop Walo, [unclear] in prose, concerning which we have made mention in the Catalogue of Writers.

876. In the twenty-third year of Abbot Gerung, in the month of June, a sudden and excessive inundation of waters occurred, so that a certain village in Saxony, far removed from torrents and rivers, was in a moment, with men and beasts, with trees and buildings, with church and altar, wholly swallowed up, so that no trace of habitation remained at all.

About these times [unclear]; whence he was accustomed to say, “Let laymen not know what clerics do, and let equals be joined with equals.”

887. In the twenty-fourth year of Abbot Gerung, but the 877th year of the Lord, in the tenth indiction, on the fifth day before the Kalends of September, Emperor Louis II died at Frankfurt, and in the monastery of [Lorsch?], then of our order, [unclear] chaplain, a man most learned from every side, who composed many and various little works in meter and prose, concerning which we have made mention in the Catalogue of Writers [unclear], concerning which we have made mention in the Catalogue of Writers.

878. In the twenty-sixth year of Abbot Gerung, which was the 876th year of the Lord, there was a certain Jew named Sedechias, formerly, as report has it, a natural philosopher and physician [unclear]. [Hucbaldus?] wrote to Hatto On Music, a by no means contemptible little work, and certain other things. And Bertram too, a monk, most learned in all literature, wrote to King Charles On Predestination; likewise On the Body and Blood of the Lord, with many other works which have not come to the knowledge of our reading. [unclear] feet, which, placed before them in a basin, with blood flowing, he displayed for all to see; and these he immediately restored to the places from which they seemed to have been cut off, without harm to the man. Passing through the air, he was seen and heard by all; he was thought to perform in the clouds, in the air, hunts, races, and other things which we are accustomed to carry out on the earth. He performed so many and varied tricks that all marveled beyond what can be believed.

King Edmund is martyred. [unclear]. Walo, from monk to bishop. Eric the monk. Emperor Louis dies. Hunibald the monk. Milomarzachus. [Hucbaldus?] the monk. Bertram the monk. A Jewish magician did wondrous things. Bertholf, from abbot to bishop. One village was wholly swallowed up.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau.

882.

In the thirtieth year of Abbot Gerung, the Northmen, with an inestimable multitude, burned and destroyed Cologne, Traiectum, Tongres, Bonn, with all the villages and castles adjoining them. They also laid waste with sword and fire the palace of Aachen, the monasteries of our order, Stavelot, [Mundarium?], Prum, Saint-Walaric, and Saint-Riquier, sparing no sex, no age, but killing all whom they could find. After this they set Trier on fire, killed the citizens, and carried off the booty. Advancing to the city of Metz, they joined battle with the citizens and emerged victorious; in that battle Walo, bishop of Metz, fell with many others. But Bertolph, archbishop of Trier, slipped away in flight and escaped; nevertheless he died in the following year.

In the same year the emperor Charles the Bald, setting out from Italy into Gaul, died after being given poison. Pope John VIII anointed Louis, his son, as emperor. The Romans, moved by this, ordered the pope to be held under guard as a captive; they chose Charles, surnamed the Fat, as emperor. Together both held the name of emperor for two years, until Louis, son of Charles the Bald, died after taking poison. And this Charles the Fat alone ruled as emperor for twelve years.

885.

In the year of the Lord 885, in the third indiction, Gerung, the second abbot of Hirsau, died in the thirty-second year of his rule and the seventy-first of his age, on the first day of the month of August. He was buried in the church of Saint Aurelius, beside Lintbert, his predecessor. He was a man in all things devoted to God, no less circumspect in temporal matters than capable in arranging spiritual ones. Reginbodo succeeded him; in his time the Northmen overthrew Worms, as we shall say.

Concerning Reginbodo, the third abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, who presided for six years; concerning the deeds of that time in Germany.

When Gerung, the venerable second abbot of this monastery, had died and been buried, the brothers, whose number was already great, came together in the place appointed for this and elected as abbot an elderly monk named Reginbodo, a quiet, pious, merciful man, who presided over the monastery for six years. He was, as Meginfrid bears witness in the Chronicle, a Bavarian by nation, born of a notable family. When in his youth he had been handed over by his parents to teachers to learn letters, in time he became learned in all knowledge, both human and divine. Then he was made a canon in the church of Constance; there, abounding in many riches, he began also to flow away in spirit. At last, having returned to himself, he began to groan over the vanity of the present life and to consider how brief a man's sojourn in this world is. Finally, after many turnings of fluctuating thoughts, he came to Hirsau, despising all the things which men are accustomed to love in the world, and for the love of God became a monk under the venerable abbot Gerung. Thereafter, turning all his zeal toward piety, always, so far as human weakness permitted, he was intent either on prayer or on reading sacred scripture. [unclear] After Gerung's death he was elected abbot by the unanimous consent of all. In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 885, in the third indiction, he presided, as we have said, for six years. For, weighed down by old age and unable to endure external occupations, since he had already long since experienced the sweetness of the contemplative life and could not bear to be torn away from it, at last in the sixth year in which [unclear]. A monk and priest, most learned in divine as well as secular letters, he was [unclear]; indeed, by exercising his talent after the example of the ancients he wrote many things, although none of them has come to our knowledge. After the election of Reginbodo as abbot, Concerning the tyrant who disturbed the brothers... A certain tyrant named Edvid began greatly to disturb the monastery and the brothers of Saint Aurelius, saying that there was owed to him a by no means small sum of money, which to Abbot Gerung

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius, 19 had lent. Since he was threatening many injuries, the brothers, who knew the man’s falsehood, began to implore divine aid, and entrusted to Saint Aurelius the defense of the cause of his monastery against the tyrant’s wickedness. And behold, one night, when the day of the plea had been fixed for the morrow by both parties, the holy bishop Aurelius appeared to the tyrant in dreams, saying: “Impious tyrant, what have you to do with me and my brothers, whom you are planning unjustly to despoil of their goods? It will not go unpunished for you.” When these words had been said, the holy man, raising the pastoral staff which he carried in his hand, struck the tyrant in his sleep, saying, “Receive in me the first-fruits of your deserts; you will shortly receive heavier things, unless you quickly take care to make satisfaction to me and to my brothers.” But the tyrant Edwinus, awakened both by fear and by the blow, filled the whole house with so great a cry that all were turned to amazement. On the next day, lying in bed, he called to himself the brothers of Saint Aurelius and, in the presence of his wife and sons, sought pardon for his injuries. He asked them to pray to the Lord for him, promising that he would do great good to the monastery if, through their intercession, he recovered. Not many days later he recovered, and, with many gifts offered, he strove to render Saint Aurelius, the bishop of Christ, favorable to himself.

886.

In the first year of Reginbodo, Bertolphus, archbishop of Trier, a monk of our order, died, as we have already said above; Ratbodo, abbot of the abbey of Mettlach, a learned man and most prudent in affairs, succeeded him in the archbishopric. He acquired many gifts and possessions from the emperors for his church of Trier. He presided in the archbishopric for almost 36 years and did many good things.

887.

In the second year of Abbot Reginbodo, Ansbaldus, the most reverend abbot of Prum, died on the fourth day before the Ides of July, a man of the highest sanctity and religion, who happily passed to the heavenly fatherland. Farabertus, a venerable father, succeeded him in the abbacy on the eighth day before the Ides of August.

In these times Reinibodus, formerly a monk of the monastery of Corvey in Saxony, flourished as archbishop of Bremen, a man most learned in divine Scriptures and secular letters, who for many years presided gloriously by teaching publicly in the school of the monks in the aforesaid monastery. He ruled the church of Bremen for 9 years, and at his death was entered into the catalogue of the saints; his feast is observed on the day before the Nones of February. He was buried in the church of Bremen, shining with many miracles.

Almannus also flourished around these times, a monk of Alt[u]itar[um?], a man most learned on every side, who left many splendid monuments of his talent; of these we have made mention elsewhere.

Adrevaldus, formerly a monk, [unclear] bishop. The archbishop of Bremen, a man learned in knowledge of all things, who himself also displayed the liveliness of his talent by a manifold publication of books, is held famous among the monks in these same times. Remigius also, a monk of Auxerre, later presided over a certain church, as they say, as bishop, a man in divine writings [unclear] left behind. After him Harderadus, a monk, a Frank by nation, received the office of teaching, [unclear] was enrolled; a man excellently learned in the knowledge of secular letters, he illuminated these times by teaching and writing, and in the knowledge of secular [letters] [unclear]; of whose little works we have made mention in the second book of the illustrious men of our order.

889.

In the fourth year of Reginbodo, which was the year of the Lord 889, in the seventh indiction, Richbodo, a monk of this monastery, died. He had presided over the public school at Saint Aurelius after the master Ruthardus for almost 24 years, and left several disciples well instructed in every branch of knowledge. After him Harderadius, a monk, [unclear].

Arnulphus, son of Carloman, ruled in his place for 12 years. But Charles, dying not long afterward, was buried in the monastery of Reichenau on the day before the Ides of June.

In the same year also Lintbertus, archbishop of Mainz, died; Saint Sunderoldus, a monk of Fulda, succeeded him, a man conspicuous for every sanctity and religion, whom the Northmen killed a little later. In these times, after Emperor Charles had died, the Italians divided the kingdom: one part of them chose as king Berengarius, son of Eberhardus, who held the duchy of Friuli; the other chose Guido, son of Lambertus, duke of Spoleto. When battle had been joined between them, Guido came out victorious and expelled Berengarius from the kingdom. Salomon, from being a monk of holy Con-

The Monastery of Hirsau

Salomon.

Salomon, bishop of the church of Constance, died in this year. He was succeeded by Salomon of the same name, abbot of Saint Gall, a man distinguished not only by nobility but also by prudence and wisdom, who is known to have been the third bishop of that name of the aforesaid city.

In the same year Arnolphus, bishop of Würzburg in Saxony, was killed quite cruelly during the solemnities of the Mass, after he had presided over the aforesaid church for 37 years and 7 months. Arnaldus or Arnulphus, emperor of the Romans after Charles the Fat, had as wife Lucarda, daughter of Welpho, duke of Bavaria, who bore him two sons and one daughter. The first-born of these, Ludovicus, was afterward emperor. The second-born, named Conradus, was duke of Lotharingia; his son, of the same name, was also afterward made emperor. Moreover the daughter, named Lucarda, who was given in marriage to Otto, duke of the Saxons, bore Henry, afterward the first emperor. But the aforesaid Conradus, duke of Lotharingia, son of Arnulphus, [unclear] count of Bamberg, whom Henry, nephew of the emperor, when made emperor, through the deceit of Hatto, archbishop of Mainz, seized and beheaded, as we shall say below in its proper place.

890.

In the year of the Lord 890, however, Abbot Reginbodo, weighed down by old age, when he felt that through the occupations of household business he was being drawn back from contemplation of inward sweetness, and rejoiced that he could return to the state of his former quiet, voluntarily resigned his abbacy on the twelfth day before the Kalends of December, when the sixth year of his promotion had not yet been completed. He returned to the state of private life; and all the brothers, not recognizing in him such penitence and austerity of life, greatly wondered at the fervor of the old man. Indeed, the rigor of monastic life, which he had once undertaken, he did not abandon up to death. He was constant in prayer and compunction of mind, and afflicted himself so greatly with vigils and fasts for love of the heavenly homeland that all his elders pitied the aged man. When he was once asked by the brothers why he afflicted himself so greatly, since he had committed no serious sin in religion, he replied: “Even if, with the grace of God protecting me, from the day on which I became a monk I do not remember having committed any serious sin, as you say, nevertheless in the meantime I have negligently omitted many exercises of good work; and especially from that time when I began to be abbot, [unclear]. Therefore, brothers, it is fitting for us, as long as we live, to do penance, and not to cease from good works up to death.” And that venerable old man Reginbodo persevered firm and constant in his holy way of life up to death.

Concerning Haderadus, the Fourth Venerable Abbot of This Monastery of Hirsau, Who Presided Energetically for Twenty-Eight Years.

After the resignation of Reginbodo, a most holy man, the brothers came together as one and unanimously elected as abbot Haderadus, a venerable monk, who had been in charge of the school of the brothers. He was young in years, namely about thirty years old, but in conduct and prudence older than many old men. He was elected in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 890, in the eighth indiction, on the very same day, namely the twelfth day before the Kalends of September, on which his predecessor resigned, and he presided over the monastery for twenty-eight years. He was a Frank by nation, born of honorable parents, and had entered the monastic order as a young adolescent under Abbot Gerungus; and he had lived so piously and religiously, ready for every obedience, that he was called by all another Placidus, and not undeservedly. For he was of so gentle a mind that no one ever remembered him disturbed by anger. He was truly so studious in the Scriptures that, after the death of his venerable master Richbodo, he was substituted in his place and energetically governed the public school of the monks in this monastery of Saint Aurelius, which at that time was held a great honor. For a monk most learned not only in the divine Scriptures but also in secular letters was required for this office. In those times in the monasteries of our order--there were no others in Europe, Germany, and Gaul--there was this very celebrated custom: that schools of monks were maintained in almost every monastery. Over these were placed not secular men, but monks most renowned in morals and learning, who were regarded as learned not only in the divine Scriptures but also most deeply instructed in Mathematics, Astronomy, [unclear] sciences. Of these many were learned not only in the Roman language, but

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... but also very expert in Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic, as is easily discerned from their works; although, through the fault of the scribes, who gradually began to degenerate from the teachers' original training, few corrected copies are found in our times.

How great was the ancients' diligence in letters.

Whenever an abbot did not have in his own monastery a monk suited to undertake this office, it was no cause for shame to seek a suitable one from some other monastery. For they considered it the greatest disgrace to neglect the teachable minds of monks; and, so that they might instruct them well in morals and letters, they spared neither labor nor expense. Thus that most learned monk Sigebert of Gembloux was for a long time instructor of the monks in the monastery of St. Vincent at Metz, although he belonged to another monastery. So too Strabo, a monk of Fulda, in Hersfeld; Notger of St. Gall in Stavelot; Albinus, an English monk, in Fulda; Milo of Saint-Amand in Corbie; and many others in other monasteries held the office of teaching for a time where they had not begun their monastic conversion.

This most holy custom first began in England, where that venerable monk and priest Bede, made instructor of monks, left after him many very learned disciples.

How useful the study of letters is for monks.

How greatly this instruction of monks benefited our order no one is ignorant who has studied the histories of the ancients with some care. For many monks, because of their incomparable knowledge of letters, were raised to the honor of the episcopate, and they wonderfully adorned our order by life and learning. For even if the study of letters conferred nothing on the order except a useful occupation for monks, it would nevertheless deserve to be promoted by us with the greatest respect; for unless the mind of a cloistered person is occupied by some agreeable exercise, it slips into many and varied miseries. Understanding this well, the holy fathers wished the reading of the Scriptures to be altogether familiar to monks.

Linthelmus becomes master of the school.

He embraced this holy [unclear], so that within a short time he became most learned in all literature, both secular and divine. After he had been raised to the abbacy, he placed over the monastic school Linthelmus, once his fellow student, a monk most learned in every branch of knowledge, by nation [unclear]; and it happened that many also became bishops.

The emperor against the Northmen.

Around this period in Abbot Haderad's abbacy, the emperor Arnulf, overcoming the army of the Northmen in battle, almost destroyed it; nevertheless, after recovering their strength, they afterwards perpetrated many evils in the empire.

891.

For in the following year, which was the year of the Lord's incarnation 891, the city of Worms [unclear].

Archbishop Sunderold is martyred.

The body of St. Aurelius is hidden beneath the earth.

In the church of St. Aurelius he made a subterranean [chamber], in which he hid the body of that saint, together with a tablet containing an inscription of his name and dignity, so carefully that it could not have been found by any human being. It remained there, altogether unknown, down to the time of Count Adelbert.

For not long afterwards, when the Northmen had been driven from the empire, the Hungarians began to devastate Bavaria, Swabia, and Saxony; and since battle after battle against them followed throughout every province of Germany, the body of the most holy prelate necessarily remained concealed in safety.

Hatto, abbot of Augia, becomes archbishop of Mainz.

The same man was obscure in lineage, distinguished by no nobility, but keen in intellect; regarding him it is difficult to judge whether he was better in counsel or worse. He presided over the church of Mainz for twenty-one years.

892.

In the third year of Abbot Haderad, which was the year of the Lord 892, the Hungarians invaded Carinthia, and, when battle was joined on Holy Saturday, they were defeated and slain.

The Northmen invade Prüm again.

In the same year the Northmen again invaded the monastery of Prüm. The abbot, slipping away in flight with the brothers, barely escaped. After entering the monastery they killed some of the monks, and, slaughtering a great many of the household, led the rest away captive.

The Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year Farabert, abbot of Prum, with the consent of the king of the Franks, voluntarily resigned his abbacy; Regino, a monk of the same monastery, succeeded him, a man most celebrated for his life and learning, who, among other little works of his talent, wrote a Chronicle of past time, addressed to Adelbero, archbishop of Trier, beginning from the origin of the world down to his own times, a work indeed most celebrated and most worthy to be read by learned men.

Around these times there flourished at Mainz, in the monastery of Saint Alban, Rupert, a monk most learned in every respect, skilled in Greek and Latin, who, publicly presiding over the school of monks in the same place, left to posterity many monuments of his talent. His Homilies and Sermons, not without elegance, are extant; he also described in verse the life and passion of Saint Alban. He composed some works on musical proportion. Sebulco also, abbot of Saint-Denis, a noble and powerful man, is held in esteem among the Gauls; even kings feared him because of his admirable wisdom and prudence.

When he was pressing the assault upon a certain castle situated in Aquitaine with too much ardor, he was struck by the blow of a stone and died in the following year. Around these times Liutprandus, deacon of Ticinum, flourished, a man skilled in Greek and Latin and not at all poorly learned in secular letters; among other little works of his talent he published a history of the deeds of the Berengars, which he called by the Greek word Antapodosis, that is, “retribution.” For in writing he repaid Berengar, the tyrant raging in Italy against the empire, because, driven out by him, he had been compelled to go into exile. He began this history of his at Frankfurt, not far from Mainz, and completed it in Greece.

In these times also there flourished in Burgundy Berno, formerly a count, founder and first abbot of the monastery of Gigny, a man venerable for holiness and religion, who also, by the gift and at the expense of his grandmother the countess, built the monastery of Cluny, over which he set as first abbot Saint Odo, once a musician of Tours, a learned and most holy man, who wrote several distinguished little works of his talent, of which I have already made mention in the second book on the illustrious men of our order. Paschasius Ratbertus also, abbot of Corbie, is held to have been famous in these days; he wrote to Abbot Placidus a little book, not to be despised, on the sacrament of the altar; also the life of Saint Adalhard; and also a very beautiful work on the Lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah. Since he was not ignorant of the Greek language [unclear] of Bremen flourished in these times and governed his church energetically for twenty years, a learned and most holy man, whose feast is celebrated on the Ides of May.

In these times, under Abbot Haderad and the scholasticus Luthelm, many studious and most learned monks flourished in this monastery. Of these, one named Sigismund, elected bishop of Halberstadt, presided energetically by word and example over the people entrusted to him for almost thirty years, and lies buried in the same church. Cuntzigo also, a very venerable monk, in the reign of Arnulf was made abbot of the monastery of Saint Nazarius at Lorsch, in the diocese of Worms; yet, scarcely surviving one year, he died and was buried in the same monastery.

There was also among them another monk named Herdericus, a man most learned in all literature, both secular and divine, who wrote many and various works, especially on music, and very beautiful chants in honor of the blessed Mary and of various saints. He also wrote many poems of different kinds; of these I have seen nothing except these two little verses, which Meginfrid attributed to him in the Chronicle, to be said over the blessing of food and drink:

May the right hand of Christ bless the gifts set before us; May the kindly right hand of God bless our drink.

896

In the sixth year of Abbot Haderad, which was the year of the Lord 896, in the fourteenth indiction, a great synod was celebrated at Tribur, at which there were twenty-six bishops with many abbots from Saxony, Bavaria, Swabia, Gaul, Lotharingia, and other provinces. Among the bishops, however, these were the more famous: Hatto, archbishop of Mainz, of our order, formerly abbot of Reichenau; Ratbod, archbishop of Trier, of our order, formerly abbot of [Mediolanum?]; Hermann, archbishop of Cologne; Adalgar, archbishop of Bremen, of our order, formerly a monk of Corbie; Sigismund, bishop of Halberstadt, of our o

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius, 23

[unclear] and most holy: Sigehard, bishop of Hildesheim; Ludhelm, bishop of Toul, of our order, formerly a monk of Saint Maximin at Trier; Rudolph, bishop [unclear]; Salomon, bishop of Constance, of our order, formerly abbot of Saint Gall.

Moreover, among the abbots these were the chief men: Heriger, abbot of Fulda; Harderad, abbot of Hersfeld; Haderad, abbot of Saint Aurelius at Hirsau; Burchard of Saints Marcellinus and Peter at Seligenstadt; Adelbert, abbot of Corvey; Wilhard, abbot of Saint Alban at Mainz; Bertulf, abbot of Saint Ferrucius at Bleidenstadt. In this holy synod the bishops sitting with the abbots of the monasteries enacted many things for ecclesiastical advantage, and especially against certain laymen who were striving to depress and diminish episcopal authority. On these matters, therefore, and on many others, they established decrees, which they strengthened by common subscription, as is the custom.

Haderad was present.

Alfred, king of the English, was held famous in these times; in the thirteenth year [unclear]. Alfred, king of the English.

In the ninth year of Abbot Haderad, Regino, abbot of Prum, as he writes in his chronicle, was deposed. He did not, however, set forth the causes of his deposition, but says thus: In the year of the Lord 899, Richar was appointed abbot of the monastery of Prum; but how it was done toward me I have therefore deferred noting in this place, lest perhaps, provoked by injuries, I should [unclear]. Dividing day and night into three parts, he spent the first eight hours in reading, writing, meditating, and praying, another eight in arranging the affairs of the kingdom, and the remaining eight in care of his body, by a most prudent distribution.

Regino the abbot is deposed.

In the tenth year of Abbot Haderad, which was the nine-hundredth year of the Lord's Nativity, the Hungarians, having heard of the death of Emperor Arnulf, gathered a very great army and invaded the borders of Bavaria; they tore down castles, consumed churches with fire, and killed peoples without distinction of sex, age, or order. And, in order to strike greater fear into all, [unclear]. The empire was thrown into confusion, while the Romans and all the peoples of Italy grieved that it had been transferred into Germany. For this reason German emperors were not thereafter invested by the supreme pontiff until the first Otto. Hence in Italy [unclear] of Berengar usurped the empire.

From these words we can conjecture that he was deposed from the abbacy amid injuries, although the cause [unclear].

In the same year Emperor Arnulf died on the third day before the Kalends of December, and was buried [unclear]. Emperor Arnulf died. His son Louis succeeded. A war with the Hungarians takes place on the [Lyrum?].

In the fourteenth year of Abbot Haderad, Falco, archbishop of Reims, [unclear].

Ambrose. [unclear], a man very learned both in divine Scriptures and in secular letters, wrote a distinguished volume on the Song of Songs, and also on the Psalter and on the Apocalypse of blessed John [unclear]. Nearly a thousand of them are said to have been killed. But the Hungarians, after laying ambushes, at last emerged victorious, and then overran the kingdoms of the Bavarians, Swabians, and Franks, and burned everything while devastating it.

In the fourteenth year of Abbot Harderad, he was most cruelly killed by a certain [unclear] of Baldwin, count of Flanders, on account of the abbey of Saint [unclear], since the count judged that it should by no means be granted to him. The archbishop of Reims [unclear]. The bishop of Wurzburg is expelled.

In the same year, Adelbert, count of Bamberg [Babenberg?], drove Rudolph, bishop of Wurzburg, from his church and devastated the whole diocese.

[unclear] of the emperor, who was the brother of this emperor Louis, as already above [unclear]. Of the emperor, because he was the brother of this emperor Louis, as already above [unclear].

996. 853. [unclear]. 842. 843. 844. 845. 846. 847. 848. 849. 950. 951. 952. 953. 954. 955. 956. 957. 958. 959. 961. 960. 961.

The Monastery of Hirsau

as we have said, the same Count Adelbert killed [him] in a certain battle in Hasilia, near Fritzlar, on the third day before the Kalends of March. For that same count was an adversary of Emperor Louis, because his father, Duke Conrad, had previously killed his brother.

In the same year, the fifteenth of Abbot Haderad, in the month of July, King Louis held a general assembly of the princes at Tribur, a royal estate not far from Mainz and situated above the Rhine, which, now deserted, keeps no trace of its former honor except the ruined walls of a castle. It is a place between Oppenheim and Mainz, on the right hand for those descending the Rhine, where once this imperial estate had been situated with a castle and a most beautiful monastery; now it has only a few small houses of peasants. Then Louis, moving his army through Franconia, surrounded with a siege and took a certain castle of Count Adelbert, called Tharissa, which is now a monastery of our order in the diocese of Würzburg. Count Adelbert, however, was not in it; but while he was in the castle of Bamberg with his very strong army, [unclear], by the treachery and deception of Hatto, archbishop of Mainz, [unclear], he was beheaded on the fifth day before the Ides of December. Moreover that castle Tharis was changed into a monastery of our order, in which the same Count Adelbert is said to be buried. It is four of our German miles distant from Bamberg by the descent of the Main.

905.

In the same year, the fifteenth of Abbot Haderad, which was the year of the Lord 905, after the death of Pope Benedict IV, Leo, a monk of our order from Brandalo, elected supreme pontiff, the fifth of that name, sat forty days, [unclear] a certain priest named Christopher, a deceitful man, who, led by lust for rule, cast the pope into chains, where not long afterwards he died of grief of mind. And, invading the pontificate, which as he had acquired it wickedly, so after seven months he shamefully lost, and thrust by Sergius into a monastery, unwillingly he was made a monk.

Leo the monk becomes pope.

Sigbertus.

In the nineteenth year of Abbot Haderad, Wymo, a monk of Corvey in Saxony, of our order, a learned and holy man, was elected archbishop of Bremen and presided for eighteen years. Afterwards, for the love of God, he entered Gothia, preached the word of God to those peoples, and after some years died and was buried there, shining with many miracles.

In these same times there flourished in the same monastery of Corvey a very learned man, Sigbertus, a monk, disciple of the aforesaid Wymo, most holy bishop, and companion of his pilgrimage. After Wymo had died among the Goths, Sigbertus returned to the monastery and described his life in a twofold style, that is, in verse and in prose. He also wrote certain other things, of which we have already made mention in the second book of the illustrious men of our order.

910.

In the twentieth year of Abbot Haderad, which was the year 910 of the Lord’s nativity, the East Franks and Saxons waged many wars with the Hungarians, but made little progress.

Incursion of the wanderers.

Adelbero.

In the same year Adelbero, a monk of this monastery of Saint Aurelius of Hirsau, a disciple of Luithelm, was made scholasticus in the monastery of Saint Alban near Mainz, where at that time a great multitude of monks flourished. Because he instructed them so gloriously in every knowledge of the scriptures, both secular and divine, he acquired among all the people round about a great fame for his learning. After a few years Archbishop Hertiger made him abbot of Saint Ferrucius. For he was a man worthy of honor, not only because of the teaching of incomparable knowledge, in which he was distinguished before many others, but also because of his prudence and the complete holiness of his life.

912.

In the twentieth year of Abbot Haderad, Emperor Louis died without children. He had indeed had as wife Lutgard, daughter of Ludolf, duke of the Saxons, sister of Duke Otto, but he received no children from her. In his place Conrad I was elected by the princes, son of Conrad, duke of Lotharingia, and brother of the aforesaid Emperor Louis, whom Count Adelbert of Bamberg, as was said above, killed in battle. This Conrad was the last emperor from the stock of Charlemagne, and he ruled for seven years. Against him many princes rose up, namely Arnulf, duke of Bavaria, whom he compelled to flee to the Hungarians with his wife and children; Burchard, duke of Swabia; Eberhard, count of the Franks; Giselbert, duke of Lotharingia; and Henry, most powerful duke of Saxony and Thuringia, son of Otto

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

25

... emperor after Otto. Yet Conrad quickly drew all these men over to his side, as much by wisdom as by courage.

DCCCCXIII

In the twenty-fourth year of Haderad our abbot, and in the nine hundred and fourteenth year of our Lord Jesus Christ, the second of Conrad’s empire, the Hungarians again devastate all Germany with sword and fire, coming as far as Fulda, Alsace, and Basel.

In these times Betto, a monk of our order, provost of Saint Columba, became bishop of Auxerre, a learned and religious man, who from his boyhood had been excellently instructed in monastic disciplines.

In the twenty-second year of Abbot Haderad the archbishop of Mainz died; Heriger succeeded him.

Betto.

Hatto dies.

[DCCCCXVII?]

In the twenty-seventh year of Abbot Haderad, Saint Ratbod, bishop of Utrecht, passed to the Lord on the third day before the Kalends of December. He was a learned and most holy man, full of the spirit of prophecy, and also wrote many small works in praise of the saints. He rests at Deventer, exalted by miracles.

The monastery of Gembloux is founded.

Ratbod the bishop dies.

Around these times Wipertus flourished, a noble man, rich and powerful in the world, who founded a monastery of our order in the diocese of Liege, named Gembloux. When he had completed its construction, and monks and an abbot had been introduced, he himself laid aside secular dress and, becoming a monk in the same monastery, shone forth as renowned in life and conduct.

In these days also Wiberadis, a consecrated woman, flourished at the monastery of Saint Gall. Enclosed for the love of God, and devoting herself day and night to prayers, fasts, and holy meditations, she deserved to be enlightened by the spirit of prophecy. She foretold to Saint Udalric, then living among the monks at the head of Saint Gall, that he would become bishop in the church of Augsburg; afterward the outcome of the matter proved this true.

[DCCCCXVIII?]

In the year of the Lord 918, in the sixth indiction, Harderadius, the fourth abbot of this monastery, died on the fourth day before the Ides of August, in the twenty-eighth year of his rule. Rudolphus, a monk, succeeded him in the abbacy. He presided over the monastery and the brothers for seven years, as we shall say: a man advanced in age, not very useful for governance.

Concerning Rudolphus, fifth abbot of this monastery, who presided for seven years, with certain deeds of that time in Germany.

After the death of the venerable Abbot Haderad, as we have said, in August, and after he had been honorably buried according to custom, Rudolphus, a certain monk advanced in age, was substituted in his place. He presided over the perfection [unclear] of the brothers for seven years; under his rule regular discipline did not greatly prosper. For he was a pious man, excessively liberal, and I will not say prodigal, who took pleasure in drinking-cups and banquets. Hence he neglected temporal affairs and by no means preserved spiritual ones. Therefore, when after years the brothers wished to depose him, they could not, because of the support of friends, many of whom among secular persons he was said to have gained for himself by gifts and presents.

In the same year in which the venerable Abbot Haderad died, Conrad, the first emperor, died on the tenth day before the Kalends of January, and was buried in the monastery of Fulda beside the altar of the Holy Cross. Before he died, lying on his bed, when he was asked by the princes whom he advised them to elect as his successor, he replied: “I know no one better than Henry, duke of the Saxons, who is an excellent man, prudent and renowned, through whom the empire can easily be restored to its former condition. Elect him with confidence, because he is powerful to defend you and to recover what has been lost.”

Henry, first emperor, dies.

[DCCCCXIX?]

And so Henry, duke of the Saxons, elected to the empire on Conrad’s advice, ruled for eighteen years. He began in the first year of Abbot Rudolphus, namely in the year of the Lord’s nativity 919: a peaceful man, a cultivator of justice, magnificent, and a most vigorous extirpator of the wicked.

In the third year of Abbot Rudolphus, when the brothers themselves wished to depose him from his office because of his disorderly way of life, they could not, because of the force and threats of his friends, whom partly by blood and partly by gift he had made and had as defenders for himself. Therefore, compelled, they bore it patiently, until the Lord God should arrange to dispose the matter otherwise.

28

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year Adelbero, a monk of this community, who some years before had been appointed scholasticus of the monks at St. Alban's in Mainz, by election of the brethren and promotion by the archbishop of Mainz, became abbot of the monastery of St. Ferrutius, which by another name is called Blidenstadt. In this same year Luithelm, monk and scholasticus at St. Aurelius, died, a man most renowned for life and learning, leaving after him many most learned disciples, many of whom became abbots in different monasteries, and some even bishops.

At about these times a monastery of our order in Saxony, called Ringelheim, was founded by Theodoric, count of that place. This count's daughter Mechthild was taken as wife by Emperor Henry I; she bore him three sons and four daughters: Bruno, who was afterwards archbishop of Cologne; Otto, the first emperor; and Henry, duke of Bavaria. Mechthild, the first daughter, was abbess of our order at Quedlinburg. Gerberga, the second daughter, first married Lothar, king of the Franks; after his death she married again, to Giselbert, duke of Lorraine. The third daughter, named Rixa, married Rudolf, duke of Bavaria. The fourth, named Hadwig, married Hugh, count of Paris, who afterwards became king of the Franks.

922.

In the fourth year of Abbot Rudolf, King Henry expelled from his borders the Hungarians who were ranging through Saxony to exact tribute, their armies having been cut down. In these times, after Luithelm, Dierhard, a monk, presided over the public school of the monks in this monastery, a man most learned in all literature, both divine and secular. He is said to have written some little works, but they have not come to our knowledge.

In these days there also flourished Gilderic, formerly abbot of the monastery of Saint-Germain of our order, bishop of the church of Auxerre, a man very venerable in morals and learning, who by his labors [unclear] many good things for the church entrusted to him. Rutger also, archbishop of the church of Trier after Rabbod, is held to have been distinguished in these times; among the other monuments of his talent he composed a book of decretals, which, producing it publicly in a synod before his suffragans at Trier, he approved.

Around these times Emperor Henry founded [the church of] Meissen, and placed an episcopal see in it. He honored its bishop with great privileges, and gave him many lands, villages, estates, and castles, so that through him he might more easily be able to resist the Hungarians when they raided the land. Meanwhile also, when he had made [peace?] with the Hungarians for nine years, he saw to it that many cities in Saxony were made very strong with walls and ditches, so that if the enemies broke in again, the Christians might defend themselves by the protection of walls.

924.

In the sixth year of Abbot Rudolf, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 924, a certain monk of this community, named Adelhard, died. Once under Abbot Haderad he had been fully instructed in divine and secular writings; but by some occasion or other he fell into such an affliction of the head that after two years he became blind. When the light of sight had been lost, however, the pain of the head also ceased, and apart from blindness the man became very healthy. Thereafter, since, now made blind, he had lost in great part the sweetness of the present life, he made a virtue out of necessity, devoted himself wholly to divine exercises, and strove with all the virtue he could to show himself a faithful worshiper of God. From then on no one ever saw him intent on worldly business, frivolous in conduct, or idle in speech; he was always intent either on prayer or meditation, though more often on contemplation. He is said to have been of such compunction and devotion that whenever anything about the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ was said or read before him, at once dissolved in tears he would cry out with a groan, so that he also stirred others who were present to weeping.

His way of life was so pure and pleasing to God that he deserved to receive the spirit of prophecy. For he often foretold many future things, which the outcome proved true. Indeed, three years before he was to die, he foretold so clearly the [unclear] of the monastery, which followed almost eighty years later, as if he saw it present before his eyes. At his passing, as the monk Meginfrid writes, the sweetest voices of angels singing were heard in the air; lamps were seen at night over his tomb, and certain other signs of sanctity. He died in the aforesaid year, on the seventh day before the Kalends of January, in the twenty-third year from when he had lost his sight, but the seventy-eighth of his age, in the first indiction.

925.

In the following year, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 925, Abbot Rudolf also died in the month [unclear].

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

in the month of March; Meginfrid did not record the day, in the seventh year of his rule. The aforesaid monk Adelhard was said to have secretly foretold this to certain of the monks. Abbot Rudolph dies; under him discipline grew slack.

For, as we said before, he was a frivolous man, wholly given to feasts and drinking-bouts, caring little or nothing for regular observance. Hence the monks, especially the younger ones, not yet grounded in the fear of God, having once grown accustomed to these laxities, could never afterwards be recalled to the inner conversion of the spirit.

On Diethmar, sixth abbot of this monastery, who presided for twenty-seven years, and on the various events of that time in Germany.

After the death of Abbot Rudolph, great difficulty arose among the brothers in choosing a successor. Dissension occurs in the election. For some of the elders, who had the discipline of the regular life at heart, desired to have such a shepherd as would wish and be able, by word and example, to revive that former fervor of monastic religion, now almost extinct in this monastery. On the other hand, the greater, though not healthier, part of the brothers, who by the [bad?] example of Abbot Rudolph [unclear].

At last, after many discussions, with the venerable Hildebert, abbot of the monastery of Fulda, interposing his counsel, they unanimously chose Diethmar, a monk of Saint Gall, already known to them before, since, when Linthelm once held the school of Saint Aurelius, he had lived among them for two years. By the counsel of Hildebert, abbot of Fulda. Diethmar becomes abbot.

Choosing him, therefore, as abbot on the eighteenth day before the Kalends of May, they received him, brought with honor from the monastery of Saint Gall, in the same year in which Rudolph had entered the way of all flesh, namely in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 923, in the thirteenth indiction, in the sixth year of Henry, king of the Romans. He presided for twenty-seven years. Life of Abbot Diethmar.

He was born in Swabia, begotten of his father Arnold and his mother Helwiug, who, indeed, in respect of worldly rank, were marked by no prerogative of nobility, but who made humble lineage bright by the love of Christ. For they offered this son of theirs, while still a little child, in the aforesaid monastery of Saint Gall, to serve almighty God, trusting that by his merit they too could be reconciled to God.

But the boy, once devoted to God by his parents, like another Samuel began to act more zealously in all things that pertained to conduct, and to preserve most diligently what was said by the elders. He was docile in mind and, while still a little boy, flourished with such liveliness of memory that it was regarded as a marvel [unclear].

At that time there was a monk named Hartmond, who after Notger presided for many years over the school of the monks at Saint Gall; we have already made mention of him earlier. [Adelhard?] the scholastic. His talent is commended. Since he had a singular gift for teaching, he took Diethmar, together with others, to be instructed, and in a short time made him more learned than those of his own age.

He was indeed [unclear] in talents; when he had come to [unclear], he became learned in all philosophy, both secular and ecclesiastical, no less distinguished for the integrity of monastic conduct than for learning in letters. In his twenty-eighth year he received the grade of the priesthood. And after seven years, when he was thirty-five years old, [unclear]. Age of Abbot Diethmar.

Not many years later, when Hartmond had died, he succeeded him in the direction of the literary [school]. He was sparing in food, still more sparing in drink; and by most prudent governance he recalled regular discipline in this monastery, almost collapsed, to its former state. The character of his conduct. In every business to be done he conducted himself prudently; almighty God [bestowed?] on him the grace of his blessing in many ways. He was not only learned, but also in the Roman language as [unclear].

He bore the weaknesses of his brothers so prudently and patiently that no one was ever seen so insolent that, through his most prudent long-suffering, he did not make progress toward better things.

927.

In his third year, Heriger, archbishop of Mainz, died on the Kalends of December. In the archbishopric there succeeded him that most reverend Hildebert, abbot of Fulda, a Fran[unclear] by birth. Hildebert, abbot of Fulda, becomes archbishop.

28

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

[unclear], archbishop of Mainz, a man of wondrous holiness and, besides the natural wisdom of his mind, also sufficiently distinguished in knowledge of letters; among the other gifts of graces he is also said to have had the spirit of prophecy. This is Hildebert, a bishop beloved of God, by whose counsel, as we said above, Diethmar was taken from Saint Gall two years earlier as abbot of this monastic dwelling. He presided over the church of Mainz for fourteen years. This venerable prelate anointed Otto the emperor first as king.

928.

In the fourth year of Abbot Diethmar, Emperor Henry, fighting against the Hungarians, Danes, and Bohemians, came away victorious, killing almost twenty thousand of them and leading away nine hundred.

In these days Diethard, abbot of the monastery of Hersfeld, was made bishop of Hildesheim in Saxony, ninth in order; he presided over the aforesaid church for twenty-two years, and in his place Burchard was made abbot.

Around these times Ratherius flourished, from a monk of the monastery of Bobbio bishop of Verona: a man of great simplicity, yet renowned for learning both in secular literature and in ecclesiastical literature. Driven from the bishopric of Pavia into exile by Hugh, king of Italy, which [unclear] he composed in a lowly style. He also wrote many other things useful to readers, of which we have made mention elsewhere. He labored much by writing and preaching against the heresy of the Anthropomorphites, which in his time had begun to sprout again in Italy, saying: that God consists of a body and human limbs.

At the same time Hildewin flourished, from abbot of Bobbio bishop of Verona immediately before Ratherius, and afterward appointed archbishop of Milan by Hugh, king of Italy.

929.

In the fifth year of Abbot Diethmar, Emperor Henry, by entreaties, threats, and immense gifts, extorted from him the lance of wondrous workmanship, sanctified by the nails of Jesus Christ crucified, which is said to have belonged to the first and great emperor Constantine and which Count Samson had given to Rudolph, king of Burgundy. He left it to posterity as an emblem and protection of the empire. In our own times the Nurembergers profess that they possess this, together with the other insignia of Charlemagne, and we have seen it.

In these times also Emperor Henry built that famous convent of nuns under the rule of Saint Benedict in Saxony, which is called Quedlinburg, in honor of blessed Servatius, once bishop of Tongeren, and appointed as first abbess his daughter Mechthild, a virgin renowned for many virtues, namely the sister of Otto the first emperor and of Bruno, archbishop of Cologne.

933.

In the eighth year of Abbot Diethmar, in the city of Genoa a spring of blood flowed forth very abundantly, perhaps portending the imminent ruin of that city, which followed in the same year. For that city, when African unbelievers sailed to it with a large fleet, was captured in the same year, and all the citizens were either slaughtered or led away captive.

In the same year Burchard, abbot of Hersfeld, was made bishop after Diedo in the church of Wurzburg; in the abbacy Megingus succeeded him, a vigorous man and distinguished for honorable morals.

875.

In the tenth year of Abbot Diethmar, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 935, a great synod of bishops and abbots was celebrated at the city of Erfurt in Thuringia.

Many marvels preceded the death of Emperor Henry in this year. The sun, in clear weather, belched forth flames in many places, [unclear] where Henry was afterwards buried. The left hand of a certain man, cut off with iron, was restored whole to him after a year while he slept; and, as a sign of the miracle, there remained at the place of joining a fine line of blood-red color.

In the following year King Henry, after subduing the nations all around, when he had determined to set out for Rome, was seized by illness and abandoned the journey. When he saw that he was about to die, he summoned the princes and all the people, designated his eldest son Otto as emperor, distributed estates with treasures to his other sons, and died on the fourth day before the Nones of July, at about the sixtieth year of his age and the eighteenth of his reign. He was buried at Quedlinburg in the monastery of nuns which he himself had begun and his wife completed. His son Otto the First succeeded him and ruled for thirty-eight years,

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... lived; in his first year the Hungarians, devastating Francia, Germany, and Gaul as far as the Ocean, and entering Italy by a circuit, finally returned to their own lands with immense booty.

936.

Thus in the second year of Abbot Diethmar, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 936, in the tenth indiction, Otto I was anointed king by the hands of Hildebert, archbishop of Mainz.

For when two bishops, namely those of Trier and Cologne, were contending with one another as to which of them ought by right to perform this office of consecration, by the judgment of the nobles it was assigned to Hildebert, bishop of Mainz.

He went up to the altar, took from it the imperial sword with its belt, turned to the king, who was bending his knees before him, and said: “Receive this sword, by which [unclear] all enemies of Christ, barbarians and bad Christians, handed over to you by divine authority, with all power of the whole empire of the Franks, for the most firm peace of all Christians. Amen.” Then, taking the bracelets and cloak, he clothed him, saying: “By these horns hanging down to the shoulders, be reminded with what zeal for the faith you ought to burn, and that you should persevere constant in defending peace to the end.” Next, taking the sceptre and staff, he said: “By these signs be warned that with fatherly correction you should rebuke those subject to you, and that first to God’s ministers, then also to widows, orphans, and wards, you should always show yourself protector and defender, and mercifully extend to them the hand of mercy.” After this, when the oil of consecration had been poured upon his head, he said: “The Lord has anointed you king over his people, so that the oil of mercy may never fail from your head, whereby here and in the future you may obtain mercy from him, your Creator. Amen.” Last, he placed the royal crown upon his head, saying: “He has crowned you with a crown of justice, by which you are to be reminded that you ought to administer justice to your subjects, so that, fortified by this royal ornament, you may appear revered by your own people and terrible to your enemies, and after the end of this life may be crowned with an everlasting reward with the angels. Amen.” When the bishop’s blessing had been completed, they placed the king on the royal throne with all joy.

937.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Diethmar, the monasteries of St. Gall in Swabia, of Boniface at Fulda, and of the Scots were consumed by fire.

In the same year Duke Eberhard captured Henry, the emperor’s brother, whom his father, after expelling Arnolf, had appointed duke of Bavaria; but when the Bavarians were soon defeated by Otto, his brother was released from prison.

In these times, after St. Odo, Adamarus, abbot of Cluny, flourished, a man distinguished enough for holiness of life and learning in the Scriptures, who at last, deprived of the light of his eyes, [unclear] succeeded, who built the monastery of St. Peter the Apostle outside the walls of Mainz to the north.

940.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Diethmar, [unclear], formerly abbot of our order, as we said above, archbishop of Mainz, died; Frederick succeeded him. The monastery of our order was founded in the city of Hildesheim, later transferred outside the city onto a mountain, which we call Berg. This foundation Otto I, emperor, began and completed; the first abbot of the monastery was Anno of St. Maximin of Trier, a man very learned in both divine and secular writings, and venerable no less for integrity of morals than for knowledge.

943.

In the eighteenth year of Abbot Diethmar, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 943, Diethard, monk and scholasticus of this place, died; he had presided over the public school of the monks for twenty-two years after Luthelm the monk. He was a man most learned in every knowledge of the Scriptures, and no less notable for [unclear] than for doctrine. He died on the twelfth day before the Kalends of October, in the first indiction. In the office of teaching there succeeded him Meginrad, a very venerable monk, who in his youth had been a hearer of Luithelm, who was abbot of the monastery of St. Gall, a man very learned in every knowledge; after his death, under the aforesaid monk Diethard, he made great progress in every knowledge, both divine and secular, and left behind him many very learned hearers.

In the same times there flourished in the monastery of St. Gall a man very learned in every knowledge...

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

...of the liberal arts, the monk Helpericus, once a fellow pupil of Diethmar, who, after the death of the monk Adelhart, the scholasticus and his teacher, obtained the office of teaching in the same monastery, and left after him many distinguished disciples trained in every branch of learning. How many small works he wrote we have sufficiently set forth elsewhere, where we treated of writers.

Concerning the wife and sons of Emperor Otto the First

In this same year died Edith, daughter of the king of England, the first wife of Emperor Otto, a holy woman and very devoted to Christ, buried in the aforesaid monastery of Magdeburg. She bore Otto two sons, Liudolf, duke of Saxony, and William, who after Frederick was archbishop of Mainz. After this he took as wife Adelaide, daughter of the duke of Burgundy and a widow, by whom he likewise had two sons, Otto [unclear] Quedlinburg.

In the same year also died Matilda, mother of Otto the First and empress, and she was buried in the aforesaid convent of nuns beside her husband Henry.

In these days Wenceslaus, prince of Bohemia, a holy and most Christian man, was martyred by his brother, while ambition for rule was raging. In vengeance for him Emperor Otto declared war on Boleslaus the fratricide, and there was a long contest between them for fourteen years.

Around these times Arigandus, abbot of the monastery of St Peter in Francia, was held famous for religion and sanctity in the city of Sens; he took care to reform the monastic life in that place splendidly, no less by example than by word. In these days also, after William, Germandus, a monk of St Germanus of Auxerre of our order, became archbishop of Sens, a learned and religious man; after he had governed the church of Sens energetically for some years, he passed to the Lord and was buried in his own monastery of St Germanus, from which he had been taken. After him Hildemannus, a monk of St Denis of Paris of our order, a very learned man, was made archbishop of Sens. In the twenty-first year of Abbot Diethmar, a great famine prevailed in Gaul. The Hungarians fought with the Bavarians and the emperor, and were defeated. In the twenty-third year Emperor Otto conquered the Danes and [unclear] their king Gotfrid. Moreover he established the archbishopric of Magdeburg, and built that city.

951

In the twenty-sixth year of Abbot Diethmar, which was the year 951 of the Lord’s Nativity, Emperor Otto celebrated his wedding with Matilda, his second wife, in the city of Pavia, with the greatest pomp and solemnity; in the previous year he had freed her from the chains of Berengar, after defeating him.

In the following year, which was the last of Abbot Diethmar, the aforesaid tyrant Berengar entered, conquered, and overcame the same man, and drove him from Italy. Finding nowhere that the sole of his foot might rest, he at last at Augsburg submitted himself with his wife in surrender to the emperor; and, sent to the castle of Bamberg and committed to custody, not long afterwards he [unclear]. In this year great earthquakes occurred in various places in Germany and Gaul.

952

In the same year of the Lord’s Nativity 952, in the tenth indiction, on the fourth day before the Nones of May, in the twenty-seventh year of his rule and the seventy-first of his age, [he died and was] buried in the church of St Aurelius: a man in every respect worthy of God, who splendidly reformed, by word and example, the regular observance in this monastery when it had almost collapsed. Nor did he show himself zealous only in the observances of regular discipline, but he also exercised great diligence in preserving and enlarging the possessions of the monastery. For he greatly ennobled this place with books and relics of the saints, and adorned it with many ornaments. A great multitude of monks flourished in this monastery under his rule; some of them were very distinguished for holiness of life, while more were held in very celebrated repute because of their knowledge and learning in the Scriptures. There also remained much zeal among our monks from various [places]. Monks, if any seemed suitable for being instructed for various monastic [unclear], were sent out in order to obtain fuller education. For in all the monasteries of our order, especially in Germany and Gaul, there were scholastici from among the monks, who [taught] the younger also [unclear]

A great multitude of the monastery.

The very great zeal of the monks. A monk had scholastici.

The very great zeal of the monks. A monk had [unclear].

The very great zeal of the monks. A monk [unclear]

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...men outstanding in talent, they would instruct in the first rudiments of literary learning, and afterwards send on to higher studies those who had been found capable. But only in the more famous monasteries, which had both a more abundant supply of temporal goods and a larger number of monks, the most learned monks of all were appointed to the office of teaching others; and they were educated not only in sacred but also in secular letters. To them monks were sent from monasteries of lower rank to be instructed in the higher disciplines. Whoever among them had acquired in the order the reputation of greater learning also had more pupils sent to him for the instruction of monks.

Among the monasteries having this custom of studies, the principal at this time were the monastery of Fulda, of Saint Gall, of Reichenau, of Hersfeld, our Hirsau, of Saint Alban at Mainz, of Corvey, of Prum, of Mediolacense, of Saint-Denis at Paris, of Saint Alban at Mainz, of Reims, of Auxerre, of Tours, of Stavelot, and of Wissembourg; of Saint Maximin at Trier, of Reims, of Auxerre, of Tours, of Stavelot, from whose community in each [unclear], in all of which there were many very studious monks, from whom the more excellent was appointed scholasticus. The abbots, moreover, who desired to have monks learned in every branch of knowledge, used to send some of their own to different monasteries to be instructed. Would that such study were maintained today in our monasteries: how many good things would be done, how many countless evils would be prevented. But not all know [unclear].

But let us return to the order of the history. Diethmar, of blessed memory, the abbot of whom we are speaking, knowing the usefulness of knowledge of the Scriptures, resolved with the greatest effort to educate his monks in every doctrine of letters; for this reason he appointed as master to them a very learned [unclear] and was buried. Two once made our order glorious, by merits of life [unclear], as was said above, he set over them as scholasticus; to whose instruction [unclear]. Few notice this in these times; as their knowledge is, so is their manner of life [unclear]. Diethmar, of whom we are speaking, knowing the usefulness of knowledge of the Scriptures, resolved with the greatest effort to educate his monks in every doctrine of letters; for this reason he appointed as master to them a very learned [unclear] and was buried. Two once made our order glorious, by merits of life. He who was able to say the above was filled with admiration. How great Windichinus was in knowledge of the Scriptures, we shall say later.

Concerning Siger, the seventh abbot of this monastery, who presided for almost 30 years, his character, and certain deeds of that time.

When Diethmar, the most reverend abbot of this monastery, had died, as we said before, Siger, a monk, who had held the office of dean, was immediately elected in his place: a man reverend in conduct and life, excellently learned both in the divine Scriptures and in secular letters. He presided over this monastery for almost 30 years in all holiness of religion. He was elected abbot on the same day on which his predecessor had died, namely the fourth nones of March, in the year of the Lord's nativity 912, which was the sixteenth year of the emperor Otto I. This Siger, born at Mainz, when he was twenty-four years old and was powerful in the world with many riches and honors, spurned and despised them all for the love of God and became a monk under Abbot Diethmar, his predecessor. He advanced so far in the holy life of religion, in wisdom, and in knowledge of the Scriptures, that when Diethmar had entered the way of all flesh, he himself, by the unanimous consent of all, was appointed shepherd of the sheep of Christ.

What kind of man he showed himself to his subjects, how zealous for regular discipline, how kind to the good, how severe to the negligent, no one could write better than one who deserved to see him and live with him in the monastery. In all things, indeed, he was solicitous always to present himself to his subjects as a living example of good works and virtues, lest either, preaching good things, he should neglect himself in deed, if he lived otherwise, or, withholding the teaching of the word, he should seem a useless pastor to his subjects and a mute dog unable to bark. Hence whatever he did not teach by example, no one else was able to perform.

853. In the first year of Abbot Siger, Emperor Otto I surrounded the city of Mainz with a siege. In the second year, which was the year of the Lord 954, Wifrid, archbishop of Cologne, died in the twenty-ninth year of his pontificate. Then the bereft clergy and people, by unanimous deliberation, agreed upon the man of God Bruno, brother of the emperor Otto I; and, after the leading men of that church had been sent, they obtained him as bishop. The monuments of his watchful [unclear], with buildings and the adornment of churches, are seen in many forms at Cologne down to the present day.

Bruno, brother of the emperor, becomes archbishop of Cologne.

Life and doctrine illumine our order [unclear].

The study of Abbot Diethmar.

Siger is elected abbot [unclear].

What the life of this Siger was like.

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The Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year Frederick, archbishop of Mainz, died. He was succeeded by William, son of Otto the First, the emperor, who writes thus about him in the Chronicle: “In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 954, in the twelfth indiction, lord Frederick of blessed memory, archbishop of the holy church of Mainz, died on the eighth day before the Kalends of November.

“In the same year I, William, unworthy of so great a succession, was elected in his place, with the consent of the clergy and people of that holy see, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of January, at the place called Arnsteden, and was ordained at Mainz on the ninth day before the Kalends of January.” These are William’s words.

At these times there flourished in Saxony Widukind, monk of St. Vitus at Corvey, a man learned in the divine Scriptures and most highly educated in secular writings. As we said above, he wrote to Mechthild, daughter of Otto the First, the emperor, namely the abbess at Quedlinburg, a history of the deeds of Henry the First, of Otto the First, and of the origin of the Saxons, arranged in three little books. He also wrote the Life of Saint Paul the First Hermit and the Passion of Saint Thecla the Virgin in a double style, that is, in prose and in verse, and also many other works, of which elsewhere we have already made mention. For many years he publicly presided over the school of monks in the aforesaid monastery of Corvey, and left after him several most learned disciples, many of whom were taken up into various bishoprics and abbacies. In that little book which he wrote on the studies of the ancients, he admits that, stirred by the reputation of Meginrad the scholastic and of the monks of St. Aurelius, he came to Hirsau and had conversation with them for many days, and that he saw there such study and fervor among the monks for the knowledge of the Scriptures, and found men so learned, that he could not marvel enough; and he extols that same Meginrad the scholastic with particular praises, saying that he was another Jerome and inferior to none of the ancients in learning.

Around these times there flourished Gregory, a priest, son of the king of England, a pilgrim for Christ, and Everard, a monk, both solitaries in the Black Forest beside the cell of St. Meginrad, the martyr of Reichenau. The first of these, Gregory, though he was the son of a king, despising his father, kingdom, fatherland, and all the pomp of the world for love of the heavenly kingdom, and fleeing secretly, remained unknown to men in great holiness in the Lord in the aforesaid place until his death.

The other, Everard, although he was dean of the church of Strasbourg, by divine inspiration despised the world and, when an angel of God revealed the aforesaid place, lived there a most holy life with St. Gregory the pilgrim until death. This most holy Everard was very familiar with and beloved by blessed Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg, by whom he was often accustomed to be visited. He was of such merit before God that, living and dead, he shone forth with many miracles, and he foretold his own death to the aforesaid holy bishop Ulrich long beforehand. From these two most holy hermits, that same place in which the monastery of our order now stands, built not much later, has from then until the present day been called “At the Hermits”; to it a great concourse has been accustomed to be made for many years past, although the monks dwelling there in these times are of a most dissolute life.

In these days Saint Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg, also flourished, a man renowned before God, who shone forth, illustrious with many miracles in life and after death. While he was still a young man he was brought up in the monastery of St. Gall and instructed in the necessary Scriptures. At length he was made bishop of Augsburg, and founded a monastery of our order in the same city, in honor of St. Afra the martyr, in which he himself at last became a monk.

He died, moreover, and was buried there, in the year of the Lord 973, which was the twenty-first year of Abbot Siger, in the first indiction, on the fourth day before the Nones of July, in the eighty-third year of his age and the fiftieth of his having assumed the episcopate, under Otto the Second, emperor.

Saint Maiolus also, the fourth abbot of the Cluniac monastery of our order, is held to have been renowned in these same times for learning and holiness. In the sixth year of his conversion, when St. Ademar yielded because of weakness of body and failing of the eyes, he was appointed shepherd of the Lord’s flock and shone forth, illustrious with many virtues. His feast day is kept on the fifth day before the Ides of May.

In the year of Abbot Siger, Otto the Great, emperor, overthrew the Hungarians with great slaughter, with great danger to himself and his men, in the place called Lechfeld, not far from Augsburg; in that battle Duke Conrad fell, with many others. Henry also, duke of Bavaria, the emperor’s brother, died in the same year.

In the following year Hademar, abbot of Fulda, died, who [unclear] his monastery, long before, a fire [unclear].

The Hungarians [unclear].

957.

A fire [unclear].

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Chronicle of Johann Trithemius 31: he constructed [unclear] with magnificent workmanship; Hatto, the son of his sister, succeeded him, and afterward became archbishop of Mainz.

In the same year Rupert, archbishop of Trier, died. Henry succeeded him; he built the regular workshops and cloister of Saint Peter around the church, and ordered the rule of the canons to be observed there. This is the greater church of Trier, in which at this time, as also in the other ancient churches, the canons lived in common according to the rule prescribed for them, having one table, one purse, and one common dormitory, just as today we live among ourselves according to the norm set before us.

DCCCCLVIII.

In the sixth year of Abbot Siger, which was the year of the Lord 958 and of the reign of Otto the great emperor, crosses appeared on people’s garments, terrifying many and bringing them back to salutary repentance. The garments of some also appeared as if marked by leprosy and infected with spots.

Around these times also a monastery of our order was founded in Saxony, called Hildesleuen, and many convents of nuns under the rule of our holy father Benedict were built in various regions, especially in Saxony. In this year also Willa, formerly the wife of King Berengar, after he had died under the emperor’s custody at Bamberg, despised the world, entered a monastery, and lived religiously under the habit of holy religion, in the eighth year of Abbot Siger. Envoys of the Turks came to King Otto, asking of him some learned man who might instruct them in the way of truth; for them, at their request, he sent Adalbert, formerly a monk of the monastery of Corvey, a bishop, a learned and holy man, who scarcely escaped from their hands.

DCCCCLXII.

In the tenth year of Abbot Siger, Emperor Otto, invited by the Romans against the insolence of Pope John [XII?], went to Rome; and when the pope, receiving him gladly, was honorably placing him under the Augustan chair, and by a solemn blessing [unclear] him emperor [unclear], with the pontiff promising amendment concerning the accusations brought against him, with glory [unclear]. Willa, formerly the wife of King Berengar, after he had died under the emperor’s custody at Bamberg, despised the world and entered a monastery; [unclear] who might instruct them in the way of truth, for whom, at their request, [he sent?] Adalbert, formerly a monk of the monastery of Corvey, a bishop, a learned and holy man. Likewise [unclear] the father Benedict. It is called Hildesleuen; in various regions, chiefly in Saxony, it was built.

Around these times also a monastery of our order was founded in Saxony, and many convents of nuns under the rule of our holy father Benedict were built in various regions, chiefly [unclear] of Trier. In this year also Willa, formerly the wife of King Berengar, after he had died under the emperor’s custody at Bamberg, despised the world and entered a monastery; [unclear] who might instruct them in the way of truth, for whom, at their request, [he sent?] Adalbert, formerly a monk of the monastery of Corvey, a bishop, a learned and holy man. Likewise [unclear] the father Benedict. It is called Hildeleuen; Hildesleuen [unclear]; in various regions in Saxony it was founded.

DCCCCCLXII.

In the tenth year of Abbot Siger, Emperor Otto, invited by the Romans against the insolence of Pope John [XII?], went to Rome; and when the pope, receiving him gladly, was honorably placing him under the Augustan chair, and by a solemn blessing [unclear] him emperor [unclear] built chiefly. In this year also Willa, formerly the wife of King Berengar, after he had died under the emperor’s custody at Bamberg, despised the world and entered a monastery; [unclear] who might instruct them in the way of truth, for whom, at their request, [he sent?] Adalbert, formerly a monk of the monastery of Corvey, a bishop, a learned and holy man. Likewise [unclear] the father Benedict. It is called Hildeleuen; Hildesleuen, so called, was founded in various regions of Saxony.

The pope was deposed for crimes of every kind.

A synod is held at Rome in the emperor’s presence.

Pope John is deposed.

The heads of the charges for which John was deposed were these: he celebrated Mass and did not communicate. Likewise [unclear] the father Benedict. Leo, protoscriniarius of the Roman see, a venerable and approved man, was elected pope by the unanimous consent of all, and was led to the Lateran palace, while the Romans praised what had been done [unclear]. When he was despising [unclear], indeed threatening that he would excommunicate the synod, by decree of the emperor and of all the fathers present in the synod he was deposed on the tenth day before the Kalends of December. And Leo, protoscriniarius of the holy Roman see, a venerable and approved man, was elected pope by the unanimous consent of all, and was led to the Lateran palace, while the Romans praised what had been done [unclear]. When he was despising [unclear], indeed [unclear] the synod, by the fathers a second time he was deposed on the tenth day before the Kalends of December. And Leo, protoscriniarius of the Roman see, a venerable and approved man, was elected pope by the unanimous consent of all, and was led to the Lateran palace, while the Romans praised what had been done [unclear]. When he was despising [unclear], indeed [unclear] the synod, by the fathers a second time he was deposed on the tenth day before the Kalends of December. And Leo, protoscriniarius of the Roman see, a venerable and approved man, was elected pope by the unanimous consent of all, and was led to the Lateran palace, while the Romans praised what had been done [unclear]. When he was despising [unclear], indeed [unclear] the synod, by the fathers a second time he was deposed on the tenth day before the Kalends of December. And Leo, protoscriniarius of the holy Roman see [unclear].

34

The Number of Those Who Were in This Synod

Forty-eight in number; all of them, together with the leading Romans and the whole people, with one voice deposing John from the papacy as a monster and slave of the devil, by unanimous vote elected Leo, the eighth of that name, as supreme pontiff, swearing that they would never depart from him, nor thereafter elect a pope without the consent of the emperor and his son.

When these things had been done, the holy emperor, not wishing to burden the Romans with too great an army, and at the same time believing that they would remain steadfast in the promised loyalty, granted many leave to depart. When the deposed John learned this, knowing the instability and greed of the Romans, he secretly sent messengers to them, promising that he would give them all the treasures of the Church if they would butcher the emperor together with the holy pope Leo. The Romans, at once trusting in the small number of the imperial army and encouraged by the promise of money, when the trumpet sounded, hastened and strove against the emperor in order to kill him.

The holy emperor met them on the bridge of the Tiber, which the Romans had blocked with carts. His very brave soldiers, accustomed to war, boldly leapt upon them and, like hawks, terrified the multitude of birds, with no one resisting. Neither hiding-places, nor baskets, nor hollow logs, nor crypts, nor receptacles of filth could protect those who fled. And so the Romans were killed without number, without mercy, without distinction of persons. Not even one of them all would have remained alive, had not the most pious emperor, moved by mercy toward those to whom no mercy was owed, [unclear] his soldiers while they were still killing them. After hostages had been received, the venerable pope Leo, having fallen at the emperor’s feet, begged that the hostages be restored to the Romans and that he be entrusted to their loyalty. Moved by his request, the holy emperor restored the hostages, and, knowing what was to come, entrusted the pope himself to the loyalty of the Romans like a lamb to wolves. When these things had been done, he withdrew from the city.

Meanwhile the women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope [unclear] at the emperor’s feet [unclear] that they should kill him. Neither hiding-places, nor baskets, nor hollow [unclear] could protect those who fled. And so the Romans [unclear] without number [unclear] loyalty [unclear] mercy [unclear] terrified the multitude, with no one resisting. Neither hiding-places, baskets, nor hollow logs, nor crypts of filth [unclear] could protect those who fled. The Romans should be restored [unclear] by the request, the holy emperor, moved, restored the hostages, and the pope to the loyalty of the Romans, knowing what was to come, like a lamb to wolves, to the loyalty and [unclear] their loyalty, knowing what was to come, he entrusted him like a lamb to wolves.

When these things had been done, he withdrew from the city. Meanwhile the women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope, fallen at the emperor’s feet, [unclear] his loyalty and their [unclear]. The women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope [unclear] at the emperor’s feet [unclear] that they should kill him. Neither hiding-places, baskets, nor hollow logs, nor crypts of filth [unclear] terrified the multitude, with no one resisting. Neither hiding-places, baskets, nor hollow logs [unclear] terrified the multitude, with no one resisting. They could not. The Romans should be restored [unclear] by request; the holy emperor, moved, restored the hostages, and the pope to the loyalty of the Romans, knowing what was to come, like a lamb to wolves [unclear] their loyalty [unclear].

The women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope [unclear] at the emperor’s feet, fallen down, [unclear] his loyalty and their [unclear]. The women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope at the emperor’s feet, fallen down, [unclear] his loyalty and their [unclear]. The women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope at the emperor’s feet, fallen down, [unclear] his loyalty and their [unclear].

The women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all [unclear] had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope [unclear] at the feet of the emperor, fallen down, [unclear] his loyalty and their [unclear]. The women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back the unwilling [unclear]. And so, when all [unclear] had been overcome, and after hostages had been received from the others who had remained, the venerable pope at the emperor’s feet, fallen down, [unclear] his loyalty and their [unclear]. The women with whom John [unclear] had drawn back [unclear].

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

DCCCCLXV.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Sigert, which was A.D. 965, the aforesaid Bruno, archbishop of Cologne of holy memory, died, and was buried in the monastery of St. Pantaleon, which he had begun the preceding year and, when at the point of death, ordered to be completed. He was buried in the twelfth year of his pontificate. He did many wondrous things in his time, and governed the duchy entrusted to him by the emperor his brother for the peace of the faithful so prudently that he did not on that account neglect the office of bishop, as many do. Wolmar succeeded him in the archbishopric for four years.

Bruno the archbishop dies.

DCCCCLXVII.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Siger, Otto the Second, at Rome, at the request of Pope John and in the presence of his father, was consecrated emperor. In the following year William, son of the emperor and archbishop of Mainz, died; in his place Hatto, abbot of Fulda, the second of this name, was ordained archbishop. He is said, in a time of famine, to have burned a great multitude of poor beggars together in one barn, as though they themselves were bringing famine upon his region by their begging and idleness, wishing in this to take counsel both for their want and for the common advantage. Hence they say that, before the third year of his archbishopric had yet been completed, the vengeance of divine correction proceeded against him and punished him harshly enough with a wondrous kind of torment, unheard of before by many. For so great a swarm of mice, bursting forth upon him from every side, is said to have rushed upon him in a mass that, wherever he turned, he was oppressed by the deaths of beasts of this kind. If he was in a high place, or in any more elevated place, the mice climbed up the walls; but if he was shut in, they entered through the cracks and, overwhelming him with an infinite multitude, bit him, tore him, and utterly strove to devour him. So great was their importunity that the more forcefully they were driven back, the more violently they attacked; and when he saw that he was nowhere safe on land, the now pitiable pontiff surrounded himself with the protection of waters, and, carried by boat, ascended a tower near the town of Bingen, in the middle of the Rhine, formerly constructed for the defense of the country, hoping that the mice would by no means come to that place through the rushing of the wavy river. But there is no place where divine power is prevented from exercising its vengeance: swimming through the waters in infinite multitude, the mice again climbed the tower by the walls, entered, harassed the pontiff, gnawed him, assailed him, and at last, when he had been overwhelmed by their excessive multitude, miserably killed him. To this tale we neither give authority nor withdraw it, since we read it as described by the ancients down to the present day, and we know that it is told by the inhabitants of the land to their descendants as something received by hearsay from their forefathers. The tower, however, standing in the middle of the river Rhine, retaining its name from the event, is called the Mouse Tower, in which the pontiff Hatto is said to have been consumed by those little beasts.

Otto, son of the emperor, is crowned emperor at Rome.

Hatto, from abbot, becomes archbishop of Mainz.

Hatto burned the poor in a barn.

The unheard-of vengeance for Hatto’s crimes.

The bishop is surrounded by mice in every place.

The bishop is consumed by mice near Bingen in the Rhine.

The Mouse Tower is still so called.

In this same year Meginrad, a monk and most learned scholasticus of this monastery, died in a good old age, a man in whom the discipline of Hirsau had been established with complete perfection in every kind of learning.

Meginrad, monk and scholasticus, died.

DCCCCLXVIII.

He died on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of November, A.D. 968, in the eleventh indiction. Reinhard, a monk, succeeded him in the governance of the monastic school, a man indeed sufficiently learned, but he did not attain the measure of his teacher; nor was he moved by so great a zeal for teaching the monks what he knew that he might be hoped to leave learned disciples after him. Nevertheless, from the instruction of Meginrad the scholasticus there were very many learned monks in the present monastery, of whom one, named Eginard, was made bishop in a certain church of Saxony. Werner was appointed abbot at St. Alban’s in Mainz, and Bernolph at the monastery of St. Michael.

Eginard.

Werner and Bernolph, abbots.

DCCCCLXX.

In the eighteenth year of Abbot Sigert, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 970, Theodoric, bishop of Metz, cousin of Emperor Otto, founded a monastery of our order on an island near the city of the bishopric of Metz, in honor of the holy martyr and Levite Vincent, and richly endowed it with many estates and ornaments.

The monastery of St. Vincent at Metz is built.

At this time the Bulgarians were ruled by two sons of Simeon the monk, Peter and Baianus. Baianus was most learned in the magical art, and through it did many wondrous things. As often and whenever he wished, he changed himself into a wolf, or into the form of any other beast, or so that he was seen by no one at all; and he both could do and did other wondrous things, by which he was accustomed to bring men into great amazement.

Baianus is renowned as most learned in the magical art.

In these times Richard, formerly a monk of St. Germanus of Auxerre and bishop, flourished: a man of excessive simplicity and of less practical capacity than these times seemed to demand, yet very venerable for the merit of his virtue and his zeal for religion.

Richard.

Richard.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... a little book On the Calamity and Desolation of the Fatherland, another little book, and certain other things, as Meginfrid reports.

In this year Theodoric, archbishop of Trier, died. Under him the canons of the major church there, having cast aside the regular life which up to this time their predecessors had maintained in the same church, ceased to be regulars and became secular in name and in manner of life. By their evil example the canons also of St. Paulinus at Trier, of St. Castor in Koblenz, those of Mainz and Speyer, and those of very many other churches, at different times indeed but with one spirit of impiety, cast aside the community of the regular life.

In this same year Rupert, archbishop of Mainz, successor of Hatto II, also died. Willigis, a good man and an outstanding worshipper of God, succeeded him. He built the churches of St. Martin the bishop, which is called the major church, and of St. Stephen the protomartyr, in which he was also buried. He also enlarged the monastery of St. Victor outside Mainz, and did many good things for many churches and monasteries.

In these times Robert, king of France, flourished, a just, learned, pious, and religious man, a lover and defender of monks, clerics, and all learned men. Among other little works of his talent he composed that sequence on the Holy Spirit which we sing in our order at Mass on the second and third day of Pentecost, which begins: “Come, Holy Spirit, and send from heaven the ray of your light.” He also published the responsory “Judea and Jerusalem,” and that one concerning St. Peter the apostle, “Cornelius the centurion,” along with many others. He was of such great religion that, enrolled in the catalogue of the saints, he shone with many miracles.

At the same time Æthelwold, a monk of Glastonbury, disciple of St. Dunstan, first abbot of Abingdon and then bishop of Winchester, flourished in England, a learned man and distinguished both in life and in learning. The teacher of this Æthelwold was, as we have said, St. Dunstan, a monk of our order, then abbot of Glastonbury, afterwards bishop of Winchester before him, and finally archbishop of Canterbury, a man of most holy life and distinguished by the radiance of miracles. His feast day is observed on the fourteenth day before the Kalends [of June?], on which he also died, in the thirty-third year of his pontificate, the seventieth of his age, and the year 988 of the Lord’s nativity.

980.

In the twenty-eighth year of Abbot Sigerus, which was the year 980 of the Lord’s nativity, Adalbert died, formerly a monk of the monastery of St. Maximin at Trier of our order, the first archbishop of Magdeburg in Saxony, from the pain of the stone, in the thirteenth year and eighth month of his episcopate, and in the [unclear] indiction, a devout and very learned man.

After his death, Otheric, a monk of Corvey, was elected, a holy man and most learned both in the divine scriptures and in secular letters. For some time after Windichinus he had charge of the monastic school in the aforesaid monastery. He consented unwillingly to the election made of him, and prayed the Lord not to permit him to become bishop; and this he obtained. For on the journey to the Roman curia for confirmation, he died, not without a reputation for sanctity.

In the thirtieth year of Abbot Sigerus, Emperor Otto II waged a dangerous war in Calabria. In it Henry, bishop of Augsburg, was killed with many other bishops, Duke Otto with many nobles, and Werner, abbot of Fulda, with many others; and the emperor barely escaped by swimming.

In these times Adalbert, formerly a monk of the monastery of Fulda and bishop of Prague in Bohemia, flourished, a learned and holy man and an outstanding propagator of the Catholic faith. After he had undergone many labors for Christ, he was crowned with martyrdom by the Prussians for the Christian faith and enrolled in the catalogue of the saints. His feast day is observed on the ninth day before the Kalends of May. Oswald also, formerly a monk of Fleury, a monastery of our order, archbishop of York, a [learned?] man [unclear].

982.

In the year of the Lord’s nativity 982, on the Kalends of September, Sigerus, abbot of this monastery, in the thirtieth year of the rule he had undertaken, [died]. He was buried before the altar of the holy father Aurelius, a devout and religious man; down to St. William no one like him succeeded in the abbacy of Hirsau. Lupoldus is recorded [unclear].

The canons of Trier become seculars from regulars.

Willigis.

Robert, king of France, learned and holy, flourished.

Adalbert.

St. Dunstan.

Otheric, from a monk, archbishop.

Dukes and abbots are slain.

Oswald.

Sigerus, abbot of this monastery, dies in September.

36

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Abbo, most learned abbot of Fleury and martyr. Aymonius.

There also flourished in these times that most learned abbot of Fleury, named Abbo, a man very renowned for his life and zeal for regular discipline; among other little works of his talent he wrote a booklet, not to be rejected, on the calculation of Victorius. At last, preaching the word of God to the peoples in Gascony, he was reddened with martyrdom and ascended to heaven. Aymonius too, a monk of Fleury under the aforesaid Abbo, at the same times adorned this age by learning and conduct. By command of the same abbot, his Abbo, he wrote a quite handsome work on the growth and beginnings of the Gauls; also a booklet on the miracles of our most holy father Benedict, and certain other things, of which we have made mention elsewhere.

Herigerus.

Herigerus too, abbot of [Bobiensis?], whom Berno, abbot of Reichenau, mentions in his book on the Advent of the Lord, flourished in the same times. He wrote many things, an account of which we have recorded in the second book of the illustrious men of our order. He was indeed a man most learned in every respect, and very famous both by reason of his way of life and of his doctrine.

About these times Saint Wolfgang also flourished. Saint Wolfgang.

About these times Saint Wolfgang, bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria, flourished, a man of great holiness and performer of many [unclear]. He was [unclear] to have been a monk of Trier of our order. This man [unclear] Saint Ulrich of Augsburg [unclear] little works, a fuller memorial of which we have made in the aforesaid booklet of illustrious men.

972. Roswitha, nun, most learned.

There also flourished at this time Roswitha of the monastery of Gandersheim, of our order, in Saxony, a consecrated virgin, very devoted to and learned in the divine scriptures, not ignorant of secular letters either, practiced in verse and prose. She wrote many works not unpleasing; [unclear] a little work to ecclesiastical burial.

In the twentieth year of Abbot Siger, which was the year of the Lord 972, Volimarus, archbishop of Cologne, died. He was succeeded by Gero, son of Count Christian and of Wiburga, sister of the count of Magdeburg. This Archbishop Gero, with his brother Count Diethmar, founded a monastery of our order in Saxony which is called the monks’ new castle, which we commonly call Munchennuenburg by its customary name.

About these times Hermann, duke of Saxony, built the monastery of Luneburg in Saxony in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel. In it he placed monks of our order, and set over them as first abbot a monk taken from the monastery of Saint Pantaleon in Cologne, named Luderic, a man venerable in character and learning.

973. The first Emperor Otto died. Otto the second.

In the twenty-second year of Siger, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 974, in the second indiction, Otto the first emperor died, in the thirty-eighth year of his reign and the thirteenth of his empire. His body, with great funeral rites of those mourning, was buried in the church of Magdeburg, which he himself had built. When the first emperor Otto had died, as we said before, his son Otto, the second of this name, succeeded him and ruled as emperor for almost ten years after his father. While his father was still living he had married Theophanu, daughter of John, emperor of the Greeks; by her he begot a son Otto, who after his father ruled as the third emperor. He also begot three daughters: Sophia, who was abbess of our order in Gandersheim; Adelaide, who was also abbess of our order in Quedlinburg; and Jutta, whom Ulrich, duke of Bohemia, took as wife, violently carrying her off from a certain convent of nuns in Regensburg.

In these times too Gero, archbishop of Cologne, founded a distinguished monastery of our order in his diocese, which is named Gladbach, only one mile distant from the town of Neuss, and he enriched it with many estates and ornaments. The first abbot of the same monastery was Sanderadus, a man of most holy life and of regular discipline; after death he was inserted into the catalogue of the saints, and his feast day is kept on the ninth day before the Kalends of September.

About these times also the monastery of Saint Martin in Cologne, of our order, was founded. Its first abbot was Mymborinus, a Scot by nation, a man much venerable for religion and holiness. Hence Scots inhabited that monastery for many years, on account of their incomparable holiness of life, until at last, growing lukewarm from their former fervor and relaxed into every dissolution, they were expelled from that one, as also from certain other monasteries of Germany.

977. Werenbold, monk of Hirsau.

In the twenty-third year of Abbot Siger, Werenbold, a monk of this monastery, died on the fourth day before the Ides of November. Since he was a studious and learned man, he wrote a beautiful little book on the praise of the martyrs;

The monastery of Gladbach is founded at this time. Saint Sanderadus, abbot in Gladbach. The monastery of Saint Martin in Cologne is founded. The monastery of Gladbach is founded at this time. Sanderadus, abbot in Gladbach. The monastery of Saint Martin in Cologne founded. The monastery of Gladbach I found, and I make Sanderadus abbot.

38

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Concerning Lupold, the eighth abbot of this monastery, who presided for only 4 years; concerning his character and the deeds of his time.

After the most reverend Abbot Siger had been buried, as we have set forth above, the brethren came together as one, to provide themselves with a shepherd according to the rule of our most holy father Benedict. After the casting of votes, as is customary, they unanimously elected as abbot one Lupold, a monk from among themselves, on the sixth day before the Kalends of September, in the year of the Lord 982, in the tenth indiction, in the eighth year of Emperor Otto II: a very old and venerable man, who presided over this monastery for only 4 years and 3 months. This Lupold was Bavarian by race, Regensburg by nation, born of parents of middling rank but nevertheless honorable. He entered the monastic order under Diethmat, abbot of this monastery, while still young, in which he lived more than 40 years most religiously and without complaint, walking before his own face in peace and tranquility of spirit, troublesome to no one, burdensome to no one. For he was a man of very great simplicity, and perhaps quieter than the morals of his subjects and these times required; he was an example of monastic life, not a preacher, since his own holy life commended him, and no impiety of others stirred him.

In these times, after Gero, archbishop of Cologne, Warinus was bishop of the church for 9 years. He renewed the monastery of St. Martin in Cologne, of our order, concerning which we spoke above, magnificently endowed it, and handed it over to the Scots to possess forever, under the rule of our most holy father Benedict.

Around these times Erhard, monk of Luneberg in Saxony, flourished, very devoted to the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters. He left many little works of his talent for posterity to read; for among them he wrote, from choice reading, commentaries on Genesis, on Exodus, on Leviticus, and on most other books of the Bible.

Alger also, a monk of Corbie in Saxony, and for many years a scholastic, before his conversion of seculars and after his conversion of monks, a man most learned both in divine Scriptures and in secular letters, flourished in the same times. Among the other monuments of his talent he wrote on the Sacrament of the altar and on free will, little works not to be despised. Arnulph also, or in our German manner Arnold, a monk of this [unclear] although the remaining little works of his talent are [unclear], nevertheless we do not doubt that he wrote more and other things. For the talent of so great a man could not have been summoned to writing by the publication of one little work only, or have ceased.

In these days there also flourished holy monks of our order, namely Benedict, Nathanael, John, Isaac, and Christian, disciples of blessed Adelbert, bishop and martyr of Prague, concerning whom it was said above. After they had, with the Lord’s help, accomplished by their preaching the conversion of many people in Hungary, Prussia, and Poland, at last in Poland they were crowned with martyrdom for the name of Christ, on the ninth day before the Kalends of May.

At about these times there also flourished Libatius, monk of the monastery of St. Alban the martyr near Mainz, a man most holy in character and way of life. Pope Benedict VII ordained him and sent him into Russia to preach the Gospel to the nations, where by word and example he acquired for Christ an innumerable people.

Orthwin also, the tenth bishop of Hildesheim, from a monk of the monastery of Magdeburg of our order in Saxony, learned and fervent with zeal for religion, is held to have been distinguished in these times; and he presided over the church of Hildesheim for almost 29 years.

Odo also, abbot of Corbie, made bishop of Beauvais in France, was distinguished around these times. Both for his learning in the Scriptures and for the integrity of his way of life, he was held in great reverence among all, and more than once fulfilled apostolic and royal embassies in his greatest affairs.

In these days there also flourished Bruno, from a monk of the monastery of Corbie in Saxony made bishop of Verden, brother of Duke Hermann, a man worthy of a prelate, since he is said to have been nobly instructed both in monastic institutes and in ecclesiastical disciplines.

Gebhard also, bishop of Augsburg, formerly abbot of the monastery of our order called Ellwangen, situated in the same diocese, flourished in these times; by his character and learning he adorned both horns of the altar.

983.

In the first year of Abbot Ludolph, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 983, in the eleventh indiction, Egbert, archbishop of Trier, instituted a bannitum fast in the third week after the feast

Chronicle of Trithemius.

to celebrate the feast of Easter, because of the excessive drought, which grievously afflicted the whole region.

982.

In the following year, which was the second of Abbot Lupold, Otto died at Rome on the sixth day before the Ides of December, and was honorably buried in the church of St. Peter, prince of the apostles. His son, Otto of the same name, succeeded him and reigned for almost eighteen years. He had as wife Maria, daughter of the king of Aragon, who was barren, whence he received no offspring.

985.

In the third year of Abbot Lupold, Warinus, archbishop of Cologne, died; Everger succeeded him. In these times Lubentius, archbishop of Bremen in Saxony, formerly a monk of Hersfeld, flourished, a man zealous in the holy Scriptures, who vigorously governed the people committed to him for twenty-five years.

Osdacus also, formerly a monk of the monastery of Reichenau, afterward made bishop of Hildesheim after Othwin, is held to have been distinguished about these times, and he vigorously ruled the church divinely committed to him by word and example for twenty-nine years.

In these times also there flourished in England Osbern, a monk of the monastery of [unclear] of our order, a man very renowned both in divine Scriptures and in secular letters; indeed there exists a notable work in which, beginning from the origin of that city, he describes the deeds of the bishops of [unclear], inserting the life or passions of several saints.

He also composed, on music, various chants with sweet melody, and also another monk of our order, of the monastery of [unclear].

In these same times also at Mainz, in the monastery of St. Alban the Martyr of our order, Theoderic the monk flourished, very learned in divine Scriptures and in secular letters. He wrote the successions and deeds of the bishops of Mainz. He also commented on the Song of Songs; likewise he composed very fine commentaries on the Gospel of John. But he left to posterity many other splendid monuments of his talent, the titles of which do not now occur to memory.

In the same year also Willigis, archbishop of Mainz, anointed [unclear] the third as king, and after three years he was consecrated emperor at Rome by Pope Gregory V. Overcoming Lothar, king of the Franks, who was attacking Lotharingia, near Verdun, he put him to flight, and compelled him to restore all the abbeys. About these times there also flourished Bruno, a monk of the monastery of St. Vitus of Gladbach, of our order, in the diocese of Cologne, a very studious man and excellently learned both in divine Scriptures and in secular letters. He is said indeed to have written many works, but few of them have come to our knowledge; of these we have made mention elsewhere.

In these times also there flourished in this monastery of Hirsau a noble man, studious and excellently learned in every variety of writings, a priest and monk named Adelbert. On account of the merit and eminence of his life, his learning, and the philosophy of his reputation, he was taken up as abbot of the monastery of Klingenmünster. Would that he had been placed over this monastery; perhaps the condition of the monastery of Hirsau would never have fallen into such desolation and ruin, of whose misery we shall speak after a little. He governed the aforesaid monastery [unclear], taking care to show [unclear] in all things. In all Germany his name was famous, and princes and bishops of churches depended much upon his counsel.

Concerning Hartfrid, the ninth abbot of this monastery, who presided for only two years, and concerning certain deeds of that time.

In the year of the Lord 986, in the fourteenth indiction, Lupold the abbot, after completing the fourth year and three months of the rule he had undertaken, died on the eighth day before the Kalends of December, and was buried in the church of the monastery of St. Aurelius. He was, as regards his own person, an excellent man, to whom nothing was sweeter than monastic quiet, silence, and contemplation. Yet he was somewhat more indulgent concerning the sins of others and readier for mercy.

Therefore, after Abbot Lupold had died and had been given ecclesiastical burial according to the custom of Christians, the monks of this monastery, deprived of a shepherd, after long discussions held among themselves, at last chose for themselves as abbot Hartfrid, a monk, young indeed in years,

40

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

but such in prudence and morals that no small hope of an excellent shepherd was held concerning him. He was therefore elected in the year of the Lord’s nativity 986, on the same day on which Lupold died, the eighth day before the Kalends of December, and he presided scarcely two years. He was a Swabian by nation, about thirty-six years of age, very finely adorned with monastic morals, by no means poorly learned in all erudition of the Scriptures, handsome in face, and proportionately raised up in manly stature, keen in intellect and eloquent in speech, and such a man as seemed easily able to persuade his hearers of whatever he wished. And indeed, unless untimely death had snatched him from the midst before his time, with the Lord’s help he could have preserved this place from the extreme dangers and evils in which not many years later it was entangled; this one could very readily foretell from the beginning of his rule. For as soon as he was raised up and became abbot, he took care with all his strength that all the monks in the monastery should live according to the purity of the Rule of our most holy father Benedict; and if he found anyone behaving otherwise, he did not tolerate him, but, after he had been admonished once and again and had not amended, he was accustomed to punish him rather severely before everyone according to the norm of the order. And lest anyone could accuse him as he corrected others, he strove to show himself in all things irreproachable, a follower of good works and a living example of virtues to his subjects.

987.

In his first year, Emperor Otto III entered Bohemia with a strong army and compelled its duke, together with the whole people, to surrender. In these times Adelbertus was renowned.

[unclear] of Worms, a very learned man, afterward bishop, learned in the divine Scriptures and very erudite in secular letters, while he was still a monk in the aforesaid monastery of Bobbio, held the public school of the monks and left behind him many very learned pupils. He also transmitted to posterity many lucubrations of his talent.

Engelbertus also flourished in these times, a monk of St. Eucharius at Trier, which today is called by the name of St. Matthias the Apostle, a Mosellan by homeland, a man trained in every respect, very learned in meter and prose. Among the other little works of his distinguished talent he wrote, in verse, the life and passions of the twelve Apostles; he composed certain treatises on music and on the composition of the monochord, and many other things that have not come into our hands. Later he was elected abbot of a monastery whose name I have not been able to find; after some years he rested in the Lord on the twelfth day before the Kalends of March, as is clear in his epitaph set below:

In this tomb reclines the abbot ever memorable, Engelbertus, rejoicing, dwells in the stars as a spirit; He died in the month of March, on the twice-sixth Kalends. He built the church which holds his tomb.

In the second year of Abbot Hardfrid, a very great pestilence, famine, and mortality grew exceedingly strong throughout all Germany, and there was such dryness that almost every kind of grain sown in the earth perished because of excessive drought, since it did not have the moisture by which it could have grown. Meanwhile [unclear] attacked [unclear] faithfully, and, as it appears to us, was the occasion of its entire destruction, which followed a little later. For in a short time, namely four months, sixty monks of this monastery were consumed by so lamentable a calamity; all of them died in this mortality of pestilence. Finally, when so many brothers had died and the end of the danger was thought to be at hand, the shepherd followed the sheep.

988.

For in the same year, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 988, Hardfrid, the ninth abbot of this monastery, died on the third day before the Nones of December, in the thirty-eighth year of his age and the second year after he had assumed rule. After his death there immediately arose, alas, the inextinguishable seedbed of the imminent destruction of this monastery. After the deaths, twelve monks remained surviving in it, in whom rested the chief authority for appointing an abbot in place of the deceased. Would that they had consulted their own affairs more prudently, and had not, through contentions and schisms, handed over a place consecrated to God into the hands of outsiders. The highest virtue of monks is humility, and their greatest vice is pride; for while one strives to surpass another through the lust of ruling, a monastery of the servants of God is changed into a pit of demons. Such an evil befell this monastery in these times after the death of the aforesaid man, since the dissension of the brothers who disagreed in the election utterly destroyed it, so to speak. Whence came this evil to this so celebrated place, Lord God, in which so many most holy men, burning before [unclear] for your name, pleased you? Behold, the better men and those who had zeal for regular discipline have been removed from the midst; and

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

..., and useless, proud, haughty, and carnal monks remained, to destroy by their [unclear] a most celebrated place consecrated to your name. Why, Lord God, who judge justly, did you will this to happen in this way? Surely you did not will the impious to prevail and consume the just? Far be it. We see your judgments, Lord; we do not know their causes, nor does it belong to us to examine the causes of your judgments, which we may without sin not know. Rather, to your most holy name we give such thanks as we can, you who allowed that monastery to fall for causes [unclear], so that it might rise again at once into a better state and condition. For if we wish to compare the monastery of Hirsau which we see today, with its persons, goods, substance, and buildings, with the old one whose miserable collapse we lament, we shall find no comparison of the past with the present. For present-day Hirsau surpasses and exceeds that old monastery with all its conditions as much as it seems later in time. But, pursuing the history in due order, let us faithfully and briefly set forth the deed as it has been transmitted to us by the testimony of old writings. For even if it may contribute little to the edification of readers, nevertheless knowledge of it will be a not useless warning to all who pass their life in cloistered conversation under a similar lot, by which they may learn that in elections of abbots they should seek not themselves, not their own advantage, but the honor of God alone.

Concerning Conrad, the tenth abbot of this monastery, who presided for about twelve years, and concerning the very bad dissension which occurred in the election.

When, indeed, the venerable abbot Hardfrid had died, with sixty monks, as we have said, twelve survivors remained from the convent. After almost three months they came together bodily in one place to elect an abbot; yet in mind, as will soon appear, they were far separated from one another. For by choosing two men in dissension, Conrad, who received the gift of confirmation from the bishop, and the fugitive Eberhard, who despoiled the monastery, they, alas, furnished the seedbed and material for the destruction of this place to the impious. One party indeed adhered to Conrad as legitimately and canonically elected; the other proclaimed that Eberhard was the true and legitimate pastor according to the first sanctions. Nevertheless Conrad prevailed by right and, as elected by the sounder part of the brethren, received ordination from the pontiff. Meanwhile Conrad was concerned about the gift of blessing; Eberhard, after carrying off all the treasures, chalices, ornaments, and whatever he could steal, hastened with two monks of his party to the count, who was otherwise already gravely hostile to the monastery, to seek aid. The count received him not only willingly but even very gratefully, rejoicing, as afterwards clearly appeared, that an opportunity had been given him by which at last he might satisfy the mind that had long gaped after the monastery’s goods. Immediately the robber savagely invaded the possessions of the monastery, long before offered by Christ’s faithful to God and Saint Aurelius; he tore them away and granted them for distribution as pay to his soldiers, as if in repayment for service rendered. He invaded villages, courts, fields, houses, and whatever he had learned belonged to the monastery’s right; and, under the pretext of the just defense of Eberhard, the abbot, as he himself said, he gradually confiscated the monastery’s property for his own uses. Whom could the monks invoke as protector, having no defender in all these matters, when all either feared the count’s power or were led by greed for the monastery’s spoils? Moreover Eberhard, given over to a reprobate mind and alienated in mind, incited the soldiers to plunder, saying that he was abbot and that it was lawful for him to permit the goods of his monastery to whomever he wished. Meanwhile Abbot Conrad and the monks consenting to his party were oppressed by insults and injuries; they hastened to the bishop, asking aid against the attacks of tyrants. But it is agreed that nothing was done at that time for the restoration of what had been taken away; rather, the violence grew greater day by day, since the count now publicly declared that it was lawful for him to reclaim what had been offered by his ancestors. Every occasion seemed blessed to him by which he might satisfy the avarice into which he had gravely fallen from the spoils of the monks. And so Conrad, now a poor and miserable abbot, with a few monks, and not all of them faithful, remained in the monastery, struck by the greatest fear and dread, scarcely having the means to feed and clothe himself and his own.

989.

He was elected in the year of the Lord’s nativity 989, in the second indiction, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of March, and he presided over the monastery in many tribulations and miseries for almost twelve years. He was by nation a Frank, born of humble stock, and for that reason less fit to resist such great evils and so many tyrants. He was a good and simple man, born more for handling the mysteries of religion than for governing a monastery prudently and usefully amid such great disturbances. Moreover that most wicked apostate Eberhard, when he was threatening that he would soon invade the monastery with a strong hand and cast Abbot Conrad into prison, was overtaken by death.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius, 43

The bones of Charles the Great, once emperor, until then unknown to many, were sought and found at Aachen by Otto III, emperor.

In the same year Evergerus, archbishop of Cologne, died; Saint Heribert happily succeeded him in the archbishopric. He built, opposite the city of Cologne beside the river Rhine, where a castle had been destroyed, a monastery of our order in honor of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, which we call Deutz; in it he established an abbot and monks according to the rule of Saint Benedict, and enriched it with many estates and ornaments.

In the same year the emperor, with many cardinals, bishops, abbots, and princes, [unclear] was about to visit Poland with a strong army, among other affairs of the kingdom, the tomb of Saint Adalbert, bishop of Prague, lately martyred for the faith of Christ, as we said above. At that time it shone forth in Poland with innumerable and astounding miracles. He obtained one arm of the same martyr from Boleslaus, duke of Poland, and, receiving it with great devotion, placed it at Rome in the church of Saint Bartholomew. The same emperor also, in honor of the most holy martyr Adalbert, with the consent of the supreme pontiff Sylvester II, appointed his brother Gaudentius, a monk of our order, as first archbishop of the church of Prague, where his brother had been bishop. Since he was a learned and most holy man, by his preaching he converted many peoples round about to the faith of Christ.

In these times Ansfridus flourished, formerly a count, then a monk of our order, and from monk the eighteenth bishop of Utrecht. Others say that from bishop he was made a monk in the monastery of Saint Mary of our order, which he himself built. And this agrees more with the truth and with the chronicle of the people of Utrecht, which says that in the year of the Lord 1005, as a son chastened by God, he lost the light of his eyes and received the habit of sacred religion in the aforesaid monastery, now called Saint Paul’s, of which he was the founder, and persevered in holy purpose with much devotion and sanctity. He presided over the church of Utrecht for [unclear] years, and in his time did many good things for monasteries and churches.

After him Adelboldus, a monk, as some report, of Bobbio, of our order, ruled the church for eighteen years, a most learned and prudent man, who for some time was chancellor and counsellor of Emperor Henry II, of whom we shall speak in his own time. Exercising the dexterity of his talent, he wrote many distinguished little works. For he arranged the deeds of his lord Emperor Henry II in one volume; he was the first and only one after Charles the Great among the emperors to deserve to be enrolled in the catalogue of the saints. He also wrote various little works, both in verse and in prose, on the praises of the Holy Cross, of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, and of various other saints. He also waged many wars for ecclesiastical liberty against Theodoric, count of Holland.

Around these times a certain monk, returning from Jerusalem, was lodged for some time with a certain hermit in Sicily near Mount Etna, which was vomiting flames. When he had heard from him that in that same mountain, Vulcan, the souls of the dead were being tormented by flames, and that many of them were freed every day through the prayers of the faithful, and especially of the Cluniacs, he made it known to the abbot; by whose ordinance the commemoration of faithful souls was established in the aforesaid monastery on the day after the feast of All Saints, and [unclear], about which we have made mention elsewhere.

Remigius, abbot of Mettlach of our order in the diocese of Trier, also flourished in these same times, a man most zealous in the divine scriptures and eminently learned in secular letters. He maintained a public school of monks in his monastery, in which he instructed not only his own subjects but also monks sent to him from various other monasteries.

Theodorus, monk of Saint Matthias the Apostle, also flourished in these times: Theodorus, a monk of Saint Matthias of Trier, a contemporary and fellow-pupil of the above-mentioned monk Theodoric, a man distinguished in morals and learning. He presided gloriously for many years over the public school in the same monastery, and by writing various works took care to make his talent known to posterity. Of these there survives a collection of readings on the Apocalypse of John, not to be rejected. He composed various works on music and astronomy. After many labors in holy religion he happily departed to the Lord to receive his reward; his disciples placed this epitaph for him:

Of the Monastery of Hirsau died. But the monks who had gone out from the monastery with him, once they had become fugitives, remained so, and did not return again to the monastery. And indeed Everard received this end, worthy of his malice, he who was the author and occasion of the destruction of this monastery. When he was dead, Conrad the abbot and the monks who had remained were able to live in the monastery with greater peace and security, since he who had been the chief of all the evil had been removed from their midst. But of the things which had been carried off from his monastery, whether by the apostate or by the count and the other ministers of those men, absolutely nothing was restored; rather, as far as could be done, more things were continually alienated and came into the hands of laymen. In this misery and affliction Conrad the abbot, with his brothers, now reduced to a small number, grew old as long as he lived; after his death, twelve years later, as we shall say, the monks were expelled and laymen were introduced by the count.

In the same year in which Conrad was elected abbot, they say that grains of wheat and little fish rained from heaven in Gaul; yet these were of no use for human consumption, because within they were quite plainly too corrupt and foul. In that year also St. Dunstan, archbishop, whom we mentioned far above, migrated to the Lord on the 14th kalends of June.

In this same year, when Pope John XVI died, Bruno, a German by nation, a kinsman of the emperor Otto, became pope, and was called Gregory V. He crowned Otto to the Roman Empire. In the second year of Conrad the abbot, Theophanu, mother of the emperor, died, and was buried in the basilica of St. Pantaleon at Cologne, in the southern apse, which while she lived she honored with the highest reverence and munificently endowed with her own goods. She also, among other things, brought from Italy to the aforesaid monastery of St. Pantaleon the body of St. Alban the martyr, who had once suffered for Christ in Britain.

DCCCCXCIIII.

In the fourth year of Conrad the abbot, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 994, the monastery of St. Michael the Archangel at Hildesheim, of our order, began to be founded by St. Bernward, bishop of the same city, who was also buried in the same monastery and shone forth with countless miracles.

DCCCCXCV.

In the following year St. Adalbert, formerly a monk of our order and bishop of Prague, about whom we spoke above, who converted the Hungarians to the faith, completed his martyrdom among the pagans in Prussia, pierced through seven times and at last beheaded, on the 9th kalends of May. Pope Gregory V, having gathered a synod, decreed, with the Romans and all the clergy consenting, that the Roman Empire ought to remain among the Germans for all future times, so that the princes of Germany appointed by Otto III should have the right and power of electing the emperor. This constitution has now been observed down to our time, through five hundred and six years, with inviolable stability.

In these times flourished Gerbert, a monk of our order from the monastery of Fleury, a man in mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, arithmetic, and almost all the other [unclear]; Emperor Otto too is said to have been by no means among the last. Because of his incomparable knowledge, he was first appointed archbishop of Reims in Gaul by Hugh, king of France, and then driven out; by Emperor Otto he was appointed archbishop of Ravenna; and finally he became supreme pontiff in the city of Rome and was called Sylvester II. He wrote a fine work on the sphere. Also on the construction of the astrolabe and the quadrant. In arithmetic too he made fine compositions. Many greatly commend the dialogue which he had with Leo the abbot, the apostolic nuncio. We have seen several letters which he wrote to the more inquisitive of his disciples. This is Pope Sylvester, who is accused by very many of having entered into a pact and treaty with demons; on this matter we neither wish nor ought to give judgment. He sat in the supreme pontificate for four years.

In these times also, after the death of St. Maiolus, abbot of Cluny, of our order, St. Odilo, a man of outstanding holiness, was made abbot at Cluny. He presided over the same monastery with the greatest fervor of religion for nearly fifty-six years. Since he was a learned man, he is said to have written some little works, and especially sermons to the brothers, in which he showed the dexterity of his talent.

In the third year of Conrad, which was the thousandth year of the Lord’s nativity, the bones of Emperor Charles M[unclear].

Great earthquakes occurred in Europe.

Maiolus and Odilo, abbots of Cluny.

Writings of Gerbert himself, a most learned man.

Constitution concerning the empire of the Germans.

The monastery of St. Michael in Hildesheim was founded.

The empress Theophanu dies.

Nothing is restored of the things carried off.

Wheat and a little fish rained from heaven in Gaul.

The Monastery of Hirsau

Here rest the limbs of Theodore the monk, who is buried here: vigorous in piety, renowned for simplicity, a priest by office, fulfilling it in due order; [unclear] in the praises of the highest Lord; prudent and learned, second to none in piety. All that he learned, he soon handed on to others, so that the just and pious Lord might increase a hundredfold the talent entrusted to him, by well praising it. He passed away on the Nones of December, with a happy end. You who read this inscription, pray to God for him.

1001.

In the twelfth year of Conrad, Emperor Otto, setting in motion his third expedition into Italy with a vast army, laid waste to the Romans, defeated them, and overcame them. Moreover he caused Crescentius, who had seized the principate of Rome and had committed many evils against the Church of God and the vicars of Christ, to be beheaded. And when, while staying at Rome for some time, he began to deal rather leniently with the Romans, and they began to hold him in contempt, they formed a conspiracy, killed several of his soldiers, and besieged him stoutly in the palace. By the efforts of Henry duke of Bavaria and Hugh the margrave, after a feigned agreement, he was scarcely extricated, and departed from Rome, accompanied by the pope. And because the wife of Crescentius, a most beautiful woman, who had long consented to the emperor in acts of Venus, saw, and grieved, that the emperor had gone away leaving her behind in hope of reigning, she arranged for a poisoned drink for him; after drinking it, he died in Italy on his way back.

The pontiffs, however, and the princes who were with him, skillfully arranged the corpse, clothed in purple, upon a horse as if he were alive, lest perhaps a tumult should arise in Italy if the emperor’s death had become known; and, removing the entrails, they left them at Augsburg, but buried the body in the basilica at Aachen.

Henry, sprung from the dukes of Bavaria, but in office count of Bamberg, succeeded him by election of the princes, and at Mainz received the diadem of the kingdom from Archbishop Willigis. This is Henry, the second emperor of this name, who deserved to be written in the catalogue of the saints; of him we shall speak later in his own place, whom we have noted here in anticipation.

1002.

In the year of the Lord’s nativity 1002, in the fifteenth indiction, Conrad, the tenth abbot of this monastery, died on the Ides of February; when he had been buried with the lamentations of the brothers in the church of Saint Aurelius, the abbacy of Hirsau was vacant for sixty-three years, as we shall say in order in what follows.

Concerning the abbacy of this monastery being vacant for sixty-three years, and certain deeds in the meantime of the monastery, the order, and Germany

When Conrad, the venerable, not to say pitiable, tenth abbot of this monastery, had entered the way of all flesh, a few monks in number remained surviving in this place; and, since even now they had not entirely returned to the way of truth, they brought upon the rest a tribulation greater than they had experienced up to that point. For when they were consulting among themselves about the election of a new pastor, the count violently and with armed hand thrust himself into their affairs, promised that he would give them an abbot, and utterly forbade them to proceed to an election.

In order that, under the appearance of piety, he might gradually make the monastery empty, and might hand over to his own greed all that remained, he set over them as steward one of his own household. He knew [unclear] would come, and would govern everything according to the Rule; then he promised, in humble words and deceitfully, that he would never [unclear] the gifts which he had taken away. In truth, however, he was seeking this, which happened not long afterward: that, when the monks were either dead or expelled, he himself might be called to his own right over all.

For after almost three years, when a certain dissension arose between the brothers and the steward, the monks, except for two who had long adhered to Eberhard and had always defended the count’s party, were expelled from the monastery.

They were four or five in number, who, as they departed, were persuaded among themselves by a prudent indeed, but useless, [unclear]

Monks

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

By common counsel, before they were separated from one another, they chose an abbot; yet he could by no means come into possession of the monastery. They choose the [Albasian?], but he does not reach the monastery. For, dispersed over all the land, they everywhere disclosed to all the injuries they were suffering; but there was no one who either wished, or even could, bring aid against such a tyrant.

Meanwhile, while they were wandering from monastery to monastery, and each settled where he could maintain himself, after some years, when those two monks also who had been permitted to remain in the monastery had died or been expelled, I do not know for certain, secular clerics were ordered to inhabit the monastery. Secular clerics inhabit the monastery.

And so from that time until Count Adelbert, of whom we shall speak in his own place, the monastery of St. Aurelius stood empty, and became a dwelling of clerics and a brothel of whores. Meanwhile, if anything remained that the count and the other thieves had not carried off, the clerics, consuming it little by little upon their concubines and whores, reduced it to nothing, so that they could not even spare the books, of which a huge quantity had been collected there through the diligence of the ancient monks, whom we have shown above to have been most learned. The notable library of this monastery.

For since at that time, when the craft of printing books was not yet in use, volumes were sold at a higher price, those unlearned scoundrels in a few years [unclear] that most precious treasure of the library. From the fact that from the first foundation, for almost 180 years, many most learned men flourished in that same monastery, succeeding one another in order, as is very clear from what has been said above, we can most especially infer how precious, and heaped up with many volumes, that library was. [unclear] succeeding one another, not only Hirsau in that time [unclear], which they adorned by their learning, left after them a very great and precious treasure of books in the library of this monastery. But when all these had been sold and scattered by the clerics, [unclear], shamefully consuming them upon their concubines and whores, within a few years they brought the monastery, by neglecting the repair of walls and roofs, into utter ruin. The clerics consumed [unclear].

It therefore remains fixed with me, firmly concluded beyond all doubt, that [unclear] without books, or for the adornment of the library, which every learned man especially loves, added nothing by writing in his own time. Rain fell upon the most holy altars of the church; cattle were received as stables within the walls of the cloister; everything seemed to be hastening utterly toward desolation. The count not only did not prevent these things, but even rejoiced greatly that they were happening, since he saw that by them the name and place of the monastery would soon be reduced to nothing, according to his desire. The monastery is laid waste.

But we, intending to carry the sequence of years from here down to the restoration of the monastery of Hirsau, since we do not have [unclear] Cunigund, with whom, because of love of chastity, [unclear] was assumed to the empire by election, as we have said, had as wife the daughter of Sigifrid, count palatine of the Rhine, named [unclear], in those things which we have undertaken to touch upon, either concerning our order or concerning deeds in Germany, [unclear], as we hasten toward the future shepherd of the place. For it would be tedious to write for a long time without a guide; let us therefore assign, very briefly, the events that present themselves in the years while the monastery was vacant, even by leaps, as is usual, so that the promised integrity may not be wanting to the history itself.

St. Henry the Emperor observes chastity with Cunigund.

Accordingly, in the first year while the monastery was vacant, Henry, count of Bamberg, as we said above, was assumed to the empire by election. He had as wife Cunigund, daughter of Sigifrid, count palatine of the Rhine; with her, because of love of chastity, [unclear].

The bishopric of Bamberg is founded.

[He founded] [unclear] with the counts palatine of the Rhine, to which he appointed Eberhard as first bishop, and [unclear].

The monastery on Mount [Ma-] of monks is founded.

[unclear]

The monastery of Schuttern is restored.

[He founded it] by repairing it when it was ruinous from extreme age; he repaired it by founding it. It is called from a little river [unclear]. For the sustenance of the monks he provided quite abundantly for necessary things. The monks who dwell in this monastery report concerning it that in 603, when Theodoric, king of the Franks, was waging war with Theodebert and Lothar, inflamed with love of the heavenly fatherland, [unclear] visited the thresholds of the Apostles; then, departing through Alsace, [unclear].

[unclear] the patrician, inflamed, visited the thresholds of the Apostolic court, and thence through Alsace to the departure of his [unclear]. And this is the history of the Monastery of St. Gall. Because lord Henry, who was king of the Germans, and his successor Sigifrid, who was emperor, and his successor Cunigund, who was queen, and his successor Giselbert, who was abbot palatine, and his successor Arnulf, who was archbishop of the diocese of [Terginensis?], and his successor Eberhard, who was bishop of the diocese of [Augiensis?], and his successor Conrad, who was [unclear] the monastery of St. Gall, which was in the region of [Arduingensis?], and his successor William, who was master of soldiers, and his successor Otto, who was king of the Franks, and the successor of that Otto, who was Pope Gregory III, and his successor Paschal, who was pope, and his successor Boniface, who was apostle, and his successor Clement, who was pontiff, and his successor Paul, who was patriarch of Constantinople, and his successor Simon, who was patriarch of Antioch, and his successor Theophanus, who was patriarch of Alexandria, and his successor Michael, who was patriarch [unclear], and his successor Innocent, who was patriarch of Antioch. And this is the history of the Monastery of St. Claren

Of the Monastery of Hirsau ...to have first built that monastery by the counsel and aid of a certain Saint Pirminius, one of the disciples of the blessed abbot Maurus, at that time a bishop; to have introduced monks of the rule of Saint Benedict; and also to have provided the necessary revenues.

The Hungarians are converted to the faith through Gisela [unclear] of the Hungarians, with their king Stephen. For that holy woman herself, by her insistence, brought the king to desire that he and his whole people be baptized; in baptism he was called Stephen, and thereafter he adorned his life with such great holiness that after death he was enrolled among the number of the saints.

M X.

In the sixth year while the abbacy was vacant, Bruno, from a monk of our order made archbishop [unclear], after being afflicted with many tortures and having his hands and feet cut off, at last completed his martyrdom by beheading.

About these times flourished Burchard, formerly a monk of the monastery of Gembloux, or, as others prefer, of Bobbio, bishop of Worms, a man most zealous in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters, once a hearer and disciple of Albert, monk of Bobbio and afterwards abbot of Gembloux, as we have said above. Among other little works of his talent, he laboriously and quite usefully brought together from various sources into one that great volume of Decrees, divided into twenty books, which the ancients, from the author’s name, called the Burchard.

There also flourished in these times Meginfrid, monk of Fulda, a chronographer, who, like a rose among thorns, shone out clear as a studious and learned man among the idle, carnal, and ignorant monks of his monastery. He, among other little works of his talent, [unclear] of the holy abbot of Gembloux, a certain hearer and disciple, as we have said above. [Unclear] inserted those succeeding one another in time, and briefly noted the deeds of each; he also made mention, in like manner, of those monasteries to which he knew either monks or abbots had been sent from Fulda, and by interweaving their successions of abbots and more memorable deeds, described them concisely. From the labors of this man, I confess that I have necessarily inserted much in this work of ours concerning the history of Hirsau.

About these times there occurred a wondrous deed of the emperor Henry. A certain young man, by the maleficium of two old women, was changed into the form of an ass, so that to all who saw him he appeared an ass. This seems impossible to many, who do not understand that by divine permission the evil spirit can deceive the eyes of men with astonishing illusions. In these times also Balderic, bishop of Liege, the immediate successor of Notker, founded the monastery of Saint James on the island of Liege, in which he placed monks of our order.

M XI.

In the ninth year while the abbacy was vacant, the greater church of Bamberg was consecrated, with the emperor and forty-six bishops standing by. And in the same year Willigis, archbishop of Mainz, died.

About these times, when Ezzelinus, count palatine of the Rhine, brother of Saint Cunigund the empress, opposed the king, and for ten continuous years, [unclear] and, with his magnanimity confirmed to his opinion, by oaths and public pledge from all the Lotharingians, all royal honor [unclear]: the king, judging it more prudent to placate an excellent man with benefactions than to trouble him with any annoyances, sought his friendship. Having obtained it, he granted to him, to be possessed by his children as a perpetual inheritance, the island which is in the Rhine of Saint Suitbert, with all its appurtenances, Duisburg also and Saalfeld, no small supports of the kingdom.

This count had taken a wife named Mechtild, daughter of the empress Theophanu and sister of Otto III, from whom there were born to him three sons and seven daughters: Hermann, afterwards archbishop of Cologne before Pilgrim, surnamed Noble; Everard, after Poppo archbishop of Trier, namely from being provost of Worms; and Ludolph, successor of his father’s duchy. Mieszko, duke of Poland, took Richiza, the first daughter, as wife. Adelheid in Nivelles, Theophanu in Essen, Helwig in Neuss, Mathildis in Dietkirchen, and Willichalda in the monastery of Saint Mary at Cologne on the Capitol, and Sophia likewise in the monastery of Saint Mary at Mainz and Gandersheim, were all at that time placed in positions of rule as abbesses of nuns of our order.

This count Ezzelinus, a rich and vigorous man, built a monastery of our order not far from Cologne in honor of Saint Nicholas, formerly archbishop of Myra, which is called Brauweiler; he adorned it with many estates and ornaments, and in it he was buried. In these also times...

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius 47

In these times Reinhardus, abbot of the monastery of Saint Peter the Apostle at Senones, flourished: a learned and most religious man, who gloriously restored the buildings of his monastery, ruined by excessive age, and, instructing the monks in the regular path, brought them back to the former fervor of their way of life. He also maintained a public school of monks, and fully instructed his monks in all letters and sciences, both secular and divine.

Reinhardus of Senones, most learned. 1012.

In the year of the Lord 1012, which was the tenth year while the abbacy was vacant, when Rupertus, priest of the church of Saint Magnus the Martyr in Saxony, had begun the first Mass on the night of the Nativity of the Lord, a certain layman Otbertus, leading a dance in the cemetery with fifteen other men and three women, and making a din with secular songs, caused no small distraction to the celebrant. When the priest ordered them through the sacristan to be silent and to desist from such frivolities on so holy a night, and they did not obey his command, he was moved, and standing at the most holy altar said: “May almighty God make it so that you must remain dancing thus for a whole year.” Wonderful to say, the effect at once followed the voice of the one uttering the curse: thus, for the space of a whole year, they danced without interruption day and night; they did not eat, nor [unclear].

People dance for an entire year. The curse of the priest Rupertus.

They seemed to be sunk up to the soles of their feet, trampled beneath them. The son of that priest too, when he tried with violence to pull his sister out from the middle of the dancers by seizing her arm, tore her arm from her body; but she, as if she had suffered nothing, neither felt pain nor uttered a sound, nor did a single drop of blood fall, but continued the dance with the rest.

At last, when the year had passed, Saint Heribertus, archbishop of Cologne, came to the cemetery, absolved the dancers from the curse, and, bringing them into the church, reconciled them to the Lord. Of these the women soon died, and some of the men shortly afterward; they are even said to have been illustrious for miracles after death, since they had undergone a sufficiently hard penance. But the rest, to whom it was permitted to live longer, showed by the trembling of their limbs what they had suffered.

Saint Heribertus absolves the cursed persons from the bonds.

When around these times the monks of the monastery of Fulda had become a mockery to all the people because of their most deformed way of life, and, though often warned by the holy emperor, scorned to amend their wicked habits, since he knew that they had become insolent through an excessive abundance of riches, he ordered many goods and possessions to be taken from them and distributed them to other monasteries.

A cloud [unclear] submerged many thousands of people.

In the twelfth year while the abbacy of Hirsau was vacant, a great cloud suddenly fell in Flanders, and [unclear].

Saint Heribertus dies. Piligrinus.

[Unclear] and in the monastery of Deutz, which he himself had founded, he is buried. Piligrinus succeeded him for almost fifteen years.

In the same year Erekenbaldus, archbishop of Mainz, died; Aribo succeeded him, a learned and very venerable man, who among the other little works of his talent published a not contemptible little work on the fifteen Gradual Psalms.

In these times many very excellent men flourished in our order, distinguished for learning and holiness.

Berno, abbot of Reichenau, a monastery of the diocese of Constance, a man [unclear] in divine scriptures [unclear].

Guido Aretinus, monk and distinguished musician.

Guido Aretinus also, a monk of the monastery of the Cross of Saint Leufridus, a studious and learned man, and notably skilled in secular letters, a philosopher, rhetorician, and musician [unclear].

Ewerbertanus, most learned in theology among the Treverians.

Euerbinus also, abbot of the monastery of Dolciensis, which lies in the diocese [unclear] in the borders of Lorraine, [unclear] German miles distant, flourished in the same times: a man very learned both in divine scriptures and in secular letters, who wrote the life of Saint Simon, monk of Trier, about whom we shall speak later under Poppo of the same city.

Simon, monk of Trier, about whom we shall speak later under Poppo of the same city [unclear].

Berno, abbot of Reichenau. Erckenbaldus. Aribo, archbishop of Mainz. Erkenbaldus. Aribus, archbishop of Mainz. Guido Aretinus, monk and distinguished musician. Ewerbertanus, most learned in theology among the [unclear].

Euerbinus, abbot of the monastery of Dolcienensis, who works under this name in the diocese of Saint Leofridus, and did many other things in the arts of letters; and on account of this excellence and remembrance he exchanged his diocese with the archbishop of Mainz, because it was there, and he had great honor and fame. And afterward he was a master and priest in the church of Trier, and carried his letters and his studies through the regions of the whole world, namely in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Scania, Pomerania, Livonia, Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Illyricum, Gaul, Burgundy, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the kingdoms of the Gauls, Turkey, Armenia, Persia, India, and it is still scarcely ended. And then he came into Italy and lived at Bologna, and at Florence, and at Vercelli, and at Monreale, and at Saint Peter, and at Saint Anthony, and at Saint Marcellus, and at Saint George, and at Saints Peter and Marcellus, and at Saint Paul, and at Holy Cross, and at Holy Cross, and at Saint Nicholas, and at Holy Cross, and at Saints Cosmas and Damian, and at Saint Benedict, and at Saint John the Baptist, and

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archbishop. He also wrote the deeds of the same Poppo; also certain compositions on fasting, almsgiving, and penance. He held a public school in theology for monks, and wrote many other things unknown to us.

At this time there also flourished in England St. Elphegus, formerly abbot of the monastery of our order called Bath, first bishop of Winchester and afterward archbishop of Canterbury, a learned and most holy man, who, after many labors undertaken for the love of Christ, was crowned with martyrdom. His feast is observed on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of May.

In these days there also flourished in the city of Trier St. Simeon, monk of Mount Sinai, a Greek by nation. Poppo, archbishop of Trier, returning from overseas regions, brought him with him and, for the love of Christ, enclosed him in the aforesaid city, in a certain tower, to lead the life of a hermit. For he was a man of many virtues, and one who endured much from demons and wicked men. After his death he was immediately enrolled in the catalogue of the saints, and began to shine with countless miracles. Everwin, abbot of Dolcia, of whom we have already spoken, described his life in a brilliant style. I have in my possession three leaves of the Greek Psalter of this most holy man Simeon; because of his merit I value them as highly as if I possessed a precious treasure of gold and silver. His feast is kept on the Kalends of June.

Around these times there also flourished St. Gerard, formerly a monk of our order, bishop of Morisena in Hungary. After he had preached the word of God to the nations for a long time, he was afflicted with very severe torments by the impious and pagans, and suffered martyrdom for our faith.

Saint William also, abbot of Dijon, of our order, flourished in this same age: a learned man and of most holy life, burning with the greatest zeal for regular discipline. In life and after death he was renowned for many miracles in the diocese of Liege and throughout all Gaul, distinguished also for the performance of many miracles; in his time he magnificently restored monastic discipline, which had almost collapsed. His feast is kept on the eighth day before the Kalends of February.

Richard also, abbot of Verdun, [unclear] of Stavelot. In these same times there also flourished Meginfrid, formerly a monk of a monastery of our order, renowned in these times, whose most holy life was marked by many virtues; by his learning and his religion he brought many back to the path of a more corrected life.

Around these times there also flourished Brando, formerly abbot and then bishop of the aforesaid church for twenty-seven years. Around these times there also flourished St. Burchard, near Wurzburg, sixth archbishop of the church of Magdeburg, appointed by St. Henry, a learned and very religious man, who presided over the aforesaid church for sixteen years. He built a monastery of our order near the city of Hildesheim in honor of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, which in our times is called St. Gotthard after his name, since he was buried in it.

In these days Poppo, son of Liudolf, duke of Austria, archbishop of Trier, of whom we spoke before, who brought St. Simeon the monk with him from the monastery of Blessed Mary in Bethlehem to Trier, is held to have been very renowned. He is said to have converted the Danes to the faith of Christ, as is contained in the deeds of the Treveri, and he obtained from Pope Benedict the canonization of the same St. Simeon on account of the very great performance of miracles. He gloriously presided over the church committed to him by God for forty-one years. He died in the year of the Lord 1057, in the tenth indiction, on the sixth day before the Kalends of July.

In the year of the Lord 1023, in the sixth indiction, while the abbey of Hirsau was vacant, in the twenty-first year, Aribo Munginus, archbishop [unclear], held a synod of bishops and abbots in the monastery of Saints Marcellinus and Peter in Seligenstadt, for the peace of the clergy and the advantage of the Church, where many things were established with the highest prudence. In this holy synod, as we read from its deeds, there were present Burchard, bishop of Worms, concerning whom it is written; Werner, bishop of Strasbourg; Bruno, bishop of Augsburg, who was the brother of St. Henry the emperor; Everhard, bishop of Bamberg; Meginhard, bishop

A council is held in the monastery of the Holy Savior in the Salzburg city.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

[unclear] bishop of Wurzburg, and also Richard, abbot of Fulda, Arnold, abbot of Hersfeld, Reginbold, abbot of Saint Nazarius of Lorsch, Hericho, abbot of Saint Maximin at Trier, Eberwin, abbot of [Doley?], Henry, abbot of Saint Burchard at Wurzburg, Sizicho, abbot of Schluchtern, Gerbert, abbot of Saint Alban, Adelbert, abbot of Klingenmunster, and Rudolph, abbot of Blidenstadt, men of our order, distinguished in conduct and learning.

MXXIII.

In the year when the abbacy had been vacant for 22 years, in the 6th indiction, Emperor Henry II died on the 13th day before the Kalends of July, and was buried in the greater church of Bamberg, which he himself had founded. When Henry had died, the prince-electors chose Conrad, the second of this name, to the empire: a Frank by birth, a good and vigorous man. He had taken as wife Gisela, widow of Bruno, duke of the Saxons; by her he begot a son Henry, who ruled after him, and a daughter Cunigunde, who lies buried in the monastery of Limburg. This Emperor Conrad II built the aforesaid monastery of Limburg, of our order, in the diocese of Speyer, which he adorned with many estates, ornaments, privileges, and liberties. They write that previously a castle had been built in the same place, and that through him it was changed into a monastery of monks.

MXXXI.

In the year of the Lord 1031, which was the 29th year with the monastery vacant, A [Athon?], archbishop of Mainz, died; Saint Bardo, abbot of Hersfeld, of our order, succeeded him and presided over the church of Mainz for 20 years. He was a learned man and of most holy conduct, and after his death was enrolled in the catalogue of the saints. He died in the year of the Lord 1051, in the 4th indiction, on the 2nd day before the Ides of June. Around these times Thietagus, from being a monk of the monastery of Corvey in Saxony, of our order, became archbishop of Prague after Gaudentius. He was a man outstandingly learned both in the divine Scriptures and in secular letters, and venerable no less for the merit of his life than for his knowledge of the Scriptures.

MXXXV.

In the year of the Lord 1035, which was the 33rd year with the monastery of Hirsau vacant, Pilgrim, archbishop of Cologne, died. Hermann succeeded him, son of Ezelin, count palatine of the Rhine, concerning whom we spoke above.

In the same year Rudolph, abbot of Hersfeld, of our order, was made bishop of Paderborn, a learned man and venerable for integrity of character.

But in the 35th year with the monastery vacant, Saint Cunegund, formerly empress, died. After the death of Emperor Saint Henry, for love of almighty God she had despised the world, and in the monastery of Kaufungen, taking up the habit of holy life, she remained until death as a nun with the holy virgins of Christ, and herself a virgin. In the same year Saint Bardo, archbishop of Mainz, dedicated the church of Saint Martin at Mainz, with Emperor Conrad and many bishops and abbots present, on the 4th day before the Nones of November.

MXXXVII.

Saint Stephen also, king of Hungary, died in this same year. Henry his son succeeded him, a holy man and beloved of God; he too, together with his father, was enrolled in the catalogue of the saints.

In the same year too Saint Simeon, monk and recluse, died at Trier on the Kalends of June. We have already made mention of him above. He soon shone with such great miracles that, at the request of Archbishop Poppo, he was canonized by Pope Benedict IX immediately after death. His life, as we said before, Eberwin, abbot of [Doley?], described in elegant speech.

MXXXIX.

In the year 1039, which was the 37th year with the monastery vacant, in the 7th indiction, on the day before the Nones of June, Emperor Conrad II died and was buried in the church of Speyer, which he had built and endowed with many benefactions. By the election of the princes his son Henry, the third of this name, succeeded him, and ruled as emperor for 17 years after his father. He had as wife Gunhild, daughter of the king of the Danes; when she died without children, he took as his second wife Agnes, daughter of William, count of Poitou. By her he had Henry, the fourth emperor of this name, who reigned after him, and two daughters: Gisela, a nun, and Adelaide, who was abbess of our order in Quedlinburg.

MXLII.

In the same year Eberhard, first bishop of Bamberg, died; Suidger succeeded him, who afterward became pope. Reginbold, bishop of Speyer, also died; Sibicho succeeded him.

In the 40th year with the monastery vacant, Helias, abbot of the monasteries of Saint Martin and Saint Panta-

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Of the Monastery of Hirsau

of [Saint Pantaleon?], of our order, in Cologne, a Scot by nation, died, a learned and holy man, who had led a strict life with his monks.

Guimundus.

In these times Guimundus, archbishop of Aversa, formerly a monk of our order, flourished: a man most learned both in the divine Scriptures and in secular letters, who left many distinguished monuments of his lively talent. Among these, that famous work is commonly known which he published, divided into three books in dialogue form with Roger the monk, on the body and blood of the Lord, against the new errors of Berengar, deacon of the church of Angers. The same Roger, monk of the monastery of the Cross of Saint Leufridus of our order, a studious and learned man, afterward a monk of Saint Pantaleon in Cologne, wrote, among other things, the deeds of Bruno, archbishop of Cologne and founder of the same monastery, and certain other little works not contemptible for reading. In the same times there also flourished Theodoric, monk of Hirsfeld, who wrote to Richard, abbot of Fulda, on the life and praises of our most holy father Benedict, certain little works, and certain others, whose titles we have arranged in the second book of Illustrious Men.

Roger the monk of [unclear]. Theodoric the monk.

1043.

In the following year, which was that of the Lord’s Nativity 1043, in the second indiction, Amichadus, a monk of Fulda and a Scot by nation, died. For many years he had been enclosed in the same monastery for the love of Christ, a man of most holy life; over his tomb lights were seen at night.

There also flourished about these times Clarus, monk of the monastery of Saints Marcellinus and Peter in Seligenstadt, in the diocese of Mainz, of our order, a learned man of most religious conduct. In that same place, enclosed for the love of God, devoting himself day and night to prayer and contemplation, he is said to have attained the spirit of prophecy. His feast day is kept on the Kalends of January.

Engelwot archbishop. Engelwot archbishop. Angelpertus in Neuburg is founded. Of the monastery of Seligenstadt. Saint Clarus, monk of Seligenstadt. Engelwot archbishop.

In the year of the Lord 1044, which was the forty-second while the monastery of Hirsau was vacant, in the twelfth indiction, Anshelmus, abbot of the monastery of Lorsch, of our order, founded a provostry in honor of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle near Heidelberg, in the diocese of Worms. In it he placed a provost and monks; afterward, in the year of the Lord 1195, Conrad, count palatine of the Rhine, with the consent of Sigehard, abbot of Lorsch, changed it into a monastery of nuns of the same order of ours, and appointed Cunegund as its first abbess.

1046.

In the year of the Lord 1046, which was the forty-fourth while the monastery was vacant, Saint Guido, abbot of Bobbio in Italy, of our order, born in the suburb of Ravenna in the villa of Casa Marensis, a man of most holy life, who raised a certain monk named Martin from the dead and performed many other miracles, died on the day before the Kalends of April, in the forty-eighth year of his rule. His feast is celebrated on the Kalends of May, for on that day his holy body was translated from Italy by Henry IV to the city of Speyer and honorably deposited in the church consecrated in his name.

In these times there also flourished Bruno, formerly a monk of the monastery of Monichenneburg of our order in Saxony, bishop of Verden, brother of Count Frederick, a wise and learned man, who energetically governed the church entrusted to him by word and example.

In the forty-fourth year while the monastery was vacant, Emperor Henry entered Italy and deposed the three men contending for the papacy, namely Benedict IX, Sylvester III, and Gregory VI; appointing Suitger, bishop of Bamberg, as the true vicar of Christ, he called him Clement II. From him he received the crown of the Empire on the day of the Lord’s Nativity. But Pope Clement died in the ninth month of his pontificate and was buried in the choir of the greater church of Bamberg.

1047.

In the following year Poppo, archbishop of Trier, died. He was succeeded by Eberhard, son of Ezelin, count palatine of the Rhine, about whom we made mention above, [unclear] the church.

Bishop Poppo dies. Eberhard.

In these times Heribert, bishop of Auxerre, flourished, a learned and very famous man. After some years, during which he energetically presided over the church of Auxerre, he abandoned the world and became a monk of our order in the monastery of Saint Saviour in the district of Sens.

Also at this time there flourished there, in the monastery of Saint Gall of our order in Swabia, Hermann, who was called Contractus, a monk most learned in every respect, in Greek, Latin, Ara-

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

51

skilled in [unclear], a philosopher, rhetorician, astronomer, poet, musician, and mathematician, the most celebrated of all men of his time; he published many distinguished volumes, of which we have made mention elsewhere. He also composed that antiphon concerning the blessed Virgin Mary, Salve regina misericordiae. He is said to have published another as well, Alma redemptoris, concerning the same most holy Mother of God.

1048.

In the year of the Lord 1048, in the forty-sixth year of the vacancy of the monastery of Hirsau, Bruno, bishop of Toul, by the appointment of the emperor and the election of the cardinals, became pope of the city of Rome, called Leo IX, and he sat for almost six years. He was the son of the count of Egisheim and a monk of our order, a learned and most holy man. When he was going to Rome to take up the papacy, he heard voices of angels singing in the air: “The Lord says, I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction.” He placed Christ, in the form of a leper, upon his bed. He also wrote against the heresies of the Greeks to Constantine, emperor of Constantinople, and chants concerning various saints. At the urging of this pope Leo, the monastery of Hirsau began to be restored, as we shall say later.

In these days there also flourished Humbert, from a monk of our order, cardinal of the most holy Roman Church, a most learned man, whom Pope Leo had brought with him to Rome, and whose counsel he used in the conduct of all affairs, especially those of the order. We have treated more fully of this man’s little works in the second book of the illustrious men of our order.

Lambert, a monk of our order from the monastery of Saint Lawrence at Liege, once a pupil of Adelman the grammarian, bishop of Brescia, a man certainly splendidly learned in every science, also at this time wonderfully adorned our order by his learning. He wrote the life of Saint Heribert, bishop of Cologne, and many other works, of which we have spoken elsewhere.

1050.

In the year of the Lord’s nativity 1050, in the third indiction, the holy Pope Leo IX, having left Rome with many cardinals in order to settle affairs and the state of the churches and to restore peace to the Gauls, came into Germany. At that time Count Adelbert of Calw was advocate of the monastery of Hirsau, but a patron of its desolation. He not only scorned to restore the things impiously taken from Saint Aurelius by his forefathers, but, thinking that he possessed everything by just title, [unclear] nothing less than the restoration of the monastery, the forty-eighth [unclear], which was advocate of the monastery’s desolation, but above the thousandth year of the Lord, as we have said, the fiftieth; because the same most holy Pope Leo, joined by blood to the aforesaid count, having gone out from Rome and crossed Italy, directed his journey through the borders of the Swabians [unclear], as was his custom, sowing the word, and eagerly strove to raise the minds of his hosts to love of the heavenly homeland.

One day the pontiff, for the recreation of his spirit, having embraced the count with his right hand, went out from the castle, not far, to the summit of a neighboring mountain, and while speaking said to him: “How suitable a place this would seem to me, O son, surrounded everywhere by mountains,” which place, he said, “O son, would seem to me suitable, surrounded everywhere by mountains.”

Hastening to meet him on the way, he prevailed upon him with most humble prayers that he should not disdain to enter the lodging of his humble nephew. The pope, moved both by the devotion of the one inviting him and by the tie of blood, assented to the petitioner and entered the count’s castle. Received very courteously, [unclear] of saving doctrine [unclear] he should direct himself to Mainz. When the aforesaid Count Adelbert learned this, namely that his uncle, the pontiff of the holy Roman and universal Church, was to pass through his lands, he hastened to meet him and prevailed upon him with most humble prayers that he should [unclear] into the lodging of his nephew [unclear].

“[Unclear] in my [unclear], in honor of a certain Saint Aurelius, whose body is also said to have been buried there, long ago constructed as a dwelling for monks, with the remaining necessary buildings. Since abundance makes it useful for a dwelling of monks and solitude makes it quiet, in which [unclear] of servants ought to be established, who, paying continual praises to our Creator, would pray for the salvation of many.” To him the count said: “There is, most blessed father, nearby a church built by my ancestors in honor of a certain Saint Aurelius, whose body is also said to have been buried in it, long ago for the dwelling of monks, with [unclear]. After monks had served religiously there for not a few years to almighty God, and finally, miserably growing sluggish from regular discipline, since they would yield to no admonitions of their superiors, they were cast out from there by my progenitors as a scandal to the people.”

When the most holy pontiff heard these things, he went personally to the place and turned over the books that remained, wishing to know the truth of the history. There was there, among the other clerics, a [unclear] named Berthold, who had once seen monks serving God in the place. He disclosed the whole matter to the pontiff just as it had happened, and how the grandfather of Count Adelbert had stripped the monastery of all its goods and, after expelling the monks, had put a few clerics in the place.

When these things were known, the holy prelate groaned, but prudently concealing the grief of his heart, he asked the same cleric where the body of Saint Aurelius was kept. When he said that he had heard from his elders that the sacred relics of Saint Aurelius, at the time when the Northmen devastated [unclear]

Pope Leo IX of our order, a most holy man.

Humbert, from a monk, cardinal.

Lambert, monk at Liege.

Pope Leo comes into Germany.

Pope Leo addresses the count.

The count’s words to Saint Pope Leo.

The holy pope personally approaches the place of Saint Aurelius.

[Blank page in the source scan.]

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Of the Monastery of Hirsau

[unclear] Gaul, had been hidden under the earth by a certain abbot of this place, and had remained unknown to all until this day. The holy pope, having summoned workmen, began to dig the earth in various parts of the church and to search diligently for the hidden treasure; but after the craftsmen had labored long with fruitless effort and had found absolutely nothing, all who were present began to despair of finding the saint’s body.

Then, while the holy pontiff was prostrate in prayer, and while he himself urged the craftsmen not to despair, one of them, more skilled than the others in his craft, who had recently come with his sons from the dominion of the Venetians, and who bestowed much good upon this place by his labors, searched each place industriously. At length, from the reverberation of the hammers, he perceived that the earth beneath was hollow. On his advice the craftsmen began to dig in that place, and at last, not without great difficulty, when the soil had been removed, they found a subterranean chamber, formed quite beautifully, in which a sarcophagus appeared, very ornately arranged on the outside.

When the most holy pope saw it, filled with great joy, he ordered that all [unclear]. When the prayer had been completed, Saint Leo came nearer and ordered the tomb to be opened. When it had been opened, the most sacred bones of the most sweet confessor of Christ, wrapped in silken cloths and beautifully arranged in due order in the form of a body, [were found], and at his head a lead tablet containing these words: “The body of Saint Aurelius, bishop, deposited in the time of King Arnulf, under Abbot Herderad, on the eighth day before the Kalends of September.” When the holy pope had read this inscription before all, he groaned and said: “Woe to those who have despoiled this place, sanctified by the presence and merits of so great a prelate.” The sarcophagus was closed, lest the relics of the saint be taken away in any manner, and he returned with his people to the count’s castle.

On the next day, when the holy Pope Leo saw that the time was suitable for fulfilling his intention, he summoned the often-mentioned count Adalbert and Wiltrud, his wife, a most devout woman, in the presence of the holy cardinals, all the rest being excluded, and said to his nephew: “Yesterday, dear nephew, we saw the sacred relics of this confessor of Christ despoiled of due honor, and that place itself, for love of the heavenly fatherland, duly dedicated of old by your ancestors to almighty God and to sacred monastic religion, and for many years inhabited by the servants of Saint Peter, which your forefathers and grandfather, led by the worst and cruel avarice, caused to be despoiled of the abbot’s possessions and goods. This is more wicked than every crime: after the monks had been expelled, the workshop of holy virtues was turned into a den of all vices by most dissolute secular clerics.

“You also, adhering to the depraved footsteps of your ancestors, as we have learned by proved testimony, not only possess without fear of God those things which they, polluted by sacrilege, most unjustly took from the monastery of the servants of God, but you also, utterly forgetful of salvation and penitence, have seized everything which they, by sparing it, had left untouched. By provoking God and Saint Aurelius, indeed all the citizens of the heavenly fatherland, you have made them your adversaries. Nor should it be regarded as a small sin when it is committed against the saints of God, since even among men themselves the unjust usurpation of property belonging to another’s right is judged a very grave crime. Behold, you, together with your ancestors, have violated the covenant and corrupted [unclear], with [unclear] added, the holy testament: the things which they had offered to almighty God with simple and holy devotion for the remedy of souls.

“You, inflamed by impious cruelty and cruel avarice, did not fear to despoil God and his saints. Having been made an enemy and adversary not only of God and his saints, but of yourself and your own race, [unclear] the cruel bishop, declining as an enemy, will destroy your very offspring from your seed, the generation failing, so long as it is polluted by a sacrilegious inheritance, even unknowingly, or, failing within a few generations, [unclear]. But what hope of obtaining eternal happiness will there be for you, O my son, when through such a manifest crime of sacrilege you have made almighty God, with all his saints, hostile to you by your injuries, and your enemy and adversary? It is dangerous for you, and utterly damnable, believe us, to have God opposed to you; for although he may seem to be patient and to endure injuries done to him in this present time, yet, since he is an avenger and a just judge, he will without doubt avenge this patience after death with eternal punishments.

“But we, to whom the care of your salvation and that of your people belongs, not only by reason of the height of pastoral office, whereby, though unworthy, we are bound by office to the salvation of all, but also by kinship of blood, by the authority of almighty God and of his blessed apostles Peter and Paul, whose place we hold on earth, warn and require you; and under threat of eternal damnation, and by the strict judgment of God, we adjure you; and, under anathema, strictly commanding, we order you: that, the clerics being expelled from the aforesaid place, from which by apostolic authority [unclear] every benefice of residence in this same [place], you establish there, according to the rule of the divine father Benedict, monks of this our order, as they are remembered to have been there from the beginning; and that you restore to them, without delay, each and all the things taken away by your ancestors, by you, or by any others whatsoever. If anything further is required to accomplish these things, [provide] what is necessary from your own substance faithfully and without any contradiction [unclear] eternal

54

Of the Hirsau Monastery

1056.

In the year of the Lord 1056, in the fifty-fourth year of the monastery's vacancy, Pope Victor II, having departed from Italy, came into Germany, and was honorably received by the emperor at Goslar, around the feast of the Nativity of Blessed Mary, in the presence of many pontiffs, abbots, princes, and nobles.

In the same year Arnold, bishop of Speyer, died; Conrad succeeded him.

In the same year also Emperor Henry III, when he perceived that death was at hand for him, established Henry as king in the presence of the Roman pontiff, by the election of the princes; and, having arranged affairs as best he could, he died on the third day before the Nones of October. He was buried in the church of Speyer, Pope Victor II standing by with many other cardinals, patriarchs, bishops, and princes. He was succeeded by his son Henry, the fourth of this name, a boy of five years, and he reigned for fifty years. His mother, the empress Agnes, prudently governed the empire for some time. At length Saint Anno, archbishop of Cologne, by the counsel of the princes, took the boy king away from his mother, and governed the empire with others appointed for the purpose, until lawful age made the boy fit to rule by himself.

1058.

In the fifty-sixth year of the monastery's vacancy, in the second indiction, Pope Victor died. Frederick, abbot of the monastery of Monte Cassino, son of Duke Gothelon and brother of Duke Godfrey, of whom we have already spoken above, succeeded him in the pontificate, being called Stephen IX by name; he presided for ten months. In this same year also the city of Paderborn, together with two monasteries, was miserably burned by fire on the Friday before Palm Sunday.

At that time there was in the monastery of the same city, which today is called Abdinghof, a certain monk of our order named Paternus, a Scot by nation, who for many years [unclear], always devoutly intent upon contemplation. Foreknowing this very fire by the prophetic inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he foretold long before it happened that it would occur, if men neglected to appease God by saving penitence. But when the monastery already stood amid the flames, and the brothers, after breaking the locks, tried to draw him out of his enclosure, he would not consent, saying that he had long since committed himself to the divine will, [unclear] of his enclosure. The approaching flame compelled the brothers, anxious for their own lives, to flee as quickly as possible. But it consumed Paternus together with his cell.

In these times Lambert, monk of the monastery of Hersfeld of our order, flourished, a [religious?] and learned man. Among the other little works of his talent, he composed a chronicle of his monastery, brief indeed, but not useless. He also wrote, concerning the affairs of emperors, pontiffs, and princes carried out in Germany, a fine and not unpleasant work, which, beginning from the times of Charlemagne, who was the first of the Teutons to rule as emperor, he continued down to the year of the Lord 1077, filled with the remembrance of many events. Since he was contemporary with Emperor Henry IV, he described that emperor's deeds very fully in the same volume. From this very volume we have been helped not a little.

In the same times also flourished Anselm, a monk of Reims, a man learned in every branch of letters, who wrote the itinerary of the holy Pope Leo IX, of whom we have spoken before, from Rome into Germany and Gaul. In it he recounts his deeds in synods held in various places: namely, with how much justice and authority he examined ecclesiastical cases, [unclear] monastery.

Peter Damian also, formerly a monk of our order, bishop of Ostia and cardinal of the holy Roman Church, is held to have been famous in these times: certainly a man most learned among the learned men of his time, venerable no less for holiness than for erudition. He produced many distinguished volumes of his talent, whose titles we have fully arranged elsewhere. Out of love for holy religion he left his episcopate and returned to the monastery.

Around these years also flourished Lambert of Liege, a monk of the monastery of Saint Matthias at Trier, a most learned man, learned in every respect, practiced in verse and prose, who of many,

you should lawfully expend for love of eternal life. These things, to be carried out by you as quickly as possible, together with your wife, beloved to us, and to be completed, we earnestly enjoin upon you by the authority of almighty God, for the remission of your sins. But if, which may it not be, you neglect this and are found a despiser of our commands, know that you have incurred the indignation of almighty God and of Saints Peter and Paul the apostles and of all Christ’s elect, and that, bound by the bond of anathema by apostolic authority, you will be subject to the judgment of the divine examination, to be punished with the most grievous torments of Gehenna without end among the impious. Compuncted by this speech of the pontiff, the count fell at his knees, and, publicly confessing with tears that he had sinned gravely, promised that he would do, to the best of his strength, everything that he was ordered. Asking pardon for his offenses and absolution, he heard from the pontiff: “If you carry out those things which, at our command, you promise that you will do, we shall grant you not only pardon for your offenses with absolution, but we also promise you again the manifold rewards of eternal blessedness laid up for you in heaven.”

When these things had duly been done, the most blessed Pope Leo, continuing the journey he had begun to Mainz, at last arrived there with his people, where, in the presence of the emperor, he celebrated a synod with forty-two bishops and many abbots and clerics, and enacted many things for ecclesiastical utility. In this synod Sibicho, bishop of Speyer, cleared himself by holy communion of the crimes of which he was accused. From there the most holy pope, after the synod had been completed, went down to Aachen; there he waited for the emperor, who was conducting an expedition against Baldwin, count of Flanders, until he should return. This most holy Pope Leo IX did many good things in Germany, and, after churches, chapels, and other ecclesiastical matters had been moderately arranged, returned to Rome.

In the same year the emperor celebrated Pentecost at Paderborn, where Saint Bardo, archbishop of Mainz, after delivering a sermon at Mass, foretold that his death was at hand, but [unclear]. He at last arrived with his people, where, in the presence of the emperor, he celebrated a synod with forty-two bishops and many clerics, and enacted many things for ecclesiastical utility. In this synod Sibicho, bishop of Speyer, cleared himself by holy communion of the crimes of which he was accused. The [unclear] pope, after the synod had been completed, went down to Aachen; there he waited for the emperor, who was conducting an expedition against Baldwin, count of Flanders, until he should return. This most holy Pope Leo IX did many good things in Germany, churches, chapels, and other ecclesiastical matters having been moderately arranged, and returned to Rome.

In the same year the emperor celebrated Pentecost at Paderborn, where Saint Bardo, archbishop of Mainz, after delivering a sermon at Mass, foretold that his death was at hand, but [unclear]. He came at last with his people, where, in the presence of the emperor, he celebrated a synod with forty-two bishops and many clerics, and enacted many things for ecclesiastical utility. In this synod Sibicho, bishop of Speyer, cleared himself by holy communion of the crimes of which he was accused. The [unclear] pope, after the synod had been completed, went down to Aachen; there he waited for the emperor, who was conducting an expedition against Baldwin, count of Flanders, until he should return. This most holy Pope Leo IX did many good things in Germany, churches, chapels, and other ecclesiastical matters having been moderately arranged, and returned to Rome.

In the following year, namely the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1051, which was the forty-ninth of the monastery’s vacancy, the emperor celebrated the Nativity of the Lord at Worms, where the most holy Pope Leo, bidding him farewell, [unclear]. He celebrated with abbots and clerics, and enacted many things for ecclesiastical utility. In this synod Sibicho, bishop of Speyer, cleared himself by holy communion of the crimes of which he was accused. From there the most holy pope, after the synod had been completed, going down to Aachen, waited there for the emperor, who was conducting an expedition against Baldwin, count of Flanders, until he should return. This most holy Pope Leo IX did many good things in Germany, and, after churches, chapels, etc., and ecclesiastical matters had been moderately arranged, returned to Rome.

In the same year the emperor celebrated Pentecost at Paderborn, where Saint Bardo, archbishop of Mainz, after delivering a sermon at Mass, foretold that his death was at hand, but [unclear]. He arrived at last with his people, where, in the presence of the emperor, with forty-two bishops and many clerics, [unclear]. He was accused of these things, cleared himself by holy communion. The [unclear] pope, after the synod had been completed, went down to Aachen; there he waited for the emperor, who was conducting an expedition against Baldwin, count of Flanders, until he should return. This most holy Pope Leo IX did many good things in Germany, and, after churches, chapels, and other ecclesiastical matters had been moderately arranged, returned to Rome.

In the following year, namely the year of the Lord’s Nativity one thousand and fifty-four, a man much venerable in holiness and authority, who after death shone with miracles. Hirsau venerates this holy pontiff of the highest and most universal Church among its two principal patrons, at whose admonition and by whose agency it exists today as more notable among many abbeys, and [unclear] Pope [unclear] of Saint James the Greater the Apostle, which he enriched with many estates, gifts, and ornaments, and in which he is also buried.

In the same year the emperor celebrated Pentecost at Paderborn, where Saint Bardo, archbishop of Mainz, after delivering a sermon at Mass, foretold that his death was at hand, but [unclear]. He at last [unclear] arrived, where, in the presence of the emperor, with forty-two bishops and many clerics, [unclear]; he was accused of these things, cleared himself by holy communion. This most holy Pope Leo IX did many good things in Germany, churches, chapels, and other ecclesiastical [unclear].

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...wrote down the legends and histories of many saints, both in prose and in various kinds of verse. Of these we have made mention in the second book of the illustrious men of our order. Theodoricus too, a monk of the monastery of St Alban the martyr outside Mainz, is held to have been renowned among writers in these times; since he was a learned man, he wrote much both in metre and in prose, the titles of which we have recorded more fully elsewhere.

In these times there also flourished Lanfranc, formerly abbot of the monastery of Caen of our order, archbishop of Canterbury in England. Since he was, by the testimony of all learned men, the most learned man of his time in every secular and divine science, and had gloriously directed public schools among the French and the Italians for not a few years, at length, moved by the divine Spirit, he despised all earthly things and, receiving the habit of holy conversion in the monastery of Bec, humbled himself with such humility that he was thought by all to know nothing. For the man who had been great in the world wished, for Christ, to be seen as small in the monastery and to lie hidden in the abjection of humility. Hence, when one day he was reading according to the monastic rule while the brethren were seated at table, and in the course of reading pronounced something as he ought, the prior, who was not very learned, interrupted the reader's voice and, not knowing who he was, ordered him to read otherwise than he ought. But the servant of Christ Lanfranc, correcting what he had pronounced rightly, said [unclear]. The divine [unclear] could not conceal his learning [unclear]; obeying the command of his abbot, he held a public school for monks in the monastery, and left after him many very learned disciples. Then, after some years, he was made abbot of the monastery of Caen [unclear].

In the same year, on the sixth day before the Kalends of October, died Meginher, abbot of the monastery of Hersfeld, a man learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters, in the German regions [unclear], great in the virtues of Christ, and in this age a singular example of monastic living. He was buried on the seventh day before the Ides of December in the monastery of St James, which he himself had built. He had for not a few years a lawsuit with Burchard, bishop of Halberstadt, concerning the tithes in Saxony. Against his dishonesty, when neither secular nor ecclesiastical laws had any effect, and when the wise abbot, having brought his complaint before the law, had told a story to deaf tribunals, at last he appealed to the tribunal of Jesus Christ the judge. When he died shortly afterward, the bishop, by divine vengeance, followed him with his bowels burst, in a pitiable death; yet before he died, wailing and crying out, he said that he had been summoned to God's judgment by the abbot of Hersfeld, and ordered the tithes to be restored to them. He also sought [unclear] from the monks through a messenger.

In these days there was also renowned Ruthard, monk of the same monastery, who succeeded the aforesaid Meginher in the abbacy of Hersfeld, a studious and learned man, since for a long time he had publicly presided over the monastic school at Corvey and left learned disciples after him. He had once been ordained abbot in that same monastery of Corvey, but, falsely accused, as is believed, of certain crimes, after losing the abbacy he had spent some years as a private person in various monasteries; at length, on account of his learning, he was made abbot at Hersfeld. He wrote a very fine little book On the Tranquillity of Life, in which he consoles himself by many forms of reasoning, saying that a mortal man ought not to be disturbed on account of whatever [unclear], and certain other works, the titles of which for mortals in other places I have already set down.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau: concerning the second restoration of the monastery of St Aurelius, made by Adelbert, count of Calw, begun in the year of the Lord 1059.

In the one thousand and fifty-ninth year of the Lord’s nativity, which was the fifty-seventh year of the monastery’s vacancy, and the two hundred and nineteenth year from the first foundation of this place, which had been made by Count Erlafrid and his son Notting, bishop of Vercelli, Count Adelbert, being a strong young man, rich and wholly immersed in worldly cares, seemed gradually to forget the words and threats of his most holy uncle, Pope Leo IX, and his own promise and oath, and he kept putting off from day to day the restoration of the monastery of St Aurelius of Hirsau, which he had sworn, by promise, to hasten under obligation of anathema. Wilterud, his devout wife, a handmaid of Christ, fearing and at the same time dreading that too long a delay might utterly void her husband’s holy [vow?], or that, if death should befall him, thereafter none of the things that the holy pontiff had commanded would be brought to the desired effect, began to press her husband urgently with frequent admonitions, praying and beseeching him that, mindful of the words and threats of the most holy pontiff and uncle Leo, and of how harsh a sentence of excommunication and eternal damnation he had thundered against him if he neglected it, [unclear]; that he should finally spare the whole offspring of his lineage, which in future time would succeed its parent, if he had resolved to be wholly more cruel to himself; and that he should take care to commit to execution as quickly as possible the things that the most holy man had commanded. Otherwise, she said, she greatly feared that the justice of almighty God, once provoked, would at last punish with a most grievous and eternal penalty the disobedience presumed against the commands of so great a pontiff.

When his wife was frequently impressing these and like matters upon the count her husband, and daily recalling to mind the terror-filled words of the supreme pontiff, and when she saw that, though he said he would shortly do everything according to the command of the holy lord and would restore the monastery of St Aurelius, [unclear] was being put off from day to day, and that always graver obstacles were being added to grave ones, she resolved to overcome by importunity him whom she considered she could not overcome by gentleness and mildness. Therefore from then on the devout woman ceased neither by day nor by night to admonish, beg, and with a certain seasonable force drive her husband to begin as quickly as possible the work promised, lest he provoke against himself the wrath of almighty God. Accordingly, overcome by her excessive importunity, he resolved to redeem his fault. Craftsmen were sent for the work; seeing that the church of blessed Aurelius, built with wooden boarding according to the custom of the ancients, and half-ruined through the negligence of the clerics and the evil of the times, could not stand together with the other dwellings of the cloister, they gave the advice that, after the old structure, too simple as it was, had been taken down, he should begin a new monastery of stone, whose firmness would both remind posterity of the deed and, being most stable, would not allow the expenses to go to waste. For, as we said much earlier in the first foundation, the church first founded by Count Erlafrid was indeed sufficiently spacious, but, in the manner of the ancients, too simple and less firm, and it seemed unable to stand long without danger. Therefore Count Adelbert, having received the advice both of architects and other craftsmen and of prudent men experienced in the dimensions of monasteries, had the first [site?] for the new church cleared, to be restored according to the form handed over to him by experts. Meanwhile he had squared stones from a nearby mountain, timber, and the other things necessary for so great a work brought in at great expense, and whatever was required for the new building very abundantly prepared.

1060.

Then, in the following year, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1060, in the thirteenth indiction, while [the monastery] was vacant, the foundations of this church of St Aurelius, which we now see, were made, and within a few years the restoration of the monastery was completed, as we [said?] in its place. In the same year, in the territory of Paris, they report that blood rained from heaven on the feast of all

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...of all the saints over the people at the time of the divine sacrifice of the Mass. Conrad, bishop of Speyer, also died in this year; Einhard succeeded him in the episcopate.

Around these times Count Eberhard and Countess Ida built in Swabia a monastery of our order, called Schaffhausen, which they endowed with great estates and goods. Their son was Udo, archbishop of Trier after Eberhard, of whom we have spoken above.

In these times Marianus flourished, a Scot by nation, first a monk of St Pantaleon at Cologne, then of Fulda, and finally a recluse at Mainz for the love of Christ, a man devoted to God and studious in the divine Scriptures. He wrote a concise chronicle from the beginning of the world down to the year 1084, neatly divided by notation of the years; its reading could be useful enough and pleasing to students for knowledge of chronology.

1064.

In the year of the Lord 1064, which was the 52nd with the monastery vacant, in the twelfth indiction, Saint Cunno, whom the emperor had sent to the church of Trier to receive the insignia of the then-vacant archbishopric, was martyred by Count Theodoric, because he had been appointed by the king without the election of the people; and on the third day, after being hurled down from a mountain, he passed to the Lord. Buried in the monastery of Tholey of our order, he soon began to become renowned through many signs. Afterwards the count, intending to do penance for the crime he had committed, went to Jerusalem and there ended his life. All the others who had consented to the crime were soon consumed and perished by an evil death. Udo, son of Count Eberhard, of whom we have already spoken before, succeeded him. In the same year also Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, Gunther, bishop of Bamberg, Otto, bishop of Regensburg, William, bishop of Utrecht, together with many others, more than seven thousand in number, set out for Jerusalem for the sake of prayer and devotion, and scarcely two thousand returned.

In this year also, when Arnulph, bishop of Worms, a man of episcopal modesty and holiness, died, Adelbero, a monk of St Gall of our order, brother of Duke Rudolf, succeeded him, altogether lame in one foot, a man in every respect worthy of spectacle. For he was of great strength, excessive voracity, and such corpulence that it struck those who saw him with horror rather than admiration.

In these times Williram flourished, from schoolmaster of Bamberg a monk of Fulda [unclear] he flourished in Saxony, a man very learned in both divine and secular writings, practiced in verse and prose, who for many years illuminated the public school of the monks in the same monastery by teaching and writing various things; not least learned also in secular letters, he had taught philosophy gloriously for many years in the Parisian school. Among the other little works of his talent he wrote three little books on the Song of Songs, divided between verse and prose. He also wrote several other things not yet seen by us.

Bernard too, a monk of Corvey of our order, in the same times [unclear] in Saxony, by teaching and writing, illuminated various things. He described in verse, not inelegantly, the life and passion of St Cyriacus the martyr, together with many other things which have not yet reached us.

Theoderic too, abbot of St Trudo of our order, most learned, fully instructed both in secular letters and in the divine Scriptures, wrote in elegant verse the life of Trudo, and also of Saint Bavo, Saint Reinold, and very many others.

In these times Saint Arnulph also flourished, a monk of the monastery of Blessed Medard at Soissons. Saint Arnulph.

Saint Maurilius also, from being a monk of the monastery of Fécamp of our order, archbishop of Rouen after the deposition of Malger, is held to have been renowned in these times, a man adorned with the beauty of many virtues, an outstanding cultivator of charity and abstinence; concerning his holy manner of life exalted proclamations of praise are reported.

In these times Saint Anno, archbishop of Cologne, built a monastery of our or-

The Monastery of Hirsau

of our order in Westphalia, which in the language of that people is called Grafschaft, in which he placed an abbot and monks who were to live according to the Rule, and provided them with all necessities. The holy archbishop Anno also founded a third monastery of our order on the borders of the Slavs, which is called Salvedia, in which he likewise placed monks of the Rule of our most holy father Benedict with an abbot, and enriched them with many estates and gifts.

In these times a certain monk of our order came from Ireland, who was called John, into the territory of Mecklenburg in Saxony, preaching the word of God to the inhabitants. On account of his zeal for the faith and his tireless constancy in evangelizing, the Roman pontiff set him as bishop over those peoples; and at last, crowned with martyrdom for faith and justice, he passed to the Lord.

Hermann also, from being a monk of the monastery of Saint Felicitas in Schwarzach, not far from Würzburg, of our order, in these days after the death of Gunther, bishop of Bamberg, succeeded in his place. There are those who write that this Hermann had been vicedominus of Mainz, and that by the entreaties and money of friends he bought the bishopric; but afterward, led by repentance, he entered a monastery.

When and whence the first monks came to Hirsau in this second foundation or restoration. Of Count Adelbert at Constance.

Meanwhile, while the work begun in the foundation of the new church of Saint Aurelius the Pontiff was being continued by Count Adelbert, every delay seemed too long to the holy woman, since she both knew that her husband’s mind was slack and inconstant, and knew that, not yet sufficiently grounded in the fear of God, he could easily be turned back from his holy purpose. Therefore, by what seemed a shrewd counsel, she decided that the completion of the monastery was not to be awaited, lest perhaps death or some impediments should intervene, if it carried off either her or the count before the work was finished. The devoted wife therefore moved her husband, and at last persuaded him to introduce monks without waiting for the date of completion, which still seemed far distant; with their counsel he would finish what was not yet completed in the construction of the monastic dwellings and cells. The count therefore gave consent to the woman who urged him, and took counsel as to whence monks might be brought who would live blamelessly according to the monastic Rule. At that time there was a monastery of solitaries, which from ancient times, as we said far above, was called Ad eremitas, in the Black Forest, praised above the other monasteries of Swabia for the good reputation and rule of life of the monks dwelling there. Led by the glory of its good fragrance of fame, the count and countess resolved to seek monks from it, if they could obtain them. Therefore, after an embassy had been sent to the abbot of that monastery, Count Adelbert asked that monks outstanding in life and conduct be sent to him, to possess under the Rule of the holy father Benedict the monastery founded by him. Accordingly brothers were sent from the aforesaid monastery with Frederick, a venerable man, whom they appointed abbot over themselves.

1065.

And they came to Hirsau in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1065, in the third indiction, on the day before the Nones of December, in the sixty-third year from the desolation of the first monastery, and in the 227th year from its first foundation. When the devoted handmaid of Christ, Countess Wiltrud, saw them, she received them with incredible joy; and after arranging everything that seemed necessary for the sustenance of the servants of God, she, together with the consenting count, handed over the monastery to them in perpetual possession. But when Abbot Frederick and the brothers said that this conveyance was by no means sufficient unless, before the bishop, in the face of holy mother Church, with suitable witnesses called for this purpose [unclear] concerning the possessions which both he himself and his forebears had long ago violently seized from the monastery: although he restored some for the use of the brothers, he kept back more, and perhaps would not even have restored those, had he not been overcome by the excessive insistence of his religious wife. But after the death of Abbot Frederick, when the most reverend Abbot William was placed over the government of the monastery [unclear], by his dove-like purity and simplicity [unclear] the count’s [unclear] and the pure liberty of this monastery, both from the supreme pontiff and from the emperor, with suitable

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

...obtained with the consent of Count Adelbert, as we shall say more fully in its proper place.

But after the brothers had been admitted into possession of the monastery, although it had not yet been completed, they began to labor most diligently so that the church might be finished as quickly as possible, hoping that they would then without doubt obtain the necessary provision of temporal things also, according to the promise of our Savior in the Gospel and of the blessed father of monks in the Rule, since before all else, in the rendering of service to almighty God, they had put forward the duty of obedience owed to him.

The brothers were twelve in number. When the holy woman Countess Wiltrudis saw their fervor and devotion, she strove with all the strength she could before her husband, lest anything should happen to be lacking for the completion of so holy a work. Hence she showed her munificence toward the brothers and her piety toward God by many benefactions; and whatever she understood to be necessary for the support of the servants of the Lord, she generously furnished, now openly, now even secretly. And although the brothers, together with the craftsmen whom the count had hired at his own expense, pressed on strongly and diligently with the work begun, nevertheless they could not bring it so quickly to the desired completion. For over nearly ten years the church was completed, together with certain other dwellings necessary for the manner of life of the monks. Indeed, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1060, as we have said before, the new church, the old one having been taken down in the preceding year, was begun with stone foundations laid; and at last in the year 1070 it was completed, and, as we shall say later, in the seventy-first year it was consecrated by Henry, bishop of Speyer. Thus for ten years labor was spent on the construction of the monastery.

But Abbot Frederick, although he applied an unwearied hand to the work, was not able to see the completion of the church, together with the other dwellings of the monastery, because after three years, having been ensnared by the false accusations of certain men, as we shall say, he was deposed from the office of his dignity, and not long afterward he died. The dedication, transfer, and liberty of this foundation and monastery, although in this place, according to the order of the narrative, we ought to set them forth before we take up writing the deeds of Abbot Frederick, nevertheless, because they occurred after his death under Abbot William, we have judged that they too should be referred to his times.

Concerning Frederick, the eleventh abbot of the monastery of Hirsau, who presided for three years, and concerning his character and the deeds of his time.

Thus, when the brother monks came from the monastery of the hermits to Hirsau at the request of Count Adelbert, as we have already said, twelve in number, Frederick was placed over them as the first abbot of this restoration; he was the eleventh abbot from the original foundation of the monastery of Hirsau. He was elected in the year of the Lord 1065, in the third indiction, in the sixty-third year after the abbacy had become vacant, was ordained by Einhard, bishop of Speyer, and presided for three years. Concerning his life and manner of conduct, so far as pertains to the purpose of this work, a few things must first be set down by us.

Therefore Abbot Frederick, of whom we are speaking, was born of freeborn parents, from the people of the Swabians, of an ancient family, not among the lowest according to the nobility of this world. In his youth he was set by them to learn letters, and, as far as his age allowed him, he made sufficient progress in learning over time. But afterward, when he began to have some wisdom and understanding, he turned himself to God, not without fervor of mind, admirable indeed in a boy; and in the monastery of the hermits, namely at the cell of Saint Meinrad, with the support of his parents he sought and obtained a dwelling among the monks. From then on he spent all his time, for not a few years, in monastic exercises and regular discipline, quite quietly, troublesome to no one and burdensome to no one, but walking in simplicity before your face; he thought little about the affairs of this world. For, devoted from youth to the reading of the divine Scriptures and to inward compunction, and well instructed by the solicitude and foresight of his teachers, he learned, as though led in by a certain habit, to have absolutely no dealings with the world. Indeed, at that time the monks in the often-mentioned monastery were leading before God and men an excellent regular life and purity, without complaint; they instructed boys and young men whom [unclear]

But after many years, when Count Adelbert of Calw, as we have said, humbly sought monks and an abbot from the community of the Solitarians, no one then seemed better than Frederick.

The number of brothers in the monastery of their prince.

In ten years the church of Saint Aurelius was completed.

Abbot Frederick did not see the completion of the place.

The author, for reasons of historical order, transposes the order.

The life and conduct of Abbot Frederick [unclear].

How a monk [unclear].

Devoted to reading, he [unclear] worldly things.

Praise of the Solitarian monks.

The Monastery of Hirsau for he seemed able, not only by words but also by examples, to inflame the hearts of his subjects more powerfully than all others to contempt of the world and love of heavenly things. For in the disposition of his body, no less than of his mind, he was venerable with a certain majesty of dignity: of middling stature, so that he was considered neither very short nor excessively tall; full and rounded in the face, strong and robust, and yet not notably fat; with black hair sprinkled here and there with gray, and not stripped by any baldness. When he had taken up the name and dignity of pastoral care, he omitted either nothing or very little of his former holy discipline, but, devoting himself day and night to prayers, readings of the Scriptures, holy meditations, and contemplation of inward things, he did not readily admit the distractions of secular business. He also did not love wandering excursions away from the monastery; afflicting his body continually with vigils and fasts for the love of God, he strove to offer himself to the Lord as a living and spotless victim. Toward the poor he was very merciful, and, as far as he could, for the love of God [unclear]; for if he found a poor man even somewhat hungry, immediately and without delay, as far as he could, he relieved that man’s need both in clothing and in food. For, according to his name, he was in all things peaceable, gentle, sweet, and quiet, full of the charity of God and brotherly love, serious in [unclear], sweet in speech, and adorned with a beautiful gravity of conduct. Indeed he had learned so to humble himself before God that even in his outward manner of life a certain brightness of spiritual grace shone forth, openly showing to all the inward humility of his heart. For among the other scribes, an office which among the old monks was very commonly in use, he was not ashamed to take his place with the brethren, where, in turns, when free from prayer, he might usefully occupy himself. In his dress he differed in nothing from the monks subject to him, who at that time, content in accordance with the rule with every usefulness and utmost plainness, wore cowls underneath and cloaks above. Thus, carefully preserving his life in this humility and innocence, Abbot Frederick nevertheless could not escape the rashness of the wicked, which from the beginning of the world has always been hostile to good men; but he lay exposed even to the outrages of evil men to such a degree that at last, as we shall say later, he was most unjustly deposed from the office of his dignity.

1066. In the first year of Abbot Frederick, Sigfrid, archbishop of Mainz, returned from the lands across the sea; and of the seven thousand whom he had led away with him, he brought back scarcely two thousand. In the same year the kingdom of England was miserably afflicted by William, bastard of the Normans, who killed its king Harold and reigned in his place. He soon sent almost all the bishops of that same kingdom into exile; the nobles and princes were killed; men of middling rank he handed over into servitude to his soldiers; he joined the wives of the natives in marriage to his newcomers; and in the city of York he cruelly killed more than one hundred thousand priests. Also at the Easter feasts in this same year a comet appeared in the sky for about fourteen nights.

1067. In the second year of Abbot Frederick, which was the year 1067 of the Lord’s Nativity, in the fifth indiction, Einhard, bishop of Speyer, died; Henry, a canon of Goslar, succeeded him, a man of such dignity [unclear], mature in age, and advanced to this not so much by election of clergy or people as by the favor of the king, to whom in his boyhood he had been very intimately attached.

At this time Marbod, from a monk bishop of Rennes, flourished, a man [unclear] in the divine writings [unclear]. He left monuments of his talent to posterity, and among other things wrote a distinguished work on the Song of Songs, also the Passion of the holy Theban martyrs and the Life of several [unclear]. For utility and advantage in external matters he seemed to be able or willing to provide absolutely nothing. O what will not the ambition of the wicked presume, which, gaping after present things, is unable [unclear] the memory of future things? The murmur of the brothers against Frederick [unclear]. Perverse interpretation of the monks. Exclamation

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

61 [unclear] does not admit. A man worthy of every honor the monks, utterly [unclear], not only do not revere, but even despise while persecuting him; and him whom, with the highest honor, from the ends of the earth, if opportunity required it, they ought to have called to themselves, they do not shamefully fear to repel from themselves and to cast away. The leaders of the faction, monks utterly ungrateful to God and men, approach Count Frederick: they denounce their abbot Adelbert as idle and slothful, insufficiently [unclear], and falsely invent, in one phrase after another, how useless he is to the monastery. And indeed they easily turn the count’s mind against the holy and innocent man, since he, accustomed to worldly affairs, was thinking of nothing less than the inward quiet of the religious life. The count had also long been not a little hostile to the abbot, because, with the monks themselves also advising it, he had tried rather more freely than was in his mind to require that the transfer of the monastery be strengthened by pontifical authority. Hence he gladly admitted the brothers’ accusations against Abbot Frederick, and would soon have deprived him of the abbatial honor, had he not been for some time prevented by the counsel of his most devout wife. But the cause of accusation brought to him did not seem sufficient, for which an abbot should be deposed: not because he had regard in this to the principle of justice, but lest he be accused among men of fickleness, if, on so slight a complaint of the monks, he had removed from the prelacy a man otherwise of good fame and reputation among all.

Meanwhile, while these things were being done, Abbot Frederick, a lover of holy simplicity, intent as was his custom on heavenly disciplines, wholly ignorant of the machinations being prepared for his destruction, did not turn aside the deceits and frauds of [unclear]. But when the wicked accusers perceived that by this way they could not succeed in utterly casting down the man of the saints, they found a manner of [unclear] of fornication. For, having taken counsel among themselves at the devil’s suggestion, they found a crime. The diseased sheep lay fornication upon their shepherd, so that by injury they might overcome him whom they could not conquer. When this report was brought to the count, he did not examine the case according to the rule of equity, did not have witnesses produced free from suspicion of wickedness, but [unclear] the violence of the man set over them, and therefore admitted as witnesses against the innocent man those whom he had as accusers in a matter not pertaining to him. Therefore the presumptuous judge deposed the holy and innocent man, whom, though accused, he had removed: not confessed, not [unclear] by lawful testimony. And although the principle of an action of this sort does not pertain to a layman, nevertheless ambition presumed [unclear].

Wholly ignorant, he did not turn aside the deceits and frauds of [unclear]. But when the wicked accusers perceived that by this way they could not succeed in utterly casting down the man of the saints, they found a manner of [unclear] of fornication. For, having taken counsel among themselves at the devil’s suggestion, they found a crime. The diseased sheep laid fornication upon their shepherd, so that by injury they might overcome him whom they could not conquer. When this report had been brought to the count, they did not examine the case according to the rule of equity; they did not have witnesses produced free from suspicion of wickedness, but [unclear] violence against the man set over them, and therefore they admitted as witnesses against the innocent man those whom they had as accusers in a matter not pertaining to him. Therefore they deposed the holy and innocent man, the presumptuous judge, whom, though accused, they moved: not confessed, they conferred no lawful testimony. And although the principle of an action of this sort does not pertain to a layman, nevertheless ambition presumed [unclear].

Wholly ignorant, they did not turn aside the deceits and frauds of [unclear]. But when the wicked accusers perceived that by this way they could not succeed in utterly casting down the man of the saints, they found a manner of [unclear] of fornication. For, having taken counsel among themselves at the devil’s suggestion, they found a crime. The diseased sheep laid fornication upon their shepherd, so that by injury they might overcome him whom they could not conquer. When this report had been brought to the count, they did not examine the case according to the rule of equity; they did not have witnesses produced free from suspicion of wickedness, but [unclear] violence against the man set over them, and therefore they admitted as witnesses against the innocent man those whom they had as accusers in a matter not pertaining to him. Therefore they deposed the holy and innocent man, the presumptuous judge, whom, though accused, they moved: not confessed, they conferred no lawful testimony. And although the principle of an action of this sort does not pertain to a layman, nevertheless ambition presumed [unclear].

Wholly ignorant, they did not turn aside the deceits and frauds of [unclear]. But when the wicked accusers perceived that by this legal course they could not succeed in utterly casting down the man of the saints, they found a manner of [unclear] of fornication. For, having taken counsel among themselves at the devil’s suggestion, they found a crime. The diseased sheep laid fornication upon their shepherd, so that by injury they might overcome him whom they could not conquer. When this report had been brought to the count, they did not examine the case according to the rule of equity; they did not have a witness produced free from suspicion of wickedness, but [unclear] violence against the man set over them, and therefore they admitted a witness against the innocent man, whom they had as accusers in a matter not pertaining to him. Therefore they deposed the holy and innocent man, the presumptuous judge, whom, though accused, they moved: not confessed, they conferred no lawful testimony. And although the principle of an action of this sort does not pertain to a layman, nevertheless ambition presumed [unclear].

Wholly ignorant, they did not turn aside the deceits and fraud of [unclear]. But when the wicked accusers perceived that by this legal course they could not succeed in utterly casting down the man of the saints, they found a manner of [unclear] of fornication. For, having taken counsel among themselves at the devil’s suggestion, they found a crime. The diseased sheep laid fornication upon their shepherd, so that by injury they might overcome him whom they could not conquer. When this report had been brought to the count, they did not examine the case according to the rule of equity; they did not have witnesses produced free from suspicion of wickedness, but [unclear] violence against the man set over them, and therefore they admitted a witness against the innocent man, whom they had as accusers in a matter not pertaining to him. Therefore they deposed the holy and innocent man, the presumptuous judge, whom, though accused, they moved: not confessed, they conferred lawful testimony. And although the principle of an action of this sort does not pertain to a layman, nevertheless ambition presumed [unclear].

Wholly ignorant, they did not turn aside the deceits and fraud of [unclear]. But when the wicked accusers perceived that by this legal course they could not succeed, so as utterly to cast down the man of the saints, they found a manner of [unclear] of fornication. For, having taken counsel among themselves at the devil’s suggestion, they found a crime. The diseased sheep laid fornication upon their shepherd, so that by injury they might overcome him whom they could not conquer. When this report had been brought to the count, they did not examine the case according to the rule of equity; they did not have witnesses produced free from suspicion of wickedness, but [unclear] violence against the man set over them, and therefore they admitted witnesses against the innocent man, whom they had as accusers in a matter not pertaining to him. Therefore they deposed the holy and innocent man, the presumptuous judge, whom, though accused, they moved: not confessed, they conferred lawful testimony. And although the principle of an action of this sort does not pertain to a layman, nevertheless they presumed [unclear].

The Monastery of Hirsau

he began to grow weak and rested in peace with a holy end. When he had died, an iron chain was found against his bare flesh, which he is believed to have worn in secret for many years, not without pain, as the scars impressed upon his flesh could show. He was buried in the same place, not without a reputation for holiness; over his tomb at night lights were seen to shine forth, as many testified, signs shown by God. And this indeed was the end of Abbot Frederick, whose soul we trust has been brought into the joys of heaven, since, while set in the flesh, it always loved Christ with all its inmost being, and for love of him patiently endured many things.

On William, the twelfth abbot of this monastery, who presided for twenty-two years; on the deeds done by him, and on his most holy way of life.

After the deposition of the most devout man, Abbot Frederick, no small dispute arose among the brothers as to who should suitably be put in his place: one who by word and example would show himself a useful shepherd to the sheep, and who would not neglect the provision of temporal things, without whose support religion cannot subsist. For they feared the violence of the count; since with his help Frederick had been deposed from his dignity, they not unwisely feared his anger if they presumed the same against a successor.

At that time there was in the monastery of Saint Emmeram at Regensburg a certain monk named William, a very learned and religious man. Some of the brothers had known him before, and the rest had often heard his reputation for good conduct widely celebrated.

Therefore, after long deliberations held among themselves, at last, inspired by a wise counsel from God, with concordant unanimity they resolved that they would elect no one other than the aforesaid monk William, whom they knew, as one very well imbued with the Scriptures and adorned with holy morals, would be a pastor not without usefulness. So they sent two from among themselves, with an embassy from Count Adalbert, to the monastery of Saint Emmeram at Regensburg, to ask in the name of all that William be given to them as abbot. The messengers came to Regensburg and set forth their embassy to the abbot and community, as they had been ordered. They sought William as the shepherd of their souls and, after showing their necessities, obtained him. This William, when [unclear] was received with the joy of the brothers, soon [unclear] into abbot, by the consent of all who [unclear], did not raise himself up in pride, but by fasts and prayers entrusted the matter wholly to the Lord. Compelled by the command of his superior, however, after a few days he set out on the journey with the brothers who had been sent, and, with the Lord accompanying him, came to the monastery of Hirsau.

He was received with great joy by the brothers; soon, by the consent of all who [unclear], [unclear] began [unclear] the count, so that he might restore an innocent man to his former dignity. When he saw him obstinate in his rashness, he considered returning to his own monastery whence he had come. When this became known to the brothers, they threw themselves at his feet and very humbly begged him not to abandon them, so desolate; [unclear] they wrap him about, and at last with difficulty obtain that he remain. He refused either to be ordained by the bishop, or to stand or sit in the place of the abbot, as long as he knew that Frederick, his predecessor, was still surviving in this life. When he, not many months later, departed to the Lord, William at last consented to his own ordination. But he would not consent before the monastery was handed over in every way to freedom. For the advocate-counts had entirely reduced the monastery into their own jurisdiction, and did not wish to permit any freedom to the place offered, in accordance with the terms of the first foundation, in the fullest manner.

Count Adalbert, therefore, seeing the constancy of Abbot William, namely that he would by no means involve himself in the governance of the monastery unless the count himself withdrew his hands from it and granted the place perpetual freedom, pretended that he would obey in all things, whatever he foresaw to be necessary for the business of this matter. And so, at his insistence, Count Adalbert, with secular cunning, composed false [charters?], which he obtained to be secured with the royal seal. But after five years, understanding the deceit, William overcame it through the mercy of God, as we shall say in order in its proper place. Therefore, since William was holy and innocent, truthful and faithful, measuring all by his own virtues, and believing that the monastery had now been freed from servitude, he consented to be ordained as abbot.

1069.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

1069.

Therefore, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1069, in the seventh indiction, on the holy day of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was the fourth day before the Nones of June, the monastery not yet being completed, William was appointed abbot; and in the presence of many nobles, both clerics and laymen, he was ordained according to custom by Henry, bishop of Speyer, and placed in the seat of the abbacy, not without a flood of tears.

He presided in great religion and holiness for twenty-two years; during these he wonderfully enlarged the state and condition of this monastery, both in persons and in temporal goods. He was born in Bavaria, begotten of honorable parents, by whom, in his boyhood, he was offered to almighty God by his most pious parents in the aforesaid monastery of the holy martyr Emmeram at Regensburg. There, both in conduct according to the purity of the Rule and in literary learning, he advanced so much with time and diligence that, I will not say in the monastery, but not even in another, did he have an equal in his age.

His intellect was most subtle, and learned in every science, both human and divine, as his distinguished volumes show, which he published both as a monk and afterward as abbot. If anyone carefully turns them over with understanding, he will know with what keenness of intellect he was endowed. For from his boyhood, as we have said, being established in the monastery, all that time which could remain over from the regular and other monastic labors he devoted either to prayer or to the study of good letters. No one ever saw him idle, in the monastery or outside it: he was always occupied with some spiritual, or certainly literary, intention.

In those arts which are called liberal he was most learned, so that he far surpassed even his own teachers. For he was a most acute philosopher, and so subtle in disputations that he was completely overcome by no one. In music he shone with singular learning, since in praises of the saints [unclear]. He was so illustriously learned in mathematics and astronomy, in arithmetic and in the calculatorial art, that he was considered by all the most learned in these things, as it were [unclear].

What he published, however, we shall indicate in passing. For he wrote on music, on the composition of the monochord, on the astrolabe and its composition, on the correction of the Psalter, and on the method of ecclesiastical computation. He himself also was most devoted in the sacred Scriptures, in the reading of which, as long as he lived, he was accustomed to have sweet companionship.

He was in every respect a man worthy of honor; even the disposition of his body [unclear] from those who looked upon him. Indeed, he was tall in stature, bald on the front part of the body [i.e. head], [unclear] somewhat drawn out, and the fingers of his hands slender with beautiful length; in the rest [unclear] he had rare [unclear], a face of blue color mixed with whiteness, beautiful [unclear]. His speech to men was such as, with a certain natural adornment of words, has been accustomed to make any excellent orator [unclear]. Hence he was very powerful in exhorting, so that, outstanding most modestly through sweetness of voice and a certain authority of speech, he seemed to have the minds of his hearers in his power, since whatever he wished to say he could persuade his hearers with admirable ease and beauty.

In correcting delinquents, even if he seemed somewhat severe, nevertheless he acted with wonderful prudence and discretion, and with such sagacity [unclear] that they could have worked the salvation of [unclear]. For the love of Christ he afflicted his body with almost continual fasts and vigils, and he [unclear] himself with such tears of holy compunction into a sacrifice of praise that you would have believed he would soon lose the light of his eyes. He was pleasant in brotherly conversation, not dissolute; and there was in him, together with pastoral gravity, a sweet affability, by which he easily drew all into favor toward himself.

He was of such humility that he did not disdain not only to be taught by inferiors in those things which he perhaps seemed not to know, but also many times to be corrected. He cherished his brothers and sons in Christ with a wonderful affection of love, and he strove to care for the causes and necessities of each one no less than his own soul. No one ever came to him, however sad or tempted, for the sake of consolation, who did not depart magnificently consoled by the sweetness of his words.

He was of the greatest mercy toward the poor, and all the sick, needy, and weak whom he found he cherished with fatherly affection, to such an extent that many times he stripped himself of his own garments, with which he might cover the nakedness of some poor man. For he distributed many things to the poor and to guests with a generous hand, and

William is ordained abbot by the bishop of Speyer.

He presided [unclear] twenty-two years.

The life of William [unclear], and in his boyhood he was made a monk at Regensburg.

He was most learned in every science.

He never wished to be idle.

He was most learned in the seven liberal arts.

The little works which he left after him.

The etymological quality of William’s body.

He was most effective in persuading.

On the chastisement of his body and compunction.

He always loved the brothers with great affection.

He was merciful toward the poor.

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Hirsau Monastery

Nevertheless, in all things he did not neglect the care of the brothers. In that conflict which, between the supreme pontiff Gregory VII and King Henry IV, was turning to the peril of many souls, he could by no means be induced to consent, even in the least, to those who were attacking the vicar of Christ. Nor did he wish only to defend and observe the side of the Apostolic See, but he also brought back to obedience to it, publicly and privately, by word and example, all whom he could, without regard for the indignation of the malicious.

He was a great lover of great charity, so that he rejected no one who wished to serve God. He did not consider poverty or the ignorance of persons, but admitted all who came to the service of the Creator, noble and ignoble, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, without distinction of family or nation. In food and clothing he was neither fastidious nor excessive; he loved moderation in all things. At table he never agreed to use special foods or drinks, but as soon as anything of that kind had been set before him, he ordered it to be distributed to the weaker brothers. He taught from the Rule that every mark of singularity in outward conduct was to be avoided by a monk; yet in inward conduct he was, laudably, very singular. For in contrition of heart, in devotion of mind, and in the fervor of divine love he was very singular, so much so that in the daily sacrifice of tears and prayers he offered himself wholly [unclear] to the Lord. His purity of life was so holy, so innocent, and so religious that, since it was confirmed by magnificent signs and miracles, it cannot be doubted that it was most pleasing to the almighty Lord.

Finally, when the fame of his religious way of life, which could not long remain hidden, spread far and wide through Germany and Gaul, many nobles and rich men of this world, and men of great dignity and learning, began eagerly to flock to him and humbly to bind themselves to divine service under his instruction. Of these, several who had been prosperous in the world brought much of their paternal inheritance with them to the monastery for the support of the brothers and the acquisition of necessary revenues.

Throughout all the days of his life he had great trust in the mercy of almighty God, and showed himself such in holiness of morals toward the Lord that in no necessity was he ever abandoned by him. For on a certain day, when the brothers to whom he had entrusted the care of temporal affairs, constrained by the greatest and unavoidable necessity, were urgently demanding from the pious shepherd, who had not a single penny, five pounds of silver to be applied to the common utility of the domestic estate, he began to console them with very sweet words, saying that one must in no way despair of the mercy of God. But they, oppressed by excessive necessity, paid no heed to words of consolation. And so the most reverend abbot, rising from the midst of the brothers in order to beseech the Lord for the pressing necessity of his own, went out; and immediately some unknown man met him, placed the aforesaid weight of silver in his hands, and at once departed.

Many miracles were performed through the man of God William; since they are very fully described in the history of his life, it would be superfluous for us to write them again. Having met on the bridge near the monastery of St. Aurelius a lame man supporting himself on two staffs, he restored him to his former health by invoking the name of Christ. In a grove, when he was about to do some work [unclear], he fed many men from a few loaves, raising himself up with great faith in Christ. Taking pity on Gebhard, a monk, who after the man of God had been carried to heaven after death succeeded him in the abbacy of the monastery, and who was contracted in his whole body, he obtained by prayers sent up to the Lord the health of his right arm, so that he could help himself with it in eating.

At a certain time a fish set before him from theft, though he had been instructed by no indication of human revelation, but inwardly taught by a prophetic spirit, he rejected; and, when the crime was disclosed, he reproved them sufficiently severely. Also a vessel which, through the negligence of the servants, [unclear] was suddenly found again full of wine, and he ordered it to be distributed to the poor. Then, secure in the examples of the supreme shepherd Jesus Christ concerning the mercy of God, he ordered a brother who had labored all day with the brothers in fishing, trusting in the Savior's kindness, to go out again and let down his net for a catch; and at the first draw the brother caught eight pikes of great size. Immediately the holy father invited the poor to a feast, so that he might eat with them the gift divinely offered.

When in a time of famine he was refreshing the poor with a generous hand, and the storehouses, exhausted of grain, now appeared altogether empty, Christ's servant William did not on that account lessen the works of piety; and behold, the grain chest, which in the evening had been carefully inspected, [unclear]. Why do I dwell upon miracles, when the greatest of all miracles is his restoration of the monastic order and of regular discipline, of which I have not yet made mention? For he is the man who strove to reform our order, miserably collapsed in almost all the provinces of the German kingdom, and in many monasteries he also wonderfully reformed it. For whatever monks he could, by word [unclear].

The Monastery of Hirsau

[to have] renewed, which formerly we knew to be renowned only in the primitive life of the monks. Oh, how beautiful it would have been in that time to be present at the life of so many servants of God, who, of one mind in spirit and concordant in will, walked in the house of God with agreement; although their bodily dwelling was in the present age, yet their mind and desire were occupied in heaven.

For the fuller instruction of morals and minds this holy father issued decrees conformable to the holy Rule. After brothers had been sent to Cluny to learn and bring back their customs, he compiled these in one volume with varied and beautiful distinction. The book of these customs is found today in many monasteries, a witness of the ancient religion and sanctity of the monks of Hirsau, although through the publication of the new Bursfeld constructions it seems now almost abolished from use.

It is pleasing to touch briefly on the institution of the lay brothers, wisely made by Saint William the abbot, so that posterity may know with what solicitude, diligence, and zeal the brothers of this monastery sought their salvation under a most pious shepherd. All were to come to the church for the night vigils with the greatest haste and reverence, to say their prayers most devoutly, and all things with [unclear]. And lest they be burdened beyond their strength by the excessive length of the vigils, matins were sung briefly for them; when these were finished, those who wished were permitted to return to bed, or, if they preferred, to remain in the church until the night offices were completed by the monks in choir.

In the morning every day all heard the high Mass. When it was finished they assembled at the chapter of faults, where, accusing themselves for the negligences they had committed, they received fitting penance from the master. Then, if anyone wished, he confessed his faults to the priest, so that he might complete the day with more fervent cheerfulness in the love of God. After this each went to the work assigned to him, and all labored with incredible fervor of charity, just as if each man were bound by his own labors to provide what was necessary for all.

For each had duties assigned to him within or outside the monastery, which they administered so faithfully, diligently, and honorably as if they had been divinely commanded. Among them there was the greatest devotion of mind toward God, and they were joined together among themselves in such charity and brotherly love in unity of spirit that no disturbance and no displeasure ever weakened their peace and tranquillity. They all lived in common, guarding the renunciation of all property so strictly and inviolably that they seemed to wish or feel nothing at all of the world.

They were most prompt, cheerful, and always willing in obedience to their seniors, ready for whatever those men wished to command, not only in light matters [unclear], but also in those which seemed impossible. Among them there were not only no quarrels or disputes, but not even an idle word or one provoking laughter could be heard from any of them. Every day all the lay brothers came to the church together with all the monks, and each, communicating, received the body of our Lord Jesus Christ with the greatest reverence and devotion [unclear].

At compline, [unclear], and, applying themselves to compunction, they lay down in their beds to sleep, so that at the appointed hours [unclear]. They fulfilled the cloistral life according to the custom of the church [unclear] so studiously, so devoutly, and so fervently did they order their life that, though later in time, yet in morals, observance, and regular discipline they were held before God and men to be wholly equal to the most ancient monks in the Egyptian desert. But now at last let us return to the narration of the history, because there is no need to insert in order into this work of ours the life and morals of the most holy man, which are contained written in a special volume.

Therefore, when Frederick, the former pastor, had been removed by the count because of the importunity of the brothers, and William, the most reverend abbot, had at length, after many impediments, been ordained, neither had the foundation of the monastery been completed, nor had the necessary donation been lawfully confirmed by the count himself according to the custom of the time.

Concerning the consecration of the new basilica of Saint Aurelius, and the endowment, manumission, and liberty of the monastery which William procured.

Since, therefore, the church of the monastery had not yet been completed when William came to Hirsau, as we said above, nor had the endowment by Count Adelbert [unclear].

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...by word and example most strict in the observance of regular discipline, kindled by the ardor of the Holy Spirit, he recalled; with the greatest zeal he desired in a wondrous way to bring back to the monks of his own time that former fervor of spirit with which our holy fathers Benedict, Maurus, Placidus, Columbanus, Aegidius, Gregory, Boniface, Lullus, and almost innumerable others once burned toward God. Indeed, he erected seven monasteries of our order in different provinces, partly by himself in his own person, and partly through his monks and disciples, and built them from their foundations for the honor of God.

Of these the first was the cell of St. Gregory, which is called Richenbach, concerning whose foundation we shall speak more fully below. The second is the monastery of St. Gregory the martyr in the Black Forest, in the diocese of Constance, in which he placed monks from his own Hirsau community, men approved and most renowned in every religious observance. Over them he appointed as abbot Henry, his disciple, a monk of this monastery, a man of tested religious life, who by word and example encouraged his subjects to contempt of present things and love of things to come. The third, indeed, he founded in Bavaria in honor of St. Martin the bishop, where likewise from his own community he set monks and an abbot; and they, without doubt, having been trained in regular observances under a most holy father, could not easily have failed to be most religious, especially since the father, full of God, was accustomed with most prudent consideration to send to new plantations not any of the weaker monks, but the better ones whom he had.

The fourth he founded in Thuringia, in the territory of Erfurt, a monastery in honor of the holy apostles of Christ Paul [unclear], in which likewise he placed brothers from his own Hirsau community; and he entrusted that monastery and the brothers to Gilbert, formerly a monk of Hirsau and at that time abbot in Reinhardsbrunn, to be governed and managed until he had provided them with an abbot. But since the brothers who today inhabit that monastery of Erfurt say that Dagobert, king of the Franks, was their founder, perhaps someone will be able to accuse us of falsehood because we dare to call William, abbot of Hirsau, its founder. Therefore we bring forward as a witness of the truth the history of his life, in which the things we have said about this matter are plainly contained. Nor do we fear dispute, since if Dagobert was the first founder, William was not the first, but, after the ruin of the earlier monastery, the second founder.

The fifth monastery of our order he founded in [unclear] of the most glorious mother of God, the Virgin Mary, at the Double Water, building it anew; in it he placed monks and a rector from his own community, men venerable in their manner of life. The sixth he established as a monastery of the servants of God in a certain village called Wielheim; yet afterwards it was transferred to Mount St. Peter, to which likewise he gave monks and a shepherd. The seventh monastery of our order he founded in the province of the Charentini, which is called Lavense; to it he sent brothers from his own community, men of approved conduct, and he appointed over them as abbot Wetzilo, a venerable monk.

Moreover, many monasteries of our order in the provinces of Germany, almost collapsed through excessive age, he restored to their former state; some begun by others, but not completed, he carried on and brought to completion. Furthermore, after the holy father William had provided monks, abbots, and stipends, with the mercy of the Almighty cooperating with him through the offerings of the faithful, he wondrously increased the number of the brothers and provided all necessities. For he had one hundred and fifty monks under his discipline, praising the Lord daily, for whom he provided, frugally and according to the rule of our most holy father Benedict, what was necessary for body and spirit. In addition to this number of monks he had several other bearded brothers, whom in the customary term we call conversi; they, applying themselves to the labors of their hands, managed the care of temporal things according to the commands of the seniors and provided bodily necessities for the monks, who were always devoted to contemplation and prayer. They report, finally, that this most reverend father William first either instituted, or rather restored after it had been abolished, the use of conversi of this sort in the monasteries of Germany...

He founded seven monasteries.

Richenbach.

The monastery of St. Gregory the martyr.

Cambricum.

St. Martin in Bavaria.

The erection of the monastery of St. Peter at Erfurt.

The mistaken opinion of the brothers of Erfurt.

The monastery founded at the Double Water.

The sixth monastery.

He restored ancient monasteries.

The monastery founded in Charentia.

He was simple and prudent.

Count Adelbert endowed the monastery in few respects.

William increased the stipends through [unclear].

He first introduced the custom of conversi.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

After the act had been done for Adalbert and confirmed by the necessary fortification, the holy father, together with his brothers, whose number was then still small, began earnestly to take action with the greatest care, diligence, and zeal, by admonishing, promoting, and cooperating, so that the work begun might be completed as quickly as possible. And when they applied themselves most diligently to the work begun, Count Adalbert and his most devout wife providing the expenses, and no less also the faithful round about, noble and low-born, contributing by the largess of their alms, the whole building was completed in a short time.

1071

For in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1071, in the ninth indiction, the structure of the church, begun almost ten years before, was completed with God’s help, together with the remaining dwellings of the monks begun at the same time. Therefore in that same year, which was the second year of Abbot William, on the day before the Nones of September, the same church was dedicated by Henry, bishop of Speyer, the ordinary in whose parish the monastery was built, at the request of Count Adalbert and his most devout wife Wiltrudis, and of Abbot William.

When these things had been done, since William, a lover of truth, believed that the monastery had been handed over to complete freedom according to the count’s promise, and suspected no fraud, he rejoiced in the Lord and carried out his purpose according to the rule of our most holy father Benedict. But after a few years had passed, the most devout handmaid of Christ, Countess Wiltrudis, hearing from her husband how deceitfully and fraudulently he had circumvented the holy man in the imperial letters granted for the freedom of the monastery, took care to reveal this very secretly to Abbot William, to see whether he could in some way restrain the deceiver’s frauds, admonishing him to obtain new letters concerning the freedom of the monastery after the earlier ones had been cancelled, and saying that she would diligently see to it that, with her husband’s consent, none of the sons should set himself against it. With how great sadness and bitterness the holy man groaned over the fraud committed not against himself only, but against God, [unclear].

And indeed, after a few years had passed, [unclear] the most devout William, handmaid Wiltrudis, [unclear], hearing from her husband how deceitful and fraudulent [unclear] the holy man in the imperial letters granted for the freedom of the monastery [unclear], together with the remaining dwellings [unclear] letters granted for the freedom of the monastery [unclear] dwelling of the religious. [unclear] were free, because they had the abbot and the abbot’s [unclear] necessarily for servitude and service, and had freedom, or were held subject. But this, through the said Abbot William, [unclear] of discipline under tyrannical servitude, [unclear] for posterity, or to labor, he turned himself to God with the whole devotion of his mind, because [unclear] men to serve man by ferment, so to speak. And what he had despaired of being able to obtain from the fraudulent man, he knew he would easily receive through the mercy of God. And [unclear] the Almighty, who does not despise the prayers and tears of his poor, [unclear] the calamities which he suffered, they confirmed to the man, as it were with one mouth, unless he restored the monastery of Hirsau, which he had unjustly occupied, to complete freedom.

But he delayed nothing and promised that he would do everything; and, having called to himself the most reverend Abbot William, after the letters had been annulled and utterly cancelled, he offered into his hands the complete freedom of the monastery and of all things belonging to the right of the monastery. And by a firm declaration before his wife, his sons, and many others, he renounced forever, for himself and for his sons and heirs, every right or property by reason of advocacy or of any other jurisdiction or lordship. Therefore after a few days Abbot William, giving due thanks to God, [unclear]. Then he instructed the abbot to draw up, either by himself or through any others, letters concerning this perpetual freedom of the monastery, in whatever form and tenor seemed to him more expedient, saying that whenever he wished he would go with him without delay to the royal presence, and would faithfully and without deceit do everything that pertained to the confirmation of this matter. [unclear] the form of the letters, with the counsel of prudent men, for perpetual freedom; and, going with Adalbert, he personally approached the king and offered into the hands of King Henry IV himself the testamentary page which he had drawn up, to be strengthened by the protection of the royal seal.

And because the sum of the entire freedom, endowment, or, to speak properly, restoration of the monastery of Hirsau made by the often-mentioned count is known to be contained more fully in those same letters, it will not be useless if we faithfully insert into this work of ours the form of that royal instrument word for word.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Page: Charters of Liberty

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. Henry, by the favor of divine clemency king: let the diligence of all the faithful of the holy Church of God, present namely and future, know that in our kingdom there is situated a certain regular monastery, in the province which is called Teutonic Francia, in the bishopric of Speyer, in the district called Wernigau, in the county of Ingersheim, in the forest which is called the Black Forest beside the river which is called the Nagold, which is named Hirsau or the cell of St. Aurelius, where also that same saint rests in body. In the time of King Louis the Pious it was honorably built in honor of St. Peter and of Aurelius the bishop, and dedicated to God by Erlafrid, a certain noble and religious senator, and by Notting, his son, the most reverend bishop of Vercelli, and by other kinsmen of Count Adalbert of the castle of Calw; but [unclear] by their descendants it was dispersed.

Now however that same Count Adalbert, touched by the prompting of God, and also repeatedly urged by his wife Wiltrud, has now restored that monastery, and has restored the monastic life which for some time had failed there; and the estates which in ancient times had been handed over thither by his kinsmen, but had been partly seized by their descendants and partly possessed even by himself as if by hereditary right, he has restored. Moreover, from his own property he has handed over to the aforesaid place so many and so great expenses, that the service of God, now carried out there by fifteen brothers under the Rule of St. Benedict, may by the grace of God be maintained and established there; his sons, the aforesaid Bruno, Adalbert, and Gosfrid, and his daughters Vita and Irmingard, agreeing with him in this and in all things consonant with this ordinance.

And first, namely, the place itself, Hirsau, with all the lawful endowments and appurtenances now at present conferred there, and whatever things in their entirety, he has restored, delegated, and handed over upon the altar of St. Aurelius to the Lord God, to Saint Mary, to Saint Peter the Apostle, to St. Aurelius the bishop, and to St. Benedict, into their power and ownership. And all things of the aforesaid monastery to the abbot named William, and to his successors, for free disposition [unclear], so that, as by his kinsmen, the service of God may thereafter be able to be [unclear] there, prudently to profit and [unclear] the same cell with all its appurtenances now conferred and duly to be conferred, from this [unclear] domination, ordering, and power.

Thus they [unclear] it with the right and privilege of complete liberty, and for the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom in Christ, in every way for hope of sins [unclear], with his wife, sons, and daughters aforesaid, he faithfully renounced [unclear]. But this whole thing the truly happy merchant prudently effected: first for the pledge and reward of eternal life, for the remission of sins, for the health of bodies, and the everlasting [unclear] of souls, and also of all kinsmen, descendants, blood-relations, friends, and all who belong to the care of holiness. Also for the memory of kings, bishops, and lords, for the diligence of the aforesaid monastery and of those still to be gathered in Christ, so that they may be able more safely and freely to serve the Lord God in the service of holy profession, he endowed them with this kind of gift of liberty.

And whenever they shall be bereft of their spiritual father, they shall have free power among themselves, according to the Rule of St. Benedict, or from anywhere where there is need, not only of choosing an abbot for themselves but also of constituting him. Whomever the brothers shall have regularly chosen, thereafter, as is customary, the prior of that place shall take the staff of government from the altar of St. Aurelius, in order to set him in the choir as monk, and without any contradiction whatsoever shall hand it into the hand of him whom the whole body of brothers [unclear], private greed having been removed, [unclear]. He, then, having been canonically ordained abbot, without domination or impediment by any person, shall fulfill the ministry he has received [unclear] among his own, and shall serve God alone freely according to his order, if he shall be bound in all things.

But if perhaps, besides, he shall [unclear] the community of the monastery, which God forbid, and, burdening license and servants [unclear], after being duly accused by the brothers before good men and convicted by them of just charges, he shall be removed from his dignity; and let them choose another for themselves in accordance with the aforesaid liberty and the Rule of St. Benedict, whom the brothers choose for themselves, and without any contradiction substitute him in that man’s place.

The count also grants that the advocacy of the beloved cell should be made [unclear] from among his descendants, if, however, with the counsel of the brothers of that place, he finds such a one among them who, just as the count himself now, is solicitous and zealous not for earthly advantage but for eternal reward, good and con-

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...and shall wish to defend the established freedom and justice of the monastery. But if not, let them choose for themselves a suitable [useful?] advocate from wherever they please. Finally, at the abbot’s request, let this man receive from the king this lawful [unclear], and three times a year, if necessary, let him come, when invited by him, either to that cell itself or wherever and whenever it shall please the abbot. And there let him duly conduct the court ordered for the causes and necessities of the monastery. But he shall acknowledge that no other service, right, or benefice is granted to him for this, except this third part of the customary justice and law which the other advocates have in other free monasteries over thieves, [unclear], censual tenants, and other such matters.

And on those three court-days, on each one, one measure of wheat, one young pig, one [unclear] of wine, and the rest pertaining to this. Furthermore he likewise decreed that, unless the abbot wishes and summons him, he shall by no means approach or touch the good places of the monastery with his reckless assemblies, without cause. Nor shall he have license there, through the most presumptuous [acts?] of sub-advocates, to hold or record any court. Nor shall he [unclear] sub-advocates, nor in any way, without cause, inflict any accusation, exaction, or injury upon the monastery, the abbot, or the household. But if he has been not an advocate but rather an accuser and invader of the monastery, the abbot, with the counsel of the brothers, shall have full power to reject him and choose for himself another, more useful, from wherever he wishes.

The aforesaid count also decreed that if anyone of his posterity, or a man of whatever persons, rashly and unjustly takes away from the aforesaid cell one vineyard, one mansus, one mill, or even one serf or anything of that sort, compelled by the royal power of us and of our successors, he shall pay three talents of gold to the king’s treasury, first restoring to the church the revenues which he had [unclear]. But if any one of them, which God forbid, violently alienates [unclear] or anything in the village from it, or proves to be a manifest invader of its goods, or if he shall most presumptuously attempt to break this testament or any court pertaining to them, he shall likewise pay one hundred pounds of gold to the royal chamber; and according to the laws he shall likewise make composition for what had been taken away, so that his intention may become altogether void. He also grants to the ministers of the household of the sanctuary the law and service which the others freely have in our kingdom, so that thereafter they may serve their [unclear] in all things as before.

Over and above all these things, the often-mentioned count obtained and established an apostolic [privilege?], that one gold coin, which we call a bezant, should be paid under compulsion every year at Easter by the abbot of the aforesaid monastery to Rome, at the altar of Saint Peter, so that the statutes of this freedom and grant may remain the more permanently unshaken in this manner, and so that the aforesaid monastery may always be securely established and defended under the protection and majesty of the Roman church.

If perhaps anyone, [unclear] realm, in the last of his courts, or a man of whatever persons, which God forbid, should presume by any device to weaken or break this testament; but if that, which God forbid, is done by any of them at the devil’s instigation, this same count [unclear] altogether and calls the apostolic pontiff to witness, through Christ, through Saint Peter the Apostle, Saint Aurelius the bishop, through all the saints of God, through the day of the terrible judgment, that unless he repents, Satan may altogether [unclear] that contemner of God and his saints, that destroyer of this testamentary writing; may he anathematize him with [unclear] and profane him from the fellowship of the children of the holy Church of God and the heirs of eternal life; so that with Dathan and Abiron, whom the earth swallowed with open mouth, hell may cast him down alive. The things belonging to the monastery from ancient times, now restored by the same count, are these. First, the place itself [unclear] from the book of life: that, made the companion of Herod, Pilate, and Judas, he may be forever [unclear] and incur perpetual damnation. And as Heliodorus [unclear], Hirsau with three small villages, Lutzenhart, Hustenheim, Deckenpfronn, [unclear] may he here be perpetually [unclear] by scourging; with the torments of Antiochus, namely swarming with worms, may he be [unclear] with stench; with the Sodomites and Gomorreans may he here experience the terrors of sulphurous fire.

Heliodorus [unclear]. If, in the last of his courts, or a man of whatever persons, which God forbid, should presume by any device to weaken or break this testament; but if that, which God forbid, is done by any of them at the devil’s instigation, [unclear], the count altogether calls the apostolic pontiff to witness, through Christ and through Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Aurelius the bishop and through all the saints of God and through the day of the terrible judgment. The things now restored are these. First, the place itself [unclear] from the book of life: made the companion of Herod, Pilate, and Judas, he may forever [unclear] and incur perpetual damnation. And Heliodorus [unclear], Hirsau with three small villages, Lutzenhart, Hustenheim, Deckenpfronn, [unclear] may he here be perpetually [unclear] by scourging; with the torments of Antiochus, namely swarming with worms, may he be [unclear] with stench and crime; with Gomorrah may he here experience the terrors of sulphurous fire.

Heliodorus [unclear]. If, in the last court of him, or a man of whatever persons, which God forbid, should presume by any device to weaken or break this testament; but if that, which God forbid, is done by any of them at the devil’s instigation, [unclear], the count altogether calls the apostolic pontiff to witness, through Christ and through Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Aurelius the bishop and through all the saints of God and through the day of the terrible judgment. The things now restored are these. First, the place itself [unclear] from the book of life: made the companion of Herod, Pilate, and Judas, he may forever [unclear] and incur perpetual damnation. And Heliodorus [unclear], Hirsau with three small villages, Lutzenhart, Hustenheim, Deckenpfronn, [unclear] may he here be perpetually [unclear] by scourging; with the torments of Antiochus, namely swarming with worms, may he be [unclear] with stench and crime; with Gomorrah may he here experience the terrors of sulphurous fires.

Heliodorus [unclear]. If, in the last court of him, or a man of whatever persons, which God forbid, should presume by any device to weaken or break this testament; but if that, which God forbid, is done by any of them at the devil’s instigation, [unclear], the count altogether calls the apostolic pontiff to witness, through Christ and through Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Aurelius the bishop and through all the saints of God and through the day of the terrible judgment. The things now restored are these. First, the place itself [unclear] from the book of life: made the companion of Herod, Pilate, and Judas, he may forever [unclear] and incur perpetual damnation. And Heliodorus [unclear], Hirsau with three small villages, Lutzenhart, Hustenheim, Deckenpfronn, [unclear] may he here be perpetually [unclear] by scourging; with the torments of Antiochus, namely swarming with worms, may he [unclear].

The Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... so that, insofar as they may, they may both receive here the fruit of good action and find, before the strict judge, the rewards of eternal recompense.

Pope Gregory VII delivered this privilege of the liberty that had been instituted to Abbot Wilhelm; a copy of it, written out again by his own hand, he deposited in the chest of St. Peter, as testimony to all the aforesaid things and as a perpetual memorial of the liberty.

Finally, out of the exceeding affection of charity with which the apostolic man embraced the abbot, and as a sign of love, he bestowed upon him some relics of saints, which he carried with reverence to the monastery. While the blessed father was staying for some time in the same city of Rome, he fell into a very grave illness from swelling of the belly, which grew so severe that even the most experienced physicians despaired of him.

At length he ordered himself to be carried to the church of Blessed Mary ever Virgin; and, placing his wounded belly at the altar, he implored the aid of that same advocate of the poor with most earnest supplication. And suddenly, amid the words of prayer, he began to recover, and, restored in a short time to his former health, and the business for which he had come to the curia having been completed, he happily returned to Hirsau, with the Lord accompanying him. His brothers received him with great joy and gave thanks to almighty God through him, both for the safety of their father and for the privileges obtained from the Apostolic See.

When these things had thus been accomplished, the most reverend Abbot Wilhelm, since he believed that adequate provision had been made for that monastery, its brothers, and the possessions acquired and legitimately to be acquired in future, by a sufficient privilege of liberty and immunity, from then on devoted all his zeal to winning the souls of many for Christ. And indeed in a short time the possessions of the monastery, by God’s bounty, were notably enlarged under him through the offerings of the faithful, so that from these he could maintain a plentiful number of monks without much burden.

He therefore gathered together all who wished to serve God in truth, noble and low-born, rich and poor, learned and unlearned, without regard to persons; and although the monastery had been endowed by Count Adelbert at the beginning for fifteen monks, he himself [unclear] one hundred fifty [unclear] under Wilhelm. Number of monks under him was 124.

Hence, since the site of the monastery of St. Aurelius seemed too narrow for receiving so great a multitude, he built a new monastery across the bridge with stone flooring, of which we shall speak later. But now, after we have recorded the consecration, endowment, liberty, and the other privileges of the monastery obtained through Abbot Wilhelm, together with the foundation by Count Adelbert, let us resume the order of the history, long interrupted; and, beginning from the first year of Wilhelm, let us touch more briefly upon the sequence of times and the more noteworthy things done in Germany, especially concerning the order, in such a way, namely, that while attending to matters outside, we nevertheless do not neglect the abbot’s deeds and the growth of the monastery under him.

Therefore, in the first year of Wilhelm, Peter Damian, cardinal bishop of the holy Roman church from our order, of whom we made mention much earlier above, was sent by Pope Alexander II as legate to King Henry in Germany, and at [Francen-] [unclear] expounded with great [unclear] and wisdom.

In the same year Megimward, abbot of Hildesheim, took up the abbey of Augia, an entrance to it having been opened by a great largesse of money. For in these times in which Henry IV was reigning, bishoprics, abbeys, provostships, and the other ecclesiastical dignities were not conferred upon the worthy by election; and the simoniacal heresy stained almost the whole Teutonic kingdom with its depravity. From this many evils arose in Germany, because the king, on account of this and many other matters, was excommunicated by Christ’s vicar, was rebellious and contumacious toward the supreme pontiff, and persecuted all who obeyed him even unto death.

In the following year, which was the year 1070 of the Lord’s Nativity, Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, Hildolf, archbishop of Cologne, and Hermann, bishop of Bamberg, summoned by Pope Alexander, came to Rome. There the bishop of Bamberg was accused of having invaded the episcopate through the simoniacal heresy, with money having been given; yet he pleased the Roman pontiff so much with gifts that he returned from him to his homeland not only unpunished, but even rewarded with the pallium, as though an archbishop. Adelbero also, bishop of Worms, made from a monk of St. Gall, as we said above, died in this same year, suffocated, as they report, by his own fatness; Adelbert succeeded him.

Correction of the North [unclear] Pomeranians.

70

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

When, therefore, the most reverend abbot Wilhelm had obtained a charter of this tenor, concerning the restoration, donation, liberty, and immunity of his monastery of Hirsau, fortified by the hand and seal of the royal majesty, he gave thanks to God, who does not forsake those who hope in his mercy; and, so that the donation, strengthened by the king, might also be confirmed by the supreme pontiff and secured with greater stability, on the advice of his friends he resolved to go personally to Rome, to obtain from that vicar of Christ also, according to the canonical sanctions, a perpetual privilege of liberty.

Abbot Wilhelm resolves to go to Rome.

Count Adelbert [unclear] provides for the holy abbot.

Pope Gregory VII.

This purpose of the holy man Count Adelbert, now wholly turned to God, advanced not only by counsel but also by help, providing everything that seemed necessary for the accomplishment of so great a matter and for the expenses of the roads. After some days, therefore, the holy father undertook the proposed journey, and, with the Lord protecting him, arrived safe and unharmed at the apostolic see.

At that time the most reverend pope Gregory VII, formerly called Hildebrand, presided over the holy Roman universal Church. He had been taken up as pope from being abbot of the monastery of St Paul outside the city walls, of our order: the most vigorous cultivator and defender of justice and ecclesiastical liberty. When Abbot Wilhelm came to him, he was received by him honorably and lovingly; and, when the causes of his coming had been learned, he most willingly granted all that he had requested for the liberty of the monastery.

Pope Gregory VII.

First, he received the place itself, Hirsau, with all things acquired and lawfully to be acquired in the future, persons, bondsmen, present and future possessions, under the protection of the holy Roman Church. Then he confirmed by apostolic authority the royal privilege, a copy of which we have set forth above. Third, he gave such a privilege concerning all these things.

Privilege of Pope Gregory VII

Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved son Wilhelm, abbot of the monastery of Saint Aurelius, which is called Hirsau, in the bishopric of Speyer, and to his successors forever. Since the holy apostolic faith ought, from the general providence of pastoral rule, to provide and take counsel for the welfare and security of all the sons of the Church, then indeed it is necessary more eagerly and more earnestly to receive the vows of pious intention and religious devotion and to bind them to salutary affection, so that it may gladly meet the petitions of good endeavors, and may establish, to be held firmly by the solidity of its authority, those things that have been instituted for the praise and glory of the divine name. Therefore we too, rejoicing together at the praiseworthy desire of our beloved son Adelbert of Calw, have decreed to assent to his prayers humbly directed to the holy apostolic see, and have effectively granted what was religiously requested. For he, kindled by love of eternal recompense, has restored and finely repaired on his estate called Hirsau a monastery built of old by his forefathers, recently lost, and has more amply enlarged the [unclear] of the brothers serving God there by adding and handing over many possessions and revenues. And, lest in the future the audacity of perverse men should presume to diminish or violate this establishment of his liberality, they request that it be fortified by the privilege of apostolic authority and strengthened by the guardianship of the holy Roman Church, with an annual pension of a gold bezant being given, considering this indeed: that while honor, fear, and obedience are shown by the faithful of holy mother Church to the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, what has been made solid and strengthened by their decree and in their name may not be shaken by the unlawful presumption of any [unclear].

Wherefore we generally embrace under the guardianship and protection of the holy apostolic see that same aforesaid monastery, with all things justly belonging to it at this time and legally conferred, and thereafter to be conferred by authentic conveyance of whatever persons; and, under the [unclear] of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, we confirm by the testimony of the present writing that they are to be possessed freely and absolutely, and ordered regularly and usefully, by you, son Wilhelm, and your successors, with the disquiet of all those causing trouble removed and forbidden.

We also establish that the forms of constitution, immunity, and liberty which the aforesaid illustrious count Adelbert inserted in his written deed of conveyance and caused to be impressed with the royal seal, are to be diligently observed for the caution of posterity and for [unclear] the attacks of those causing trouble: only those, that is, which do not obstruct the canonical sanctions, so that no one may be neglectful in permitted matters, nor may anything be inflicted concerning forbidden ones. Therefore we decree that the things contained in this page of our [unclear] command and decree are to be observed forever both by you and by all who shall succeed in the rank and place in which you are. But if anyone of the order of priests, clerics, judges, and secular persons, recognizing this page of our constitution, shall attempt to come against it, let him lack the dignity of his power and honor, and let him know that he is guilty before the divine judgment for the iniquity committed. And unless he restores those things that have been wrongly taken away by him, or with fitting penance laments the things unlawfully done, let him be subject to the vengeance of the most sacred [unclear]. But to all who preserve what is just for the same place, let there be the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which-

72. Of the Monastery of Hirsau

1071.

In the second year of Abbot William, King Henry took the duchy of Bavaria away from Otto, which his mother the empress had previously given him; in his place he appointed Welf, a vigorous and warlike man, a Swabian by nation. Thereupon Duke Otto, fleeing to the Saxons, was made commander of the war against the king. In the following year many princes conspired against King Henry and the Saxons, and with a most bitter spirit toward him they waged many battles against him.

At this time Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, went to Galicia, to St. James, for the sake of prayer; and on his return, turning aside to Cluny, he resolved to remain there, in contempt of the world. On the Sunday which preceded the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, he again publicly professed regular obedience before all, into the hand of the abbot. But when hirelings tried to purchase the bishopric of Mainz from the king for money, he was compelled by the obedience which he had promised the abbot under the Rule of St. Benedict to return to his see; and on the eighth day before the Ides of December he returned to Mainz, and governed his see for another twelve years. Thus Archbishop Siegfried founded in Thuringia a monastery of our order, which is called Hasungen, in which he too was buried.

The first abbot of that same church was Giselbert, a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, whom Abbot William, at the urging of Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, sent to that place with the whole necessary convent. This Giselbert was a venerable abbot, a man learned in good letters and conspicuous for integrity of morals, a very great lover of regular discipline, who in a short time gathered many monks into the aforesaid monastery to serve the Lord.

But since they were in no way willing afterward to consent to King Henry, excommunicated by the supreme pontiff Gregory VII, they were all expelled from the monastery together with the abbot. More than seventy in number, they came to Hirsau and were honorably received by the holy Abbot William; he kept them with him for some time, and afterward assigned to them the cell of St. Gregory for a dwelling, as will be said more fully in its proper place. The same archbishop also established the cloister of Blessed Mary ever Virgin ad Gradus, in the city of Mainz, which he endowed with many estates and ornaments.

1072.

In the fourth year of Abbot William, which was the year 1073 of the Lord’s Nativity, when Pope [unclear] had died, [unclear] archdeacon [unclear], and he presided for twelve years; he was called Gregory, the seventh of that name, a man certainly of much learning and great piety, prudence, justice, constancy, and religion, who both did many good things for the defense of ecclesiastical liberty and endured adversities.

He had first been a monk of Cluny and was ordained by Pope Leo IX as archdeacon of the holy Roman church at the monastery of St. Paul. In this year, after Alexander, he was created supreme pontiff by the consent of all. Holding a synod at Rome, he decreed, under the great penalty of excommunication, that all priests and deacons should as quickly as possible cast off from themselves concubines and all women, except those whom the rule and the holy synod admitted, and should live chastely according to the canons. Finally he forbade laymen to presume to hear the masses of priests who had concubines. In the same synod he also excommunicated all who sold or bought bishoprics, abbeys, provostships, deaneries, canonries, prebends, priesthoods, diaconates, subdiaconates, tithes, and the other ecclesiastical offices.

After the crimes and evils perpetrated, when [the king], often summoned to Rome by messengers and letters for synodal answers, scorned to come, he excommunicated him; whence evils were multiplied in the kingdom and the Church.

Very clear and celebrated in these times throughout Germany and Gaul was the memory of St. Sebald in Nuremberg and of St. Heimerad in Hasungen; and they were visited daily by a great concourse of peoples because of the healings which were very often divinely granted there to the sick. The latter of these, namely Heimerad, was a priest of most holy life, who died in the year of the Lord 109[unclear], in the indiction [unclear], on the twenty-fourth day before the Kalends of July. Over his tomb Archbishop Siegfried built a monastery of our order, as we have said; its patron is St. Heimerad, who shone there with many miracles.

1075.

In the sixth year of Abbot William, King Henry attacked the Saxons in war, and after many had been killed on both sides he at last obtained the victory.

In the same year Henry, bishop of Speyer, died; Hutzmann succeeded him.

1081.

Duke Otto of Bavaria is deposed. Archbishop Siegfried becomes a monk of Cluny. The monastery of Hasungen is built. Giselbert, abbot from our nation, is sent to Hasungen. Hildebrand from abbot becomes Pope Gregory. Concubinary clerics are excommunicated. Simoniacs also are excommunicated. The pope excommunicates the king. St. Heimerad, etc. The king wars against the Saxons. St. Sebald in Nuremberg, famous for miracles.

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Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

1076.

In the seventh year of Abbot William, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1076, in the month of March, King Henry summoned a council of twenty-four bishops, and also of many abbots and clerics, at Worms. He was present there in person, with mind and intention wholly to conspire unjustly against the supreme vicar of Christ, by whom he had justly been excommunicated. Among the authorities which [unclear], Henry the king [unclear]; Hugh, the deposed cardinal, had accused the pope [unclear].

A wavering sentence, contrary to the pope: Adelbero, Hermann.

By the authority of this apostate man, those who had agreed with the king, alleging the canons which forbid that a bishop can be deposed without a synodal hearing. But by the threats of William, bishop of Utrecht, who [unclear] the party of the Roman bishop too greatly and, defending the royal [unclear] more than was right, [unclear] whether he had the power of binding or loosing, who had stained his life with such reproaches and crimes.

And when all the others, hesitating not at all, subscribed to his condemnation, Adelbero, bishop of Würzburg, and Hermann, bishop of Metz, resisted for some time, alleging the canons which forbid that a bishop can be deposed without a synodal hearing. But by the threats of William, bishop of Utrecht, who [unclear] the party of the Roman bishop too greatly, and [unclear], whether the pope ever had any power of binding or [unclear], who had stained his life with such reproach and crime.

The pope, having assembled a synod, publicly read before the fathers the letters sent to him by the faithless men, and excommunicated Siegfried, bishop [unclear], William, bishop of Utrecht, and Rupert, bishop of Bamberg. Potto, Otto bishop of Regensburg, Burchard [unclear], even under compulsion, subscribed. Therefore, in the name of the synod, letters were sent to Rome to the pope, full of injuries and insults, by which they declared him deposed from the pontificate. All who were in the synod are excused in these matters.

By the authority of this apostate man, those who had agreed with the king, alleging the canons which forbid that a bishop can be deposed without a synodal hearing. But by the threats of William, bishop of Utrecht, to whom the party of the Roman bishop [unclear] too greatly, and [unclear], whether they ever had any power of binding or [unclear], who had stained their life with such reproaches and crime.

The pope, having assembled a synod, publicly read before the fathers the letters sent to him by the faithless men, and excommunicated Siegfried, bishop [unclear], William, bishop of Utrecht, and Rupert, bishop of Bamberg. Potto, Otto bishop of Regensburg, Burchard [unclear], even under compulsion, subscribed. Therefore, in the name of the synod, letters were sent to Rome to the pope, full of injuries and insults, by which they declared him deposed from the pontificate.

In the following year, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1077, around the eighteenth day before the Kalends of October, a very great conference was held at Oppenheim, where the princes of almost the whole kingdom were renouncing subjection to the king, giving as their reason that, when summoned to Rome by two apostolic envoys to make satisfaction, he had not come, and for this contempt had, while absent and contumacious, been excommunicated by the pope in a Roman synod. At this council of the malicious, Abbot William was again [unclear] by the pope, and Rudolf, duke of Swabia, by command of the supreme pontiff, was elected king against him by the princes.

Whence, compelled by necessity, he came to Rome and approached the pope barefoot and clothed in wool next to the flesh; and, prostrate on the ground before him, he humbly sought pardon, promised amendment, and obtained absolution. But he did not remain long in his purpose; indeed, he began to rage more cruelly against the Church than he had raged before. At length, when he had been excommunicated, he disdained to go when summoned by this community of Hirsau, since he knew the vicar of Christ to be holy and innocent, and was in excellent agreement with the holy Roman Church.

In the following year, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity around 1076, in the month of March, King Henry summoned a council of twenty-four bishops, and also of many abbots and clerics, at Worms. He was present there in person, with mind and intention wholly to conspire unjustly against the supreme vicar of Christ, by whom he had justly been excommunicated. Among the authorities which he had [unclear], Henry the king [unclear]; Hugh, the deposed cardinal, had accused the pope [unclear].

A wavering sentence, contrary to the pope: Adelbero, Hermann.

By the authority of this apostate man, those who had agreed with the king, alleging the canons which forbid that a bishop can be deposed without a synodal hearing. But by the threats of William, bishop of [unclear], who [unclear] the party of the Roman bishop too greatly, and [unclear], whether they ever had any power of binding, who had stained their life with such reproaches and crime. And when all the others, hesitating not at all, subscribed to his condemnation, Adelbero, bishop of Würzburg, and Hermann, bishop of Metz, resisted for some time, alleging the canons which forbid that bishops can be deposed without a synodal hearing. But by the threats of William, bishop of Utrecht, who [unclear] the party of the Roman bishop too greatly, and [unclear], whether they ever had any power of binding, who had stained his life with such reproaches and crimes. The pope, having assembled a synod, publicly read before the fathers the letters sent to you by the faithless men, and excommunicated Siegfried, bishop of Utrecht, William and Rupert, bishop of Bamberg. Potto, Otto bishop of Regensburg, Burchard [unclear], even under compulsion, subscribed. Therefore, in the name of the synod, letters were sent to Rome to the pope, full of injuries and insults, by which they declared him deposed from the pontificate.

In the following year, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity around the eighteenth day before the Kalends of October, a very great conference was held at Oppenheim. There the princes of almost the whole kingdom were renouncing subjection to the king, giving as their reason that, when summoned to Rome by two apostolic envoys to make satisfaction, he had not come, and for this contempt had, while absent and contumacious, been excommunicated by the pope in a Roman synod. At this council of the malicious, Abbot William again [unclear] by the pope, and Rudolf, duke of Swabia, by command of the supreme pontiff, was elected king against him by the princes.

Whence, compelled by necessity, he came to Rome and approached the pope barefoot and clothed in wool next to the flesh; and, prostrate on the ground before him, he humbly sought pardon, promised amendment, and obtained absolution. But he did not remain in his purpose [unclear]. In the seventh year of the Lord’s Nativity, around 1076, in the month of March, King Henry [unclear] a council.

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The Monastery of Hirsau

[unclear]. The primate of England, sanctified by God, a man most worthy of every praise, sanctified this place by his presence, and showed himself so accessible to the brothers in humility and charity that you would have thought him not an archbishop, but any one of the least monks.

He sat among the brothers as though one of them, speaking about Holy Scripture, the formation of regular conduct, the love of God, and the salvation of souls; to everything asked, especially questions proposed from Scripture, he gave with the greatest goodwill a fitting answer to each and all. With great longing he commended himself to the brothers’ prayers; and, seeing their tranquillity, peace, and concord, he lamented his own cares and hardships, calling himself wretched because he was forced, a little or much, to interrupt inward purity. But [he called] those blessed and thrice happy to whom, in the silence of monastic solitude, [unclear] the sweetness of contemplation, because of the cares of the world, or to stain otherwise [unclear].

Great [unclear] between Anselm and William [unclear]; there are also many things of this kind appended, which he wrote by the same [unclear], or concerning the aforesaid question, to which he wrote the same, as they were held, as will be seen. I, Anselm, [unclear] abbot [unclear] to Saint Anselm the bishop, wrote this concerning these same matters, so that he may have him who seemed [unclear], and so that there may be no doubt; anyone will be able to see the same. And I, Anselm, consulting with the same men, hearing their words and knowing their opinions, composed this concerning the same matters, and wrote and published the same.

From all Anselm’s letters which he wrote to Abbot William, [unclear] to set before us, so that no one of later generations may be ignorant how highly a man of such holiness and eminence valued the merits of the brothers of this Hirsau community. For after some years, when the count of Calw, excommunicated by the supreme pontiff along with many others because of his adherence to King Henry, intruded himself into the divine offices, and greatly disturbed the brothers of this monastery because [unclear] with the supreme pontiff [unclear], Abbot William made the case known to blessed Anselm by letter, together with certain other questions, and asked his counsel on these matters. Saint Anselm wrote back to him from England in this manner:

To the lord and reverend father William, abbot of the brothers of Hirsau, Anselm, unworthy minister of the church of Canterbury: in this present life lasting prosperity, in the life to come eternal happiness. From the time when your [unclear] deigned to grant me knowledge of itself, I conceived so great an affection that your memory is always sweet to me; I have learned that this has not happened undeservedly, since your life is worthy to exist in love and reverence, and your fatherhood is not without a feeling of sweetness toward my littleness. For often brothers coming from you have not only edified me by report of your holiness, but have honored me by the greeting of your condescension. In this matter, although whatever is in my whole self can scarcely answer to such merits, it is nevertheless mine to show what love and reverence I can. But committing these things to be preserved and increased by God in us, I shall answer, not presumptuously but rather obediently, to those matters on which your prudence has deigned to consult my insignificance: perhaps not what suffices for the subject, but what seems right to me.

Your count, who, though excommunicated, thrust himself in while you were celebrating the divine office, seems to me to need humble admonition, lest by despising the sentence [unclear] a man can [unclear]. Therefore it is better for him to abstain from these things through salutary humility, from which, unless by humility, [unclear] profit, while things always presumed in disorder do harm; nor ought he, with no advantage to himself and with the gravest harm to you, to force you, when you do not wish to offend him, to provoke God and apostolic authority grievously. To pacify them you cannot have him as adviser; and the Apostolic lord will receive his reasons more readily and kindly if he knows that his sentence has been reverenced.

God is to be feared more than man. Therefore I judge that either action should be taken toward him according to the apostolic sentence already issued, or the Apostolic lord himself, or someone acting in his stead, should be consulted about this very matter. Concerning priests who, by open commerce of lust, show themselves reprobate and rejected by God, what apostolic providence has established with ecclesiastical and just rigor must be held altogether.

For it is in no way fitting that reverent attendance be given there where men, persisting in open shameless lust, serve the sacred altars while despising the prohibition of God and the saints; indeed, they do not serve them, but, so far as in them lies, shamefully defile them. This is not so that anyone should think the things they handle contemptible, but rather the very persons who handle them, so that those who do not reverence the presence of God and the angels may, when repelled by the [unclear] of men, cease to pollute sacred things. Nor is it in any way fitting that those should be companions of those who partake from the altar who

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

By these letters and counsels of blessed Anselm, the holy abbot William, strengthened in the Lord and wholly kindled with divine love, and no less stirred by zeal for souls, throughout all that time during which the wretched schism against the Church of God endured, while the impious King Henry raged against the vicar of Christ, encouraged with salutary counsel, with all his strength, all whom he could to preserve and protect the unity of the Church. And because with a pure and simple eye he pressed on in so holy and so necessary a matter, whatever he did was pleasing to the minds of all religious; whatever he said soothed the hearts of all good men with the inward affection of love. Together with dove-like simplicity, serpentine prudence always flourished in him; and because in all things he sought not his own glory but God’s, God gave him his grace, so that he acted prosperously in all matters, such that he seemed to surpass all the prudent men of this world in prudence, and was honored without envy by those who professed divine wisdom.

In these times there also flourished in England Gilbert, abbot of our monastery which is called Westminster, a disciple of blessed Anselm, a man excellently learned both in divine Scriptures and in secular letters. Among the other monuments of his talent he wrote, against the Jews, a fine disputation in no inelegant style.

In these times too there flourished Diemo, an abbot of our order in the city of Salzburg, who, because of the excommunication of King Henry IV, was expelled from his monastery, since, siding with the holy Roman Church, he refused to communicate with the excommunicated. Therefore, drawn by the fame of Saint Abbot William to the institution of the monasteries, he came to Hirsau; and, living humbly among the brothers, when he had seen the laudable ordering of their life, he resolved to remain with them in the Lord forever. And so, made a monk anew, he lived religiously under William, giving thanks to God that he had deserved to be enrolled in so holy a congregation. Then, after some years, he was raised to be archbishop of the church of Salzburg, and, compelled by obedience, was unwillingly forced to withdraw from the monastery. He presided over the aforesaid church vigorously in word and example, offering many inducements to virtues. At length, inflamed by divine love, he resolved to go with many others to the Holy Land and to visit the Lord’s sepulchre; and on the way, captured by pagans, he was crowned with martyrdom along with most of the other companions of his pilgrimage. His deeds are extant.

Around these times Rupert, formerly abbot of Reichenau, was deposed by Pope Gregory VII, the mandate being carried out by Saint Hugh, abbot of Cluny, and every exercise of ecclesiastical order was forbidden him except psalmody, because, though summoned to Rome a third time to clear himself of the charges brought against him, he refused to go. Later, despising the prohibition of the supreme pontiff, he received from King Henry the monastery at Gengenbach, where, while according to his custom he devoted himself too immoderately to temporal gains, he was killed with another monk of the aforesaid monastery, of by no means hopeless character, against whom, after advancing upon the possessions of the monastery and his own right, he himself wished to defend himself by warding off force. In these times Pope Gregory VII, for ecclesiastical causes, sent as legate into Germany and Gaul a venerable man, outstanding in learning in the Scriptures and in [unclear], [unclear] to this our monastery of Hirsau, subject to the archbishop. From this the most reverend abbot William, with the permission of [unclear], most holy abbot of Cluny, arranged in two books, in a fair order, the statutes and customs transmitted to him, with certain things reasonably to be changed according to consideration of place, region, and climate, and handed them down to his brothers and successors to be observed for the preservation of monastic life.

1079.

In the tenth year of Abbot William, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1079, Hidolph, archbishop of Cologne, died, and Sigeuinus succeeded him. In this same year King Henry fought fiercely against the Saxons, of whom many perished.

1080.

But in the [unclear] year of Abbot William, at Brixen, a city of the Noricans, another synod of thirty bishops and many abbots and clerics was held by command of King Henry against Pope Gregory VII.

In the same

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...who through uncleanness make themselves excluded from service at the altar. Concerning those fallen persons who have sacred orders, however, it must not by any means be asserted that, as they ought to be considered with voluntary humility, they can no longer in any way make use of those same orders, if, appeasing God by the sacrifice of a troubled spirit and of a contrite and humbled heart, they have earnestly striven to advance in virtue. For neither before God is anyone's office rejected because of a fault which he himself forgives, nor among men is the dignity of sacred order discolored because of a person whose sin they themselves do not know; for by these two causes a fall of the flesh bars access or return to sacred orders.

But since it is almost always hidden whose iniquities have been remitted, whose sins covered, and whose by no means, it is always safer for one conscious to himself of a crime, and [unclear], to abstain through praiseworthy humility than to presume through culpable security. For the former can always be done without God's disapproval; the latter ought not be done unless God approves it. But anyone who grants assent to this opinion, by which after a fall return to the office of sacred order is allowed, unless he is supported by some reason or by the authority of the Scriptures, wishes to attribute agreement to the legal epistle of blessed Pope Callistus directed to all the bishops established throughout Gaul, and to blessed Gregory to Secundinus [unclear]; for there they establish this opinion with such firm and almost identical reasons and authorities that it in no way needs the proof of others. But since the same blessed Gregory forbids this very thing in certain other epistles of his, lest he be contrary to himself, he is understood to have forbidden it in open cases, but to have allowed it in hidden cases after fitting penance. For a crime which is neither imputed by God nor thought to exist by men does not reject nor disfigure, as we have already said; nevertheless, in such a matter it is safer for anyone before God to fear more than to [unclear].

That he must necessarily be prohibited who of his own accord reveals a hidden crime by humble confession I by no means think, lest the saving power of confession be obstructed for many; for who would be able to choose it at all, if by this occasion he should be led from a hidden [unclear] into the certainty or suspicion of some crime? For it is established that they should confess their sin, but no one is compelled by custom, without his own consent, to cease from the office of his order. Rather, he seems guilty of a great crime who [unclear], because by thus compelling [unclear] he drives and compels many, still not confessed, to fear and flee confession.

For it is plain enough how much less evil it is for any sinner, after an offering [unclear] and with hope [unclear], to approach the altar with a humble mind, than with hatred of confession, despair of pardon, a hardened heart, desire, or even as if [unclear], to thrust himself in. Therefore he to whom permission is granted is by no means [unclear]; he commands a lesser fault, in which he has involved another not by consenting but by prudently guarding against a greater one. But he would seem to be a participant in, and author of, the greater crime, if by helping he drives many, even if unwillingly, yet inordinately by fearing more what is lesser than what is greatest. But it is manifest that those who, by humble contrition, trample upon proud shame, denouncing themselves and consenting of their own accord to the judgment of cessation, minister much more safely when permitted, or even ordered, than those who, with human shame, refuse justly to judge themselves between God and themselves. Although this is thus allowed, it is very dangerous to forbid the unwilling, as has been said above, rather than the willing. And since it is necessary for both, either to abstain for a time [unclear], because those who do not gladly cease from that to which they have not well advanced are then to be relaxed; but those who abstain of their own accord are even to be recalled to that which they do not presume. For in the former, if they are recalled, presumption is cloaked under the covering of obedience; but in the latter humility is aided by the strength of obedience. This renewal is not to be undertaken indifferently, but is to be carried out with great confession of the prelate receiving it and with discretion.

For it often happens that someone does not shrink from the office assigned to him through horror at the crime committed, nor overcome human shame by a life of humility, but through the darkness of folly, the very hard obstinacy of shamelessness, [unclear], or through negligence does not desire his office. But a man of this sort is never either to be recalled to sacred office or [unclear], unless the prelate is moved not so much by [unclear] as by the humility of supplication, by the intercession of a contrite change of life; then indeed, if the prelate, comforting him not so much concerning any merits as concerning the great mercy and multitude of the compassions of God, sends him back to his office or invites him, he seems to have acted not so much rashly as prudently.

For in matters of this kind pusillanimity must often be anticipated, suspicion of contempt excluded, benevolence shown, compassion displayed. In this way those who are such persons, the more kindly they are advanced to perfection, the more effectively they are bound more strictly in a good purpose. I could have inserted more than has first been written here, but because the brevity proper to a letter, which protests that it has already extended itself too much, does not allow it, I have simply set forth, at your fatherhood's command, what I thought about the matters asked. May almighty God so direct us in these and in all things that must be done by us in the uprightness of truth that for them he may repay himself as the reward. If I were present before you and your holy congregation, of which, by the merits of many, I daily hear greater things in concord, from which much good is reported and eagerly sought, I would prostrate my whole body with a suppliant mind, so that you might grant me again and more fully in fraternal charity to be a perpetual participant in the good things which God works in your holy monastery. But since, being very far away, I cannot do this, I presume, from [unclear], to ask of your holiness that you ask this very thing for me, not with body humbled but with kindly [unclear]; not concerning merits, but to ask of your holiness that you ask this same thing for me and grant it to me with that [unclear], and that you ask it for me from the same your sons and grant it with that. G2

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

In the same year war was again waged between Rudolf and King Henry, and Rudolf himself fell with many others. He was carried by his men to Merseburg, where he died and was buried. It is said that, when he was at the point of death and looked at his severed right hand, he said with a heavy sigh to the bishops who happened to be present: “Behold, this is the hand with which I confirmed by oath my fidelity to my lord Henry; alas, at your urging I did not keep it, and behold, wretched as I am, I am compelled to forsake life together with the kingdom. See, you who made me ascend the throne against my lord, whether you have led me by the right path as I followed your counsels.” Having said this, he expired. In his place the Saxons and the princes of Alemannia elected a certain Hermann, a very powerful nobleman from Germany; but before long he began to be regarded with contempt as a stranger, and therefore after a few years, laying aside the title of king, he betook himself to Henry’s favor.

1081.

In the twelfth year of Abbot William, and in the 1081st year of the Lord’s nativity, King Henry sought Italy with an army; and coming to Rome on the vigil of Pentecost, with Pope Gregory and the Romans resisting him, he set up fortifications before the castle of Saint Peter. There also, though harassed for two years by the frequent attacks of the townsmen, with a small force he performed many deeds bravely. He therefore besieged the city continuously for two years, and at last took it in the year of the Lord 1083, in the sixth indiction, on the fourth day before the Nones of June, which was the Friday of Pentecost week. Pope Gregory, however, fleeing secretly, withdrew to Salerno, and remained there until the day of his death. In his place, at the request of the Romans, King Henry appointed Wighert, bishop of Ravenna, as pope; he was called Clement, the third of this name. King Henry took Rome by besieging it. This [installation?] of Wighert the antipope was made while the siege of the city was continuing. In a synod of thirty bishops, as we have said, at Brixen, they falsely accused [unclear] of having invaded the apostolic see by the art of magic, necromancy, and the aid of demons, and with many other falsehoods they deposed him in his absence. When Pope Gregory heard this, after an assembly of bishops and abbots had been gathered, he excommunicated the invader of the apostolic see together with all who had been in the synod of Brixen, and also King Henry with all his supporters, and cursed them with great severity.

Mainz is consumed by fire together with the church.

In the same year also of Abbot William, namely the twelfth, the city of Mainz was for the greater part consumed by fire, together with the principal church and three monasteries. Henry, the fifth king of this name, was born. The monastery at Bamberg too was burned on the vigil of holy Easter.

One hundred fifty monks and forty lay brothers of this monastery.

1082.

In the year of the Lord 1082, when the number of monks of this community under the most reverend Abbot William, the Lord bestowing his blessing, had greatly increased, so that because of their multitude the narrowness of the place at Saint Aurelius could scarcely contain them; for there were more than one hundred fifty monks, besides the lay brothers, of whom there were no fewer than forty; the holy man began to take counsel with those same brothers of his about enlarging the aforesaid monastery somewhat. But since this could not suitably be done, because of the narrow and less convenient situation of the place and the arrangement of the buildings, after taking counsel he [decided?] on a new monastery across the river in a somewhat higher place and for that reason also healthier, [unclear]. The [cloister?] of the monastery begins to be founded at Hirsau. The monastery at Bamberg too was burned on the vigil of holy Easter. When he had begun to prepare the necessities for this work, [unclear] of timber [unclear].

The marchioness gives expenses to the abbot.

At that time a certain powerful and wealthy margrave named Hermann, drawn by the divine spirit and despising the world with all its possessions and pomp for the love of God, fled secretly, with no one except his wife knowing, and went unknown to the monastery of Cluny; and, having received from Saint Hugh the abbot the habit of holy conversion, for love of the supreme Shepherd he became shepherd of the livestock of that same monastery. After the departure of the aforesaid husband, the wife of this most excellent man, wishing God to be heir of her goods, [gave?] costs and expenses to the holy Abbot William for building the new monastery that had been begun, [unclear] so that he would leave it unfinished with hands withdrawn. Yet from what she had previously contributed, so much of the expenses remained that nearly all the rest that was left was completed. But the most reverend Abbot William began to build the larger monastery in the thirteenth year of his rule, which was the 1082nd year of the Lord’s nativity, in the fifth indiction, and in nine years the whole [unclear].

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Of the Monastery of Hirsau

...completed the building, so that in the tenth year the church was consecrated. It is to be believed that he had no other craftsmen for this building than his own monks, since they were nearly two hundred in number; among them were stonecutters, carpenters, blacksmiths, and architects undoubtedly most experienced in every art and science of architecture. Thus they completed the whole work without the help of secular craftsmen, with excellent timberwork, as the church is seen today. For the other buildings of the monastery, apart from the church, were almost all changed in the course of time by various abbots.

1083.

In the following year, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1083, Abbot Wilhelm founded the cell of Saint Gregory in Reichenbach. We have thought it better to insert the sequence of this foundation in his own words rather than in those of another.

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Wilhelm, by no merits of my own but by the mercy of God alone abbot of the monastery of Hirsau, desire it to be known to all, both future and present, that a certain free elder named Bern gave his little estate, situated in the Black Forest, in the place which is called Reichenbach from the stream that there flows into the Murg, to Saint Aurelius of Hirsau, in the presence of suitable witnesses, as an eternal inheritance, requesting this in return: that I should arrange for a monastery to be built there. Therefore, having received the common and concordant counsel of our elders, [unclear] we sent three of our brother monks and five lay brothers to that little estate, bristling with very dense woodland, so that, the forest having been cleared and the place made ready, they might build a monastery for blessed Gregory.

And so, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1082, indiction 5, around the Ides of May, when those brothers came to the aforesaid place, for not a few days they made use of bare fir-wood as a hut. One of them was called Ernest, an upright and courtly man, who had already some time before given himself and all his possessions to our obedience; him, together with all his goods, we assigned to the same place as a helper. This Ernest therefore became provider for the place and the brothers, and as it were a second father: for the clearing of the forest, the preparation of the site, the building of the monastery, and the construction of workshops, he himself especially gave the expenses and suitably procured resources from every side. I therefore judged it fitting that his memory and that of his parents, as also mine and my people’s, should be celebrated there, and I gladly confirmed it. Indeed, the foundation of the church was laid in the fourteenth year of the aforesaid Abbot Wilhelm, when [unclear] was completed.

In the aforesaid monastery of Reichenbach there is a priory of our order, which from the time of its foundation down to the present day has been immediately subject to the abbot of this monastery in full right and lordship. To him belongs the right of instituting and removing the prior of that place as often as there is need, and of consecrating monks there, and of doing the other things which are recognized today as held by custom and privilege. He also has similar jurisdiction over the priory in Schönrain, situated in the borders of Franconia, which is simply and immediately subject to the abbot of Hirsau in all things; he has the right of instituting and removing the prior and of arranging each matter that is known to pertain to the authority of priories of this kind. The provostry also in Rode, in the diocese of Augsburg, belongs immediately to the right of the monastery of Hirsau; its provost is subject in full right to the abbot of Hirsau. But the holy Abbot Wilhelm at that time still possessed under his jurisdiction several more priories of our order, which in the course of time, having been changed into abbeys, were alienated from the jurisdiction of the monastery of Hirsau. At this time the monastic order flourished in this monastery, highly distinguished not only by the number of monks but also by the rank of persons and the quality of their merits.

For, as we said in the preceding sections, when the fame of the most holy man Abbot Wilhelm had been spread far and wide through the world, many men began to flock to him, noble and wealthy in the world, who, despising all the things and pomps of the world, undertook to bear the sweet yoke of the Lord under his obedience. And although it is not within our power to preserve the memory of all of them, nevertheless, lest we seem to have recited a tale to those ignorant of the glory of the old monks of Hirsau, let us set forth at least the names of a few out of many, joining to them the dignities over which they presided.

Gebhard, son of the duke of Alemania and brother of Duke Berthold, a man distinguished not only by nobility of blood but also by wisdom, eloquence, and learning in the Scriptures, despised the world and, for love of God, became a monk in this our monastery under the holy father Wilhelm. He was afterward ordained bishop of Constance, and together with his brother Duke Berthold did many good things for this monastery of Hirsau. Another Gebhard of the same name, a noble and learned man, became a monk in this our monastery under the same father Wilhelm; he succeeded Wilhelm himself in the abbacy, and at length was appointed bishop of the church of Speyer...

80

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

But to the monastery of Lauense, which Father S. built in the province of the Carinthians, as was said above, he appointed as abbot Wetzillo, a vigorous man, revered for religious severity, and sufficiently imbued both with monastic institutions and with knowledge of the Scriptures.

Segewinus, a monk of the monastery of Hirsau, sent into Carinthia with the aforesaid abbot Wetzillo without the permission of Abbot Gebhard and of the brethren of Hirsau, received the abbacy of Rosati near Aquileia. When he learned that this displeased his brethren, he returned, contrite, to the monastery of Hirsau, and in the meantime resigned that abbacy of his. Abbot Gebhard, to test his penitence and contrition, made him sit in the last place of the congregation. When he saw that he bore this humbly, with the counsel of the brethren he restored him to his proper place. But another certain man of ours, named Gaudentius, who had gone with him, having likewise obtained an abbacy without the consent of the brethren of Hirsau, did not return to the monastery for penance, and therefore is not counted among the abbots sent from Hirsau. They also rejected Manegold, a monk of the convent of Hirsau, who without the consent of the abbot and brethren had obtained the abbacy of Campidonum in the diocese of Constance from King Henry V through the intervention of friends, by the unanimous counsel of his brethren and abbots.

To the monastery which is called Beinwil, a certain monk of the monastery of Hirsau was given as abbot, named Esso, a man mature in morals and life and a fervent zealot of regular discipline, under Abbot Gebhard, who succeeded St. William.

But to the monastery in Odenheim of the diocese of Speyer, the abbot who had been sent gave Everard, a very notable monk of the convent of Hirsau; concerning its foundation we shall make mention hereafter in its own time. Gerung also, a monk of Hirsau and prior of St. Aurelius across the bridge, certainly a very religious man, was made abbot of the monastery of Paulinzelle in Saxony, in the diocese of Mainz, under Abbot Bruno; concerning his praiseworthy way of life, when we have come to the year of the Lord 1107 and the times of that Bruno, we shall speak more fully. To the same place, Paulinzelle, after Gerung, Ulrich was taken up as abbot, a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, a man revered in morals and life, and no less worthy and fit for pastoral care by his learning in the Scriptures than by his conduct.

To the monastery also in Godifangia of the diocese of Speyer, the venerable monk of this house named Wolpeto was sent as abbot, a man of great virtues and very well experienced in spiritual as well as temporal matters. To the same monastery also, at another later time, Burchard, a monk of the monastery of Hirsau, was appointed abbot, a distinguished lover of regular discipline.

But to the monastery of Mons Monachorum near Bamberg in East Francia, Wölfran, a monk, was transferred at the insistence of the brethren serving God there, and was solemnly ordained abbot. Evernold, a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, was appointed abbot at the monastery of Briuernugense, a man most holy in knowledge and conduct; he is said to have shone with many miracles in life and after death, and his life and conduct, together with his miracles, written in two little books, are preserved more fully in the aforesaid monastery.

Drutwin, a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, was sent with twelve monks to a newly built monastery of the diocese of Mainz in Hesse, and was ordained abbot in the year of the Lord 1119, under Abbot Bruno. The name of the monastery is called Breitenau; concerning it we shall speak more fully afterward in its own place and time. Egbert, a monk of this monastery, was sent to Passau about the same time and appointed abbot, a man not at all poorly learned, of venerable reputation among us both for morals and for learning in the Scriptures. To the same place also afterward the venerable [unclear] of this [unclear] was appointed abbot, who was a distinguished cultivator of regular discipline. Reginbold, a monk of the monastery, was sent to a certain monastery which is called Navy, and at the insistence of many was ordained abbot. Adelbert also, a monk of this monastery, after the death of that Reginbold, was sent as abbot to the same place, a man worthy of so great an honor, since he was venerable no less in life than in knowledge.

Another Adelbert also, a monk of this monastery, a man distinguished in morals and knowledge, was sent to the monastery in Echlingen of the diocese of Augsburg at the insistence of the monks of that same place, and was solemnly ordained abbot. Since he was a very religious man

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius.

was appointed, as we shall say below in its proper place. Dietgerus also became a monk of our monastery under the holy father Wilhelm, a man distinguished in character and learning; on account of the merit of his life and his learned knowledge, he was ordained bishop in the church of Metz. Many monks from our monastery, both under the holy father Wilhelm and under his various successors, were at different times given as abbots to other monasteries. Of these, some in the course of time became bishops in various places. We have the names of all of them, although we do not know the dates of some; therefore, lest any be overlooked in the reckoning of the years, we have resolved briefly to arrange in this place a universal catalogue of all who have been reported to us.

Sigefrid, a monk of our house under the holy father Wilhelm, was ordained by the same Wilhelm as abbot in the monastery of Schaffhausen, of our order, in the diocese of Constance. That monastery, almost collapsed through age, the holy father restored with fine panel-work and gave to the aforesaid abbot and monks. Heinrich too, a monk, an energetic man and a most upright zealot for regular discipline, was appointed by the holy father Wilhelm as first abbot of St. George the Martyr in the Black Forest, which he himself had built from the foundations, as we said far above. To the monastery of Petershausen, in the same diocese of Constance, he gave as abbot Dietheric, a venerable man, distinguished in character and knowledge, a monk of this house, who was a fervent cultivator and restorer of regular discipline and led many by word and example to contempt of the world.

To the monastery in Hasungen, in the diocese of Mainz, situated in the regions of Thuringia, about which we spoke above, he sent as first abbot one of his monks, with a whole community, named Giselbert. After he was later expelled by King Heinrich IV because of the excommunication of the supreme pontiff, and returned to Hirsau with seventy monks, he appointed him abbot of the monastery in Reinhardsbrunn, on the borders of Thuringia, in the same diocese of Mainz; he also undertook the governance of the monastery of Erfurt.

To the monastery in Zwiefalten, in the diocese of Constance, he also gave as abbot Notger, a monk, a man very well imbued with monastic disciplines, suitable in every respect, who could instruct the monks by words and examples according to the norm of regular life.

To the monastery in Camburg, in the diocese of Würzburg, which has now been transferred from the order, he gave as abbot Gunther, a monk, a man venerable for prudence and religion, who before his conversion had gained a great reputation for experience in courtly affairs.

To the cell of St. Peter, which had been transferred from Weilheim above, he appointed as abbot Adelbero, a man not moderately distinguished in monastic disciplines and experience; taught under his mastership the whole foundation of the institution of regular life, he converted many to piety by his example.

To the monastery in Altdorf, in the diocese of Strasbourg, he gave as abbot, by name Welchio, a venerable monk, very well instructed in monastic life. Trained by the best teacher in all disciplined conduct, he strove to show himself a not useless shepherd to the sheep of Christ.

To the monastery called Buren, in the diocese of Augsburg, he sent as abbot Azelmus, a venerable monk, who, born of illustrious family, [unclear]. Otto, a monk of our house, was appointed abbot after Azelmus. Whether this was done under Wilhelm or under his successor Gebhard, we do not know sufficiently. The same Otto afterwards also undertook the governance of the monastery of Rheinau, in the diocese of Constance.

To the monastery of St. John of Magdeburg in Saxony, whose foundation we described far above, he sent as abbot the monk Hildebold, a very venerable man, about whom many proclamations of praise are reported. To the same house later Brother Hugo, a monk of our Hirsau community, was sent and ordained abbot, a man of great prudence, honesty, and religion.

To the monastery situated in the diocese of Constance, which is called Isny, the holy father ordained as abbot a monk of his community, of much religion and devotion, named Erckenbald, very well instructed in monastic institutions. To the same place Bruno, a monk of the Hirsau house, was afterwards ordained abbot, a man venerable and very distinguished in piety and religion, and not ignorant of the divine Scriptures.

Dietgerus, bishop of Metz.

Abbots from the monastery of Hirsau given to other monasteries.

Sigefrid, abbot in Schaffhausen.

Heinrich, abbot at St. George’s in the Black Forest.

Dietheric, abbot of Petershausen.

Giselbert appointed abbot at Hasungen.

Notger was sent as abbot to Zwiefalten.

Gunther is appointed abbot at Camburg.

Adelbero, abbot, is sent to the cell of St. Peter.

Welchio, abbot.

Azelmus, abbot in Buren.

Otto, abbot at the same place. Rheinau.

Hildebold, abbot at Magdeburg; Hugo.

Erckenbald, abbot at Isny.

Bruno, abbot of Hirsau.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

Religious and prudent, he enlarged the monastery entrusted to him, adorning it in no small measure in both estates.

Adelhelmus also, a monk of this Hirsau monastery, a learned and religious man, of whom someone sang thus:

This man by his conduct drew the loves of all, And did not change his pious ways because of honors.

He was first appointed abbot of the monastery called Ammineberg; and then, after some years, having been transferred to the monastery of Mediolac in the diocese of Trier, he undertook, by public consent and at the request of all the monks dwelling there, the abbacy of that place to be governed, which he administered energetically and laudably all the way to the end of his life.

To the monastery of St. Peter in Erfurt, in the diocese of Mainz, after the death of Abbot Rupert, there was sent from this Hirsau monastery, in the year of the Lord 1128, under Abbot Volmar, a venerable monk named Vernerus, who, having been appointed abbot there, acquired many goods for that monastery by his own industry. With marvelous ingenuity and no small expense he began an aqueduct into the monastery and brought it to a sufficiently useful completion.

After the death also of Drutnuinus, first abbot in Breitenau, of whom we spoke above, Henricus, a monk of this Hirsau monastery, was appointed abbot of the place in the year of the Lord 1132, in the tenth indiction, under Abbot Volmar; of him more broadly must be said at the proper time.

Diethericus, however, a monk of this Hirsau monastery, under the same Abbot Volmar, was sent to the monastery of St. Felicitas near the city of Würzburg, which is called Schwarzach, at the insistence of its monks and the prayers of the bishop of Würzburg, and was ordained abbot.

Conradus, a monk of Hirsau, a very venerable man, was first made prior in the monastery of Schōrein, and then, ordained abbot of the monastery of Amorbach in the diocese of Würzburg, he notably enlarged it with buildings and revenues, and in his time magnificently renewed there the fervor of regular discipline, already almost collapsed.

Another Conradus of the same name, also a monk of this Hirsau monastery, was given as abbot to the monastery of Schwarzach beside the Rhine in the diocese of Strasbourg, at the petitions and insistence of the brothers and of the bishop of that place. He was a very religious man, and not ignorant of the divine Scriptures.

Burchardus also, a monk noble by birth, but nobler in virtue of conduct and in learning of the Scriptures, was given as abbot far away to the monastery called Vinea, commonly Weingarten, in the diocese of Constance, in the time of Abbot Manegold.

Dithmarus, a man of reverend memory, after the death of Burchardus was sent to the same place from this Hirsau monastery and ordained abbot; by life and conduct he took care to show himself, in word and example, a worthy shepherd for the sheep of Christ.

Rupertus also, a venerable monk of this Hirsau monastery, was given as abbot to the monastery of Gottesaue in the diocese of Speyer under Abbot Manegold; because of the wickedness of his subjects, he at last resigned the abbacy and returned to Hirsau, and after the death of Manegold was elected abbot of this place in the year of the Lord 1165, in the tenth indiction. Of him we shall make suitably fuller mention at the proper time.

To the monastery of Tharis, which is situated in the parish of Würzburg, about five miles distant from Bamberg downstream along the Main, Rudigerus, a monk distinguished in conduct and learning, was given as abbot from this Hirsau monastery under the venerable Abbot Manegold.

To the monastery called Besselbornen, in the diocese of Augsburg, Lupoldus, a monk from this Hirsau monastery, was sent as abbot: a man not ignoble according to fleshly kinship, but by virtue of mind and knowledge of the Scriptures far nobler than many of the most noble.

Diepoldus, a monk of this monastery, a very studious man and an exceptional lover of books, was sent to the monastery in Schaffhausen, in the diocese of Constance, and solemnly ordained abbot.

To the monastery of Zwiefalten in the diocese of Constance, another Godfridus, also a monk of this Hirsau monastery, a man worthy of honor, was ordained abbot; he always most diligently strove to feed the flock entrusted to him by word and example.

Furthermore, to the monastery of Lorsch in the diocese [unclear], which the Premonstratensians inhabit today, Sigehardus, a monk from this Hirsau monastery, outstanding in life and conduct, was given as abbot; he magnificently restored that place in both estates.

Sigehardus, abbot in Lorsch.

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Of the Monastery of Hirsau

To the monastery also of Saint Ferrucius in Blidenstad, in the diocese of Mainz, which about three years before this had been transferred by the order, Henry, a monk of this monastery, was sent and was ordained legitimate abbot.

Rudolph also, a monk of Hirsau, having been ordained abbot for the monastery of Gotifau in the diocese of Speyer, by his prudence and by the zealous care of his observance brought back the depraved morals of the monks to the standard of regular observance. Megingus, a monk of this monastery, on account of his diligence and praiseworthy way of life was first appointed prior in Richenbach, and afterwards, ordained abbot of the monastery of Weingarten in the diocese of Constance, presided not idly over the flock entrusted to him.

But to the monastery of Gotifau in the diocese of Speyer, after the death of Abbot Rudolph, at the petitions of the brothers of that place, Conrad, a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, was sent and legitimately ordained abbot.

Another Conrad also, of the same name, a monk of this monastery, was ordained abbot of the monastery of Alpersbach in the diocese of Constance: a man very diligent and experienced in conducting worldly affairs, and not ignorant of divine institutions, who vigorously presided over that monastery and took care to show himself in all things a useful pastor, both by word and by example.

To the monastery in Hornbach in the diocese of Metz, to me the death of Abbot Rudolph, Conrad of the same name, the abbacy of Alperbach. 10

to me, at the petitions of the brothers of the same place, Conrad, a monk there of the monastery of Hirsau, was legitimately ordained as abbot.

Another Conrad also, of the same name, a monk of this monastery, was ordained abbot of the monastery of Alpersbach in the diocese of Constance: a man very diligent and experienced in conducting worldly affairs, and not ignorant of divine institutions, who vigorously presided over that monastery and took care to show himself in all things a useful pastor in all respects, both by word and by example.

To the monastery in Suerzach beside the Rhine, in the diocese of Strasbourg, Hildebert, a monk of this monastery, was given as abbot; adorned in no low degree with morals and learning, he was held worthy of such an honor.

But Marquard, a monk of this monastery, himself also a man of many virtues and a zealous lover of the divine scriptures, was sent to the monastery in Deckingen in the diocese of Augsburg at the request of the monks staying there, and was duly ordained abbot for it.

To the monastery also in Alpersbach, to me, in place of an abbot of venerable memory, [unclear] of this monastery of Hirsau, named Berthold, who for some time was prior of the cell of Saint Gregory in Richenbach, a man worthy of every honor.

But to the monastery in Otrenburen in the diocese of Augsburg, William was directed as abbot: first a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, and then provost in Roth, of the same diocese of Augsburg, from there called to the abbacy by the bishops and monks of the aforesaid monastery.

To the monastery in Schuttera in the diocese of Strasbourg, of whose foundation we made mention much earlier above, John, surnamed Wedel, a monk of this monastery, was given as abbot. He first existed for some years as claustral prior in this place; then he was made prior in Richenbach; and finally, under Abbot Blasius, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1492, indiction 10, when John Phul, abbot in Schuttera, had died, who first took up our reformation commonly called Bursfeld, he was ordained abbot in his place: a man mild in disposition, yet not lax; sufficiently diligent in handling temporal cares; irreproachable before all who knew him in zeal for regular discipline and in making his life honorable. Since he is still considered to be present in life, we are admonished by religious propriety to refrain from his praises. But now, with the names of those who, from this monastery, from the time of Abbot William down to the present year of the Lord’s nativity 1501, in which we have written these things, Maximilian ruling the Romans, were appointed abbots for various monasteries, having been duly marked in order as far as they have come to our knowledge, although through the negligence of the ancients the names of many have been omitted, we must at last return to the order of the history undertaken.

1083.

Therefore in the fifteenth year of Abbot William, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1084, King Henry, the fourth of this name, with Bertha his wife, on the holy day of Easter at Rome received the imperial blessing from the antipope Clement. Afterwards, departing from there and crossing Italy, he besieged and took Augsburg, the city of the Raetians, which had been invaded by the Alemanni.

1085.

In the following year, which was the sixteenth of Abbot William, a great synod of bishops and abbots was celebrated at Mainz, in the monastery of the holy martyr Alban, by order of King Henry against Saint Pope Gregory VII. He himself was personally present at it with the envoys of the antipope Clement, and all

[unclear], who, although he was weak in body, nevertheless, with his mind lifted upward to God, always remained sound and firm in the contemplation of divine things. His manner of life was an example to all; in his character the highest religion, true wisdom, and perfect charity shone forth. By the appointment of Abbot William, Diethericus, a monk, a man worthy of every honor, succeeded this holy man in the priorship of this monastery. He was afterward made abbot of the monastery of Petershausen in Constance, as we have said above, where by word and example he called back the flocks entrusted to him by God to the paths of righteousness. After him the holy father William appointed as prior Otto, a monk, a venerable old man, mature in character and conduct and worthy of reverence by all, who was prior for a few months indeed, but cellarer of the monastery for many years. For in arranging temporal affairs and domestic matters he was vigorous with the greatest foresight; hence it came about that, while he wisely disposed all outward things, the holy father was more freely intent on leisure within. And although, by reason of care for the household, he was compelled with Martha to be anxious about many things, nevertheless he did not neglect Mary’s spiritual leisure, but always cared for temporal things in such a way that he did not omit the holy exercises of spiritual life. After him the holy father appointed as prior Gebhard, a man of noble birth and, in all matters to be done, admirable for exceptional prudence; he also succeeded to the abbacy of this monastery, as we shall say later, and of his character and life we shall speak in its proper place.

1089.

In the twentieth year of Abbot William, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1089, Sigewinus, archbishop of Cologne, died; Hermann the third, surnamed the Rich, succeeded him in order.

After the death of Dietmar, bishop of Worms, which occurred in the year of the Lord 1085, in the [unclear] indiction, Eppo was ordained bishop and flourished in these times; many wonderful things are told about him, and he presided in his episcopate for not a few years. The emperor celebrated his marriage at Cologne, taking as wife a certain widow of Margrave Udo, named Praxedis, daughter of the king of the Rus’, by whom he received a son named Henry, who after his father ruled, Conrad having been repudiated, and a daughter named Agnes. Then, departing to Aachen, he caused his elder son Conrad to be anointed king; nevertheless he later repudiated him after Henry the fifth had been born.

In this year there was a very great pestilence in the western part of Lotharingia, where many, as a fire arose within and consumed their inward parts, rotted away, their limbs eaten off and blackening like coals, and either died miserably or, their hands or feet having rotted, were left maimed for a still more miserable life. Many others, distorted by contraction of the sinews, were tormented by a miserable kind of torture. There were great earthquakes in different places of Europe.

1090.

In the twenty-first year of Abbot William, which was the year of the Lord 1090, the emperor entered Italy again and remained there for almost seven years. He surrounded Florence with a siege and committed many crimes.

1091.

In the twenty-second year of Abbot William, not yet completed, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1091, the greater monastery of Hirsau, which that holy father himself had begun eight years before, was, as it is seen today, completed from the beginning of its foundation in the new [unclear] year. The [unclear] of the apostles of Christ Peter and Paul having been completed, and this dedication having been made, the holy father burned with a wondrous desire to be able to have some relics of the holy prince of the apostles, in whose honor he had built so costly a church. Therefore, having consulted the counsel of the elders, he sent to Cluny his prior Gebhard, a learned and very prudent man, to Hugh, the venerable and most holy abbot, asking that he would deign to send him some relics of Saint Peter the apostle. But the holy father Hugh, abbot of Cluny,

The ninth church dedicated [unclear].

Gebhard, prior of Cluny, minister [unclear].

Diethericus, prior of this place.

Otto, prior and cellarer of this place.

Hermann.

The emperor entered Italy again.

A dreadful plague was among the people.

The emperor [unclear] entered [unclear].

Completion of the new monastery.

Note [unclear] for father William [unclear].

Gebhard, prior of Cluny, minister [unclear].

and he forcibly compelled all who were against Gregory to swear obedience to that same Clement. This synod was presided over by Wezilo, archbishop of Mainz, successor of Bishop Siegfried, about whom we remember having already said more above; he pronounced Pope Gregory deposed. This Wezilo was a learned man, both in the divine Scriptures and in secular letters, sweet in speech and most eloquent, and in his time he was held to be so great a preacher of the word of God that he had no equal. William, the most holy abbot, summoned to this synod by royal letters, scorned to come, [unclear] by a subtle contrivance, preferring boldly to subject himself to dangers to his property and body in defense of the vicar of Christ rather than to be stained by agreement with the wicked.

In the same year Pope Gregory VII died at Salerno. He was first succeeded by canonical election by Desiderius, abbot of the monastery of Monte Cassino, of our order, who was called Victor III.

1086.

In the seventeenth year of Abbot William, which was the year 1086 from the Lord’s Nativity, King Henry, angry at Saxony and the country on every side, laid it waste with a great army by plunder and fire. Hermann, however, whom the Saxons, by order of Pope Gregory, had set up as king against Henry, gathered as large an army as possible and met him near Würzburg in the place called Bleichfeld; there, when battle was joined, an innumerable multitude on both sides [unclear]. Hermann obtained the victory and took the city of Würzburg; yet King Henry soon recovered it by the strong hand of his men.

In this same year the Carthusian order began to be founded in the diocese of Grenoble, which happened as follows. Saint Hugh, then bishop of Grenoble, saw in a dream that in the solitude of Chartreuse a dwelling was to be built for God by his favor, and also seven stars providing him guidance for the journey. And behold, drawn by the odor of his holiness, seven men came to him; all of them, kindled by one desire, were seeking a place suited to the eremitic life, but had not yet found it. The first of these was Bruno, born at Cologne, master in theology at Paris, a man most famous for religion and learning; the other four were men of letters and two were laymen. Saint Hugh received them graciously and made them attain their wish. For by his counsel, aid, and companionship, they entered the solitude of Chartreuse and built the dwellings necessary for their purpose. Around the same time flourished Stephen the Levite, a man most renowned for miracles, abstinence, and holiness; born in Auvergne, he migrated to the territory of Limoges and practiced the eremitic life for almost fifty years with the few who had gathered to him. From him the order of Grandmont began.

In this same year Marianus Scotus, monk of Fulda, a distinguished chronographer, about whom we made mention far above, died at Mainz, enclosed for the love of Christ, and was buried with due honor in the greater church of Saint Martin.

1087.

In the eighteenth year of Abbot William, which was the one thousand eighty-seventh year of the Lord, Pope Victor died after drinking poison in the sacred chalice; many report that this was done by the plots of King Henry and Wibert the antipope.

After him Otto, bishop of Ostia, was elected as true vicar of Christ, and was called Urban II; he sat twelve years and four months. He was first a cleric of the church of Reims, afterward became a monk of Cluny of our order, then prior of the same monastery, from prior bishop of Ostia, and finally from bishop was made pope.

Hermann, having laid aside the false name of king, returned to his own possessions by permission of the emperor; after a few days he was killed and died in the siege of a certain town.

The empress Bertha died and was buried at Mainz, but afterward she was transferred by the emperor to Speyer.

1088.

In the following year, which was the nineteenth of Abbot William and the year of the Lord 1088, Wezilo, archbishop of Mainz, died; Ruthard succeeded him. In this same year the city of Augsburg was taken by the treachery of the Swabians on the Lord’s Supper day, and on the second weekday after the feast of Easter it was destroyed by the same men.

At these times Adelbert the monk was illustrious in this monastery of Hirsau; under the father Saint William he carried out the office of prior energetically for not a few years. For he was a man adorned with every beauty of virtues, in holiness of conduct by no means degenerate from a good master [unclear].

Place. Wezilo, archbishop of Mainz, a distinguished preacher, is foretold [unclear]. Abbot William scorned to come to the synod. Pope Gregory dead. Desiderius, abbot of Monte Cassino, becomes pope. Battle between Henry and Hermann. Würzburg taken. The order of the Carthusians begins. Bruno of Cologne, first Carthusian. Beginning of the institution of Grandmont. Marianus Scotus dies. Pope Victor of our order died. Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz. Augsburg is taken. Adelbert, prior of this place.

1089. But in the year 1089 Archbishop Wezilo died. And in this same year Augsburg [unclear], because Hermann the chaplain was in the episcopate of the same diocese, and Adelbert the monk had been in the monastery of the same diocese, they had a decree for these times: that the masters of the same diocese should not seem to pertain to the episcopate of that same diocese, nor to the monastery of that same diocese, but to the bishop [unclear].

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

[Cluniacensis?], having received the letters of his very dear Wilhelm and learned of his desire, sent with letters, by the hands of that same prior Gebhard, most precious and true relics from the hair of St. Peter the Apostle. But before Gebhard returned to Hirsau, the servant of Christ Wilhelm passed to the Lord, as we shall say in its proper place. For after the dedication of the new monastery he survived only nine weeks; and therefore, because of the shortness of the time, the congregation did not leave the monastery of St. Aurelius while the holy abbot was alive.

Therefore, as the feast of the most blessed apostles of Christ Peter and Paul was approaching, an illness seized the most reverend abbot Wilhelm. Although he was weak in body, he nevertheless attended the night watches and the divine offices with most devout presence. On the feast day of those Apostles he celebrated Mass privately at the principal altar of the new monastery, and this was his last; he was supported by the hands of the brothers on both sides, since he was wholly unable to stand by himself. Thus with the greatest devotion of mind toward God, as if about to depart to him whom he had faithfully served in this life and about to receive the reward of his work, he began the Mass with as loud a voice as he could, saying in the words of the most blessed Apostle Paul: “I know whom I have believed, and I am certain that he is able to keep my deposit until that day, the just judge.” On the fourth day before his death he had himself carried into the chapter, and, all having been summoned, with Mass [unclear] before him, he received the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ from the hand of the priest with great devotion. [Unclear] they might make progress, first admonishing them to maintain continual love of God, zeal for monastic religion, the observance of mutual charity, and hospitality to be carefully kept. And, like another Moses in Deuteronomy, he repeated everything whatsoever he had taught them from the beginning. Then, on the third day, he again had himself carried into the oratory of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, which he himself had built on the southern side, and, Mass having been celebrated before him, he received the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ from the hand of the priest with great devotion. Then, joined with the sacred oil, he was carried back to his cell, where, saying farewell to the brothers, on the following day he happily rested in the Lord, on the fourth day before the Nones of July, in the year of the Lord’s nativity [unclear], in the twenty-second year of his rule, and in the sixty-fifth year of his age.

Two bishops, five abbots, and many clerics with the people came to his funeral rites; for five continuous days they celebrated his obsequies. When these had been completed, they buried his holy body with honor and reverence in the middle of the new church which he had built, and they adorned his tomb with suitable construction.

After the holy abbot Wilhelm had died, and while prior Gebhard was absent, great sorrow overtook the brothers, because to remain long without a shepherd seemed full of danger to them; and they did not dare to establish [unclear]. But while they were awaiting the arrival of their prior, behold, after a few days the man they desired arrived, bringing with him the precious relics of the prince of the Apostles, namely true hairs from his head, which St. Hugh, abbot of Cluny, sent as a great gift to the most reverend father Wilhelm as a sign of mutual love. But Gebhard, using prudent counsel, did not immediately bring the relics of the blessed Apostle into the monastery, but entrusted them to a certain faithful priest living nearby, until at an opportune time, with fitting honor, [they might be brought] to the monastery. [Unclear] the relics of the Apostle to the monastery of Hirsau [unclear]. With not a few other religious men, the sacred relics of the Apostle were received at the monastery of Hirsau with great joy of the brothers. And first, therefore, the feast [unclear] over the tomb.

He is read to have shone with miracles; and if anyone desires to know perfectly the whole history of his character, deeds, and institutions, let him read through the volume that contains his entire life. Finally, with the greatest reverence, they were placed in a little shrine suitably prepared for this purpose, to be preserved for the devotion of posterity. And this indeed was the end of living in this world for the most reverend father Wilhelm, who not only after death but also in life [shone?] with many [unclear]. Many, having entered into agreements, contracted a praiseworthy perpetual confraternity with him and with the monks of Hirsau, pacts of suffrages having been interposed, giving and receiving different aids of prayers after death in different ways. From these we [set down?] for posterity the names of their monasteries [unclear].

St. Hugh sends relics to St. Wilhelm the abbot.

Wilhelm the abbot falls ill.

Celebrating his last Mass.

He is communicated and anointed with holy oil [unclear].

[Wilsobertus?] merits the alb.

His obsequies are held for five days.

There are present two bishops, abbots [unclear].

Life of St. Abbot Wilhelm [unclear].

Prior Gebhard returns from Cluny with others.

The hairs of St. Peter are brought to Hirsau.

Abbot Wilhelm shines with miracles.

Many had confraternity with the monks of Hirsau.

36. The Monastery of Hirsau [unclear] we desire, by the tenor of the present document, to come to the knowledge of charity, with whom we know the most holy abbot William, while he was still living in this present life, entered into the friendship of confraternity.

Cluny. Among all, however, first was that most famous monastery of Cluny, from which Hirsau took the beginning of its reformation, and for that reason it preserved inviolate for many years afterward the confederation made with it by William. These are the names of the others:

Names of the monasteries having confraternity. The monastery in Schaffhausen, of the diocese of Constance. The monastery of Dijon. The greater monastery of Tours. The monastery of [Augia?] in Westphalia, of the diocese of Paderborn. The monastery of St Mary at the Hermits, of the diocese of Constance. The monastery in Rheinau, of the same diocese of Constance. The monastery of [unclear]. The monastery of Petershausen in Constance. The monastery of Altdorf, of the diocese of Strasbourg. The monastery in Comburg, of the diocese of Wurzburg. The monastery of Ottobeuren, of the diocese of Augsburg. The monastery of Zwiefalten, of the diocese of Constance. The monastery of St George, of the diocese of Constance. The monastery of Reinhardsbrunn in Thuringia, of the diocese of Mainz. The monastery of St Peter in Erfurt, of the same diocese of Mainz. The monastery of the brothers of Ritenbuch. The monastery in Neresheim, of the diocese of Augsburg. The monastery of the cell of St Peter in Breisgau. The monastery of the cell of St Paul among the Carinthians. The monastery of St John the Baptist at Parthenopolis, of the diocese of Magdeburg. The canons also of the greater church of Speyer entered into confraternity with lord William and the brothers of this monastery.

Names of the monasteries having confraternity. The monastery in Schluchtern, of the diocese of Wurzburg. The monastery of Castell, in the diocese of Eichstatt. The monastery in Hasungen, of the diocese of Mainz. The monastery of St Eucharius of Trier, which today is called St Matthias. The monastery of St Pantaleon in Cologne. The monastery in Breitenau, of the diocese of Mainz. The monastery of Gengenbach, of the diocese of Strasbourg. The monastery of Ameneberg. The monastery of Ettenheimmuenster, of the diocese of Constance. The monastery of Offenhausen, of the diocese of Constance. The monastery of Mettlach, of the diocese of Trier. The monastery of Bagenack. With St Pa- [unclear] William and the brothers. The monastery of Anhusen. The monastery of Brininga in Bohemia. The monastery which is called Neumuenster. The monastery in Claderub. The monastery of St Blasius, of the diocese of Constance. The monastery of Muri, in the same diocese of Constance. Monasle-

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

The monastery which is called Kodevvicum. The monastery of Neustadt, in the diocese of Würzburg. The monastery of Klingenmünster, in the diocese of Speyer. The monastery in Blindenstadt, in the diocese of Mainz. The monastery in Wiblingen, in the diocese of Constance. The monastery of Massilia. The monastery of St. Leonard. The monastery of Siegburg, in the diocese of Cologne. The monastery of Sinsheim, in the diocese of Speyer. The monastery in Brauweiler, in the diocese of Cologne. The abbess also of Homburg obtained a similar confraternity from the holy father Wilhelm and the brothers of Hirsau, together with the others. The monastery of St. Emmeram at Regensburg. The monastery of St. Maximin near Trier. The monastery of St. Alban at Mainz. The monastery of Limburg, in the diocese of Speyer. The monastery in Amorbach, in the diocese of Würzburg. The monastery of St. Ulrich near Constance. The monastery in Eidenheim, in the diocese of Eichstätt. The monastery of the Holy Cross in Werdea, in the diocese of Augsburg. The monastery of St. Nazarius in Lorsch, in the diocese of Worms.

But very many other monasteries also, under the title of mutual confederation, were received by the holy abbot Wilhelm into the same confraternity of the monks of Hirsau; excessive antiquity of time has not allowed their names to come down to our memory. Canons also of secular churches, and likewise of cathedrals, established in various provinces, and many noble princes and powerful bishops in the world, having heard of the most holy way of life of Abbot Wilhelm and of the monks of Hirsau, commending themselves most devoutly to their prayers, prayed the more urgently to be received into their confraternity. For such great good things were spoken everywhere, in Wilhelm's time, by all who loved God, about that most holy congregation, that all who had been admitted into their confraternity believed themselves blessed. Nor among many at that time was this famous remembrance of the monasteries, amassed [unclear], idle; for the souls of the dead [unclear] many noble [unclear] and powerful bishops in the world, having heard of the most holy way of life of Abbot Wilhelm and of the monks of Hirsau, commending themselves most devoutly to their prayers, prayed the more urgently to be received into their [unclear]. For these agreements stipulated that whenever anyone deceased from a monastery received under the aforesaid confraternity had been announced in the monastery of Hirsau, the appointed prayers, vigils, masses, disciplines, and alms should immediately be made for him.

Therefore, when the most holy abbot Wilhelm had happily died, the abbacy was vacant for twenty-seven days because of the absence of Gebhard, the future abbot, then indeed prior, whom, as we have said, had been sent to Cluny for the relics of St. Peter the Apostle.

Concerning Gebhard, thirteenth abbot of this monastery, who presided for fourteen years and three months; concerning the deeds of his time.

After the most reverend and most holy abbot had happily entered the way of all flesh, and after the abbacy of this monastery had been vacant for 27 days, the brothers came together as one for the election of a new shepherd, on the day which is called the feast of Peter in Chains, when, as we have said before, the hairs of the same Apostle, in the presence of many abbots, monks, and faithful, had been brought into the monastery [unclear].

The abbacy was vacant for 27 days.

they unanimously elected this Gebhard, their prior, as abbot: a man sufficiently fit for the governance of souls, a Swabian by nation, singularly imbued with learning and eloquence. He was elected, as is reported, on the first day of the month of August, in the year of the Lord 1091, indiction 14, under Emperor Henry IV and Pope Urban II, and presided over the monastery for 14 years and 3 months. When these had elapsed, he was elected bishop of the church of Speyer, as we shall say in its proper place.

He was, as we have said, of Swabian origin, born of noble stock, in bodily stature neither too short nor ungainly through excessive height, but proportioned with due moderation; adorned with black hair around his head, stout in body, and disposed with handsome balance. When he was still a boy, he was handed over by his parents to teachers to learn letters; in these, over time, he made such progress that he scarcely had an equal in all literature, both secular and divine. For he was a man most learned in every respect and endowed with singular eloquence, both in the Roman and in the Teutonic language.

At length, when the years of boyhood had been passed in the study of letters, he was made a canon in the church of Strasbourg. There, when he daily increased in wealth and honors, he thought of nothing less than conversion. For contrition is rarely accustomed to be present among the rich, especially clerics, because the more they devote themselves to worldly cares, the less they are solicitous for their own salvation. So also this Gebhard the canon, of whom we are speaking, when he was vainly raised up above himself by nobility of birth and abundance of riches, not only showed no good to the poor of Christ, and especially to monks, but even, despising and contemning them, was accustomed to inflict many wrongs upon them.

For the wine which, from the donation of the faithful, accrued in Alsace to the brethren of the monastery of Hirsau, he seized by violence and, against the will of all, turned to his own uses. He was able to do this the more easily because he knew that the holy man William, who agreed with the Roman Church, could hope for no aid of defense from King Henry, to whom he was subject. Yet, admonished by good men concerning this rash deed, he came to Hirsau to reach an agreement with Abbot William, swollen, proud, and exalted, showing in dress and gestures nothing less than love of religion. But almighty God, in whose power are the hearts of all men, who made Saul, the persecutor of the Christian faith, into Paul, its defender, suddenly changed the mind of this man also to another purpose.

For with keen consideration he began to observe the manners and way of life of the brethren, and he heard the holy father discoursing on contempt of the world. Captivated by his speech, with the Holy Spirit acting within, he suddenly changed his purpose; and, bidding farewell to the pomps and cares of the world, he became in this monastery, under the monastic habit, a servant of God.

After he had for some time lived laudably among the brethren, sound and unharmed, in order that his patience might be proved before all, [unclear]. For apart from his tongue, up to that time he could move none of his members. But one day the man of the Lord William entered the cell of the sick man and exhorted Gebhard, as he lay there, to seek from the Lord with devout prayers at least the use of his right hand. He refused, [saying that] with [unclear] purged away he could reach God. But the kindly father, moved by mercy, took his right hand, blessed it, prayed, and kissed him; and suddenly, with all looking on, restored him to his former health.

After a few days, however, the wife of this Gebhard’s brother, a noble lady, came with a large household for the grace of visitation. He was carried to her in a carrying-chair; and when, in conversation, he brought forward the miraculous healing of his arm, she took that healed right hand and, in womanly fashion, kissed it as though it were something sanctified. Then, with all looking on, what had happened suddenly occurred: soon at the touch of the woman his arm was miraculously returned to its former rigidity. Then the holy abbot William said: “This is the punishment for your rashness, brother, because you offered to be kissed by a woman, out of the touch of empty glory, the hand consecrated to God and healed by his own compassion.” Admonished by what had happened, although the devoted [woman] [unclear], he concealed what had occurred, greeted his brother’s wife, and had himself carried back to his cell.

His arm [unclear]. The [unclear] of Saint Abbot William. Gebhard limped on one foot.

[He was] a man as distinguished by nobility of birth as he was lofty in sharpness of intellect and notable for the prerogative of constancy of mind, wisdom, knowledge, and singular eloquence, and also of great repute in the world:

...of reputation he was scourged by the Lord's pious chastisement, lest perhaps, when all things were succeeding prosperously, his mind should slip into the sickness of pride.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

Restored to health, since he lived religiously in all things, he was appointed prior of this monastery, on the counsel of the brothers, by the holy father William. In that office he showed great diligence, and always zealously went before the brothers in all humility, patience, charity, and regular observance.

Afterwards, when the holy father William was much occupied in the construction of the new monastery of Hirsau, and saw that the completion of the labor he had undertaken was drawing near, and wished to appoint Saint Peter, prince of the Apostles, as patron of his church, he desired with great longing to have some relics from his most sacred body, which he might place in the new church founded by him. Therefore he sent his venerable prior Gebhard, with letters and commendatory epistles, to Rome to the supreme pontiff Urban II, who had once been a monk at Cluny, asking that something of the relics of the most blessed prince of the Apostles be sent to him.

When Prior Gebhard came to the pope, he was indeed kindly received by him, but he could not obtain the relics requested. Gebhard heard from the supreme pontiff himself that true relics of the hairs of Saint Peter were kept in the monastery of Cluny; and the pope advised that Abbot William, as a friend of Saint Hugh, should ask for something from them, which was later done. But the pope, lest he send the envoy back empty, destined relics of certain others for the blessed Abbot William by the hands of the same Gebhard, as a gift of charity.

When Prior Gebhard returned to Hirsau, he reported the words of the supreme pontiff to the holy father, and with joy presented to the abbot the particles of relics delivered to him by the same. When the holy Abbot William heard that something of the hairs of the blessed prince of the Apostles Peter was held at Cluny by Abbot Hugh, who was most loving toward him, he rejoiced greatly, trusting that absolutely nothing could be denied him by one whom he had found, through many benefits, to be charitable toward him. Therefore, after a few months, again to [unclear].

...the church founded by him. Therefore he sent the venerable man [unclear] with letters and commendatory epistles to Rome to the supreme pontiff Urban II, who had once been a monk at Cluny, asking that something of the relics of the most blessed prince of the Apostles be sent to him. When Prior Gebhard came to the pope, he was indeed kindly received by him. But the pope, lest he send the envoy back empty, [sent] relics of certain others to the blessed Abbot William by the hands of the same Gebhard, [unclear]. Therefore, after a few months, again [unclear].

...and the pope advised that Abbot William, as a friend of Saint Hugh, should ask for something from them, which was later done. But the pope, lest he send the envoy back empty, [sent] relics of certain others to the blessed Abbot William by the hands of the same Gebhard, [unclear]. Therefore, after a few months, again to [unclear].

...the church founded by him. Therefore he sent the venerable man with letters and commendatory epistles to Rome to the supreme pontiff Urban II, who had once been a monk at Cluny, as a friend of Saint Hugh [unclear] something of the relics of the most blessed prince of the Apostles to be sent. When Prior Gebhard came to the pope, he was indeed kindly received by him. But the pope, lest he send the envoy back empty, [sent] relics of certain others to the blessed Abbot William by the hands of the same Gebhard, for most loving charity [unclear]. Therefore, after a few months, again [unclear].

...and he gave the advice [unclear] that Abbot William, as a friend of Saint Hugh, should ask for something from them, [unclear]. But the pope, lest he send the envoy back empty, [unclear].

After the regular [blessing] had first been given, the holy father said in a riddle: "Go as quickly as possible, son, since unless you arrive before Peter and Paul, you have undertaken a laborious journey not for me but for yourself." When these words had been said, Gebhard went away, not understanding the words [unclear] of Saint Peter the Apostle, or with very few.

But the venerable Gebhard, having undertaken the embassy, armed with the virtue of holy obedience, most humbly girded himself for the journey appointed to him. As he departed, after the regular blessing had first been given, the holy father said in a riddle: "Go as quickly as possible, son, since unless you arrive before Peter and Paul, you have undertaken a laborious journey not for me but for yourself." When these words had been said, Gebhard [unclear], not understanding the abbot's words [unclear] of Saint Peter the Apostle, or with very few.

But the venerable Gebhard, having undertaken the embassy, armed with the virtue of holy obedience, most humbly girded himself for the journey appointed to him. As he departed, the blessing [unclear].

...he deposited not far from the monastery, and in the place of the most holy deceased father, with unanimous [unclear]. For a few days, during which, weary from the journey, he rested, [he brought] three hairs from the hairs of the blessed Apostle Peter, to be carried in a little silver casket from Saint Hugh to the brothers of Hirsau. [unclear] replied: "Without the customary blessing [unclear]. Up to now Saint Hugh has sent three hairs of Saint Peter." [unclear]. "I have therefore wished you brothers to remain, so that I might show you my ways, and know your feeling toward me. Therefore I now leave it to your will to determine whatever is to be done concerning me, [unclear] with the Roman pontiff and the bishop holding a favorable opinion, in the presence of many abbots,"

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Monastery of Hirsau 90

... his little works, the Life and Miracles of the aforesaid blessed abbot Wilhelm; yet another brother afterwards, wishing to enlarge it, made it shorter. He also wrote some sermons and homilies, which for the most part are mistakenly ascribed to another man of the same name, Haymo, formerly a monk and then bishop of Halberstadt, an equally learned man, of whom we made mention much earlier. And so the homilies of both Haymos are found mixed together, so that only a very keen reader can distinguish the sayings of one from those of the other from the very phrasing, and even then with difficulty.

When Gebhard had been ordained abbot, the congregation first [unclear] to the monastery. [unclear] he constructed the cloister. All the buildings necessary for the dwelling of the brothers, which the holy father Wilhelm, overtaken by death, either had not begun or, having begun, had not finished, he completed, with a certain Wigand, a citizen of Mainz, abundantly supplying him with the expenses. He was very capable in managing household affairs, and in all things more shrewd than one would have believed, since, for the sake of advantage, he often feigned one thing while keeping another stored in his mind. He had extremely acute hearing, so that he could very easily perceive by ear things that were said in a place apart.

He was very renowned for his wisdom and eloquence throughout all Germany, not only among religious and spiritual persons, but also among secular men, nobles, and princes; for whoever had once heard him either giving counsel or speaking formally was immediately led into admiration and proclaimed Hirsau blessed, which had deserved to have such a shepherd. He was frequently summoned to the public councils of princes, in all of which he always appeared admirable, since both the honeyed force of his eloquence, by which he surpassed all, displayed in him a wonderful wisdom, and his incredible wisdom made that admirable eloquence fruitful. Under his rule the temporal affairs of the monastery were enlarged in a wonderful fashion: estates were increased, possessions extended, and annual rents and revenues grew in number and value. For many noble and very wealthy men handed over both themselves and their property, for love of the kingdom, to the brothers of the monastery of Hirsau, under the governance of Abbot Gebhard.

In the same year in which this Gebhard was elected abbot, namely three and seventy days before the death of the holy father Wilhelm, in the year of Christian salvation 1091, on the tenth day before the Kalends of May, died that venerable and most holy abbot of the monastery of Brauweiler, named Wolfhelm, a man excellently learned both in the divine Scriptures and in secular letters, whose most holy way of life profited many unto salvation. There was a great intimacy between those two most reverend men, Wilhelm of Hirsau and Wolfhelm of Brauweiler, matched by equal holiness, which remained inviolate until the death of both.

The same blessed Abbot Wolfhelm wrote little works not unworthy of reading, but few of them have come to my notice. I have read under his name a small book On the Sacrament of the Altar, full of learning, which he wrote against the errors of Master Berengar of Tours. He also composed poems on Saint Benedict and on various other saints and subjects, together with many sermons. This man was first abbot of Saint Pantaleon in Cologne; afterwards he became abbot in Gladbach, in the diocese of Cologne. From there he was transferred to Brauweiler in the same diocese, and was established there as the third abbot in order.

His life, full of virtues and signs, Conrad, a monk and his disciple, described in a truthful narrative addressed to Everard, abbot of Brauweiler, and Hermann, abbot of Saint Pantaleon. This Conrad, since he was by no means poorly learned in sacred and secular letters, and was excellently imbued in every branch of knowledge by a good and most learned teacher, also composed certain other little works, by which he transmitted the acuteness of his intellect to the knowledge of posterity.

There also flourished in the same times in this monastery of Hirsau, under Abbot Gebhard and certain of his successors, a very learned monk named Conrad, who by his admirable knowledge and learning obtained immortal fame. For he was not only studious and learned in the divine Scriptures, but also most learned in secular letters: the most celebrated philosopher, rhetorician, musician, and poet of all of his time in Germany. He composed many excellent volumes of his intellect, to be read by posterity, in a most ornate style; in them, out of humility, he hid his own name under the name Peregrinus.

Among these there excels that very famous work which, on holy virginity, under the names of Peregrinus the priest and Theodora the nun, dividing it in the manner of a dialogue into eight books, he called The Mirror of Virgins: a work indeed so useful and necessary for the virgins of Christ that it cannot be adequately praised by a mortal man. Likewise on the Gospels, which through the cycle of the year

92 Of the Monastery of Hirsau … the bishop of Mainz, Wezilo by name, a very learned man, at first in agreement with him but afterward opposed to him, he afflicted with many injuries.

He also drove his successor, Ruthard, a venerable man, from the see of Mainz, and compelled him to live in exile for nine years in the greatest misery in Thuringia. The abbot [Giselbert?], a son of this community, together with sixty monks, he expelled from the monastery of Hasungen because of the obedience which they were showing to the supreme pontiff, and he miserably dispersed the possessions of that monastery.

He also furiously drove many pontiffs from their churches, expelled abbots and their monks from monasteries, and utterly destroyed many monasteries together with churches. By many visions of saints his attempts were always hindered, as a certain holy abbess in the regions of Bavaria, instructed by a vision, used to relate. Moreover, as long as Emperor Henry IV lived and ruled, the brothers were distressed among themselves by frequent threats and terrors concerning the destruction of this monastery, threatened by him. Yet, trusting in the help of the Most High, for whose love they had the earthly king as an enemy, they strove without ceasing to defend their cause not with arms but with prayers.

M X C I I.

In the second year of Abbot Gebhard, Conrad, son of Emperor Henry, born of his first wife Bertha, began to rebel against his father and, persuaded by letters of the Roman pontiff, to draw the empire to himself. But it will be worthwhile to have set out from the beginning the cause of this rebellion. King Henry, the father of Conrad, had taken Praxedis as his wife at Cologne seven years earlier; he began to hate her with excessive hatred, so that the hatred was greater than the love with which he had previously loved her. Therefore, inflamed with excessive hatred against her, he placed her in custody; he allowed many of his agents to do violence to her, while he himself looked on. Indeed he came to such madness that he even invited his own son Conrad to have intercourse with her. When Conrad refused to defile his father’s bed, the king, exhorting him to the illicit embraces of his stepmother, said among other things:

“Why do you timidly delay to lie with the woman assigned to you, who is not your stepmother? For you are not my son, as you suppose, but the son of a certain foreign prince of Swabia, whose likeness you plainly bear imprinted.” Beyond measure indignant at these words, the son nevertheless prudently concealed his anger. After a few days, with certain men who agreed with him, he went to the supreme pontiff Urban II; by him he was honorably received, and he was solemnly [unclear] as king; in Italy and Lombardy he reigned against his father.

He was, moreover, an excellent man, conspicuous for every goodness and uprightness, humble, modest, full of charity, and of the highest reverence and piety toward the clergy and monks. But, surviving only a few years after his coronation, he was carried off by an untimely death. The queen, however, after many injuries and unheard-of evils innocently inflicted upon her, by God’s mercy escaped from custody and, fleeing, came to Matilda, the most powerful queen of the Lombards.

Matilda received her with honor and brought her to Urban, the supreme pontiff. Therefore the empress, prostrate at the feet of the bishop, miserable, with abundant tears and deep [unclear], made known the whole misery of the calamity she had endured. The pope, having compassion on the queen, after words of necessary consolation, gathered a synod in the city of Rome. In it, publicly declaring King Henry a heretic, a simoniac, the chief of the Nicolaitan heresy, and disobedient and rebellious toward holy mother Church, he excommunicated him again for the unheard-of crimes committed against his own wife, and [declared] him a schismatic, enemy of God [unclear]. A dragon was seen in the sky; a great pestilence and mortality of men and beasts followed.

M X C V I.

In the fifth year of Abbot Gebhard, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1096, the first expedition to Jerusalem was undertaken under Peter the monk and Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lorraine, to recover the holy sepulchre of the Lord, with an infinite multitude from all the nations of Europe. The deeds of this pilgrimage have been very fully described by many; to insert it into this chronicle would be too lengthy and tedious.

There was

are read at Mass; he composed a large volume with fine variety. On the life, spirit, and fruit of death he published one book; another which he entitled Matricularium; likewise another which he prefaced as Didascalon, on music, the difference of tones, one book; also a metrical little work on the praises of our holy father Benedict. He also composed many sermons and many most elegant homilies.

But he wrote many poems and various epigrams, adorned in various kinds of style, which, [unclear], have partly been brought into oblivion. Let no one, when he has read these, suppose that that declaimer who, emerging from those whom they call Mendicants, under the name of Peregrinus composed sermons to the people, [unclear], in a humble diction after the manner of the moderns, either was our Peregrinus, or can in any way be compared with him. For that man, after the manner of the declaimers of this time, going along cast down in scholastic speech, introduces very frequent quotations of the Scriptures. But this Peregrinus of ours, following Ciceronian eloquence, in the manner of the ancients, without superfluous citations, continues a clear, sound, whole discourse.

In these same times also flourished Theodoric, abbot of the monastery of St Trudo of our order, a man most learned in every respect, who wrote, among many monuments of his talent, [unclear], sermons to the brothers.

Theodoric, abbot of St Trudo

At this time also [unclear] Stephen, called Herrand, from abbot of the monastery of El[senburg?] of our order, [unclear], also the life of St Trudo, and also the life of St Reinold, various sermons to the brothers.

Stephen, from abbot, bishop of Halberstadt

Everyone who sells spiritual dignities is a heretic. But lord Henry, of [Elsenburg?] of our order, bishop of Halberstadt, a learned and holy man, who always felt [unclear], wrote in the person of Count Louis, faithful to the Roman Church, to Walram, bishop of Naumburg, who obstinately supported the side of Emperor Henry against obedience to the supreme pontiff, a letter no less elegant than lengthy; in it [unclear] all the errors, [unclear].

He wrote a letter against Henry for the Church

In these same times also flourished Stephen, called Herrand, from abbot of the monastery of El[senburg?], sermons to the brothers.

At this time also [unclear]. In the time of Stephen, called Herrand, from the abbacy of the monastery of Elb[...], sermons to the brothers.

Everyone who sells spiritual dignities is a heretic. But lord Henry, of [Elsenburg?] of our order, bishop of Halberstadt, a most learned and holy man, who always [unclear], wrote through the person of Count Louis, faithful to the Roman Church, to Walram, bishop of Naumburg, who obstinately defended the side of Emperor Henry against obedience to the supreme pontiff, a letter no less elegant than lengthy; in it he had made all the errors, a letter no less elegant than [unclear]; in it he contained many contradictions of truth, [unclear], and described the crimes and wicked deeds of that King Henry so openly that thereafter they could not be denied by any excuse. Among other things, indeed, in the same letter he speaks thus to Walram, defender of the schismatic and excommunicated king: Hear, therefore, true things, not disguised; hear strong things, not witty ones.

Everyone who sells spiritual dignities is a heretic. But lord Henry, of [Elsenburg?] of our order, bishop of Halberstadt, a most learned and holy man, who [unclear] the person of Count Louis, faithful to the Roman Church, to Walram, bishop of Naumburg, who obstinately defended the side of Emperor Henry against obedience to the supreme pontiff, a letter no less elegant than lengthy; in it many had made errors, [unclear], and he described the crimes and wicked deeds of that King Henry so openly that thereafter they could not be denied by any excuse. Among other things, indeed, in the same letter he says thus to Walram, defender: Hear therefore true things, not disguised; hear strong things, not witty ones.

These writings of a most steadfast man confirm that their author was founded in the fear of God, and they show how great was the rashness of King Henry against the Roman Church, he who persecuted even to death all who offered obedience to the vicar of Christ. Hence [unclear] of [Elsenburg?], Augsburg, Strasbourg, Mainz, and many others by money; of Regensburg, Augsburg, and Strasbourg for the sword; the abbey of Fulda, but the bishop [unclear] -- a thing it is sinful to say and to hear -- he sold for Sodomitic uncleanness. But if you shamelessly wish to deny these things, with the Church as witness, with the earth as witness, even all [unclear] returning from the oven, [unclear] this: lord Henry is a heretic. For these unspeakable evils, by apostolic excommunication, he has neither kingdom nor any power over us, because we are Catholics, [unclear].

These writings of a most steadfast man confirmed their author in the foundation of the fear of God, and showed how great was the rashness of King Henry against the Roman Church, he who persecuted even to death all who offered obedience to the vicar of Christ. Hence [unclear] of [Elsenburg?], Augsburg, Strasbourg, Mainz, and many others by money; of Regensburg, Augsburg, Strasbourg for the sword; the abbey of Fulda, but the bishop [unclear] -- a thing it is sinful to say and to hear -- he sold for Sodomitic uncleanness. But if you shamelessly wish to deny these things, with the Church as witness, with the earth as witness, even all [unclear] returning from the oven, [unclear] this: lord Henry is a heretic. For these unspeakable evils, by apostolic excommunication, neither kingdom nor any power over us, because [we are] Catholic, [unclear].

These writings of a most steadfast man confirmed their author in the foundation of the fear of God and [showed] how great was the rashness of King Henry against the Roman Church, [unclear].

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius.

Now this Godfrey was count in Bouillon and duke in Lotharingia, a brave and vigorous man, who, about to undertake this arduous pilgrimage for love of the heavenly kingdom, sold his county of Bouillon, with all its revenues and appurtenances, to the bishop of Liege for thirteen hundred marks of purest silver, which he gladly spent on that same expedition.

Hence down to the present day the bishop, in honor of Godfrey, afterward made king of the Jerusalemites, has been accustomed to write [unclear]. But before this pilgrimage began, namely in the year [unclear] of Abbot Gebhard, many signs and prodigies were seen in the air.

For around the Nones of October a comet appeared, standing toward the southern quarter, extending its mild brightness obliquely like a sword. Another star also was seen in the east on the sixth Kalends of March; it changed its place over a long interval with frequent leaps.

Many writers of that time testify that they saw blood-red clouds rising both from the west and from the east, meeting one another on their way in the middle of the sky; and, at about midnight, fiery [unclear] often rising from the north; and also torches flying through the air.

Not many years before these events, a certain priest of venerable life, named Suiggerus, in [unclear] Cologne, at about the ninth hour of a certain day, saw two horsemen charging together in the air and fighting with one another for a long time; one of them, who seemed to hold in his hand a cross of no small size with which he struck the other, finally came forth the victor.

A certain priest also, named Gerlacus, while walking in a wood at midday with two companions, saw a sword of wondrous length carried by a whirlwind to an unknown [unclear] place; and until the height lifted it from sight, he distinguished both the crash with his ears and the metal with his eyes.

Some reported that at night they had seen a city hanging in the air, [unclear]. A city flying in the air. A sword flying in the air. Horsemen [unclear] in the air. A two-year-old boy, born [unclear], speaks.

Likewise a tiny infant, born in every respect with two bodies, poured forth speech. Another also had two heads; several lambs had two parts. Many, as if running about, appeared; and again, higher up, something formed to the length of a spear, but broader, running about in the clearest day in the very brightness of the sun, shook the eyes of those looking on with sudden terror, but harmed no one. On a certain day also, as the sun was declining toward its setting and no little cloud at all appeared in the air, behold, many fiery globes appeared in different parts of the air, as if running about; and again higher up [unclear], which he said had fallen from heaven, in which was contained [unclear] the whole of Christendom with arms. In Saxony an ox was said to have uttered human words and to have said three times to the shepherd, “Go; Jerusalem will be captured by the Christians.”

When, therefore, these and many other portentous marvels, which I omit for the sake of brevity, [unclear]. A wondrous gathering of [unclear]. Peter the hermit, having gone out from the cloisters, stirred almost the whole world, carrying about a certain little document, which he said had fallen from heaven. Many, however, thought that these were not [unclear] but angelic powers. In Saxony [unclear] was said to have uttered human words and to have said three times to the shepherd, “Go; Jerusalem will be captured by the Christians.”

Provoked by these words, not only peasants and persons of no rank, but also kings, dukes, princes, bishops, abbots, monks, priests, laymen, nobles, the wealthy, the poor, men, women, virgins, and nuns, a nearly innumerable multitude, after selling in part their possessions, or even [unclear], with the cloisters wholly neglected, as if driven by some divine frenzy, all resolved with one mind and on one road to go to Jerusalem, to rescue the holy sepulcher of the Lord, together with the whole surrounding region, from the hands of the infidels and restore it to the Christian world. I marvel at that wondrous spirit which impelled so many thousands of people to so extraordinary an undertaking, especially all the women. The women, virgins, and nuns without number who went out on this expedition were dressed in male clothing and walked armed among the men.

Gathering together as one, they took up the proposed journey; and when they had come as far as Pannonia, a great part of them was killed, and not undeservedly. For as the men marched with women and nuns, priests and monks practiced lust in the army, defiling one another with unclean fornication, and provoked against themselves the wrath of the just judge, Jesus Christ.

But Duke Godfrey, with his brother Baldwin and the rest of the army, [unclear] the journey begun.

Godfrey, count of Bouillon, sold [unclear] of Bouillon to the bishop of Liege.

Many prodigies appeared in the sky this year.

Blood-red clouds. Burning torches.

Horsemen flying in the air.

A sword flying in the air.

A city seen in the air.

A two-year-old boy, born [unclear], speaks.

An ox speaks.

Peter the hermit stirred the world.

A wondrous gathering of [unclear] to [unclear] prophet.

Many, because of prosperous luxury, perished in Pannonia.

94

MONASTERY OF HIRSAU

...having first pursued the Antiochenes and then the Jerusalemites with the remaining cities, with our Lord Jesus Christ assisting them, they took them.

There Godfrey himself was elected king by the people of God; after he died some years later and was buried beside the Sepulchre of the Lord, his brother Baldwin succeeded to the kingdom and greatly enlarged the borders of the Christians round about.

In the same year of the Lord, namely 1066, the abbatial monastery of our order, Reinhausen, in Saxony, in the diocese of Mainz, not far from Gottingen, was founded and suitably endowed for the support of monks.

The first abbot of this monastery, called Reinhard, was a learned and very holy man, who was renowned for many miracles in life and after death; through his merit, down to the present day, Almighty God is said to cure in that same place the disease which they call epilepsy, for those who devoutly invoke him.

This same most holy abbot Reinhard wrote certain distinguished little works, by which he showed the excellence of his talent to those present. Of these the chief are said to be commentaries on the prophet Ezekiel, on the prophet Isaiah, on the Psalms, on the epistles of Paul the Apostle, also a metrical work on Job, and certain other things which do not now come to my memory.

At this time the venerable abbot Gebhard, having compassion on the labors of the brothers in drawing water from the river, after taking counsel with highly experienced architects, caused an aqueduct to be built at no small expense through hidden underground channels, and brought an abundance of water into all the workshops of the monastery.

1097.

In the sixth year of Abbot Gebhard, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1097, the emperor Henry IV, on the holy day of the Epiphany of the Lord, made his younger son Henry king at Aachen, after rejecting Conrad, his elder son, whom he had previously caused to be crowned. And unless this Conrad himself, overtaken by an untimely death, had died before his father, Henry V could not have attained the empire.

1098.

In the following year Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, who refused to favor the excommunicated king Henry, lost his favor, and, withdrawing into Thuringia, remained there for some years as though placed in exile. Around this time the Cistercian order began, and its first monastery at Citeaux was founded in this very year; in the course of time it grew greatly, and was wonderfully increased both in number and in wealth. Many writings are found here and there concerning its beginning and progress.

Also around this time, not far from Worms, for many days and nights a very great multitude of armed horsemen and foot-soldiers appeared, as if about to proceed to a meeting for an agreed conference or to war; and now running this way, as if in companies, about the ninth hour of the night they returned to the neighboring mountain from which they were accustomed to come forth.

At length, on a certain night, a monk of the monastery of Limburg, which lay not far from the mountain from which they were accustomed to come out, took certain others with him and went to the place of the mountain; and, fortifying himself with the sign of the holy cross, he stoutly adjured those coming out of the mountain, by the power of the holy and undivided Trinity, to say who they were. One of the company answered him: We are not a phantom nor a living troop of soldiers, but the souls of men once in this world serving a prince of earthly men, slain not many years ago in this place. The arms, dress, and horses, which while we lived were instruments of sin for us, are even now after death certain signs of torment upon us. Everything that you now discern around us is wholly fiery for us, although you see our fire very little. And when the monk asked whether they could be helped by human beings, the spirit replied: We can be helped by fasts and prayers, and especially by the offering of the body and blood of Christ, and we ask for it. When this had been said, all that multitude of spirits cried out as if with one voice three times: Pray for us, pray for us. Soon all dissolved into fire [unclear] emitted a noise.

1099.

Also in these times the monastery of Bursfelde in Saxony, in the diocese of Mainz, was founded and built in honor of Saints Thomas the Apostle and Nicholas the Bishop. In the eighth year of Abbot Gebhard, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1099, there was great mortality in Germany.

In the same...

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

In the same year Conrad, bishop of Utrecht, on the eighth day before the Kalends of May, after the celebration of masses, while lying prostrate in prayer in his house, was cruelly killed by a certain Frisian.

The occasion of his killing was this. When the same bishop had decided to build a monastery of canons in a certain marshy part of the city, and because of the muddy site had been unable to lay a foundation, there was present among others a certain Frisian, a very skilled mason, named Ploberus, who promised, under pledge of his head, that by a certain secret art he could build the church in that same place according to the bishop’s will.

But when he demanded an immoderate sum of money for this, the bishop, concealing his intention, won over the son of that Ploberus with generous gifts; and, learning from him the secret of this art, he soon completed the church already begun without any further mastership. For this reason the same Frisian conceived great resentment against the bishop, because he seemed to have been defrauded by him of his profit, and thereafter thought of killing him, which he carried out most cruelly. Therefore, after Bishop Conrad had been killed and buried, Burchard, a pious and devout man, succeeded in the bishopric of Utrecht.

In the same year also Hermann, archbishop of Cologne, died; Frederick succeeded him. This Archbishop Frederick newly built a monastery of nuns on the island of the Rhine which is called Roland, not far from the town of Bonn, and placed in it nuns of our order. He also built at his own expense the neighboring castle Rolandseck, and another, called Wolkenberg, situated very high not far from Bonn, together with the city of Andernach and the provostry of St. Apollinaris of our order beside Remagen, immediately subject to the abbot of Siegburg. Conrad, bishop of Eichstatt, also died in this same year; in his place another Conrad of the same name was ordained.

Pope Urban II also, once a monk of our order, died in this same year. This Pope Urban II, in the seventh year of his pontificate, at the request of the venerable Abbot Gebhard, confirmed and strengthened with fuller grace the privilege of Pope Gregory VII graciously granted to the blessed William, abbot of his monastery of Hirsau. The tenor of this bull follows, and is as follows:

Urban, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved son [Gebhard?], abbot of the monastery of Hirsau, and to his successors to be regularly substituted forever. Since we stand indebted by the authority and benevolence of the Apostolic See to all households of the Church and to its sons, nevertheless it is fitting that we attend with more ready zeal of charity to those places and persons which adhere more especially and familiarly to the Roman Church, and which stand forth by a fuller grace of religion. Therefore we, following the form of our predecessor of blessed memory Gregory, grant to you and to your legitimate successors the same things which he granted and confirmed to his predecessor William in the same monastery, at the prayers of Count Adalbert.

He, kindled by love of eternal reward, recently restored and beautifully repaired on his estate, which is called Hirsau, a monastery built long ago by his ancestors and lately lost, and enlarged it with many possessions and revenues for the uses of the brothers serving God there. He asked that this institution of his liberty be strengthened by the protection of the minister of the holy Church in a privilege, lest hereafter the audacity of perverse men presume to diminish or violate [unclear]. For this reason, specially embracing the aforesaid monastery under the guardianship and protection of the Apostolic See, by the page of the present privilege we decree that whatever that same monastery today justly possesses, or in the future, by grant of pontiffs, by the liberty of princes, or by offerings of the faithful, it shall be able justly and canonically to acquire, shall remain firm and inviolate for you and your successors.

Among these we have thought that the following should be designated by name: the cells of St. Gregory, which is called Reichenbach; of St. Martin, which is called Vischbachona; and the estate which is called Gilstein, which was given for the cell of St. Peter, which is called Wilhelm. We decree that neither you, dearest son Gebhard, nor any of your [unclear], may rashly or violently presume to destroy the aforesaid cells, or to diminish those things which have already been granted to them or shall be granted.

Furthermore we decree that it be lawful for no man at all [unclear] the same [monastery?]; [the monks?] shall choose according to God and the Rule of blessed Benedict. Consecrations of altars or of basilicas, and also ordinations of clerics, holy oil, and the other things pertaining to the episcopal office, you shall receive from the bishop in whose diocese you are, provided however that he is catholic, [and] communion with the Apostolic [See?] [unclear].

[unclear] they are to be preserved entire and unmixed for the uses of those for whose support and governance they have been granted, and are to be wholly profitable.

Conrad, bishop of Utrecht, killed; the cause of the killing.

Frederick. Andernach. Urban. Urban’s bull. Reichenbach. Vischbachona. Gilstein. A royal privilege is cited.

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Of the Monastery of Hirsau

... shall have had [communion?] of the See, and if he shall wish to bestow these things freely, without simoniacal depravity. Otherwise, however, it shall be lawful for you to approach whatever Catholic bishop you wish, and to receive from him the sacraments of consecrations, who, supported by apostolic authority, may grant what is requested. Moreover, we appoint as advocate and protector for you Godfrid, son of the aforesaid Count Adelbert, provided this shall be granted him by God: that he show due honor to the church and to the servants of God, and be a more zealously useful defender of the aforesaid monastery. But if not, let it be in your power to choose a suitable protector for your church, who without the profit of secular [exaction?] might exercise [unclear], who, supported by apostolic authority, may grant what is requested. Moreover, as advocate [unclear] of his church, let him show due honor to the servants of God, and be a more zealously useful defender of the aforesaid monastery. But if not, let it be in your power to choose a suitable protector for your church, who without the profit of secular exaction may render that service of divine servitude vigorously and reverently. Therefore you, sons most dear in Christ, ought to judge more carefully and devoutly according to the institutions of regular discipline, so that, inasmuch as you are free from secular tumults, you may strive the more zealously to please God with all the powers of mind and soul. Especially be zealous to observe the venerable decrees of the Roman Church, by whose protection, by the Lord’s aid, you are fortified from every yoke of [the living?].

As a sign of this liberty granted by the Roman Church, you shall pay each year one gold bezant to the Lateran palace. But if in future any archbishop or bishop, emperor or king, count or viscount, judge, or any person, great or small, knowingly attempts rashly to go against this page of our privilege, and makes void anything of those things which have been granted or established, having been warned a second and a third time, if he does not amend it with fitting satisfaction, let him know that he is bound by eternal anathema and separated from the body of Christ, the Church, by the authority of apostolic [unclear]. But for those who preserve these things, may peace from the mercy of God be preserved in the present and future ages. Amen. Given at Piacenza, by the hand of John, cardinal deacon of the holy Roman Church, on the Ides of March, in the second indiction, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1095, and in the pontificate of lord Pope Urban.

These things were done under the venerable Abbot Gebhard, in the fourth year of his abbacy; he could easily obtain from the supreme pontiff what he wished, since he had previously been known to him and singularly loved by him. Nor indeed could it have escaped the pope how well the brethren of the place thought with the Roman Church, opposing the excommunicated king, and how most steadfastly they had always stood for Roman liberty.

Moreover, when Abbot Gebhard was still claustral prior, having been sent to the pope by Saint Wilhelm, as we said above, he had obtained acquaintance with him through familiarity.

That venerable Pope Urban also gave another privilege to the monastery of Hirsau, of greater exemption, liberty, and quiet; since it is quite notable, we have thought it should be inserted in this work word for word.

Urban, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful of the Teutonic region. Since we are about to grant this charter and this privilege in the name of Christ, it is not beside the point if we first make known what is the cause, or what the necessity, of this privilege. Monasteries and dwellings of the servants of Christ, which are built with pious will and excellent zeal, if they were loved no less by posterity than by their founders and ancestors, their condition would not be so weak. Likewise, if all those who are called bishops cared worthily for their office and strove to benefit as much as to preside, this too would contribute not a little to the fitness of monasteries. But now, as we have rather often experienced, what the ancestors build, if their descendants do not destroy it, they omit more from human shame than for God. Yet from the very alms of their parents they exact so much secular service that there is no worthy solicitude for that service which is owed to God.

This too has been seen to happen more than once: that one who seemed to be a prelate of Christ, solely through this occasion, namely that an abbot had to be blessed by him, would [unclear] the congregation of brothers and the election of the abbot [unclear], and would ordain no one other than the one whom he himself chiefly wished, the will of the brothers being wholly set aside. Once he had been ordained, moreover, he thereafter commanded him as if he were his tributary, and as if he had been appointed solely for this, to serve in a secular manner. For that most malignant pest, namely the simoniacal heresy, with its author the devil, goes about the earth and walks through it, so that there is no church which can be secure from its violent invasion. On account of these several things, since the Lord’s dispensation has so ordained concerning our mediocrity that we ought to be servants of the servants of God, it is not fitting for us to omit or neglect whatever aid or support the mercy of Christ may give against hostile incursions, so that we may be able to confer it upon these same our lords.

There is a certain monastery in the district of Speyer and in the forest which is called the Black Forest; the name of that monastery in the Teutonic tongue is Hirsau. When it had come by hereditary right into the power and possession of the most noble Count Adelbert and of his wife Wiltrud, it did not seem sufficiently to avail toward the salvation of their souls if they retained it in their own hand, as it had been left to them by their parents. Therefore the first little fruit of the labor of their good will was that, in place of the canons formerly living there, the ordered life of monks was introduced. This having been done, they also wished that the heir of the same monastery should be more religious than Saint Peter and the Roman Church. It was assigned to Saint Peter and confirmed as his own, by the offering of their devotion...

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Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... in the book. And so that each year you pay one gold piece to the Apostolic See as census, and that it be subject to no other mortal in any earthly matter. And now what remains to be added and completed by us? Chiefly concerning the appointment of an abbot, and concerning the advocate or defender of the place.

Therefore, whenever it shall happen that an abbot is to be ordained, we do not wish, indeed we wholly forbid, any person to be present at his election except the monks, only those who have professed obedience to the title of the monastery. Let the man whom they have chosen receive the pastoral staff from one of the senior brethren, so that no ecclesiastical or secular authority be sought for this. After he has received investiture of the office, let him be sent on behalf of the congregation to whichever of the bishops seems most suitable, who for charity’s sake will come, as is customary, to bless him as abbot. Concerning the other brethren to be ordained to any order of this kind, as to the priesthood or the diaconate, let what is more opportune be done: either let them be ordained in the monastery itself, or let them be directed to an absent bishop making ordinations elsewhere. For this reason we most earnestly beseech all our fellow-bishops, especially all those in Germany together, that they not disdain to favor and consent to this our decree.

And if it was not unworthy in the very text of his ordination to profess obedience to the Apostolic See of the Roman Church, whoever shall have dared to cavil at or contradict our command, as though it were known to be unlawful for anyone to profess obedience, we admonish and ask them, or, if they prefer this, by the authority of the Apostolic See we command them, that in whatever we have ordained concerning this, so far as lies in them, they not in any way show themselves disobedient. If any of them has been asked to come for the blessing of the abbot, let him not fail to come, if he can, unless prevented beforehand by ill health or by some other necessity of this sort. Likewise, if he has been asked for the conferring of other ecclesiastical orders, in this also let him not fail to comply with the wish of the brethren, if [unclear]. We beseech all, that they may deserve to be true sons of the promise.

For those whom special grace has drawn together in the aforesaid place, that they may deserve truly [unclear], have also now decreed, according to the ancient discipline of the fathers, to serve as soldiers for Christ [unclear], to have a fellow-soldier of weaker age than [unclear], as once those very men [unclear], because it would be lengthy to set forth many things of this kind concerning their monastery.

[He] himself indeed, who is the Word, spoke with the fathers from the twentieth year upward. If there are any younger, these, no doubt, [unclear]. That renowned father, Saint Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, answered the bishop of Constantinople, who had accused him because he had made ordinations in a parish without his permission, and declared that he had made them not in a parish but in a monastery. By this word he indicated that the law of parishes is one thing, that of monasteries another. [unclear] is universal concerning all; how much more concerning those whom it befits to serve God by a certain special prerogative of devotion.

[unclear] in [unclear]. No law [unclear].

... to reach the land of promise truly: they have also now decreed, according to the ancient discipline of the fathers, to serve as soldiers for Christ [unclear], so as to have no fellow-soldier [unclear] than, as once those very men [unclear]. He indeed, who is the Word, spoke with the fathers from the twentieth year upward. If there are any younger, these, no doubt, [unclear]. That renowned father, Saint Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, answered the bishop of Constantinople, who had accused him because he had made ordinations in a parish without his permission, and declared that he had made them not in a parish but in a monastery. By this word he indicated that the law of parishes is one thing, that of monasteries another. [unclear] is universal concerning all; how much more concerning those whom it befits to serve God by a certain special prerogative of devotion.

First, we establish that through all succeeding times there shall be no mortal who dares to alter that good zeal, that good example of military discipline: so that, as in the present [unclear], henceforth concerning the monastery, in the necessity of kitchen, bakehouse, and other human needs [unclear]. I [unclear] now [unclear] the company of Christ’s men, both of weaker age and [unclear], be enrolled. I [unclear] now by merit, the more expressly they imitate him who, although he is the emperor of the heavenly powers, nevertheless as man [unclear] spiritual [unclear] before the prescribed limit, that is, before twenty years, anyone be enrolled [unclear]. Considering each of these things, we do not [unclear]. He came continually into this world not so much to be ministered to as to minister.

[unclear] and [unclear] Hirsau.

To Germany they commended [them]; we also commend to [unclear] the inhabitants of that place, so that concerning every complaint that may befall them they may be able to appeal to him.

And because, as the blessed Apostle says, more are made priests because they are prevented by death from remaining: whenever an archbishop is to be ordained after the death of the former one, we advise him for the ordination of the monastery that he not consider it beneath him to be present. Let him show him a copy of our decree of commendation, that he may prove what confidence [unclear].

Hirsau is subject to the Roman Church.

Confirmation by the bishop is denied.

The exemption of the monastery is diminished.

The pope commands the bishops, when asked, to perform the ordinations of abbots.

This bishop’s word.

The saying of the Apostle.

[unclear] in [unclear]. No law [unclear].

... to reach the land of promise truly: they have also now decreed, according to the ancient discipline of the fathers, to serve as soldiers for Christ [unclear], so as to have no fellow-soldier [unclear] than once those very men [unclear]. He indeed, who is the Word, spoke with the fathers from the twentieth year upward. If there are any younger, these, no doubt, [unclear]. That renowned father, Saint Epiphanius, bishop of Cy[prus?]

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...with the permission and blessing of their venerable pastor, withdrawing to the hermitage of a neighboring solitude, and imitating the purpose of the ancient anchorites, they despised all the comforts of this world for love of the heavenly kingdom. This institution of arduous life was not permitted to be undertaken indiscriminately by just anyone, but only by those whom the holiness of their past life, under the testimony of all the brethren, together with more advanced age and experience in fighting against the devil, had commended. We read that some of these men, even after death, were not without miracles, to which even an angelic vision gave authority. Indeed, so holy in these times was the life of the monks of Hirsau that they admitted none into their fellowship except holy men; or certainly, having received them, they tested them more harshly and sanctified them according to the Rule. No one among them, unless he was good and sought God in truth, could remain, since he necessarily would have had to endure as many very severe censors of his wickedness as he found monks in the monastery. For this was the greatest desire of them all: to seek God in truth, and, despising transitory things, to love him above all things. Therefore, since all were of one and the same purpose, they could by no means endure among themselves a man of another will. But now at last let us fittingly call back the pen to the history that has been interrupted for a little while.

Therefore, when Pope Urban had died, as we said before, in the eighth year of Gebhard, and in the one thousand ninety-ninth year of the Lord, Reiner, an abbot of our order, first succeeded in the pontificate by election. He was called Paschal II, an Italian by birth, a devout and steadfast man, who by wisdom and diligence steadfastly freed the Roman Church from the tyranny of the wicked. He sat eighteen years, five months, seven days. He was descended from the Roman nobility, of holy conduct and good testimony; from being abbot and cardinal of Saint Clement, both by the designation of Pope Urban when already at the point of death, and by revelations of the saints, he was elected by the unanimous consent of all.

1101.

In the ninth year of Abbot Gebhard, which was the one thousand one hundredth year of the Lord's Nativity, Wibert of Ravenna, invader of the Apostolic See, died: a man indeed distinguished in talent, eloquence, nobility, and dignity of person, but then of no good use either to Rome or Ravenna. He, who mounted above one man still living, although he was compelled, as they say, himself outlived three men succeeding one another in turn, being an exile from both sees, namely the Roman and that of Ravenna.

Some of his supporters testified among the people that divine lights had shone at his tomb. Therefore the supreme pontiff Paschal, already named, inflamed with zeal for God, ordered that he be dug up and cast into the Tiber; and this was done.

In the same year Godfrey, king of Jerusalem, died; his brother Baldwin was compelled by the election of the people to succeed him in the kingdom.

Otto, bishop of Strasbourg, also died.

1102.

In the following year Hartwig, archbishop of Magdeburg, who by another name was called Udo, died by sudden death. Concerning him that terrible sentence of the strict judge Jesus Christ is circulated, who in the aforesaid church of Magdeburg, called in Greek Parthenopolis, that is, [unclear].

[unclear] but in the order of bishops of the same diocese he was the eighth; he governed with energy, by word and example, the church committed to him by God. His most holy life, written in a clear discourse, is extant; his feast is observed on the day before the Kalends of October. He was buried before the high altar of the aforesaid monastery of Saint Michael, in which he had been a monk.

In the same year Conrad the king, son of Emperor Henry, of whom we made mention above, died in Italy and was buried at Florence.

Rupert, bishop of Bamberg, also died. In his place was appointed Otto, from the monastery of the community of Monk's Mount outside the walls of the same city, a man of our order and of most holy conduct, who was famous for many signs and miracles in life and after death. Because he was the son of a most powerful count, he founded a certain monastery of our order in the diocese of Würzburg, which is called [Vraugia?], in honor of Saint Lawrence the martyr, and magnificently endowed it with estates and possessions for the support of the monks. The first abbot of this monastery of [Vraugia?], appointed by Saint Otto, was Eckhard, a venerable monk.

The monastery of [Vraucia?] is built.

Eckhard, first abbot in [Vraue?], a very learned man.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau.

The Monastery of Hirsau

... may be able to have support in the future. And because the archbishop is especially likely to send to the Apostolic See for the pallium, if he asks the abbot to be his legate for such a matter, and gives him everything necessary for the journey, we approve that he should not refuse to go. For it serves the matter if by this office he should be bound more familiarly to his friendship; which, without injustice from us, a son and member of the household may obtain more than one who has not been so privileged.

Likewise, whenever the bishop of Speyer is to be ordained, it is expedient that, if he has not neglected to be present there also, before he is ordained he should remind the archbishop what he should do, and seek assent for this decree of ours. Or if he wishes anything else, let him see what the archbishops do for those commended to them; and if need be, let the matter come even to our notice or that of our successor. But if God has given to that bishop this spirit, that he should not unwillingly favor the humble servants of Christ, then, lest we seem to have passed him over here without honor, we command that in your convent of brothers, on any private day, Psalm ninety-nine be said for him throughout his life. After his life, however, for him and for his predecessors from this day henceforth, all those who have not opposed the present precept, let a private Mass of the dead be held every Monday. He can know that this is more expedient for the profit of his soul than if he were able to rule in the monastery by his own vow.

As advocate, however, we appoint the Roman emperor, who is also our advocate. Yet because of his many cares and the arrangements of the realm, the abbot and the brothers may choose from the family of Calw, if a suitable man is found, who is willing to defend the often-mentioned place not for the sake of gain or because of his own necessity, but for the remedy of his soul and of his parents. But if not, being free from every side, they may choose another, who, when summoned into the presence of the abbot and the brothers, shall also swear with his household under oath that he will not act against the privileges of the Church. Thus brought into the presence of the lord emperor, he shall confirm it in like manner. Not only over the greater cell may the abbot appoint subordinate advocateship, but also throughout each of his estates and cells, where no right is withdrawn from him by those priors established there in providing benefices or even in investing churches. But if the advocate so appointed should have acted contrary to the privileges, let the abbot have full power to reject him as excommunicated by our ban and to provide for that same monastery another useful to himself, from wherever he pleases, even with the help of the emperor if there is need.

[Note: This privilege the venerable abbot Gebhard, induced by the counsel of the brothers, favorably obtained from the supreme pontiff Urban II himself, going to him in his own person; and with Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, consenting in his own person as far as pertained to him, he brought it into use and practice.]

Furthermore, this statute, of which mention is made in the bull, namely that no one should be received as a member of the monastery before completing his twentieth year, the holy father William had begun with the counsel of the brothers, knowing indeed that the observance of regular discipline is tolerable not for boys, but for strong men. For just as today we see in all places where boys are admitted to religion, little or no observance of monastic integrity flourishes. Therefore the most excellent men, brothers of this monastery, fearing that in the course of time this holy institution might perish by some occasion, with prudent counsel offered it to be confirmed by the approval of the Apostolic See.

[Note: For in those times, in this monastery under Gebhard, the venerable abbot, there were men great both in number and in wisdom, who illuminated our order like the brightest stars of heaven; many of them, before entering religion, had been of great name and honor in the world. At that time the greatest charity flourished among them, and such observance of regular discipline [unclear] prelates of churches of great name, who nevertheless, after they had been converted to the order, cast themselves down with such humility among the poor for the love of Christ, as if during all the days of their life they had been ignorant peasants, servants, or wretched beggars in the world.]

Many among them were most learned in all knowledge of the Scriptures; many also [unclear]. Several adopted the solitary life.

Of these, some, after they had absorbed the discipline of the order to the very nail, as the common saying goes, in order to preserve tranquility of mind in the highest contemplation of divine things, with

[monk] of the often-mentioned monastery of Mons Monachorum, a man most learned both in divine Scripture and in secular letters, an eminent rhetorician and poet, and no less renowned for his way of life than for his knowledge. Among the other little works of his talent, in imitation of Boethius and of his predecessor Martianus Capella, for the consolation of monks, he wrote a very beautiful volume in a double style, divided into five little books, which he entitled The Lantern of Monks. He also compiled a brief history of the deeds of his own time, which we once saw in the aforesaid monastery. He was buried in the middle of the church of the same monastery, not without a reputation for sanctity.

In the same year died Egilbert, the seventy-ninth archbishop of Trier, a magnificent restorer of his church and most generous toward the poor. He was succeeded in the archbishopric by Bruno, born in Franconia, which in ancient times was called Eastern Francia, son of Count Arnold and of Countess Adelheid; and he was consecrated at Mainz on the Ides of January. This Archbishop Bruno restored from the foundations, with marvelous stone paneling, the monastery of Saint Eucharius near Trier, of our order, which is now called Saint Matthias, and which through excessive age had almost collapsed. In that restoration the body of Saint Matthias the Apostle was found, and from that time the name of the same Apostle has remained with that same monastery down to the present day. For before that it had been called after Saint Eucharius. The same archbishop also newly built another monastery of the order, in the diocese of Speyer, in the district called Kraichgau, in the county of Bredheim, near the village of Odenheim, in the place Wigoldesberg, which in common speech is called Odenheim, in the twenty-first year of his pontificate. This is contained more fully in the letter of foundation of the same monastery, given by Emperor Henry, the fourth of this name, in the year of the Lord 1122, indiction 15, on the third day before the Nones of March, at Nuhusen. Pope Paschal II confirmed this foundation under a privilege of an annual payment of one gold bezant. But he built this monastery [unclear] of monasteries is counted, [unclear] is condemned forever with its authors and followers by a sacred anathema.

In these times Abbot Gebhard began gradually to act somewhat more laxly, especially in providing the alms appointed for the poor. 1102.

For it had been established by the holy father William, with the common counsel of the brothers, that some of the lay brothers coming for conversion, in the [unclear] of the poor under secular clothing, should receive the cellar and clothing [unclear]. Abbot Gebhard changed this statute, ordering that the servants of the poor should receive the necessities of their life from nowhere other than from that alms itself. From this occasion, when the provision for the poor had been diminished, a lamentable thing occurred: the customary mercy was withdrawn from pilgrims and the needy, to such a degree that, shut out from lodging through the freezing nights of winter, they would very often cry out wretchedly in the street from hunger and cold, and would repeatedly disturb the brothers lying in the dormitory. When, about these matters and similar ones, though often admonished by the elders, he made no correction at all, a certain elder monk of holy conduct saw himself, on a certain night of the Lord’s Ascension, in a vision, present among the glories of the saints; there, among the others, he recognized the holy abbot William, once very familiar to him, shining in countenance and habit, standing between two most splendid bishops, one of whom was Saint Conrad, bishop of Constance, and the other Saint Ulrich of Augsburg.

And after many words had been exchanged between them, Saint William said these things to the monk seeing the vision: “On behalf of the supreme majesty of God I command you to tell the abbot, the prior, and the other brothers of Hirsau that, according as they received from us, they should serve the needy and guests with every affection of charity, and should correct their manners and their life according to the Rule of Saint Benedict. Before all else, casting away anger, hatred, indignation, and detraction, by which they continually offend God, together with all malice, let them preserve sincere and continual love for one another; and unless they observe this, let them know that they will undoubtedly experience divine vengeance.”

When these things had been said, Abbot William, leaving behind the man with whom he had been speaking, went with the others to certain higher secrets of heaven. But that elder to whom these things had been revealed, when [unclear]

Saint William [unclear] of Abbot Gebhard.

A synod celebrated at Rome, in the year. Saint Matthias is restored. The monastery of Odenheim is built. The negligence of Abbot Gebhard.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

...he dared, he made all things known to the abbot through another elder. The abbot ordered that the former ordinance of Abbot Wilhelm concerning alms for the poor should indeed be observed.

The other matters with which he had disturbed the monastery he left uncorrected. Therefore, according to the aforesaid warning of the holy father Wilhelm, scarcely anything thereafter prospered for him. For after a few years, removed from the governance of the monastery and invested with the episcopal mitre at Speyer, he stirred up the hatred of everyone against himself by his foolish conduct, and not long afterwards, consumed by a miserable illness, he died, as we shall say later.

In these times a certain young nobleman seized the possessions of the monastery in the village of Almendingen, which had once been conveyed to this monastery by lawful donation by a certain Winther, a convert, under Abbot Wilhelm, invading them after the death of both as though he were the nearer heir. When one day, under pretext of that inheritance, he was carrying away from there two cartloads of wine and certain other things with reckless audacity, suddenly the foot of one of the oxen that were drawing the booty was broken. The plunderer himself also suddenly fell from the horse on which he was sitting, lost his speech, and for three whole [days?] fell into madness. Then, lifted up by the hands of others, when after some days he returned to his senses and feared the scourge of God, he had himself carried to the monastery of Hirsau; and there, changing his secular habit together with his mind, he faithfully bound himself to God. After a few years he faithfully fell asleep in holy rest.

In the same year Henry, count of Northeim, founder of the monastery of Bursfelde of our order, of whom mention was made above, died and was buried in the same monastery. In the same year Burchard, monk of Hirsau, was made abbot at Erfurt on the sixth ides of February; immediately in that same year he began to found the new church of the holy apostles Peter and Paul on the same mountain.

1103.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Gebhard, which was the year 1103 of the Lord’s nativity, Henry IV, emperor, celebrated the Lord’s Nativity at Mainz. Entrusting the whole of his affairs to his son Henry, he promised that he would go to Jerusalem, but he did not do so. But the younger Henry was consecrated emperor at Rome by Pope Paschal.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Gebhard, which was the year 1104 of the Lord’s nativity, Emperor Henry celebrated the Lord’s Nativity at Regensburg.

1104.

In this same year, in the bishopric of Speyer, blood was seen to have flowed from loaves of bread, and it was also found prodigiously in a dish of lentils. It was conjectured, according to the likeness of ancient Roman history, that this portended civil, indeed intestine, war.

This year, around the summer solstice, the weather having changed into a storm, it is said that in the district of Würzburg ice of such great size fell among the hailstones that, when divided into four parts, it seemed impossible for as many men to carry them.

1105.

In the fourteenth year of Gebhard, and the year 1105 of the Lord’s nativity, Henry, son of Emperor Henry IV, seized the kingdom and began to reign while his father was still living. The elder Henry wished to invade Saxony with a hostile force, because all the Saxons, as true Catholics, were well disposed toward the pontiffs of the Roman Church; but he could not, because his son detested him, as did all the faithful, since they declared that he had been excommunicated by three prelates of the Apostolic See, namely Gregory VII, Urban II, and likewise Paschal II. In that expedition in which he was attempting to enter Saxony, his son fled one night from his father’s army with a few men. When his father learned this, he was saddened and abandoned the expedition. The son, going to Swabia, was absolved from the sentence of excommunication by Gebhard, bishop of Constance, legate of the Apostolic See.

Then, aided by the counsel and help of Margrave Diepold, of Count Berengar, of Otto [unclear], of Franconia, and of the other neighboring men, of the most powerful duke and of all the princes, bishops, and abbots of Saxony, Swabia, Bavaria, and [unclear], he began to order the kingdom most prudently, and he pleased all the peoples in a wondrous way.

First, in the ninth year after Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, had been driven by his father into Thuringia, he restored him to his own see. He also restored many other bishops of churches who had been driven out by his father on account of obedience to the Apostolic See, and deposed those who had been introduced by his father’s violence. He also announced a general council of bishops and abbots at the royal estate of Nordhausen, on the fourth kalends of June, where the discipline of ecclesiastical institution, now excessively corrupted, was to be treated. In this council, after the decrees of the fathers had first been read concerning the pressing judgments, whatever matters could be corrected praiseworthily were corrected for the present; certain matters that seemed more serious were referred to apostolic obedience.

Monastery of Hirsau

At length, when the synod had been completed, Henry V, intending to celebrate Pentecost, went to Merseburg, and there had Henry, long ago designated archbishop of Magdeburg but impiously rejected by the emperor’s adherents, consecrated. Then he shut Mainz up under siege, while his father was inside; and afterwards, coming to Wuerzburg, he expelled a certain Erlung, whom the emperor had designated after the death of Bishop Emehard, and through Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, enthroned Rupert, provost of the same church, who had been elected both earlier and then by the clergy and people.

After this, entering Bavaria, he besieged the castle of Nuremberg, held by those favoring the emperor’s party against the Church, and after almost three months successfully took it. Departing from there, he disbanded the army and betook himself to Regensburg, where he held an assembly of the princes.

Summoned to this royal conference, Gebhard, abbot of Hirsau, attended; by his wisdom and eloquence he drew all alike into admiration and love of him. It happened, however, that John, bishop of Speyer, died in those same days. When Henry the younger king learned this, by the counsel of Ruthard archbishop of Mainz, Henry of Magdeburg, Rupert of Wuerzburg, Udo of Hildesheim, Frederick of Halberstadt, Gebhard of Constance, Eppo of Worms, and other bishops and princes then present, he designated the venerable Gebhard, abbot of this monastery, who was present, as bishop for the widowed church of Speyer, also conferring on him the abbey of [Lorsch?], of our order, situated in the diocese of Worms.

Then, driven away from his father through the treachery of the people of Regensburg, the king came to Speyer. Having obtained it together with his father’s treasures deposited there, he had this Gebhard consecrated bishop with great solemnity by the often-mentioned archbishop of Mainz, Ruthard, and enthroned him on All Saints’ Day, that is, on the first day of November, in the year of the Lord 1105, indiction 13, while Paschal II was ruling the Roman Church, in the sixth year of his pontificate, in the forty-eighth year of Emperor Henry IV, in the fourteenth year, four months, and one week of this Gebhard’s abbacy at Hirsau; after the election made at Regensburg concerning his person, [unclear].

Before his episcopate, however, as long as he was abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, he was always of great name and most celebrated fame among all Roman pontiffs, cardinals, bishops, abbots, kings, dukes, counts, princes, nobles, and peasants; and among all men the abbot of Hirsau was held, proclaimed, and praised as a good, religious, learned, wise, and most eloquent man, with great glory of honor. For wherever his name was brought into conversation, admiration of his virtues, wisdom, prudence, and integrity of life always stirred the hearers to love and praise of so great a man.

But after he left the monastery of Hirsau, which at that time seemed not much inferior to the church of Speyer in riches, revenues, fame, and honor, and assumed the episcopate, he immediately lost the renown of his name and the excellence of his reputation together with the abbacy. All men, noble and low-born, friends and enemies, household members and strangers, began to contemn, despise, and mock him as proud, vain-glorious, greedy, and foolish, since he had left so distinguished a monastery and a place glorious with most celebrated fame, obedient sons devoted in all things, and holy men, for the sake of an episcopate. For he was held in greater reverence and veneration as abbot than as bishop. For although as abbot he was noble by birth, composed in morals, circumspect in speech, gentle, wise, and eloquent, nevertheless, as soon as he assumed the episcopate, by some manner of divine permission, I know not how, he so completely lost all these things together that in morals he was rustic, in speech unskilled, and in conduct began to be burdensome to everyone.

It is to be feared, however, that all these things, together with not a few other adversities, befell him by divine ordinance for this reason: that he neglected to amend what had been commanded to him by the holy father William through the vision of the elder, of which we have spoken, just as he had threatened. Those who revered the abbot mocked the bishop. Moreover, on a certain day, while he was present, seeing and hearing through the windows, citizens with women and boys, in a certain place where he was staying, led dances and sang songs mockingly composed about him, to his insult. But this did not turn out well for them. For knights who were his friends, when they had heard these insults against their bishop, came running and suddenly scattered those [beaten?] people.

As soon as it had become known to the brothers in the monastery that their spiritual father, otherwise

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

103

when, indeed, though sufficiently beloved, he had been elected bishop by all, a certain contention began to arise among them. For to some it seemed that it could contribute greatly to the utility and peace of the monastery if they were to have the same man as abbot whom they also had as bishop, who would not only bring upon them none of the troubles of the preceding bishops, but would also by his authority resist those who wished to bring them on. But the others, with sounder consideration, maintained the contrary, saying that to have the bishop as abbot was not a remedy of defense, but rather the beginning of the destruction of the monastery and of its goods and possession, especially because the bishop, surrounded by a multitude of soldiers, coming often by necessity to the monastery for the sake of visitation, or certainly sometimes having quarters in the estates and possessions of that same monastery, would in a short time utterly consume whatever he found laid up by the great care and labor of the brothers. This too, they said, was no small thing to fear: that he might by his power take away the estates of the monastery and confer them as benefices on his friends and stipendiaries, just as they saw had happened to very many monasteries in the region, now almost desolated.

Meanwhile Gebhard secretly caused the minds of the brothers to be solicited and entreated through the advocate Gotfrid and others whom he judged suitable for this purpose, indeed even to be adjured, that they should be mindful of the benefits they had received from him; in view of these he earnestly begged that they should not consent to another abbot being ordained in his place, but should suffer him to be over them at once as bishop and abbot, promising that he would do many good things for the monastery and for each of them. These and similar things he caused to be communicated, not to all indeed, but only to those whom he hoped would agree with him, by letters, by messengers, and through intermediaries. But because at that time there were many very prudent men among the monks of this monastery, who, when they detected Gebhard's hidden schemes, took counsel together, and, so that they might forestall his cunning by cunning, hastened the election of an abbot according to the tenor of the apostolic grant.

Concerning Bruno, fourteenth abbot of this monastery, who presided for fourteen years, three months, twenty-two days, and concerning his deeds.

[unclear]

Therefore, after Abbot Gebhard had been taken up to the pontificate of the church of Speyer, as we have said, and was laboring greatly so that he might retain the abbacy of this monastery together with the episcopate, the elders of the convent, wise and most devout men who knew his cunning, lest they be forestalled by him through any scheme, appointed among themselves the day of election according to the privilege granted them by Pope Urban II, namely the last day of the month of November, which was the day of Saint Andrew the Apostle. And so the brothers came together as one, and, after scrutiny had been made among them according to custom, from the votes of the individuals the greater part of them elected Bruno, a monk and venerable old man, as abbot on that same day. There were, however, some among them directing their votes to others, to whom the election of Bruno seemed not to be pleasing because, being rather weighed down by old age, he was less suited to enduring such great labors; nevertheless, without obstinacy and following the majority, being fewer in number, they consented to him without delay. Therefore by the unanimous consent of all, Bruno the elder was elected abbot of this monastery on the day before the Kalends of December, that is, on the day of Saint Andrew the Apostle.

In the year of the Lord 1105, in the thirteenth indiction, he was ordained by Richard, bishop of Ostia and legate of the apostolic see, here in the monastery, on the seventh day before the Kalends of January, that is, on the day of Saint Stephen the Protomartyr, in the presence of very many abbots, monks, and other faithful people. He presided for fourteen years, three months, and twenty-two days. This Bruno was a Swabian by nation, born of noble and most powerful lineage; after the first rudiments of letters, when he had reached manly age, he was made a canon and matricularius of the greater church of Speyer. There, when he saw many going through the precipices of vices into perdition, to whom riches, honors, and the delights of the flesh had offered the occasion, after some years had been spent in that state, and at last, by the mercy of God, having obtained compunction, despising the world with all its vanities, he betook himself to the monastery of Hirsau, and under the most holy Abbot William, converted to God with his whole mind, he assumed the habit together with the monastic purpose. Having lived in it most religiously for several years, at last he was ordained abbot. As far as the composition of his body was concerned, he was great in stature and fittingly proportioned in manly form, somewhat bald, and his head sprinkled with a certain venerable whiteness. And although he appeared fittingly large in body, yet he was not strong and laborious, but through a certain weakness was exceedingly frail and altogether unable to endure labors. Therefore whatever matters in the monastery seemed to need ordering or arranging, he did not do through his own industry, but through that of his subjects [unclear].

[Marginal notes:] An alteration arose among the brothers on account of the bishop [unclear]. By the counsel of the sounder party, that of the abbot and of those choosing others. The bishops is solicited [unclear] for abbot [unclear]. Gebhard's attempts [unclear] concerning the abbacy having been made void, he functioned. The day of election of the abbots is appointed. Bruno the monk is elected abbot. Abbot Bruno is elected. Bruno's life and homeland. He becomes a canon of Speyer. He becomes a monk of Hirsau. Disposition of body. 14

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

...were being disturbed. But he himself, a quiet man, faint-hearted, mild, and gentle, not sufficient to bear the burdens of secular business, withdrew to inward things and devoted his attention to prayer, reading, meditation, and the contemplation of spiritual exercises. He was elected, indeed, because of fear of Gebhard, the aforementioned bishop of Speyer, who was trying to retain that abbey for himself: so that, if he attempted to begin any injury or violence against the monastery and its monks, he would be restrained by the authority of Bruno, the full brother of that abbot, who was the most powerful among all the Swabians. He also had very many other men, distinguished by riches, power, and nobility, joined to him by blood and friendship, who by their power would easily have hindered all the bishop’s attempts. But when the bishop saw that the brethren had ordained another abbot for themselves, he indeed took it badly; nevertheless he attempted no evil against them. For he was so involved and occupied in the cares and business of the church of Speyer that he was allowed little time to think about others’ affairs. Therefore Bruno, confirmed in the abbacy, entrusted the ordering of secular business to suitable brethren; and he himself, attending with the others to inward matters, showed his life to his subjects as an example of good works. Although he was noble and weak by nature, nevertheless he was never costly or singular even in his food.

1106. While the first year of his rule was still running, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1106, Henry the younger king, son of Emperor Henry IV, announced a meeting of princes at Mainz at Christmas; and there was so great a gathering of bishops, abbots, and princes as had not been seen for many cycles of years. There the legates of the apostolic see arrived, the bishops of Albano and Constance, testifying that the sentence of anathema had been thundered against Henry the elder, the emperor, by so many supreme pontiffs and other bishops, and proclaiming that he had been and was cut off from the communion of all the faithful for many years [unclear]. He resigned the scepter, orb, and crown before the princes and legates, and promised thereafter to take counsel for his soul. In this order Henry, the seventh of this name, after his father and then by all the princes of Germany, was now elected king a second time; and, confirmed as Catholic by the apostolic legates through the laying-on of hands, after receiving the oaths according to the custom of the time both from the bishops and from the laity, he began to reign, in the year, as has been said, of the Lord’s Nativity 1106. And from then he ruled for 20 years.

In the same year Henry the elder, Emperor Henry IV, father of Henry V, died at Liège, in the fiftieth year of his reign and the twenty-third of his empire; and he was first buried in a certain deserted church, until, through the intervention of his son, after absolution by the pontiff of the apostolic see, he was carried to Speyer and entombed. But, to comprise in a brief summary the evil history of that man, let us insert what the ancients wrote about him. That this Henry was a man [unclear], and by just judgment cast out from the Church, was truly evident to all in his time. For he sold all spiritual things; he was disobedient to the apostolic see; and, after the vicar of Christ, Pope Gregory VII, had been put to flight, he set up the idol Wibert of Ravenna in that very see. Against his lawful wife, a most honorable matron, he committed unheard-of crimes; and, renewing the Nicolaitan heresy, he prostituted her against her will to be violated by many by force. For these and many other crimes, excommunicated by many Roman and other pontiffs, he [unclear] the curse of the apostolic see, spurned it, and held it in contempt. From this there followed a very great persecution in the Church of God, through envy and discord, while one persecuted another even to death; and there was such a pernicious schism in the Church of God, with some adhering to the pope, others to the emperor, that apostolic censure was held for nothing, and no one cared about the sentence of excommunication itself. And although in all these things the emperor was most obstinate, so that he would not by any reasoning recognize the authority of the apostolic see, [unclear] when at some time he was sitting for the necessities of nature, certain men wishing to pierce him through were captured as assassins. Many princes also, who committed many evils against him and inflicted great contempt upon him, as soon as they had prostrated themselves before him and sought pardon, he mercifully forgave everything. Toward the poor he was very merciful and bestowed much alms upon them, and he had more compassion than can be said for all the afflicted. But obstinacy obscured all these good things, on account of...

Apostolic censure held in contempt.

The mercy of Emperor Henry.

Distress of mind.

Why Bruno, the abbot’s brother, was most powerful.

Abbot Bruno attends to inward matters.

Meeting of princes at Mainz.

Apostolic legates.

Ingelheim.

The emperor seeks pardon for his guilt from the legates.

Henry IV dies.

The fifth begins to reign.

Errors of Emperor Henry IV.

Simoniac.

Schismatic.

Nicolaitan.

Heretic.

Apostolic censure.

The mercy of Emperor Henry.

Distress of mind.

106

Of the Hirsau Monastery

Around the feast of the Nativity of Saint Mary, very early in the morning, while he was sleeping in the palace at Goslar, suddenly a thunderclap came and shook the wall that was at the head of his bed; then, by the force of the lightning, it knocked several nails from the king’s shield, and scorched at the point the sword that the king had placed at his side. Terrified beyond measure by this, the king leapt outside.

1108.

In the second year of Abbot Bruno, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1108, a monastery of our order was newly founded in the diocese of Augsburg, called Lorch; and for the support of the monks it was magnificently endowed by Frederick, duke of the Swabians, father of Frederick the first emperor.

In the same second year of Abbot Bruno, and the year of the Lord 1108, when Gebhard, bishop of Speyer, formerly abbot of this monastery, was afflicted by continual pains of illnesses, so that he seemed wholly useless for managing the affairs of his church, having taken counsel with familiar friends, he resolved to abandon the bishopric entirely, together with its cares, and to return to the monastery of Hirsau, from which he had been absent, so that, since he had not wished to remain alive with those whose abbot he had been, at least when dead he might be able to remain with them forever. And when, after everything necessary for the journey had already been arranged, he began to make his way, seated in a vehicle, from the mountain of St. Michael called Ebernberg, where he was staying, a rumor spread among the people of Speyer that their bishop had hastened to go into flight and desert them. Therefore, gathering in a great crowd, before the bishop had completed half the journey, they seized him, begging that he not remove himself entirely from them; he began to resist vigorously, and said that he did not wish to burden them with his long illness. And when, after many words exchanged between them, they would in no way permit him to depart, one man rose from the midst before them all and said: “Men of Speyer, it seems to me neither just nor honorable to send away from us our bishop, whom we have lawfully received, because of illness, and to burden the monks of the monastery of Hirsau with his sickness, contrary to the order of brotherly charity. Let us rather, from a few suitable men, provide him the necessities of his life as long as he lives.” This man’s counsel pleased them all; and after assurance had been given to the bishop by oath that, when it should please God, they would bring him dead to Hirsau, since they had prevented him while alive, he too gave his consent to their will. Therefore a dwelling suited to his illness and sufficiently pleasant was chosen among the marshes of the Rhine, which to the present day is called Bruchsal. There, after suitable and faithful attendants had been assigned, they caused the bishop to remain, and through the same attendants they provided him everything that was necessary. Thereafter, remaining in that same place for only three months, as his illness became much more severe, he died on the Kalends of March, in the year of the Lord 1108, in the first indiction. His body was brought back by the people of Speyer to this monastery of Hirsau, in accordance with the promise they had made to him while he lived, and was buried with great honor in the greater monastery before the principal altar of Saints Peter and Paul. And this was the end of Bishop Gebhard, who after Saint William the abbot had presided over this monastery for fourteen years and three months, and then, having been ordained prelate of the church of Speyer, presided for only one year and four months. Bruno, also called Einhard, succeeded him.

In this same year Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, grieving deeply over the desolation of the monastery of Saint Disibod the bishop, in the county of Spanheim, which before the present time had been miserably despoiled and destroyed by its [unclear] for many years, expelled the clerics, unjust possessors of the holy [unclear], and, transferring the monastery, which had collapsed from excessive age, onto the mountain, founded it anew. At that time Burchard, abbot of Saint [unclear], was held in esteem among the people of Mainz. To him the aforesaid Archbishop Ruthard committed the monastery of Saint Disibod with all its appurtenances, and appointed him its first abbot as well as abbot of Saint James. This Burchard, by order and at the expense of the aforesaid archbishop, on the day before the Kalends of July in this year, placed the first foundation stone on the aforesaid mountain for the new monastery; and, having received monks from the mountain of Saint James, he established a community according to the rule of our most holy father Benedict. This same Archbishop Ruthard also built one provostry of our order in the Rheingau, not far from Vinicella, on a mountain that is commonly called Bischoffsbergk, and willed it to be subject to the greater monastery of Mainz. To this provostry Rudolph, count of Rheingau, and Dancmodis his wife, with the consent of their son Louis, handed over estates and not inconsiderable revenues for the remedy of their souls. Their aforesaid son Louis also, despising the things of the world, for love of the kingdom of heaven, in the same place

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

...because of which he was excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII and was deposed from the empire by a synodal decree of the bishops, although he did not care. He himself, moreover, is the first among all the emperors to have been deposed by a pope. The scholastics dispute, and the case is still undecided, whether a pope can depose an emperor; since that question does not pertain to us, let us leave it undiscussed. In this same year also Magnus, duke of Saxony, died, and the duchy, together with the march, was entrusted to Count Lothar of Supplinburg, who afterward became emperor.

In the year of the Lord 1107, which was still the first year of Abbot Bruno, the venerable and holy woman Paulina died, on the day before the Ides of March. For many years she had led a life almost eremitical, enclosed for the love of Christ near the borders of the Thuringians, in the diocese of Mainz, where both in life and after death she shone with countless miracles. Present with this matron in her illness were Werner, her son, a monk of this monastery; Gerung, first abbot of the cell of St. Paulina, once also a monk of this monastery; and many other brothers. After celebrating the solemnities of masses in the place where she was ill, they commended her passing to the Lord. When at last she had happily died, they carried back her holy body, enclosed in a little vessel, to the cell previously founded by her; and, after celebrating her obsequies with due honor, they reverently buried her before the altar of the Holy Cross. And because mention has occurred of Abbot Gerung, who was a monk of our monastery of Hirsau, it seems fitting that we should recount his merits somewhat more fully.

Gerung was by nation a Swabian, born from the family of the Buchaugienses, who, after he had for some time learned manners and letters in the city of Augsburg, proved to be a young man of good disposition and became a monk under Abbot William in the monastery of Hirsau. He was so zealous in learning and keeping monastic discipline that [unclear]. Thereafter he fulfilled the office of cantor for some time with sufficient distinction; in this office both his art commended his voice, and his voice his art, with singular harmony. He was also a most tenacious emulator of regular discipline, and for that reason was twice sent by the holy father William to Cluny to learn the order of monastic life. For he was of mature gravity, and in the censorship of monastic rigor very severe, especially toward those who, having often been proclaimed for some transgression, had neglected to amend. Yet he did not lack the virtue of discretion, since, in caring for the diseases of souls, he mingled the austerity of strictness with a certain gentleness. Weighing each matter prudently, he was by no means lax toward offenders. In bodily stature he was handsome, well proportioned, so that he was neither excessively short nor monstrously tall. In conduct he knew how to present himself as an example to all, so that he knew how to adapt himself without fault to individual assemblies, both secular and religious. Because [unclear]. He copied out [unclear] with his own hand. For he was an excellent scribe. When the new monastery had been completed by St. William, and after his death the congregation had passed from St. Aurelius to that larger monastery under Abbot Gebhard, Gerung was appointed by him prior of the brothers who had remained at St. Aurelius. At last, by the election and counsel of his brothers, he was ordained first abbot of the aforesaid monastery, which is called the Cell of Paulina down to the present day, and he was sent with ten other monks of this monastery of ours for the establishment of the order according to the desire of St. Paulina. For St. Paulina herself, in that place of her paternal inheritance where she took up the service of Christ and continued for many years in most holy life until death, founded at her own expense a monastery of our order, in the times of Emperor Henry IV, which she handed over to the monks of Hirsau, and [unclear]. Whoever desires to know the merits of this man more fully should read the Life and Deeds of the often-mentioned St. Paulina. Gerung was, as we have said, a man of holy life, and since he was well disposed toward the Roman Church and Christ’s vicar, he suffered many persecutions and wrongs from the servants and friends of Henry [unclear].

In the aforesaid year a great controversy arose between King Henry and the apostolic lord Paschal concerning the investiture of prelates, which was the seedbed of many evils in the Church. Hence the pope in the council of Troyes confirmed by his ban that no one should receive investiture or ecclesiastical dignity from a lay hand, until this question between him and the king should have been settled by synodal discussion.

The first emperor deposed by a pope. Lothar, duke. St. Paulina dies. She is buried in the monastery which she herself founded. The life of Gerung. He was cantor. Twice sent to Cluny. Bodily stature. [Unclear]. He was a scribe and lover of books. He became prior at St. Aurelius. Gerung becomes abbot. Foundation of the monastery Cell of Paulina. A dispute arises between pope and king.

The Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

He was made a monk there, and, living most religiously according to the rule of our holy father Benedict, he persevered in holy conduct until the end of this present life. Within the precinct of the same monastery, namely beside the church, the aforementioned bishop built a little convent for nuns, in which he placed virgins serving Christ most devoutly in holy virginity. These, established together with the monks under the care of one provost, always remained enclosed, despising the world with all its pomps in contemplation of heavenly things. In this same convent the aforesaid count and countess of Rineck, Richolf and Danckmodis, also offered their daughter Werdrudis to almighty God, to serve forever, together with a portion of their inheritance. At length the successor of this Archbishop Ruthard raised the said provostship into an abbey, as we shall say in its place, in the year of the Lord 1130, in the thirteenth indiction.

The nuns were with the monks.

Werdrudis, a nun.

1109.

In the third year of Abbot Bruno, which was the year 1109 from the Lord’s nativity, in the second indiction, on the eleventh day before the Kalends of May, Saint Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, died, the greatest supporter and lover of the brethren of Hirsau; of him we made mention much earlier in connection with Blessed William.

Saint Anselm died.

In the same year Saint Hugh, abbot of Cluny, also died, on the third day before the Kalends of May; he too was a father and a most wholehearted lover of the men of Hirsau, whose life was distinguished by many virtues and signs.

Saint Hugh died.

Adalbert becomes bishop of Mainz.

In the same year also Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, died; Adalbert, the king’s chancellor, succeeded him in order.

1111.

In the fourth year of Abbot Bruno, a great synod of bishops and abbots was held at Rome, with the lord pope presiding, where many useful measures were enacted. King Henry, at Liège, married Matilda, daughter of Henry king of the English, who had been betrothed to him; by her he had no children.

The king came to Rome.

In the following year, coming to Rome, he was indeed received honorably by the Apostolic lord; but when they had sat down and discussion was held concerning ecclesiastical and royal affairs, suddenly a tumult was stirred up by the faction of the Romans. The king was so hard pressed by their wickedness that he was now almost taking to flight, had not Frederick, archbishop of Cologne, come to his aid with a strong force and compelled the Romans, overcome with great slaughter, to flee. Having therefore gained the victory, he led the pope away. Yet afterward, having returned to concord, they again returned to Rome; and, after peace had been made with the Romans, the pope consecrated the king as emperor. During communion the king [unclear].

The emperor is blessed.

In the following year [Pope?] Dominic called a great synod, and, in a synod of one hundred twenty-five bishops held at Rome, excommunicated all who sided with the emperor against him; and evils in the Church were renewed. When Emperor Henry entered Italy, he had in his army thirty thousand armed men, besides servants and many others following the army without order.

The army.

1112.

In the sixth year of Abbot Bruno, which was the year 1112 from the Lord’s nativity, a dispute was forced between the princes of Saxony and the emperor, in which Duke Wibert and Count Palatine Siegfried lost the emperor’s favor. And Wibert [unclear].

Conspiracy of the Saxons against the emperor.

In this year a comet appeared. In the same conspiracy with the Saxons against the emperor were these princes: Lothar, duke of Saxony; Rudolf, margrave; Wibert, duke; the aforesaid Siegfried, count palatine, whom we have mentioned; and Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, who for this reason was captured by the emperor and in this same year was consigned to custody for nearly three years.

Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, is captured.

In the same year a conspiracy for liberty was made in Cologne.

1113.

In the seventh year of Abbot Bruno, in the year 1113 from the Lord’s nativity, Gertrude the marchioness, widow of Count Henry of Northeim, surnamed the Fat, obtained the sacred relics of Saint Auctor from Bruno, archbishop of Trier; and, transferring them with great honor into Saxony, she deposited them outside the walls of Brunswick in the place where today the monastery of Saint Giles the confessor is situated within the city walls. For when the aforesaid marchioness [unclear], after receiving the counsel of prudent men of our order, in the same place [unclear] magnificent [unclear].

Saint Auctor is transferred from Trier into Saxony.

The monastery of Saint Giles in Brunswick is founded.

In the same year a conspiracy for liberty was made in Cologne. In this year a comet appeared. In the same conspiracy with the Saxons against the emperor were the [unclear] princes: Lothar, duke of Saxony; Rudolf, margrave; Wibert, duke; the aforesaid Siegfried, count palatine, whom we have mentioned; Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, who for this reason was captured by the emperor and in this same year was consigned to custody for nearly three years. In the same year a conspiracy for liberty was founded in Cologne. In this year a comet appeared. In the same conspiracy with the Saxons against the emperor were the [unclear] princes: Lothar, duke of Saxony; Rudolf, margrave; Wibert, duke; the aforesaid Siegfried, count palatine, whom we have mentioned; Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, who for this reason was captured by the emperor and in this same year was consigned to custody for nearly three years. In the same year a conspiracy for liberty was founded in Cologne.

In the same year a conspiracy for liberty was made in Cologne.

In this year a comet appeared. In the same conspiracy with the Saxons against the emperor were the [unclear] princes: Lothar, duke of Saxony; Rudolf, margrave; Wibert, duke; the aforesaid Siegfried, count palatine, whom we have mentioned; Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, who for this reason was captured by the emperor and in this same year was consigned to custody for nearly three years.

In the same year a conspiracy for liberty was made in Cologne.

In this year a comet appeared. In the same conspiracy with the Saxons [unclear].

The Monastery of Hirsau

constructed, in which he placed the body of the same saint. This monastery, at the instance of Lothar, duke of Saxony, later emperor, who had as wife the daughter of the aforesaid marchioness, was consecrated in the year of the Lord 1115, after the glorious victory won against the emperor, by Theodoric, legate of the apostolic see, and Reinhard, bishop of Halberstadt, in honor of St. Giles the Confessor, and was magnificently endowed by him.

In this same year, the seventh of Bruno, Burchard, abbot of St. James at Mainz, died, in the sixth year after he had undertaken the governance of the abbey of Mount St. Disibod the Confessor by command of Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, on the third day before the Nones of March. Adelhunus succeeded him in the monastery of St. Disibod, a man vigorous in every work and distinguished for uprightness of conduct; he presided for fifteen years.

In this same year St. Bernard, about twenty-two years old, entered Citeaux with more than thirty companions under Abbot Stephen, who had succeeded Alberic.

The whole Church of the faithful solemnly celebrates the praises of this most holy man Bernard. His life, miracles, and most celebrated deeds are contained in five little books, written in sufficiently lucid style by William, abbot of St. Thierry. Later, being ordained the first abbot of Clairvaux, he illumined the whole world by sanctity and learning. Besides the 140 monasteries of his order built by him, indeed at others’ expense but for the greater part through his own labor, direction, and care, he also by his preaching converted innumerable souls to Christ. Moreover he wrote many outstanding little works of his most excellent talent, the titles of which we have for the most part noted in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers.

1114.

In the eighth year of Abbot Bruno, which was the year 1114 from the Lord’s nativity, Emperor Henry moved a great army against the people of Cologne. Around these times the monastery of Laach of our order, in the territory of the diocese of Trier, was founded in honor of Blessed Mary ever Virgin and Mother of God, and of St. Nicholas the bishop, not far from Andernach. For Henry, count palatine of the Rhine and lord of Laach, with the consent of his wife Adelheid, began the foundation of that monastery in the aforesaid place of his paternal inheritance in the year of the Lord 1093, in the first indiction. Prevented by death, he entrusted its completion to his stepson Siphid, heir of the same palatine county and of all his goods. When he had neglected this for some time, as being a young man, at last, led by repentance, he completed it, namely in the year of the Lord 1112, in the fifth indiction, and magnificently endowed it with estates and revenues for the support of the abbot and monks.

1115.

In the ninth year of Abbot Bruno, the emperor, to the injury of Lothar, duke of the Saxons, occupied Brunswick and laid waste Halberstadt. Against him the same duke, with the Saxons, joined to himself Frederick the archbishop and the people of Cologne, also Frederick, count of Westphalia, with his brother Henry, and Hermann of Calvelage, and Henry, duke of Limburg, and with Reinhard, bishop of Halberstadt, hastened to battle in the place called Wulpheholtz, on the day after the virgin Scholastica. On that day battle was joined twice; the emperor with his men turned his back, and the Saxons triumphed gloriously. In that battle, on the emperor’s side, the count of Mansfeld fell with a very great multitude of men, and the emperor himself barely escaped. Departing from there to Mainz, he celebrated Easter there, and, compelled by the princes, restored to the citizens Adelbert, archbishop of that place, who had already been held captive for three years.

1116.

In the tenth year of Abbot Bruno, the one thousand one hundred sixteenth from the Lord’s nativity, on the Nativity of the Lord, many bishops, abbots, and princes assembled at Cologne, by the counsel and authority of Theodoric, cardinal and legate of the apostolic see, whose reputation was now celebrated throughout the kingdom, to deliberate on the affairs of the Church. But the same cardinal died on the journey, and his body was brought to Cologne to be buried.

In this year there was great irregularity of the air.

1117.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Bruno, which was the one thousand one hundred seventeenth from the Lord’s nativity, the monastery in Breitenau of our order, in the diocese of Mainz, in Hesse, began to be founded by Count Werner, a most excellent man. After he completed it, he magnificently endowed it in the third year thereafter; and he obtained an abbot and brethren, as we shall say, from this monastery of Hirsau.

In the same year, on the octave of St. John the Evangelist, there was an earthquake twice between day and night,

Foundation of the monastery of Breitenau.

Bishop Adelbert is freed from captivity.

Assembly of princes at Cologne.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

during the night, throughout almost the whole world, it was so dreadful and terrible that many buildings collapsed and countless people perished, especially in Italy, where it was so dangerous and horrible that various cities, castles, and villages, together with the people dwelling there, suddenly perished in a chasm of the earth. For mountains were split apart; rivers, swallowed by the earth, were completely dried up, so that those who wished could have crossed on dry feet. The Po also, one of the four greater rivers of Europe, lifting itself high from its place, stood raised from the earth like an arch, so that between the earth and the water a path lay open for those passing through. After the water had hung in the air in this way for some time, at last it fell back upon itself from on high with such a crash that the sound of it was heard for many miles. When these dreadful signs had been reported throughout all Europe, everyone believed nothing other than that the last day was at hand. But by fasts and three days of prayers, performed throughout all Italy by all the people, they sought to mitigate the sentence of the Lord.

Meanwhile, while these proclaimed fasts were being carried out with great fear, at Cremona a little infant lying in a cradle, wrapped in swaddling-clothes, opened his mouth, contrary to nature, in his first act of speech: to his elder brother, who was tearfully asking for bread, and to his mother, who was preparing food for him, he said to both: “Cease, mortals, to prepare foods, O you who are soon to perish: behold, the holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, before the tribunal of Christ, with most urgent prayers, is beseeching concerning the judgment of the dread sentence which the most just Judge himself had intended against the world because of the sins of men.” And although these signs terrified all who saw and heard them, nevertheless they corrected few. For in the same year many evils were committed by men, especially in Gaul and Germany: unjust conspiracies, burnings, murders, burnings of churches, seizures of the goods of those serving God in them. Citizens rise up against citizens, despoil one another, plunder goods, destroy and cut down cities, castles, villages, and houses; they tear apart and kill men not in human fashion but like cattle. There was an eclipse of the moon in the same year, namely on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of July; on the fourth day before the Ides of December.

A wondrous sign also, mixed with various colors, appeared in the sky on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of January.

1117.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Bruno, which was the 1118th year of the Lord’s Nativity, Buggo, the most reverend bishop of the church of Worms, who had succeeded Eppo, consecrated that church of his at Worms, renewed with handsome stone paneling, on the Ides of June, many bishops being present there: Bruno of Trier, Eberhard of Eichstätt, Albuin of Merseburg, Hartwig of Meissen. In the same year, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of February, Pope Paschal II died, who had formerly been of our order. John succeeded him, a monk of the Cassinese monastery of our order, cardinal deacon and archchancellor, a man most renowned for learning in letters and integrity of conduct; he was called Pope Gelasius II and presided over the Church for only one year. He had first been a monk of the monastery of Cassino under Subabbot Oderisius; then, because of his admirable knowledge and the probity of his life, he received from Urban II the office of secretary in the Roman Church. Afterwards, made cardinal deacon and chancellor by Paschal, he was at last, as we have said, ordained pope. Cuno, legate of the apostolic see and bishop of Palestrina, sent as legate from Paschal to the kingdom of the Teutons, and confirmed by Gelasius through the bishop of [unclear], came to Cologne and celebrated there a glorious synod of bishops and abbots. Under the just and venerable Abbot Bruno, the substance of the monastery grew quite considerably, both through the offerings of the faithful and through prudent governance. For many noble men, rich and powerful in the world, for the remedy of their souls, [unclear] many estates [unclear], for love of the kingdom of heaven, scorning the things of the world, to the habit of holy religion [unclear] goods to this monastery [unclear]. [Hemma?], with her sons Henry and Hugo, for herself and for her husband Count Hugo, gave to the monastery, in Eichweiler, for Saint Peter and Paul, patrons of Hirsau, under her sons Henry and Hugo, for herself and for her husband, and also sums of money, a gift of no small valuation, all of whose value or price rose to almost 200 marks of silver. Luitgardis also, sister of this Bruno, gave over to this monastery no small amount in gold and silver for the remedy of her soul. But Count Berthold of Eberstein, together with his wife Adelheid, with the consent of his sons Berthold, Eberhard, and Hugo, gave the fourth part of the village of Eltingen, with all its right, to this monastery, in the presence of Count Gottfried of Calw and Count Eberhard of [unclear].

The terror at the dry places overturned men.

Mountains were split apart.

Wondrous raising of waters.

An infant, going against nature, speaks.

Words of the infant.

Men, not amended by terrors, heap up sins upon sins.

A sign appeared in the sky.

Pope Paschal II was of our order.

Pope Gelasius II was of our order.

A synod is celebrated at Cologne.

The substance of the monastery under Abbot Bruno [unclear]. Hemma, countess. Geba, countess.

Luitgardis. Count Berthold of Eberstein.

[Blank page in the source scan.]

The Hirsau Monastery

Diemar the knight becomes a monk and gives all his possessions.

... of Helfenstein, of Count Hugo of Tubingen and Ulrich of Lustenau, Reginbodo of Tallacker, Mascelinus of Rupburg, and very many others under the same venerable abbot Bruno. Diemar also, a knight, noble, rich, powerful, and very famous among the princes of Eastern Francia, having his more usual residence in the diocese of Wurzburg, in the county of Mergentheim, at Rutingen beside the river Tauber, drawn by divine inspiration, gave by solemn donation to this our monastery of Hirsau all that belonged to him by right, both in that same place Rutingen and in other places, for the remedy of his own soul and of the souls of his parents. And at last, offering himself to God and to his holy apostles Peter and Paul as a perpetual servant, under Abbot Gebhard he received the monastic habit in the present monastery, and persevered in holy conduct until death. This solemn donation of Diemar the knight was made in the time of Abbot Gebhard, in the year of the Lord 1103, in the second indiction, under Emperor Henry IV, on the day of St. Prisca, virgin and martyr, in the presence of Count Ebo of Mergentheim and many other witnesses.

Another knight also, of no obscure family, from the village of Merlenheim, named Conrad, was made [unclear] in this monastery of Hirsau under the venerable Abbot Bruno; before he had [unclear] the holy monastery, he handed over to this monastery, by solemn donation made upon the altar of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, all the goods that he possessed by hereditary right, in the presence of Abbot Bruno himself and the whole congregation, with many others. The confirmation of this donation was made in the presence of Bruno, bishop of Speyer, Egbert, count of Speyer, Stephen, brother of this Conrad, and many others.

In the year of the Lord 1109, while Emperor Henry V was reigning, Hermann, count of Leiningen, and Diemar, count of Brachfeld, for themselves and for all their kin, handed over to God and blessed Peter, as the perpetual right of the monastery of Hirsau, one hundred hides in Roth and in the little surrounding villages in the bishopric of Augsburg, on this condition, namely, that by the provision of the abbot of the same monastery the service of God according to the Rule of St. Benedict should be established there. And this was done. For in the same place a monastery was built by the work and expenses of the abbot of Hirsau, with the help of the faithful round about, in which brothers sent from this monastery established the regular life, having over them a provost with [unclear], going out and coming in, [unclear] to the abbots.

In the time of the same Abbot Bruno there was a certain citizen of Speyer named Bebo, a very rich man and a very great lover of the brothers of Hirsau, who for the remedy of his own soul and of the souls of his parents did many good things for this monastery. For at various times, either for relieving the needs of the brothers or for acquiring estates, both in his lifetime and at his final departure, he bestowed on this monastery more, in the value of pure silver, than 450 marks, as can be found more clearly in the book of donations. William also of Hissigheim [unclear] bestowed on the monastery, in the presence of Bruno and the whole congregation. This donation he afterwards confirmed anew for perpetual stability at Ingersheim, in a public court of laymen, in the presence of the same Abbot Bruno, Count Adelbert, and many others. Count Frederick also, brother of St. Otto, bishop of Bamberg, bestowed certain estates on this monastery of Hirsau in perpetuity by solemn donation in the time of Abbot Bruno. Abbot Bruno himself also, in the time of his rule, acquired many goods, estates, rents, and revenues for the advantage of this monastery through the hands of his brothers, to whom after him the chief management of affairs had been entrusted. Many counts also, nobles, citizens, and villagers, in his time bestowed many goods on this monastery; their names are written in the book of donations of the monastery [unclear], handing themselves over to the Hirsau monastery for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, and taking up the habit of holy conversion, and becoming monks, they remained until death in regular observance.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Bruno, which was the year 1119 from the Lord’s nativity, in the twelfth indiction, Drutwin, a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, was ordained the first abbot at Breitenau, in the diocese of Mainz in Hesse, concerning whose foundation it was said above. Sent by Abbot Bruno at the request of Count Werner the founder, he came with twelve monks to the aforesaid monastery of Breitenau on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of December, and presided for fourteen years: a man venerable in character and learning, and an outstanding founder, propagator, and preserver of regular discipline.

112 Of the Monastery of Hirsau

[unclear], a man most learned in the divine Scriptures and very learned in secular letters, whose learning and wisdom were of great repute and fame throughout all Gaul and Germany. He wrote many volumes, by which he made himself useful to those then present and to those who would live long afterward. Among these I have found an outstanding volume of histories of past time; also one book On the Illustrious Men of Our Order. He described the life of Saint Theodoric, bishop of Metz, in heroic verse; also the life of King Sigebert. He composed the life and passion of Saint Lucy the virgin in elegiac verse. He wove together a history of the translation of her body to the city of Metz. He also wrote, in heroic verse, the passion of the Theban martyrs; also the life of Saint Guibert the monk, founder of Gembloux. [He wrote] a chronicle [unclear] against those who slandered the masses of priests who had concubines. At the request of the same persons he replied to the people of Trier concerning the fasts of the Four Times. Likewise he published a little book on famous writers, brief indeed, but not useless. On Ecclesiastes, too, he composed a threefold exposition in heroic verse. He also wrote many letters to various persons; sermons, homilies, antiphons, responsories, concerning various saints. This Sigebert, summoned from his own monastery to the monastery of Saint Vincent at Metz, of our order, on account of his learning, presided there publicly for some time over the school of the monks. Afterwards, recalled to his own monastery, he spent all the time of his life in the study of letters, learning, writing, and teaching.

Rudolph also, of our order, abbot of the monastery of Saint Trudo in the diocese of Liege, a man excellently learned both in the divine Scriptures and in secular letters, practiced in verse and prose, in these times, among other monuments of his talent, wrote an outstanding volume against the simoniacs, which he divided into seven books. He also compiled a short chronicle of the deeds of past time. But he is said to have written many other things, which we have not yet seen.

1121.

In the fifteenth current year of Bruno, which was the one thousand one hundred twenty-first year of the Lord’s Nativity, Count Werner, the first founder and endower of the monastery at Breitenau, died, a man wholly devoted to God. Frederick, bishop of Liege, also died; in his place Adelbero, brother of Duke Godfrey, was appointed.

In the same year also Godebald, bishop of Utrecht, founded a monastery of our order not far from the city of Utrecht itself, in a marshy solitude, in honor of Saint Lawrence the martyr; it is called Oesborch down to the present day. In it he established an abbot and monks, for whom he provided the necessary things abundantly. It is reported that there was a very large congregation of monks in that place, who lived in such strictness of monastic conduct that the place itself, long afterward, was called by the inhabitants of the land “the prison of religion.” For those who could not be corrected in other monasteries were sent there to do penance. He also joined to the previously established monastery of men a monastery of nuns, or women religious, in which he placed many virgins serving Christ, and for them also he provided necessities.

In the same aforesaid year of the Lord’s Nativity, the one thousand one hundred twenty-first, in the fourteenth indiction, Bruno, the venerable abbot of this monastery, after many labors undergone in holy religion, and weighed down by age, began to be ill; desiring Christ with his whole longing, he at last happily passed from this misery.

In that year, on the tenth day before the Kalends of April, after the fourteenth year of his rule had been completed, with three months and twenty-two days, he was buried in the church of Saints Peter and Paul, before the altar of Saint Lawrence the martyr; a man certainly worthy of remembrance, [unclear] for the people: a rule of right conduct, who from that day on which he once took up the habit of holy conversion in the present monastery, always advancing toward what lay ahead, did not look back. In prayer he was constant; in the offering of the body and blood of the Lord, daily. For from that time, out of love for God, he despised [unclear], began to be a monk, so wholly betook himself to inward things, so despised the cares and all the business of the world, and so cast himself down, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, in such great humility and simplicity, that to those who did not know him he seemed the simplest of all. Thereafter no one ever saw him idle; but always occupied in the mental exercise of the spirit, either he burned with tears in prayer, or was intent on the reading of the divine Scriptures, or in meditation.

His Praises.

A lover of humility and simplicity.

Never seen idle.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

iii

In the same year Pope Gelasius died at Cluny and was buried there; [Guido], archbishop of Vienne, succeeded him, was called Calixtus II, and sat for six years. Holding a synod in the city of Rheims at the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, he, with the bishops and abbots, excommunicated the emperor. Adelgot, archbishop of Magdeburg, died; Rutger succeeded him. The excommunicated emperor, in the archbishop’s absence, was honorably received by the people of Cologne. Therefore the divine offices were interdicted to them by that bishop. An assembly of the emperor and princes was held at Mainz on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. In the same year Otbert, bishop of Liège, died; Frederick succeeded him for one year and some months.

10

In the fourteenth year of Abbot Bruno, which was the year 1120 of the Lord’s nativity, the Premonstratensian order began in the diocese of Laon, under Bishop Bartholomew, when Louis was king of the Franks, under Father Rupert, a man of venerable sanctity, establishing him with the Rule of St. Augustine and with thirteen companions around the feast of Easter; Pope Calixtus confirmed him. This order, growing wonderfully afterward in a short time, was enlarged.

In the same year Emperor Henry entered Italy and restored peace with the Roman pontiff Calixtus; he was absolved from the sentence of excommunication. But the letters concerning the concord made between the Church and the Empire, both the pope’s and the emperor’s, [unclear] with fifteen companions establishing [unclear] around the feast of Easter; Pope Calixtus confirmed him. The offices were interdicted by that bishop. An assembly of the emperor and princes was held at Mainz on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. In the same year Osbert, bishop of Liège, died; Frederick succeeded him for one year and some months.

1120

In the year of Abbot Bruno [unclear], which was the year 120 of the Lord’s nativity, the Premonstratensian order began in the diocese of Laon, under Bishop Bartholomew, when Louis was king of the Franks, under Father Rupert, a man of venerable sanctity, establishing him with the Rule of Saint Augustine and with thirteen companions around the feast of Easter; Pope Calixtus confirmed him. It pleased us to insert these matters, whatever they are, into the work for the knowledge of posterity. Thus therefore the pope wrote to the emperor: In the fourteenth year of Abbot Bruno, which was the year 1120 of the Lord’s Nativity, the Premonstratensian order began in the diocese of Laon, under Bishop Bartholomew, when Louis was king of the Franks, under Father Rupert, a man of venerable sanctity, establishing him with the Rule of Saint Augustine and with thirteen companions around the feast of Easter; Pope Calixtus confirmed him. It pleased us to insert these matters into the work for the knowledge of posterity. Thus therefore [unclear] between the pope and the emperor:

I, Calixtus, bishop, servant of the servants of God, grant to you, beloved son Henry, by the grace of God august emperor of the Romans, that elections of bishops and abbots of the Teutonic kingdom, which pertain to [unclear], be held in your presence, without simony and without any violence. If any discord should arise between the parties, then by the counsel or judgment of the metropolitan and provincials you are to give assent or aid to the sounder party. The elected man, however, shall receive the regalia from you by the sceptre, and shall do what he rightly owes you from these. But from the other parts of the empire, once consecrated, he shall receive the regalia from you by the sceptre within six months, and what is rightly owed to you from these [unclear], excepting all things which are known to pertain to the Roman Church. Concerning matters about which you make complaint to me and seek aid, I shall give you aid according to the duty of my office. I give true peace to you and to all who are or were on your side in the time of this discord.

When the emperor had received these letters from the pope, he gave him letters of the same tenor:

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Henry, by the grace of God august emperor of the Romans, for the love of God and of the holy Roman Church and of lord Pope Calixtus, and for the remedy of my souls, remit to God and to God’s holy apostles Peter and Paul and to the holy catholic churches all investiture by ring and staff, and I concede that in all churches which are in my kingdom or empire canonical election and free consecration ought to take place. The possessions and regalia of Blessed Peter which from the beginning of this discord down to the present day, whether in the time of my father or also in my own, have been taken away, and which I have, I restore to that Roman Church. Those of the churches and princes and others, clerics as well as laymen, which have been lost in this war, [I shall restore] by the counsel of the princes and of others, clerics as well as laymen. And by the counsel or justice of the princes, what I have I shall restore; what I do not have I shall faithfully help to be restored. And I give true peace to lord Pope Calixtus and to the holy Roman Church and to all who are or were on his side. And in matters in which the holy Roman Church seeks aid from me, I shall faithfully help; and concerning matters about which it makes complaint to me, I shall do the justice owed to it.

All these things were done with the consent and counsel of the princes, whose names are written below: Adelbert, archbishop of Mainz; Frederick, archbishop of Cologne; H., bishop of Regensburg; Otto, bishop of Bamberg; Ulrich, bishop of Constance; H., abbot of Fulda; Duke Henry; Duke Frederick; Margrave Diebold; Godfrey, archbishop of [unclear]; H., bishop of Augsburg; Godehard, bishop of Utrecht; Count Ulrich; Margrave Engelbert; Count Berengar; Theodoric Frederick, count palatine; Otto, count palatine; Margrave Engelbert; Count Berengar; Theodoric Frederick, count palatine; Otto, count palatine; Engelbert, margrave-count; Berengar, margrave-counts; and many others.

This concord, however, was made in Germany after the emperor’s return from Italy and after the decrees against Burdinus the antipope. For Pope Calixtus, having returned to Rome from Apulia after the departure of Emperor Henry, sent three cardinals to him in Germany as legates to confirm peace between him and the Church. When, by God’s ordinance, they came to him and restored peace, as we have said before, in a public assembly of the princes at Mainz, this Pope Calixtus, among the other little works of his talent, wrote a booklet, not of contemptible reading, on the miracles of Saint James the Apostle, which he had read here and there or had heard from trustworthy persons, when he was still

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[unclear], or by contemplation, he was lifted upward to God. And because by his works he fulfilled the counsel of a wise man, namely the blessed bishop Prosper, who says, “Wisdom fills a tranquil mind, free from cares, and will be the guest of a peaceful breast,” therefore the spirit of saving wisdom rested upon him; and, as it wondrously illumined his mind, he appeared more learned even among the most learned, especially in those matters that pertained to the way of salvation, the discernment of virtues, and the instruction of monastic life. He was so apt, so elegant, and so persuasive in this place that not only his brothers and subjects, but also outsiders, both religious and secular, whoever heard him, were greatly astonished at his speech. Hence, through his most gentle admonitions, many noble and wealthy men, knights, canons, and men greatly honored in the world, were brought to contempt of the world.

When the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him to utter the word of exhortation, and he opened his mouth to his hearers, he seemed to speak not human but divine words.

He was therefore buried before the altar of blessed Lawrence, as we have said, and lay under the earth for three hundred thirty-nine years; and at last, when exhumed, he gave sight to a blind man.

Exhumed in the year 1460. For in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1460, in the eighth indiction, on the third day before the Kalends of September, when, after the death of Abbot Wolfram, called Meiser, a burial-place was being prepared in that place where the body of Lord Bruno, the aforementioned abbot, lay buried, with an inscription of his name [unclear].

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The Monastery of Hirsau

Volmar the abbot presided for 35 years and 10 months. The Life of Volmar.

By providence and ordinance he vigorously presided over this monastery for thirty-five years and ten months. He was born in Swabia of rather free/noble stock; from his earliest age he devoted himself to the study of letters, and became sufficiently learned both in secular letters and in divine Scripture. For, having obtained by nature a good and teachable intelligence, he seemed fit for learning anything at all. Then, having become a monk, he walked blamelessly in the sight of his brothers, a devoted lover and cultivator of the rule of our most holy father Benedict and of the traditions of the fathers.

He was of tall stature; and, so far as concerns the proportion and outward disposition of the body, the outward bearing of his body too seemed to display a certain majesty of soul lying hidden within. Being mature in all his words and deeds, he bore before him a certain severity of spirit, so that he appeared worthy of reverence and fear not only to religious men, but also to secular persons of every sort. He detested all frivolity and looseness, of mind as well as of body; he was always firm, stable, and consistent in his manner of life, and at no time was he ever seen to change toward laxity. For in his morals he was always accustomed to be so composed, so mature, so religious, that in his presence even dissolute and otherwise most frivolous men, as though violently restrained within by some divine power, displayed nothing but propriety and maturity. At times he was cheerful, but never unrestrained; and he was accustomed to moderate even his cheerfulness with his usual gravity, so that, when he laughed with holy Job, no one would believe it laughter.

He was also endowed with great wisdom, and not only in those matters which pertained to the order of the monastic state, but also in all worldly business he was so circumspect and intelligent, and most skilled in both Latin and the native tongue, and so distinguished by such eloquence in each, that in his time he had no equal among the Swabians. Whatever he wished to say, he said so aptly, so ornately, and so elegantly that, persuading men to everything, he seemed to have the minds of his hearers in his power. Endowed with wisdom.

Now as soon as he was ordained abbot, he took care with all zeal to show himself a useful shepherd to the brothers; and not only by words in exhorting, which he could do excellently, but also by going before them in morals, which few do, he diligently led the sheep committed to him to the pastures of life. He was a most bitter enemy of vices, and immediately corrected offending subjects, without respect of persons, according to the tenor of the holy rule. Hence at all times he was solicitous with the utmost zeal for monastic discipline, both with respect to himself and to his subjects; he continually went before them by good example, and with pastoral authority he ceaselessly urged them to follow.

But the brothers, seeing in Abbot Volmar such love of regular discipline, zeal, diligence, and irreproachable conduct, cherished him with great love, showing themselves his helpers in all things with the greatest cheerfulness. Therefore, when by the grace of God he was notably increased, almighty God blessed them, and through the offerings of the faithful their temporal substance was increased in many ways. For many princes, nobles, and rich men in the time of this Abbot Volmar bestowed many gifts on this monastery on account of the holy manner of life of the brothers.

Of these, to recount a few: [Udafo-Hildebrandus?], count palatine, bestowed on Saint Peter and Paul in the monastery of Hirsau estates of no small utility; yet Godfrey himself violently drew these to himself and received their produce as long as he lived. When he was now about to die, in the presence of many he resigned them into the hands of Wolfram of Weinsberg, to be restored to the monastery of Hirsau. Then, after a short time had passed, Welf, son-in-law of that Count Godfrey, not only restored what had been taken away, but also added much greater things from his own possessions; all these are contained by name and expressly in the book of donations.

Hildebrand of Burbiltingen also bestowed certain estates on this monastery for the remedy of his soul, placing no small hope in the prayers of the brothers. [unclear], many estates and goods on this monastery in the time of Abbot Volmar, and humbly commended himself to the prayers of the brothers. But Henry, dean of the church of Worms, a rich and devout man, pursuing the brothers of Hirsau with great love, bestowed many goods on this monastery, both in ornaments and in money, and commended himself to the prayers of the brothers. Many others also, under Volmar, bestowed many things for the honor of God on the holy apostles Peter and Paul and on the brothers of Hirsau; to recount the names of each one would be too wearisome and wholly contrary to the laws of history. Nor did only people nearby and dwelling within the borders of Swabia bestow their benefactions on the men of Hirsau, but also from places very far removed from Hirsau, neglecting monasteries near to themselves—

Of the Hirsau Monastery

of [Martin?] the bishop, through the ministry of Adelbert, archbishop of Mainz, and with a solemn gift and endowment having been made, in the presence of that archbishop himself, and also of Buggo, archbishop of Worms, Volbert, abbot of Saint Alban, Werenbold, abbot of Saint James, Adelhun, abbot of Saint Disibod, and very many other prelates, counts, and nobles, monks of the order of Saint Benedict were enthroned there, twelve in number, taken from the monastery of Saint James at Mainz and Saint Alban. The first abbot, named Bernhelm, came from the aforesaid monastery of Saint Alban at Mainz and presided over the monastery for twenty-seven years, a man distinguished for learning in letters and for the merit of his life. These things were done in the year written above, under Henry, king, but the fourth emperor, while Pope Calixtus II presided, on the seventh ides of June. On the same day Abbot Bernhelm was appointed to this abbacy of mine at Spanheim, etc. Thereafter, on the calends of July, which was the Nativity of Blessed John the Baptist, he received the office of consecration from the same archbishop at Mainz in the monastery of Saint Alban, in the presence of four abbots, namely of Saint Alban, Saint James, Saint Disibod, and Blidenstadt, and of many prelates and nobles.

In the same year Bruno, archbishop of Trier, founder of the monastery of Odenheim, died and was buried in the greater church of Trier. Gotfrid, dean of the same church, succeeded him. Hail of great mass fell in this same year on the [unclear] calends of August. An eclipse of the sun occurred on the third ides of August. There was a great famine and a very harsh winter. In these times also a monastery of our order in Saxony, in the diocese of Halberstadt, named Ballenstetten, was founded, namely after the death of Count Otto of that place; and monks with an abbot were enthroned there, provided with sufficient endowment.

Around these times Rupert of the monastery of Deutz of our order flourished, opposite [unclear]. Bruno, archbishop of Trier: death. Foundation of the monastery of Ballenstadt. Miracle. He wrote many volumes. A useful hand flourished. Rupert, abbot of Limburg. The manner of observance of individuals at Limburg. Inscriptions of the writer. They abstained from meats, fish, eggs, dairy foods, and wine. Abbot Rupert is summoned by the bishop. Accusation of the bishop against the abbot.

The names and titles of those matters which have come to our knowledge we long ago set down in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers. In life, moreover, he was renowned for many miracles, concerning which we have written elsewhere. Rupert also, abbot of a monastery of our order in the diocese of Speyer, of whom we spoke above, a man devoted both to divine scriptures and to secular letters, became sufficiently learned. At length returning to his own homeland, that is, the city of Worms, he exchanged secular philosophy for divine; and, becoming a monk in the aforesaid monastery of Limburg and then abbot, in these times he imposed upon himself and his monks, contrary to the custom hitherto usually observed in that monastery, such distinction, fasting, and abstinence of conversion that some of the monks, though fewer in number, fled from the monastery and, going to Arnold, bishop of Speyer, who had succeeded Bruno, stirred up a grave persecution against him. For as abbot he introduced such a manner of living that they not only abstained altogether from meats, according to the Rule of our most holy father Benedict, but also from fish, eggs, and dairy foods, and generally from all things which had ever lived or could have lived, content with vegetables alone, peas and beans, after the example of the ancient holy fathers, both in the desert and in monasteries, [unclear]. Outside illness they did not drink wine, as we read of Saint Martin and his monks.

Arnold, bishop of Speyer, having assembled [unclear] of secular men, summoned this Abbot Rupert into his presence. When he appeared in the city of Speyer, together with the more important monks from the convent, before Bishop Arnold and many other prelates and clerics, men of different orders, the bishop, with all listening, said to the abbot: “By whose authority, or fortified by whose permission, are you abbot, that without our consent in our parish, over which, by God as author, we preside, [you avoid?] the cenobitic life instituted by the holy fathers with discreet moderation, and now from the very [unclear] of bodies

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

115

their neighbors, gave gifts, presents, and estates in various places to this monastery, both under Abbot Wolmar and under various others, inflamed with wonderful devotion. For a certain woman in the city of Cologne, moved by the reputation for holiness of the monks of Hirsau, named Liberadis, gave to the men of Hirsau, before the citizens and the council, the house she owned in Cologne, of great price and value, to be possessed forever for the remedy of her soul. Volmar himself also, the abbot, since he was a prudent man, most experienced both in secular affairs and in spiritual actions, by acquiring many estates, goods, revenues, and rents through his own industry, won them for the use of the brethren. Hence the resources of the monastery under his rule, by the Lord's bounty, were sufficiently enlarged, and the brethren serving Christ deservedly increased in number.

For he used great industry, and looked after everything so diligently that, if you had seen his zeal for spiritual exercises, you would have believed that he had had no care at all for temporal affairs. Again, if you had considered the labor and care that he expended in procuring and arranging temporal matters for the peace of the brethren, you would altogether have thought it impossible that he could have had any solicitude for spiritual exercises. For thus, as the proverb says of Aod, he was ambidextrous, so that he could reasonably attend to one without detriment to the other.

1122.

When his first year was completed, which was the one thousand one hundred twenty-second year of the Lord's Nativity, Pope Calixtus II sent Lambert, bishop of Ostia, as legate into Germany. He absolved all from the general excommunication.

Cuno, bishop of Strasbourg, was deposed in the same year; another, by the name of Bruno, succeeded him. Gebhard was appointed bishop of Wurzburg.

In the same year Frederick, archbishop of Cologne, with the people of Cologne bringing aid, besieged, captured, and destroyed the emperor's castle, named Carpena.

In these times flourished Hugh, formerly abbot of Saint Germanus of our order, bishop of Auxerre, nephew of Saint Hugh, abbot of Cluny, a man distinguished in learning and character and to be celebrated among posterity in eternal memory. He greatly loved the Cistercian order, then very new, did many good things for it according to his ability in his diocese, and supplied its necessities.

1123.

In the second year of Abbot Volmar, which was the 1123rd year of the Lord's Nativity, the foundation of the monastery of our order at Odenheim in the diocese of Speyer, by Bruno, archbishop of Trier, and his brother Poppo, count of Bretheim, as we said above, was completed. There, after a solemn endowment and confirmation had been made by Emperor Henry V, monks were introduced, twelve in number, sent from this monastery of Hirsau at the request of the aforesaid archbishop and count. Eberhard, a monk of this Hirsau community, a man renowned in life and conduct, who was sufficiently experienced and useful both in spiritual and in temporal matters, was placed over them as first abbot. Almost three years ago this monastery, after the monks with their abbot apostatized from the order, was deformed into a secular church; how this happened we shall tell in its own time.

In this same year Bruno, bishop of Speyer, died and was buried in the monastery of Limburg before the steps of the presbytery. Concerning him Rupert, abbot of Limburg, relates wonderful visions, saying that he [unclear] incurred a grave sentence before the inner judge because he permitted him to be buried in the church, and that he scarcely escaped the danger of death through the intercessions of the saints.

In the same year, when the servant of God Norbert came to Cologne to seek relics of the saints, after he had proclaimed a fast to his followers and they were devoting themselves to prayer, one of the number of the eleven thousand virgins appeared and disclosed her name and the place where she lay. On the next day she was solemnly raised and, together with other relics of saints, was transferred by him to the monastery of Premontre. On the following day, spending the night at Saint Gereon's in Cologne, when morning came, in the middle of the church, where no sign of burial appeared, he ordered digging to be done. He found the body of that same Saint Gereon whole except for part of the head; it was raised from the earth with great joy of the people, and a part of it was given to the man of God.

1124.

In the [third?] year of Abbot Volmar, which was the 1124th year of the Lord's Nativity, in the second indiction, Meginhard with his wife Mechtilde, and Rudolph with his wife Richarde, counts of Spanheim, consecrated their church as a monastery in honor of Saint Mar-

At Cologne a house is given to Hirsau.

Abbot Volmar purchased many things.

He was industrious in both states.

An apostolic legate is sent into Germany.

Hugh, from abbot, bishop of Auxerre.

Completion of the monastery of Odenheim.

An abbot with brethren is sent from Hirsau.

Bruno dies and is buried at Limburg.

Norbert finds many relics at Cologne.

The body of Saint Gereon is discovered.

Foundation of the monastery at Spanheim.

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius.

...observed laudably down to us by their successors without any legitimate reproach from anyone, you dare, by a certain new superstition, to change it, forbidding men the use of those things which none of the saints is ever read to have forbidden. For you ought not to think yourself greater than your holy lawgiver Benedict, who in the Rule which you too have professed, though he forbade monks the eating of meat, did not forbid fish, eggs, dairy foods, or wine. By what rashness, then, do you presume to forbid monks those things which the holy man lawfully permitted?

To this the man of God Rupert replied humbly and fearlessly: "By the authority and leave of almighty God and of the whole heavenly court, I have forbidden gluttony and delicacies, as seemed right to me, to my abbots, who of their own accord follow my purpose for the love of God, knowing that abstinence is pleasing to God and especially adorns the monastic institute. And you, lord bishop, who think that I have presumed this by some new superstition, what great injury you do to me and to our holy fathers of God, who once in the desert and likewise in monasteries, for love of the heavenly kingdom, mortified themselves with greater abstinence than we do, abstaining even from the vegetables which we permit, content with bread and water and a little salt, all who are even moderately wise now understand. If you are a bishop, if a good shepherd of souls, if a lover of God, you ought by all means not to forbid the voluntary frugality of your subjects, undertaken for the love of God, but rather to pursue it with fitting favor, and to encourage the sheep committed to you not toward easier things but rather toward difficult ones. Why do you blame us for that in which you, as shepherd, ought at all times to have gone before us as sheep? Abstinence, voluntarily undertaken by us at divine command for our sins, you [unclear], although it appears in many places in the sacred Scriptures commended as good. But if it is bad, why then is it commended in Daniel with his companions, who, scorning the royal foods, were fed on vegetables out of love for their paternal tradition? If, I say, that manner of abstaining is bad and blameworthy, why does holy mother the Catholic Church also commend it so greatly in the holy fathers Anthony, Paul, Macarius, Arsenius, Moses, Bambo, Onuphrius, and many others? Or do you entirely reject the life of Saint Martin, bishop of Tours, and of the holy monks in the monastery with him, who in their own time observed this manner of life and abstinence, which you reproach in us sinners, much more strictly than we do, or do you wish to forbid it? For if you should persist in wholly forbidding us our way of living, [unclear] to God rather [unclear] through many [unclear] wonderful proclamations of this abstinence were held.

When the little book had been read publicly before all, the wise men who loved God found [unclear], as those who had always known Rupert to be a religious man and one who feared God.

Again the bishop said to the abbot: "We knowingly intend to ordain nothing against the divine will; but we cannot, nor ought we, quickly give credence to your unproved revelations, since Scripture says, 'He who believes quickly is light of heart.' And the holy apostle Paul says, 'Test the spirits, whether they are from God.' What sign, therefore, do you give, so that we ought to believe that these revelations of yours are not feigned, not false, but sent from God?"

When the abbot replied: "I am not a prophet, so that in your sight I might raise the dead or cause fire to come down from heaven. But in this matter I have been sent by God and his saints to announce to you [unclear] of the command of the highest majesty [unclear]. But if you do not believe, the Lord who sent me [unclear]. You have done well [unclear], and you have freed your soul. This will be a sign for you: [unclear] he will judge you; he will cut off your root from the land of the living, and you will live only a short time. Nevertheless I am prepared to undergo whatever judgment you decree, so that you may take proof of the things I have said."

Therefore, after taking counsel with the men present, the bishop imposed on the abbot, under the precept of the Lord's body and blood, a test of his revelations. And so, when the celebration of Mass had been performed by the bishop in the sight of all, the body of our Lord...

The Monastery of Hirsau 118

The oath which the abbot made.

Offering [the body?] of Christ into the abbot’s hand, before he received it, he ordered him to swear thus: “I, Rupert, by the grace of God abbot of the church of Limpurg, say, affirm, and swear before almighty God, all his saints, and you, lord bishop Arnold, upon my soul and upon this true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered and was sacrificed on the altar of the cross for us, that these revelations which I have written, in part and in whole, are not invented, not false, not phantasmal, not diabolical, not devised by man, not deceitful, nor coming by human contrivance, but revealed to me from God, true, sober, angelic, divine. So may God, and this body of our Lord Jesus Christ which I hold in my hands, help me, save me, and receive me now in the final hour of my death and on the last day of judgment. And if it shall be otherwise than I have said and sworn, may this venerable body of our Lord Jesus Christ not pass through my throat, but stick in my jaws, choke me, suffocate me, and kill me immediately in an instant. Let there be no place for me in heaven with the elect of God, but let my portion be with Dathan and Abiron in hell, with Judas the betrayer, with Herod and Pilate, who crucified the Lord, with the devil and his angels, in the center of Gehenna, immediately [unclear] my Jesus Christ.”

Attestation added by the bishop.

And the bishop added: “If those things which have been read before us have not truly been revealed to you by God, but have come either through you or through another by human means, invented, false, diabolical, deceitful, or phantasmal, may this body of our Lord Jesus Christ not come to you for salvation nor pass through your throat. But may it bring judgment upon you, at once kill you, and may you, by the authority of almighty God and ours, be handed over to Satan for the destruction of body and soul forever, as a proof of the truth, so that all may learn, warned by your destruction, not to mock or deceive the holy church of God.”

The abbot communes undaunted.

And when he had received the sacrament of the life-giving body of the Lord without difficulty, with great devotion he made clear to those standing by the trustworthiness of his revelations. Having therefore been dismissed, by the counsel of those standing by he returned with his brothers to his own place, and together with them continued the abstinence he had begun. But Bishop Arnold not only did not believe the revelations of Abbot Rupert, but also considered taking vengeance on him. Hence, after a few months had passed, he came to Limpurg with men like himself, who mocked the abbot’s words as dreams, wishing altogether to forbid any trust being placed in them. Therefore, exasperating the holy man with great arrogance, and receiving from him a repeated proof by oath, though unwillingly, he scorned belief.

Then Abbot Rupert, standing in the presence of all, said to the bishop as if with a certain authority: “Behold, God sends his commands to you; you do not believe. I underwent a dreadful proof; you despise it. And now, since we cannot by any reasoning [unclear] you to this desire, that you place faith in our words, it will be necessary that we leave you to divine judgment. And let this be a sign to you: if you, Arnold, survive this year, God has not spoken in me, but all the things I have said have been invented, and you will condemn me as a deceiver according to your will. But if God has spoken in me, you, bishop, will without doubt die this year, to receive from our Lord Jesus Christ, who sent me, the reward of your unbelief.”

When he heard these things the bishop was afraid, and perhaps would have corrected his error, had he not been deceived in his infancy [unclear] by the counsel of his men, who said: “Far be it from you, lord, that you put faith in this foolish madman and his ravings. It is not fitting that your authority be deceived by the dreams of monks, so that you come into scandal and reproach before all the people, and it be said of our lord that, infatuated by little women, at the voice of one mad torrent he was changed from his purpose.”

In the same year the bishop dies.

Strengthened, indeed deceived, by this wicked counsel of his men, the bishop returned to his own affairs and died. After his death, when Rupert steadfastly persisted in his purpose, he was again accused through envy before Arnold’s successor Sigefrid, and for nearly six years was troubled by his rivals with many injuries and persecutions.

At length, by the authority of that bishop of Speyer, he was expelled from the monastery of Limpurg and sent into Hesse, banished to Breitenau, a monastery of our order. Henry, formerly a monk of Hirsau, a learned and holy man, then presided over it as abbot after Drutwin, as we shall say, so that, corrected by his instruction, Rupert might return from his purpose to the common order and practice of living. But since he persevered in his observance, abstaining from everything by which he lived or could have lived, and Henry the abbot could not recall him to the common ways, he wrote letters to the bishop concerning each matter done with him, asking him to recall Rupert to his own monastery of Limpurg, lest he infect the brothers at Breitenau with his singularity.

At length, returning to his monastery of Limpurg, and persevering in his resolve of abstinence together with his brothers, most devout men, until death, he endured many persecutions from his rivals, and not long afterward rested in holy peace. He wrote several little works not to be despised for our reading, of which these have come to our reading:

In

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

He composed a beautiful work on the Song of Songs, divided into four little books, in which he explained all the words quite appropriately as praises of the most blessed Mother of God and Virgin Mary. On Contempt of the World, two little books. On Saint John the Baptist, one. Also one book of his various revelations, and certain homilies or sermons. The rest of what he wrote has not come to my knowledge.

In the same prescribed year of the Lord, namely 1124, Pope Calixtus II died. Lambert, bishop of Ostia, succeeded him, and, called Honorius II, presided for 5 years and 2 months.

He summoned Pontius, abbot of Cluny of our order, to Rome and ordained him cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, a man learned in every respect and no less [unclear]. The monastery of [Schonau?], at a distance from Bingen on the other side of the Rhine, was founded by a certain noble and wealthy man named Hildelin, who, when the monastery had been completed, became a monk and its first abbot. He also built the adjoining stone monastery of nuns of our order, in which thereafter a great religious community of Christ's virgins flourished.

1125.

In the fifth year of Abbot Volmar, King Henry, the fifth but the fourth emperor of that name, died at Utrecht in the week of Pentecost, and, having been brought to Speyer, was buried. He left no children. Then at Mainz, on the third day before the Kalends of September, by the election of the princes, Lothar II, duke of Saxony, was established as king, and at Aachen, on the Ides of September, was crowned, as is customary, by the hands of Frederick, archbishop of Cologne. In the same year, when King Lothar wished to introduce Otto, whom he had appointed duke, to the Bohemians, in the following winter Ulrich, who had occupied those lands, was striving to claim the duchy for himself. But while the soldiers were trying to make a way for themselves through the forest with iron, the enemies suddenly came upon them and killed Otto himself together with many other brave men. Margrave Adalbert was captured. Frederick, duke of Alsace, contriving certain new things against the king, was condemned by the judgment of the princes.

In this same year Arnold, bishop of Speyer, died according to the word of Rupert, abbot of Limburg, of whom we have spoken, namely a few months after he had threatened him with death. Siegfried, succeeding him, presided for 21 years. Hartwig, bishop of Regensburg, also died; in this very year Cuno, abbot of our order from the monastery of Siegburg in the diocese of Cologne, was substituted for him, and presided for 6 years. Henry, duke of Bavaria, also died.

In these times there was a certain heretic named Tanchelm, living in the lower regions, who also denied that the sacrament of the Lord's body and blood was of benefit for salvation to those receiving it. And going about in costly attire and gilded garments, with his hair twisted in a triple cord, he enticed his followers, who followed him armed to the number of about 3,000, by persuasive words and the provisions of banquets, and through them, by committing murders against those resisting him, he gained support. The people of Antwerp and almost all those round about believed him and revered him as a saint and as one sent by God, to such an extent that they even carried off as the greatest relics the water with which he had washed his body, and drank it.

Yet he was of such great incontinence and impurity that he corrupted daughters in the presence of their mothers and betrothed women while their husbands looked on, and asserted that this work was spiritual. At length, after he had disseminated many errors among the people and many murders had been committed against the clergy and the faithful of the Church, while he was sailing in a boat he was struck in the brain by a certain priest inflamed with zeal for the faith, and died. But not even after his death could the error which he had sown be so easily rooted out. For this reason, by the clergy of that place, a church with some revenues was given through the hand of the bishop to Norbert, founder of the Premonstratensian order, for the building of a monastery. Indeed, while he was preaching, men and women, moved to compunction, [unclear] the Lord's body which [unclear].

The Monastery of Hirsau

...which they had stored away in little chests and holes for more than ten years out of contempt and unbelief, they brought to him in repentance; they were restored to the right catholic faith.

1127.

In the sixth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1127 from the Nativity of Christ, King Lothar celebrated the Nativity of the Lord at Cologne.

In the same year King Lothar, with the duke of Bohemia, besieged Nuremberg for two months and withdrew without result. William, prince of Burgundy, was killed by his own men. Charles also, count of Flanders, a lover, cultivator, and defender of justice above all the princes of his time, while set in prayer before the altar, was killed by his own men, who hated justice.

G., archbishop, dies. When Nuremberg was besieged.

In the same year Gotfrid, archbishop of Trier, weighed down by old age, resigned the episcopate, which he had ruled for two years and ten months; surviving one year, five months, and sixteen days, he rested in the Lord. Meginher succeeded him; going to Rome, he was consecrated by Pope Honorius II and given the pallium. Returning then to Germany, by command of the pope he excommunicated Conrad, duke of Swabia, afterwards emperor, [unclear], who was then troubling Lothar's empire; this did not turn out well for him.

Conrad is excommunicated.

For when afterward he too strongly reproved the incontinence of his clerics, and on that account became hated by all wicked men, he resolved to go to Rome so that he might be helped by the pope. But at Parma, betrayed by his own clerics, he was captured by Duke Conrad, whom he had excommunicated, imprisoned, and deprived of the light of his eyes; at last, tortured by excessive misery, [unclear] in Germany. By command of the pope he excommunicated Conrad, duke of Swabia, afterwards emperor, [unclear], and Lothar, who was then troubling his empire; this did not turn out well for him.

In the same year several bishops died: Theodoric, bishop of Münster; Ulrich, bishop of Constance; Eberhard, archbishop of Strasbourg; Rutger, archbishop of Magdeburg; the bishop of Paderborn; and the bishop of Liege. Godebold, bishop of Utrecht, founder of the monastery of Saint Lawrence of our order in Oesbrog, of whom we spoke above, weighed down by old age, resigned his episcopate in this year, entered the aforesaid monastery, took up the habit of holy religion, and as a monk happily rested in the Lord on the day before the Ides of November. After his resignation Andrew succeeded in the pontificate of the church of Utrecht.

A bishop becomes a monk of our order.

Norbert, the first founder of the Premonstratensian order, a man of wondrous holiness and an outstanding preacher, was ordained bishop for the church of Magdeburg. For it happened by a remarkable chance that he was made bishop: when the aforesaid archbishop Rutger had died, and Arnold, who had invaded the episcopate, had been killed by the citizens, the clerics sent messengers to the emperor and asked that a bishop be given to them. By chance this Norbert was present, a man most renowned throughout the whole world for knowledge and holiness; with the counsel of the princes, the emperor appointed him archbishop. These things were done in the year of the Lord 1128, in the city of Speyer. Moreover, Alexander was ordained bishop for the church of Liege.

1128.

For the church of Paderborn, however, a certain man named Bernard was appointed, in the seventh year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1128 of the Lord's Nativity. Rupert, abbot of the monastery of Saint Peter in Erfurt, formerly a monk of Hirsau, died; Werner, also a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, succeeded him in the aforesaid abbacy by the unanimous election of the brothers and with the permission and blessing of Abbot Volmar, a man of much prudence and [unclear]; he introduced [unclear] into that monastery, to the wonder of all.

Werner becomes abbot in Erfurt.

In the same year, when King Lothar was celebrating Christmas at Wurzburg, he learned by flying rumor that Conrad, brother of Frederick, duke of Alsace, had usurped the royal name for himself. For this reason the bishop of Mainz, with the others present, excommunicated the same Conrad; afterward Pope Honorius confirmed that excommunication through Meginher, archbishop of Trier, as we have said. King Lothar therefore came with his princes and besieged Speyer, where Conrad himself, after expelling Bishop Sigfrid, had placed his garrison; but, after receiving hostages, he departed.

Duke Conrad usurps the royal name for himself. Speyer is besieged.

In these times, under Pope Honorius II, there came to Rome a certain priest, Arnolph, a man of great

of great devotion and an outstanding preacher. While proclaiming the word of God he rebuked the wantonness, lust, greed, and excessive pomp of the clergy, and set before all for imitation the poverty of Christ and his apostles and their most blameless life. He was indeed praised by the Roman nobility as an ancient disciple of Christ, but he was held in excessive hatred by the cardinals and clergy, by whom he was seized at night and secretly killed.

Arnulphus, preacher of truth, is killed at Rome by the clergy.

This martyrdom of his had previously been divinely revealed to him while he was still in the hermitage, when he was sent by an angel to preach at Rome. Hence he said publicly: “I know that you seek my life; I know that shortly you will kill me in secret. But why? I tell you the truth: I rebuke the pomp, pride, greed, luxury, and excessive zeal which you wretched men devote to acquiring riches; for this reason I do not please you. I call heaven and earth as witness that I have announced to you those things which the Lord commanded me; but you despise me and your creator, who redeemed you through his only-begotten Son. Nor is it any wonder if I, a sinful man announcing the truth to you, am delivered to death by you, since even if Saint Peter were to rise again today and rebuke your vices, which have been multiplied beyond measure, you would by no means spare him.”

How freely he rebukes the vices of the clergy. Nor would they spare Saint Peter.

When he had cried out with this loud voice, he added: “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for the truth; but to you I proclaim in the word of the Lord that almighty God will not spare your impurities. For you, full of every filthiness, go before the people entrusted to you down to hell. God is the avenger.” And when the hatred of the clergy began to rage against him because of the truth, he was seized by their treacheries and drowned.

1129. In the eighth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1129 of the Lord’s nativity, in the western regions, by a miracle against men wearing long hair by evil custom, the hair around the heads of twenty men suddenly began to burn, having been miraculously set on fire in many cases.

Speyer is captured.

“I undergo death; for the truth I do not fear. But to you I proclaim in the word of the Lord, who [unclear] almighty God [unclear] not [unclear] your impurities. For you [unclear].” “They have all been multiplied, he would rebuke them; you would by no means spare him.” When he had cried out with this loud voice, he added: “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for the truth. But to you I proclaim in the word of the Lord that almighty God will not [unclear] your impurities. For you [unclear].” “They have all been multiplied, he would rebuke them; you would by no means spare him.” When he had cried out with this loud voice, he added: “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for the truth. But to you I proclaim in the word of the Lord [unclear].” “They have been multiplied, he would rebuke them; you would by no means spare him.” When he had cried out with this loud voice, he added: “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for the truth. But to you I proclaim in the word of the Lord [unclear].” “They have been multiplied; he would rebuke them, and you would by no means spare him.” When he had cried out with this loud voice, he added: “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for the truth. But to you I proclaim in the word of the Lord [unclear].” “They have been multiplied; he would rebuke them, and you would by no means spare him. They would be rebuked; you would by no means spare him. They would be rebuked; you would by no means spare [unclear].”

The boy king [unclear]. [unclear] perished through the gate/harbor [unclear].

[Henry?], bishop of Verdun, was also deposed by Matthew, bishop of Albano, legate of the Apostolic See. But Bruno, bishop of Strasbourg, after being expelled for four years, [unclear].

The abbey of St. John in Rheingau will be erected.

In this year the boy Philip, son of Louis, king of the Franks, was anointed king at Reims. [unclear] he obtains the favor of the queen and of the bishops of the king. Frederick also, archbishop [unclear], having been convicted, confessed that he had received thirty solidi for the consecration of a certain church. Perhaps meeting him, he threw him headlong from his horse; [unclear] following, in this year he was reconciled. The bishop of Cologne, who for three years had carried on enmities against the king, was reconciled.

[Henry?], bishop of Verdun, was also [unclear] by Matthew, bishop of Albano, of the Apostolic See [unclear], to be anointed king. [Henry?] also, bishop of Verdun, by Matthew of Albano, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of certain churches [unclear] to reconcile. “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for the truth [unclear] by night [unclear] the king to be anointed, expelled from the kingdom; he was expelled.” [Henry?] also, [unclear] of Verdun, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of a certain church [unclear] to reconcile. “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for truth [unclear] by night [unclear] the king to be anointed, expelled from the kingdom; he was expelled.”

The boy king [unclear]. [unclear] perished through the gate/harbor [unclear].

[Henry?] also, bishop of Verdun, by Matthew, bishop of Albano, [legate] of the Apostolic See [unclear].

[Henry?] also, bishop of Verdun, by Matthew of Albano, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of a certain church [unclear] to reconcile. [Henry?] also, [unclear] of Verdun, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of the same church [unclear] to reconcile. “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for truth [unclear] by night [unclear] the king to be anointed, expelled from the kingdom; he was expelled.” [Henry?] also, [unclear] of Verdun, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of a certain church [unclear] to reconcile. “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for truth [unclear] by night [unclear] expelled from the kingdom; he was expelled.” [Henry?] also, [unclear] of Verdun, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of a certain church [unclear].

The boy king [unclear]. [unclear] perished through the gate/harbor. The king [unclear] perished through the gate/harbor.

[Henry?] also, [unclear] of Verdun, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of a certain church [unclear] they came. [Henry?] also, [unclear] of Verdun, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of the same church [unclear] they came. “For my part, I do not fear to undergo death for truth [unclear] by night [unclear] the king to be anointed, expelled from the kingdom; he was expelled.” [Henry?] also, [unclear] of Verdun, priest, son of King Louis of the Franks, because for the consecration of a certain church [unclear].

122

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

was celebrated under King Lothar; Matthew of Albano, legate of the Apostolic See, presided over it. Many bishops were present there: St Otto, bishop of Bamberg; Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz; Buggo of Worms; Sigfrid of Speyer; Embricho of Würzburg; the bishops of Augsburg, Eichstätt, Hildesheim, and many others. To this council also Wolmar, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, summoned by the archbishop of Mainz, came together with many other abbots.

In the same year died Frederick, archbishop of Cologne, founder of the monastery of nuns of our order on the island of Roland, a man magnificent in every respect; by his generosity and authority that most reverend abbot of Deutz, the great Rupert, composed almost innumerable works. He died in his castle, which he himself had newly built on the highest summit of a mountain, and for that reason called Wolenberg, and was buried in the monastery of Siegburg of our order, in the chapter-place. In the archbishopric he was succeeded by Bruno, dean of St Gereon, provost, son of Count Adolf of Althene, ordained by the judgment of Emperor Lothar, the princes, and three cardinals or legates of the Apostolic See then present at Cologne, against the will of many.

1131.

In the same year also, the tenth of Abbot Wolmar, namely the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1131, King Lothar set an expedition in motion against the Danes and Slavs, and subdued them. Eckebert, bishop of Münster, formerly dean of the greater church of Cologne, died at Cologne at the time when the aforesaid election of Archbishop Bruno was being held, and, carried back to his own see, was buried. Werner succeeded him.

About these times, a little before these years, namely in the year of the Lord 1100 or thereabouts, that noble abbey of our order, Reichenbach in Bavaria, was founded by the count of Vohburg, who enriched it with many estates, revenues, and ornaments, and raised it up splendidly.

In the year of the Lord 1106 also, a certain rich and powerful count of Montbéliard began to found an abbey of our order in honor of St Walpurga the virgin, situated in the diocese of Strasbourg, not far from Haguenau; he endowed it with many goods for the support of the monks serving God.

The same count of Montbéliard also, in the same wood near the village called Bibelis, at a cannon-shot from the aforesaid monastery of St Walpurga, founded another monastery of nuns of our order. In it he appointed as first abbess his daughter, named Gunthera, a holy virgin. Renowned for miracles, she was at last buried in the middle of its dark church. In these times also Count Otto of Scheyern in Bavaria, of the stock of Emperor Charles the Great, from whom all the dukes of Bavaria who now exist have descended, converted his castle Scheyern, almost collapsed from excessive age, into a monastery and abbey of our order in honor of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin. Cooperating in this were Count Conrad, Count Otto of [Tochauie?], the other Otto, count palatine in Wittelsbach, and Count Otto, with seven other counts, all of whom bore the names and arms of the aforesaid castle of Scheyern, although at that time [unclear] lived there.

All these, with Agnes, wife of the aforesaid count, with the greatest devotion offered forever to the Blessed Virgin every right which they had in that castle, building a distinguished monastery in which they appointed burial for themselves and their posterity. But there was one among them, Count Arnold of Scheyern, [unclear] to offer to the Lord God; and when he perceived that one man could hinder many, he threw his glove into the air and before everyone offered his share to the devil, saying: “You lords of the devil, take my share among yourselves!” And immediately invisible demons visibly carried off the glove, which never afterwards appeared anywhere.

1132.

In the twelfth year also of Abbot Wolmar, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1132, died the venerable [Drutwin?] of Hirsau, of whom we made mention above under lord Abbot Bruno, in the year of the Lord 1119. He presided for thirteen years, a man magnificent in every respect. In the governance of the abbacy of the aforesaid monastery of Breitenau, Henry succeeded this Drutwin: a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, in all his time most learned in divine Scriptures, who wrote many and varied works, both in verse and in prose.

Of these, when we once stayed for two days in the aforesaid monastery of Breitenau, we received

Many bishops were present: Saint Otto, bishop of Bamberg; Adelbert, archbishop of Mainz; Buggo of Worms; Sifridius of Speyer; Embricho of Wurzburg; the bishops of Augsburg, Eichstatt, and Hildesheim; and many others. To this council also Wolmarinus, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, was summoned by the archbishop of Mainz,

In the same year died Frederick, archbishop of Cologne, founder of the monastery of nuns of our order on Rolandswerth, a man magnificent in all things; through his munificence and authority that most reverend abbot of Deutz, the great Rupert, composed almost countless works. He died in his own castle, which he himself had newly built on the highest summit of a mountain, and therefore called Wolenberg. He was buried in the monastery of Siegburg of our order, in the chapter-place. In the archbishopric Bruno succeeded him, dean of Saint Gereon, provost, son of Count Adolf of Althene, ordained by the judgment of Emperor Lothar, of the princes, and of three cardinals, or legates of the Apostolic See, then present at Cologne, against the will of many.

The king is admonished concerning the Slavs.

Bruno succeeded in the bishopric.

Hirsaugiensis [unclear], many being present: Saint Otto, bishop of Bamberg; the bishops of Augsburg and Eichstatt; Sistridius of Speyer; Embricho of Wurzburg

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

[unclear] the following: a dialogue in the persons of the rich feaster and of poor Lazarus resting in Abraham’s bosom. On contempt of the world, which begins thus: “A man, lover of an unstable kingdom.” Likewise a little book of several prayers vowed to God, which likewise begins thus: “O wretched one, my soul.” Likewise a little book on the conflict of the virtues and vices, which begins: “With various vices [unclear] to learn of the virtues [unclear].” Likewise a little book on the twelve abuses, beginning thus: “It is agreed that the abuses of the world are said to be twice six.” Likewise a little work on the fall of the first man and on weariness of the present exile, which begins thus: “The serpent [unclear] Adam to sin.” Likewise a little work on the City whose name is “The Lord is there,” which begins thus: “Since [unclear] I should like to write the gift.” Likewise a little book on the habit of a virgin and on blessedness, beginning thus: “A virgin exceedingly dear,” etc. Likewise a little book on the resurrection of the saints, which begins thus: “Christ, the salvation [of] all things.” Likewise a little work on thinking upon mortality, which begins thus: “Why does the human race.” Likewise a little book on our Lord Jesus Christ, beginning thus: “I, poorer than all, [unclear] the city.” Likewise a little work on the mystical body of Christ, which begins thus: “A true son of the Church, who has received the catholic [faith].” Likewise a little book on the Catholic faith, which begins thus: “A son of the Church [unclear],” which he entitled “Little Flowers,” beginning thus: “In my manner, in the field of Scripture.” Likewise a work of many hymns in various kinds of verse, which begins thus: “Praise of wheat from the dead grain.” Likewise a volume of letters to various persons, which begins thus: “To the venerable bishop of Chartres,” that is, “on passibility.” He also wrote various sermons and diverse little works, whose order and titles I have not retained in mind. He was indeed a learned man and very studious, and no less by sanctity and the merit of his life than by erudition in the Scriptures was of most celebrated fame and reputation throughout all Germany; in life and after death he shone with many signs and miracles.

His deeds are found described quite clearly. Abbot Henry [unclear] shone with miracles. Rupert, abbot of Limburg. To this Henry, as to a holy, learned, and proven man, Rupert, abbot of Limburg, of whom we have spoken above, was banished to Breitenau by order of the bishop of Speyer, on account of his abstinence of unwonted novelty, so that, brought back by him to the common mode of living, he might depart from his singularity. Concerning him the same Saint Henry the abbot makes mention more fully in a certain letter to the bishop of the church of Speyer. Finally, because of the fame of his most excellent sanctity, many men noble, powerful, and honored in the world, for the love of God, became monks in Breitenau under Saint Abbot Henry. Among these the foremost was Adelbert, count of Schoenberg, who, having despised the things and pomps of the world, although he was powerful and very rich, became a poor monk for Christ; and he lived with such purity that, not without miracles, he showed to all the monks in that place the traces of great sanctity. In this same year of Abbot Volmar II, a very violent force of winds overthrew countless buildings.

In the same year Saint Hugh, bishop of Grenoble, the first founder of the Carthusian order, a man singular among the bishops of his time in life and conduct, died. Hugh, bishop of Grenoble, dies. [unclear] the provost succeeded him, who raised from the earth with great honor the body of Saint Gotthard the bishop, which had lain buried for almost a hundred years. Berthold also, bishop of Hildesheim, died, and Bernard of the same church [unclear] of Cologne, of our order, of whom they spoke above, succeeded him. The spirit Hudelin, appearing in Saxony, performed many miracles.

In these times a certain malicious spirit, in the diocese of Hildesheim, appeared visibly for a long time to many people in rustic garb, his head covered with a cap; whence the country people commonly called him “the capped one,” that is, “ein Hedeckm” in the Saxon tongue. This spirit Hukin did many marvelous things and took pleasure in being with human beings, speaking, asking, and answering everyone familiarly, appearing sometimes visibly, sometimes invisibly. He harmed no one unless he had first been harmed, but mindful of injuries or mockeries, he hindered in turn those who inflicted insult upon him.

The county is occupied by him. When Burcard, count of Luca, had been killed by Count Hermann of Winsenburg, and the county of Winsenberg itself seemed exposed to plunder, the spirit [unclear] came to Bernard, bishop of Hildesheim, sleeping in his bed, and woke him, saying: “Arise, O bald man; summon the army, because the county of Winsburg, empty and desolate on account of the homicide, will easily submit to his command.” Rising, he summoned his soldiers, invaded the county, and obtained it; with the emperor’s consent he joined it forever to the church of Hildesheim. The bishop [unclear] on the walls.

The same spirit also, without being asked, often used to warn the same bishop of many dangers. Appearing rather frequently in the court of the same prelate, he was generally accustomed to serve the cooks quite diligently, and often to mingle conversations with them in the kitchen.

[Blank page in the source scan.]

124. Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Injuries, etc.

Hence, when by now through habit he had become familiar and was feared by no one, a certain little boy serving in the kitchen began to despise him, mock him, and assail him with insults, and as often as he could he poured the filth of the kitchen upon him. When he had often asked the master of the kitchen to restrain the boy from his insults, and had at last threatened that he would [avenge?] the insults, he was laughed at by him, who said: “You are a spirit, and do you fear a boy?” To him the demon replied: “Because you scorn to correct your boy at my request, in a few days I shall show you how much I fear him.”

Having said this, the spirit departed in anger. Not long afterward, when one day after vespers the boy, alone in the kitchen, was sleeping from weariness, the spirit came, suffocated him, cut him into pieces, put him in a pot, and began to cook him at the fire. When the master of the kitchen perceived this, he began to curse the spirit. The latter, provoked, on the next day, when a roast had been set on spits at the fire for the bishop and the courtiers, pressed [unclear] and sprinkled it over with horrible toads, with the blood of the same and venom. And again, having been assailed with insults, he hurled him from on high by an illusory bridge into a pit; and, while keeping watch most diligently above the walls of the city’s castle, he compelled all the guards to keep watch.

A certain man, about to set out on a long journey, since he had an unchaste wife, said to the spirit Hutgin, as if in jest: “Good companion, I entrust my wife to you until I return; see that you guard her.” And when, in the man’s absence, the woman would set out her portion with adulterers and would try many lovers in succession, this spirit always placed himself invisibly in the midst, and, throwing the men from the bed to the ground, permitted none to come even to touching the woman herself, to say nothing of unlawful intercourse. Thus the woman, almost every single night and almost at every hour through the whole time, brought in ever new lovers; yet as soon as each tried to touch her, the spirit threw him far off onto the ground. At last, when the husband was returning and was still far from home, the spirit entrusted with the charge met him gladly, saying: “Your arrival is very welcome to me, for by it I am freed from the very restless labor which you imposed on me.” To whom the husband said: “Who, then, are you?” “I am,” he said, “Hudgin, to whom, when you were lately going away, you entrusted her to be protected; behold, I have guarded her for you, though with the greatest and continual labor, safe from adultery. But I beg you not to wish henceforth to hand her over to me to guard. For I would rather guard the pigs of all Saxony than your one wife herself; by so many tricks she tried to get around me, by so many ways and so many methods to misuse her own body.”

This spirit also performed innumerable other miracles, both serious and ridiculous, all of which cannot easily be written down; nor, if they were written, [unclear]. They say that by means of a ring made from laurel leaves, with certain other things added, he made [unclear] very learned for some time. At last, eliminated by the aforesaid bishop Bernard through ecclesiastical censures, he was compelled to withdraw from the province.

1133.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1133 of the Lord’s Nativity, King Lothar set out for Rome with a very great army of princes, bishops, abbots, nobles, and knights, to restore Innocent to the apostolic see. Passing therefore through Italy, he took very many fortifications that resisted him; and at last, on the second day before the Kalends of May, he entered Rome with the highest favor. Since Anacletus, who was Peter Leonis, was now dead, he restored Innocent to the apostolic see. By him Lothar himself was consecrated emperor on the third day before the Nones of June, at the Lateran in the church of Saint John; after some wars and victories he returned to Germany, bringing with him as captive a certain prince of Italy.

In the same year, on the fourth day before the Nones of August, on the twenty-seventh day of the moon, at the sixth hour of the day, an eclipse of the sun occurred, to such an extent that stars appeared in the sky. Great irregularity of the air and an inundation of rains followed through the whole harvest-time. The cousin also of Emperor Lothar, having crossed [the river?] with Goitido his brother, Hermann of Cuch was killed.

1133.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Volmar, Emperor Lothar celebrated the Nativity of the Lord at Cologne. There a rash tumult of the townsmen arose before him, and, before it had yet been quieted, he departed thence. But he celebrated Easter at Halberstadt with a great attendance of princes. There Magnus, king of the Danes, placed himself in the power of the emperor, gave hostages, and swore an oath that he and his successors would not obtain the kingdom except by permission of the emperor and of his successors. After this, allowed to return in peace to Dacia, on the day of holy Pentecost he was killed by his rivals, together with five bishops, sixty priests, and his father Nicholas. Meanwhile Emperor Lothar, celebrating the feast of Pentecost at Merseburg, performed with great solemnity and pomp the wedding of his daughter Gertrude, giving her as wife to Henry, duke of Bavaria, surnamed the Proud, a very strong and daring man. He added to him also the duchy of Saxony, from whom all the dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg who exist today have descended by succession, as in the histo-

126 Monastery of Hirsau

In these times also the convent of nuns of our order at Lobenfeld, in the same diocese of Worms, in the district called Kreichau, about two miles from Heidelberg, was founded through the work and at the expense of the aforesaid bishop Buggo, and was sufficiently endowed for the support of the virgins of Christ. Around these times too the count of Leiningen, named [Emicho?], founded a monastery of brethren, canons under the rule of Saint Augustine, in the thickets, commonly called Heyna or Hegina, in honor of Saint Peter, prince of the apostles, and enriched it with many goods and revenues. Its church the often-mentioned bishop Buggo, in whose diocese the monastery was built, consecrated in the year of the Lord 1122, and appointed Hartung as first provost; he first instituted there the life of regular canons.

In the fifteenth year of his rule, Abbot Volmar, provoked by the insolence of certain secular ministeriales of his, went to the emperor Lothar while he was celebrating the Nativity of the Lord at Speyer, and called upon him as helper and defender of his monastery of Hirsau and of the brethren and the dependents of the same. He at once ordered the disturbers of holy religion to be brought before him; such great fear seized them that, while Volmar lived, no one presumed to trouble the men of Hirsau.

1136.

In this same year, which was the 1136th from the Lord’s Nativity, on the second day before the Kalends of January, there died, of holy memory, Jutta, a most devout virgin of Christ, sister of Count Meginhard of Spanheim, founder of St. Disibod, who, enclosed with certain other noble holy virgins, led an eremitic life. She was enclosed in the year of the Lord 1112, in the fifth indiction; three others were with her, namely the holy virgin Hildegard, who later, as we shall say, founded a monastery of nuns on Mount Rupert, in that place where the Nahe flows into the Rhine very near the city of Bingen; Jutta, the daughter of her brother; and another virgin of the same name. The number of virgins under her instruction increased. As long as she lived, St. Hildegard did not withdraw from her side. This holy woman, among other miracles of her holiness, changed water into wine and crossed the waters of the river Glan with dry feet.

She was buried in the aforesaid monastery of St. Disibod, which at that time was of our order, in which she herself, holy woman, had taken the habit of conversion. Her life, conduct, deeds, and miracles are found written down.

In the same year, on the fifth day before the Kalends of November, there was a very great wind, which overturned many towers and buildings. The sea also, having gone beyond its bounds, suddenly and unexpectedly submerged a great part of Flanders together with its inhabitants.

In the same year, around the feast of the Assumption of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, the emperor Lothar launched an expedition into Italy against Roger, prince of Apulia, at the urging of Pope Innocent II.

1137.

In the sixteenth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the 1137th from the Lord’s Nativity, the emperor celebrated the Nativity of the Lord and Easter in Italy, but Pentecost at Bari with a general assembly of the Italian princes. There Bruno II, archbishop of Cologne, died and was honorably buried in the church of Saint Nicholas. Hugo, dean of St. Peter’s at Cologne, succeeded him by [unclear] command of the emperor, and Pope Innocent ordained him there; yet in the same year he died in exile in Italy, before the city had learned of his ordination. Roger, prince of Apulia, on account of whose insolence the emperor, invited by the pope, had entered Italy, had placed [unclear], who by land and sea were oppressing the region with unheard-of calamities. In similar fashion he had acted through almost all Italy. After celebrating Pentecost, the emperor surrounded the castle of Bari with his army; taking it at last with great labor, he burned it and leveled it to the ground. The robbers seized around the burned tower were all hanged, more than five hundred in number.

Roger, prince of Apulia, enemy of the Roman Church.

Robbers are hanged.

The church of Mainz is burned.

Adalbert died.

Speyer is burned.

At that time Mainz was burned, together with the principal church.

In the same year Adalbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz, died on the ninth day before the Kalends of June. In the following year Adalbert the younger succeeded him, as we shall say. The greater church of Speyer also, with no small part of the city, and the town of Goslar, were consumed by fire on the same day on which Mainz was burned.

Meanwhile

The Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...as we have shown in the history of the dukes of Bavaria. This duke of Bavaria and Saxony begot, by the aforesaid wife, the daughter of Emperor Lothar II, Henry surnamed the Lion, duke of Brunswick and Saxony, a warlike and remarkable man, about whom the ancients sang marvelous things in German songs, and whom princes have been accustomed to depict in their halls down to the present day.

The story of his pilgrimage tells how, namely, sewn into a horse-hide and carried away from a ship by a griffin, he escaped the peril of the sea; how he fought with griffins, killed a dragon, crossed the sea with a lion, and at last, when his wife Matilda, daughter of the king of England, was preparing to take another husband, he was suddenly brought back unharmed by a demon, together with the lion, the companion of his journey and [unclear] danger, from very remote places to his castle. There are many similar things, which one should believe were written more from the invention of poets, under a certain mystical meaning, than that they actually happened. For the ancient Germans, after the custom of the Greeks, with whom it is known they had much intercourse, were accustomed to cast the brave deeds of heroes into songs fit for teaching, and, by concealing the deeds of mortals under the symbols of figures and riddles, to compare them with the immortals.

1134.

In the same year also, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1134, Saint Norbert, archbishop of Magdeburg, first founder of the Premonstratensian order, an outstanding propagator of holy religion, died on the eighth day before the Ides, and passed to the Lord in the eighth year of his episcopate. Conrad, son of a certain count, succeeded him.

In the same year Emperor Lothar besieged Speyer and, when it had at last been worn down by long famine, took it; and he received Conrad, duke of Swabia, rival of the kingdom and empire, into surrender and favor.

1135.

In the fourteenth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1135, the emperor celebrated the Nativity of the Lord at Aachen. In this same year the body of Saint Matthias the Apostle was found at Trier, in the monastery of Saint Eucharius of our order; from him the name of the monastery was thereafter changed, and it is called Saint Matthias down to the present day. Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, and Frederick, duke of Alsace, who were not well disposed toward the emperor, were judged worthy to be reconciled through the intervention of the princes.

At the feast of Pentecost, by order of the emperor, a great assembly of princes was held in the city of Magdeburg, at which the king of Denmark and many other princes were personally present; all of them swore a very firm peace for ten years, and the rest of the multitude was compelled to do the same.

In the same year Emperor Lothar expelled the nuns from the monastery of Lutera in the diocese of Halberstadt, and, after restoring the place for the better, introduced monks of our order from the monastery of Bergen near Magdeburg, appointing as their first abbot Everhard, a venerable monk of the aforesaid monastery. Moreover, the church itself [unclear] in honor of the holy apostles [unclear] was called by the common people. But after it had been changed and newly restored by King Lothar, it was called royal Lutera, that is, Königslutter, down to the present day.

In these times also, namely in the year of the Lord 1135, Buggo of the church of Worms established the monastery of Frankenthal. In it he placed a multitude of virgins serving Christ in chastity, after providing the necessary things. But after almost three hundred and twenty-six years, the most reverend bishop founded the monastery of Frankenthal, not far from Worms, in the time of Reinhard, bishop of Worms, when, with his consent, the regular brothers from Windesheim in the lower parts had undertaken to reform that monastery of Frankenthal, and they extinguished the abbatial title with which it had previously always been distinguished; and he placed in the monasteries canons living in common under the rule of Saint Augustine, for whom the church abundantly provided the necessities of the body.

He also established a monastery of nuns of the same religion next to the aforesaid [unclear] monastery, [unclear] the aforesaid seminary, after the nuns had been expelled, he joined it to the monastery of the brothers. [He established] the monastery of Frankenthal. In it he placed a multitude of virgins serving Christ in chastity, after providing the necessary things. But after almost three hundred and twenty-six years, the most reverend bishop founded the monastery of Frankenthal, not far from Worms, in the time of Reinhard, bishop of Worms, when, with his consent, the regular brothers from Windesheim in the lower parts had undertaken to reform that monastery of Frankenthal; and they extinguished the abbatial title with which it had previously always been distinguished; and he placed in the monasteries canons living in common under the rule of Saint Augustine, for whom the church abundantly provided the necessities of the body.

He also established a monastery of nuns of the same religion next to the aforesaid [unclear] monastery, [unclear] the aforesaid seminary, after the nuns had been expelled, he joined it to the monastery of the brothers. [He established] the monastery of Frankenthal. In it he placed a multitude of virgins serving Christ in chastity, after providing the necessary things. But after almost three hundred and twenty-six years, the most reverend bishop founded the monastery of Frankenthal, not far from Worms, in the time of Reinhard, bishop of Worms, when, with his consent, the regular brothers from Windesheim in the lower parts had undertaken to reform that monastery of Frankenthal; and they extinguished the abbatial title with which it had previously always been distinguished; and he placed in the monasteries canons living in common under the rule of Saint Augustine, for whom the church abundantly provided the necessities of the body.

He also established a monastery of nuns of the same religion next to the aforesaid [unclear] monastery, [unclear] the aforesaid seminaries, after the nuns had been expelled, he joined it to the monastery of the brothers. [He established] the monastery of Frankenthal. In it he placed a multitude of virgins serving Christ in chastity, after providing the necessary things. But after almost three hundred and twenty-six years, the most reverend...

CHRONICLE OF JOHANNES TRITHEMIUS. 127. [The OCR of this page is badly interleaved (two columns merged), with phrases repeated; the recoverable narrative follows.]

Meanwhile, matters in Italy having been prosperously accomplished, the emperor Lothair, when he had now begun to return home, on the very journey, situated not far from Nuremberg, in a certain castle of Welf, duke of Bavaria, by age as much as by infirmity, closed his last day, the 2nd [day before] the Nones of December—an outstanding man, and worthily to be called father of [his] country; whose body, brought back into Saxony, was honorably laid to rest in his monastery of Königslutter, which he had built, as we said.

In the same year died the bishop of Auxerre, [risen] from [being] abbot of the monastery of St Germain of our order, a man of great sanctity and religion. When he labored with [his] last sickness, and felt the final day to be at hand, around the ninth hour of the day he admonished the brothers standing around with these words: "Dearest brothers, let us pay to the Lord the hours of the day which remain, which we owe; for, the hours finished, I shall sleep and rest in the Lord." They therefore sang praises to the Lord, and, compline said, as he had foretold, the holy man rested in peace, and is buried in the church of St Germain, where he had earlier been abbot.

After Hugh, archbishop of Cologne, whom we said died in Italy, Arnold, provost of St Andrew in Cologne, son of the count of Wied, is raised to the archbishopric—who at length, by Pope Eugenius III in the council of Rheims, was suspended from the pontifical office, as we shall say in [its] place.

The emperor Lothair being dead (as has been said), Adelbero, bishop of Trier, fearing lest Henry, duke of Bavaria surnamed the Proud, son-in-law of the emperor—of whom we made mention above, to whom the regalia had long since been committed by Lothair himself—should prevail in the assembly of the princes (he who already so far reckoned himself secure of attaining [the kingdom] that he did not deign to make words about the kingdom to any of the princes): [Adelbero] acted with great industry, and, together with duke Conrad himself and the bishop of Worms, [arranged] that they should meet in conference at Coblenz in mid-Lent, the see of Mainz being vacant; where Arnold, the aforesaid archbishop of Cologne, met Adelbero, and, treating counsels together among themselves, they swore that they would elect Conrad king.

[1138.] In the year of abbot Volmar 17, which was of the Lord's nativity 1138, Conrad III of that name, duke of Alemannia or Swabia, brother of Frederick duke of Alsace, elected king of the Romans, reigned 14 years. But against this Conrad the princes of Bavaria and Saxony elected Henry the Proud, duke, son-in-law of the emperor Lothair, as king; and evils were multiplied in the land: for Conrad cunningly acquired the regalia which were with him, deposited by Lothair, and wished to deprive him [Henry] of the duchy of Saxony, [it] being given to the same Adelbert, margrave of Soltwedel. Hence slaughters, plunderings, and burnings through all Saxony.

In the same year king Conrad celebrated the Lord's Easter at Cologne. Thence going up, in the third week after Easter, he was received at Mainz with great favor of clergy and people. There Adalbert the younger, nephew through a brother of the deceased elder [Adalbert], by the common consent of all, by command of the king, was designated archbishop. Now the elder Adalbert, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux cooperating, while he yet lived, founded a monastery of the Cistercian order at Eberbach, almost two miles from Mainz, in the Rheingau, in which also he was buried.

In the same year king Conrad held a court of the princes at Bamberg for the feast of Pentecost, where the princes of almost the whole kingdom had assembled, except Henry, duke of Bavaria. There Adalbert of Mainz, elected, on the Saturday of the Ember days, was consecrated by Saint Otto, pontiff of the church of Bamberg. …This monastery [of St Disibod], collapsed by age, was newly built by Willigis, archbishop of Mainz, about the year of the Lord 976, and afterward (as we said) by Adalbert the archbishop, and Ruthard…

The Monastery of Hirsau his predecessor, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 113[unclear], translated to the mountain newly founded a second time; and when this was at last completed, the tomb of the holy prelate Disibod, which Archbishop Willigis had closed, was opened, and the relics were translated into the new monastery and laid away behind the greater altar in a new sarcophagus. At this translation there were present Cuno, abbot of that place, with his whole congregation, since they are not far distant from one another; Gerard, abbot of St. Maximin at Trier; and very many of the clergy and nobles of the land of the county.

1139. In the eighteenth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity [1139?], King Conrad celebrated the Lord’s Nativity at Goslar. Then, around the feast of James the Apostle, he moved an expedition into Saxony against Duke Henry. But when Henry met him manfully with a great army near the little town called Creutzberg, the king was compelled to return with the business unfinished. Those who took Duke Henry’s side were the counts palatine of the Rhine, the dukes of Bavaria, and Conrad, archbishop of Magdeburg. Days for bringing about concord between the king and Duke Henry were appointed by the princes at Quedlinburg; when Duke Henry had come there with his men, he ended his life by poison, as is reported: a powerful and warlike man, and the boldest of all in his time. He was buried in the monastery of our order at Konigslutter beside Lothar, his father-in-law, the emperor. His duchy Adelbert the margrave, mentioned above, obtained from King Conrad. Against him almost all the princes of Saxony conspired.

At about these times, when Embricho, bishop of the church of Wurzburg, was going to Mainz to carry out certain business, on the journey he had meeting him a certain monk, named Christian, a Scot by birth, who, bending his knees to the ground, begged that bishop that, for love of St. Kilian the martyr, who had been a Scot, he should grant to monks from Scotland, journeying abroad for Christ, a place or hospice in his city. Embricho provided letters strengthened with his seal, which we have seen and read whole and sound. For among the other miracles that he performed in this life, since he abstained entirely from wine for the love of God, and one day, sitting at table in the midst of magnates, could not have water, after making the sign of the holy cross over a vessel of wine set before everyone on the table, he changed the wine into water. All who were present marveled, since they had tasted wine that was excellent and suddenly saw it changed into water. Present at table in their own persons for this miracle were Piligrin, abbot of St. Burkhard, then of our order; Gebhard, provost of the New Monastery; Burekerus, Hentricus, Mukolinus, and Iringus of Zabelstein, with many others, both clerics and laymen. To transmit to posterity the perpetual memory of this most famous sign, the aforesaid Bishop Embricho, by the common counsel and assent of the whole clergy, gave and assigned forever, in the greater church of Wurzburg, a full and perpetual canonical prebend to the Scottish monks of the said monastery and their successors; thereafter they possessed and received it down to the present day.

In the nineteenth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1140, there died Diemo, monk of this monastery of Hirsau and formerly prior, a most devout man who was believed to be filled with the spirit of prophecy. For he is said to have foretold many things, the truth of which certain [unclear] proved. That holy Henry, abbot of Breitenau, formerly a monk of this monastery, of whom we spoke above, was present at his burial; he had come, not by chance, but rather, as we believe, called by divine ordinance, for the spiritual consolation of the brothers.

In the same year the king celebrated the feast of the Purification at Worms, and Easter at Wurzburg. St. Otto, bishop of Bamberg, of our order, died in this same year and was enrolled in the catalogue of the saints. Gebhard too, bishop of Strasbourg, died. Adelbert au-

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

[unclear], the younger, archbishop of Mainz, went to Rome, having been summoned by Pope Innocent, and was honorably received by him.

Discord between the pope and the king.

Since in these times King Conrad was attempting to invade the kingdom of Sicily against the will of Pope Innocent, the pontiff, by entreaties and money, dealt with the dukes of Bavaria, Henry and his brother Welf, that they should block his access into Italy. They undertook this the more willingly because they had previously regarded the king as hostile and hateful. And so, when King Conrad wished to prepare an expedition into Italy, while Duke Henry was still living, Duke Welf stoutly resisted.

War between the king and the dukes of Bavaria.

Thus a very severe battle took place between that Duke Welf of Bavaria on the side of Pope Innocent and Frederick, duke of the Swabians, on the king’s side, in the diocese of Augsburg, near Neresheim, a monastery of our order; and when many had been slain on both sides, Duke Frederick at last won the victory, and Welf fled with his men into a stronghold. Finally, after the death of Duke Henry, Duke Welf, mindful of the loss he had suffered, gathered a great army and renewed the war against Duke Frederick near the village called Ellenhofen, not far from Weinsberg. In this battle Duke Welf himself fell, and the greater part of his army was laid low.

Weinsberg is taken.

Thereupon, in this same year, King Conrad besieged Welf’s town, which is called Weinsberg; and, receiving it in surrender, he granted this liberty to the matrons and women: that whatever they could carry away on their shoulders should be permitted to them by royal munificence. They, neglecting their household goods, took up on their shoulders their husbands and men, as many as they could, and carried them out beyond the gates while all looked on and marveled at their resourcefulness. When the duke advised that such things not be allowed to happen, the king said that it was not fitting for the word of a ruler to be changed.

Note the change of [unclear] made [unclear].

The duchy of Bavaria is transferred to the Austrians.

Moreover, the king conferred the duchy of Bavaria on Leopold, margrave of Austria; yet afterwards Emperor Frederick I restored it to the legitimate heirs.

John de Temporibus died.

In this same year died John, called de Temporibus, who had lived three hundred and sixty-one years from the time of Charles the Great, whose shield-bearer he had been; he was a man of a very temperate constitution.

Hugh of Saint Victor of Paris died.

In the same year died Hugh, canon at Saint Victor of Paris, a man second to none in his time in religion and in knowledge of letters, and in knowledge of the seven liberal arts. He wrote many excellent little works of his talent for the benefit of readers; of these we have made fuller mention in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers.

A pseudo-emperor deceived many.

In these times a certain pseudo-emperor arose in Germany. Living for some years in enclosure at Solothurn and then coming forth from there, he pretended that he was Emperor Henry. And when he was causing scandal to many, [unclear], when he was cited to it, he appealed to the apostolic see; and thus escaping, [unclear], by seducing, he had attracted people to himself to such an extent that serious battles and killings took place on his behalf, some receiving him as the deceased Emperor Henry, others openly crying out that he was a deceiver. Finally, when his falsehood had been made clear, he was shorn as a monk at Cluny.

Synod against Peter Abelard.

In the same year of the Lord, [unclear] 19, in the city of Sens in Gaul, a synod of bishops and abbots was held in the presence of Louis, king of the Franks, against Master Peter Abelard, who was scandalizing the Church by a certain profane novelty of words and meanings. When he was cited to it, he appealed to the apostolic see; and thus escaping, [unclear], by seducing, he had attracted people to himself to such an extent that serious battles and killings took place on his behalf, some receiving him as the deceased Emperor Henry, others openly crying out that he was a deceiver. Finally, when his falsehood had been made clear, he was shorn as a monk at Cluny.

The same Peter founded a convent of nuns. His wife was the first abbess.

The philosopher, who from his own marriage built a convent of nuns in the territory of Troyes, in a certain meadow where he had been accustomed to lecture; gathering there many nuns by episcopal authority, he named the convent after Saint Paraclete, and in [unclear].

Epitaph of this Peter Abelard.

Our Aristotle, among logicians, whoever they were, known to the world of studies as either equal or better; first in talent, varied, subtle, and keen, surpassing all by the force of reason and the art of speaking: Abelard was such. But then he conquered all the more, when, professing the Cluniac monk and way of life, he passed over to the true philosophy of Christ. In this, completing well the final things of a long life, [unclear] to be numbered among the good philosophers. Hope

The Monastery of Hirsau. The eleventh [unclear] gave hope, with May renewing the Kalends.

1141.

In the twentieth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1141 of the Lord's Nativity, King Conrad held his court at Regensburg on the feast of Pentecost, where some princes of Saxony were present. Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, conspired with the Saxons against the king, but not long afterward, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of August, he died. Marolph succeeded him in the archbishopric of the church of Mainz; he had previously been provost of the church of Aschaffenburg in the same diocese, and he did not complete two years in the pontificate.

In the same year Lady Richiza, empress, wife of Emperor Lothar, died and was buried beside her husband in the monastery of Lutter. Conrad, archbishop of Magdeburg, also died; Frederick, custos of the cathedral church, succeeded him by election of the brethren. Henry, margrave of Brandenburg, likewise died without children and left the march free in the hands of the king and the empire; King Conrad, by counsel of the princes, granted it as an imperial fief to Adelbert, count of Salzwedel. The same king also gave to his brother, Count Henry, as wife the daughter of Emperor Lothar, left as widow of Henry, duke of Bavaria, and created him duke of Austria.

1142.

In the [twenty-first?] year of Abbot Volmar, in the year [1142?] of the Lord's Nativity, the king celebrated Pentecost at Frankfurt, where almost all the princes, bishops, and abbots of the whole kingdom assembled; and there the marriage rites were celebrated for fourteen days. The king joined Gertrude, daughter of Emperor Lothar and widow of Henry, duke of Bavaria, in marriage as wife to his brother Henry, the first duke of Austria. There Henry, surnamed the Lion, son of Henry, duke of Bavaria, and of Gertrude, the aforesaid daughter of Emperor Lothar, received the duchy from the hand of King Conrad.

In the same year Marolph, archbishop of Mainz, died. Henry, provost of the cathedral church, succeeded him; in the presence of two cardinals, legates of the Holy Roman Church, at Frankfurt he received investiture of the regalia from King Conrad himself.

In the same year Henry of holy memory, abbot in Breitenau, of whom we spoke above, obtained from Arnold, archbishop of Cologne, four bodies from the company of the eleven thousand virgins; these, on the sixth day before the Nones of July, with the greatest honor, to the monastery [unclear].

Henry, archbishop of Mainz.

The winter was very severe.

In the following year Adelbero, archbishop of Trier, expelled the monks from the monastery of Saint Maximin at Trier because of their disorderly life, and, restoring others in their place, set over that monastery an abbot named Siger.

In this year the winter was hard and very severe. Gertrude also, daughter of Emperor Lothar, whom we have said was married to Henry, duke of Austria, after the death of her former husband, reached her last day because of the difficulty of childbirth; and, with the inhabitants of Saxony [unclear] mourning, she was buried in the monastery of Lutter with her father and mother and her former husband, Duke Henry. Pope Celestine II died; Lucius II succeeded him.

1143.

In the [twenty-third?] year of Abbot Volmar, and in the one thousand one hundred forty-fourth year of the Lord, blessed Felix, pope and martyr, appeared to Saint Henry, most reverend abbot of the monastery of Breitenau, [formerly?] a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, as was said above, revealing to him his head, which had lain hidden for many years in the apse of that church, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of September. The holy man raised the head of the holy martyr from the earth with the greatest reverence, and sent one small part to the brethren of Hirsau as a very great gift of charity.

1144.

In the [twenty-fourth?] year of Abbot Volmar, Pope Lucius died; Eugenius, abbot of Saint Anastasius, of the Cistercian order and formerly a monk of Saint Bernard, succeeded him.

1145.

In the [twenty-fifth?] year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1145 of the Lord's Nativity, a great earthquake occurred fifteen times; a comet appeared, and in the following year a great pestilence followed.

Earthquake.

A comet appeared.

In the same year, on the Nones of December, Buggo, bishop of Worms, died, a man of many virtues, and through the hands of Gunther, bishop of Speyer, in the monastery of Schönau, which he himself had built and consecrated in honor of the holy Mother of God and Virgin Mary, but

Buggo.

CHRONICLE OF JOHANNES TRITHEMIUS. 131.

…was buried. He presided over the church of Worms strenuously for 36 years; to whom in the episcopate succeeded Conrad, the first of this name, who sustained many persecutions from many. For in his time Conrad, count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of the first emperor Frederick, violently plundered the possessions of the churches; whom, since no one could resist (because the days were evil), the ministers of the Lord were compelled either to redeem the things taken away with money, or patiently to tolerate the injuries with loss. There is extant a letter of this bishop Conrad to the holy virgin of Christ Hildegard, abbess on the Mount of St Rupert near Bingen, in which he mentions the calamities which he suffers, and humbly asks her counsel and the support of [her] prayers. To whom the holy virgin writes back words of holy admonition, divinely inspired, and makes [him], as he had asked, a participant in her prayers.

[1147.] In the year of abbot Volmar 26, which was of the Lord's nativity 1147, an eclipse of the sun occurred, the 7th [day before] the Kalends of November, around almost the fourth hour of the day. In that year a famine followed. After the famine, too, pestilence and a great mortality followed, incredible to all posterity.

In the same year too Embricho, bishop of Würzburg (of whom we spoke above), returning from Greece, dies at Aquileia, and is buried there; for whom Siegfried is constituted bishop. Eggebert, bishop of Bamberg, also dies, in whose place Everhard is ordained. Conrad the king entered Hungary with a strong hand.

[The source here repeats the foregoing 1147 entries several times over with worsening OCR; not re-translated.]

In the same year the greatest army of the Christians—from all Germany, Gaul, Italy, Spain, England, Hungary, indeed from all Europe—after the paschal feast, was moved to recover the holy land, the cross being preached by Bernard, by command of Pope Eugenius, against the infidels; whose journeyings and deeds, since they have been copiously described by many, we have resolved to pass over in silence.

In the same year St Malachy, archbishop [of Armagh], coming from Ireland to Clairvaux to visit holy Bernard, migrated to the Lord, the 3rd [day before] the Nones of November, a man of apostolic life, the very form of all perfection and the example of virtue; who, among the other marks of his virtues, raised a dead man, reformed the faith in Ireland, [and] wonderfully spread holy religion. So holy a man, Bernard the abbot, described [his life]. About these same times the same St Bernard the abbot, to preach the cross of the Lord against the infidels, by command of Pope Eugenius, was traveling through Germany, and shone forth everywhere with many signs and miracles. For in the territory of Constance, in one day he enlightened eleven blind men, healed ten maimed, and to eighteen lame, the powers of walking restored, fully reformed [them]. When he was in that very city of Constance, the fame of [his] virtues spreading everywhere, the abbot of the monastery of Reichenau sent to him a blind man, whom by his alms[deeds]…

[The OCR of this last passage degenerates into repeated, progressively garbled copies of the same Bernard-miracles sentence; not re-translated.]

[Blank page in the source scan.]

The Monastery of Hirsau

preaching with confidence, he showed himself to be a true servant of God. From there, carried by ship, he reached the town of Bingen, where in the monastery of St. Rupert, duke, on the other side of the River Nahe, the virgin beloved of God, St. Hildegard, as mistress, presided over devout virgins serving the almighty Lord under the rule of our holy father Benedict. To her he had previously sent by letters words of holy admonition, together with certain small gifts, which are preserved in that same place as relics.

When Bernard, the man of God, came to the holy bride of Christ, after a mutual greeting in Christ he ordered the books which that virgin had written by divine inspiration to be brought to him. After he had examined them carefully and admired them beyond measure, he is said to have told those standing around: “These writings are not human inventions, but divinely inspired through the Spirit; nor can any mortal man understand them unless he has first been truly reformed inwardly in his soul according to the likeness of God.” To this the chaplain of the holy virgin, a monk of most devout conduct, replied: “Reverend father, what you have said is indeed true. But many people, not only unlettered laymen but also religious and learned men, torment the spirit of Christ’s handmaid with daily slanders, when they assert that these things are not divinely inspired, but are either women’s dreams and ravings of a ruined brain, or deceitfully sent in by demons.”

To him the man of God said: “We do not wonder, dearest brother, if those sleeping in sins regard divine revelations as dreams, knowing as true what the holy Apostle said: ‘The animal man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is examined spiritually.’ For to all those who, as though sleeping, [lie?] in the sins of lust, greed, and pride, divine admonitions seem to be dreams deceitfully sent in. But those who say that these things are sent in by demons have not known the hidden and mystical signs of divine inspirations; and they should be judged like those who said that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub.”

He also said to holy Hildegard: “And you, dearest daughter, do not fear the reproaches of men, since you have God as your defender; for they will perish like straw, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. We too, for love of you, will take pains that these writings of yours, once read and confirmed by the lord Apostolic, may safely be brought into the light.”

The holy virgin Hildegard offered to the man of God, at his request, a particle of the relics of St. Rupert, duke and confessor. In return for these he too afterward [unclear] certain things [unclear] of the count of Sponheim, under whose temporal authority the aforesaid monastery was built, and in which he also had a daughter, a nun named Hiltrud, a virgin of most holy conduct, who with blessed Hildegard had been [instructed?] in the love of God under the teaching of blessed [Jutta?]. Present there with that count were Cuno, abbot of St. Disibod, and Bernhelm, first abbot in Sponheim, with many other clerics, monks, and laymen. There at that time Bernhelm, abbot of Sponheim, obtained the body of St. Rupert.

At Boppard [unclear] a paralytic. At Trier [unclear]. At Cologne he also cured twenty-two. At Aachen miracles [unclear]. Meginhard, duke and count in Sponheim, was present.

Meginhard, duke and count in Sponheim, under whose temporal authority the aforesaid monastery had been built, obtained the body of that duke, whole with skin and flesh, from blessed Hildegard and her whole congregation of holy virgins; and with great reverence and honor, as he continued the descent of the Rhine to his monastery, he cured at Boppard, in the midst of the people, a paralytic, [one with a disabled hand?], and a deaf woman in the same city, with all the people looking on. Finally, after staying for three days in the city of Cologne, he cured twelve lame persons, two maimed persons, five blind persons, and ten deaf persons, restored speech to three mute persons, and performed countless other signs. At Aachen, when he was celebrating Mass, he restored walking to a lame man and sight to four blind persons before a multitude of peoples. In the cities also of Liège and of the Nervii, which is now called Cambrai, he restored speech to many, hearing to the deaf, sight to the blind, walking to the lame, and health to those sick with any disease.

1149. In the aforesaid year of Abbot Volmar, in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1149, in the twelfth indiction, Crafto, count of Sponheim, son of Meginhard the elder and brother of the younger, betrothed as his wife Clementia, daughter of Adolf, count of Homberg, a beautiful and modest virgin most devoted to Christ. Since she had resolved to devote the flower of her virginity to Christ, she sought and obtained the consent of her mortal bridegroom. Therefore that venerable virgin Clementia became a nun of our order in the monastery of St. Irmina in Oeren at Trier, and served almighty God in great holiness for many years. Moreover that same Crafto, bridegroom of the holy virgin,

[Blank page in the source scan.]

The Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

[unclear] in my aforesaid monastery of Spanheim, under Abbot Bernhelm, he became a monk; in it he conducted himself so religiously and so prudently that, when Bernhelm died, he was ordained abbot in place of the dead man, as we shall say in what follows.

1150.

In the twenty-ninth year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1150, fire and water brought about countless disasters and losses throughout various parts of the world. That whole year, full of miseries, was a portent of the one following. The winter was very severe and excessively long. Fiery battle-lines were seen in the sky. The whole city of Utrecht, with its churches, was consumed by fire; there a certain wooden cross, falling from on high, while the roof of the church with its beams fell down upon it, remained unharmed [unclear]. Even after it had lain for a very long time in the fire, it was afterwards found uncorrupted, except only that the iron nails of the crossbeam, by which the image of the Lord was held, had melted. This cross, in memory of the miracle that occurred, is honorably preserved in the church of St. Boniface.

In these times Pope Eugenius III came to Trier with eighteen cardinals and many bishops and abbots, invited by Adelbero, archbishop of that city, who for three months provided the pope and all the others who were present, at his own expense, most abundantly with food and drink. There Pope Eugenius dedicated the newly repaired church of the monastery of St. Matthew the Apostle on the day before the Kalends of February. He also held a synod there of bishops, cardinals, and abbots; there Henry, archbishop of Mainz, and St. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, reported to the supreme pontiff the marvels that God was working in his handmaid Hildegard, abbess of Mount St. Rupert the Confessor.

When he had heard these things, the pope was astonished, and, wishing to investigate the matter more diligently, sent Adelbert, bishop of Verdun, with other trustworthy men to St. Hildegard, so that with humility and gentleness, without noise or curiosity, they might inquire of her what the matter was. When they had come to the monastery in which the holy virgin was living, and, according to the apostolic commission, were humbly inquiring the truth from her, she simply [unclear]. After these things had been examined for the pope, he ordered the volumes of the holy virgin that had been sent to him to be read publicly before the cardinals, archbishops, abbots, and all the clergy; and he himself, performing the office of reader, read no small part, through which the minds of all were turned to amazement, and their voices to praise [unclear]. He gloriously granted her [the authority?] of writing whatever she had learned through the Holy Spirit, and encouraged her to write down without fear the things revealed to her. The tenor of his letter was:

“Eugenius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved daughter in the Lord, Hildegard, prioress on Mount St. Rupert, greeting and apostolic blessing. We marvel, O daughter, and we marvel beyond what can be believed, that God in our times is now showing new miracles, since he has so filled you with his spirit that you are said to see, understand, and utter many secrets. This we have learned from certain truthful persons [unclear] having [the keys?] of knowledge, so that we might close and open; and do we neglect, through folly, to do this prudently? We rejoice in the grace of God, and we rejoice also in your love; and we admonish you of this, that you know that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Therefore preserve and guard through humility the grace that is in you, so that the things which you perceive in the spirit should be brought forth you may prudently bring forth, whereby you will hear that saying from the Lord: ‘Open your mouth, and I will fill it.’ What you have signified to us concerning that place which you foresaw there in the spirit, let this be done with our permission and blessing and that of your bishop, namely, that you live there regularly with your sisters according to the Rule of St. Benedict, within the enclosure of that same place.”

The birth of Blessed Hildegard.

To these things the virgin of Christ, divinely inspired, sent letters of reply back to the supreme pontiff, in which she admonished him concerning the secrets that he had in his heart, and indicated the divine will and good pleasure concerning these matters. This most blessed virgin Hildegard was born from the county of Spanheim, in the village called Bickelnheim, begotten of her father Hildebert and her mother Mechthild, in the times of Emperor Henry IV, in the year of the Lord 1098, in the sixth indiction. Her father Hildebert, a noble man, served as a knight in the court of Count Meginhard of Spanheim, a most noble and at that time very powerful man; he was rich and honored in the world. But Hildegard, in the eighth year of her age, was handed over by her parents to be instructed in monastic disciplines by the lady virgin Jutta on Mount Disibod, enclosed there for love of Christ, the sister of the aforesaid Count Meginhard, of whom mention was made above; and by her she was laudably educated in the fear of the Lord,

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

and many others. Also through the provosts of the regulars in Flamheim, of the regulars in Heyna, of the regulars in Vestera, of the Premonstratensians in Herde, of the nuns of our order in Himelauue, of the nuns of the Cistercian order in the Valley of God, of Cappenberg, of Saint Victor at Mainz, of Saint Castor in Koblenz, of Saint Andrew in Cologne, of Erfurt, of the major church of Mainz, of Saint Simeon at Trier, in Ruestede, of Frankfurt, of the major churches of Trier, Cologne, Bonn, and many others.

Also through the abbesses of Saint Elisabeth of Schonau of our order, writing in the same spirit; of Gandersheim; in Wechterswinckel of Altzen of our order; in Altwyich in the diocese of Utrecht; in Krunchen of Saint Mary at Regensburg; in Keysungen of Saint Cyriacus at Erfurt; in Lubbelsberg; in Widergoldesdorff; in Sebach of our order; in Gronechtal; of Saint Theodore at Bamberg of our order; in the Old Monastery at Mainz; of Olfaten; in the Upper Monastery at Regensburg; in Nussia of our order; of the Holy Virgins in Cologne; in Didenkirchen; in Andernach; of Saint Glodesindis at Metz; in Erdendal; and through many others. But also through priests, philosophers, and masters, both from remote and from nearer places, not a few letters were sent, to which responsive letters of hers, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and full of mysteries and secrets, are joined.

For she was accustomed to aid all who sought from her the consolation of the Holy Spirit, or asked for a word of holy admonition, by writings and prayers; and she never despised anyone, however weak, lowly, or poor. She was renowned for many miracles both in life and after death, and by her prayers in the name of Christ she cured the sick, burdened in whatever way, who flocked to her. Her life, conduct, and wondrous deeds [unclear] by Theodoric [unclear] of Spanheim, brother of the blessed Hiltrudis, a nun, and formerly husband of the most devout virgin Clementia, daughter of the count of Homberg, a nun in the monastery of Saint Irmina, which is called the Granary, of whom we made mention above. He was a man very devoted in the fear of the Lord, and no less distinguished by humility than by blood. By his earnest prayers he obtained the head of Saint Irmina, a venerable virgin, [unclear] and first abbess of the aforesaid monastery of nuns, daughter of Dagobert, king of the Franks, whom Saint Willibrord the bishop [unclear] as a bride to Christ; this head is held to the present day in that same monastery of mine at Spanheim.

In this same year there was a severe famine, and a great mortality of men followed. Arnold, archbishop of Cologne, died; Arnold the second, provost of the major church and chancellor of the king, succeeded him in the pontificate. In this same year there also died Conrad, landgrave of Thuringia, and Frederick, archbishop of Magdeburg; Wichmann, son of the count of Tegenburg in Bavaria, succeeded him, governed for forty-two years quite usefully, and was buried in the monastery of Husburg of our order.

1152.

In the thirty-first year of Abbot Volmar, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1152, Conrad the third, king of the Romans, lying ill in the city of Bamberg and sensing that the day of his death was near, handed the royal insignia to Duke Frederick, his brother’s son, commended to him his own son Frederick, still a little child, and asked him to speak to the princes about acquiring the kingdom for him. Having arranged his affairs, he died on the second day before the Kalends of March, in the fourteenth year of his reign; he was buried in the same city and did not receive the imperial benediction from the pope. After his death, a celebrated assembly of princes and bishops was held at Frankfurt. There, with the highest favor of all, the aforesaid Frederick, duke of Swabia, was elected king of the Romans, a vigorous man and one of many works, as we shall partly say in what follows. He reigned as emperor for thirty-seven years.

In the same year Adelbero, archbishop of Trier, died, a high-minded man and [unclear].

The Monastery of Hirsau

... learned to love nothing except heavenly things. In the same place she served almighty God for many years in humble chastity, until at last, after the death of the venerable Jutta, when the number of virgins had increased, instructed by divine revelation, she moved to the mountain of Saint Rupert near the town of Bingen, where the Nahe flows into the Rhine, with eighteen nuns subject to her. There, with the help of Count Meginhard of Sponheim and other faithful of Christ, she built a monastery for sacred virgins, in the very place where Saint Rupert the duke, together with his mother, a holy woman named Bertha, had had a castle and dwelling in the times of Emperor Louis I.

Under her direction, among the other sacred women, was Hiltrud, a most devout virgin, the very beautiful daughter of the aforesaid Count Meginhard, concerning whom mention was made above. For love of the heavenly kingdom she rejected broad dominion on earth and received the habit of holy life under the discipline of Jutta, her father's sister, on the mountain of the holy bishop Disibod. Out of regard for this virgin her father, Count Meginhard, bestowed many goods on that monastery, and the right of the place, which belonged partly to the church of Mainz, partly to [unclear] of Disibod, [unclear]. Out of regard for this virgin her father, Count Meginhard, [unclear] many goods to that monastery, and handed it over to Saint Hildegard, giving and granting her every kind of freedom to choose whatever protector she wished; and he released that place forever from his own lordship, power, and advocacy.

Furthermore, Saint Hildegard, virgin of Christ, visited from childhood by divine revelations, although, apart from the Psalter and simple psalmody, she had learned from no human being either the art or the practice of the Latin language, nevertheless, wondrously illumined by the grace of the Holy Spirit, wrote many things and dictated many things, distinguished partly in Latin, partly in German speech, which she learned not by human perception or understanding, but rather by divine inspiration; and therefore her writings can be understood only by spiritual persons.

She wrote a large book of much subtlety, which she entitled Scivias, which begins: "And it came to pass in a new year." Likewise, three books On Divine Works. Three books On the Merits of Life. On the Causes and Remedies of All Diseases of the Human Body, an outstanding work, which she entitled Medicine when she had composed it, and it begins: "God, before the creation of the world, was and is without beginning." Likewise [unclear], which deservedly turns readers to astonishment. This little work begins thus: "Charity, which with abstinence from sins instructs faith." Instructed from heaven by vision, she also wrote the life of Saint Disibod the bishop, a brief indeed but useful little work, beginning thus: "And I, [a poor little one in female form?]." Likewise, to the thirty very subtle questions of Wibert the monk, put before her by letter, taught by the Holy Spirit, she replied so profoundly, properly, and catholically that [unclear]. She wrote [unclear] full of [unclear]; indeed, she was also present in person in this monastery, concerning which we shall make mention when, in weaving the history, we shall have come to the times of Abbot Manegold.

Finally, in the aforesaid monastery of Saint Rupert there survive to the present day copies of letters and epistles sent to Saint Hildegard herself by Conrad II and Frederick I, Roman emperors; by Eugenius III, Anastasius IV, Adrian IV, and Alexander III, Roman pontiffs; by the archbishops of Mainz, Henry, Arnold, and Christian; by the [Trier?], Cologne, Bremen, Salzburg, Jerusalem, and Magdeburg archbishops, and several others; also by bishops and abbots [unclear]. Of Monks' Mountain, Bamberg, Speyer, Constance, Verdun, Liège, Utrecht, Prague, and many others from Germany, Gaul, and Italy; by holy abbots, first of all Bernard of Clairvaux, Adam of York, by the [Eberbach?] abbot, by that of Saint Anastasius from Rome, by that of Kaisheim, by Manegold of Hirsau, by that of Saint Emmeram at Regensburg, by that of [Monichen Nuenburg?], by that of Saint Mary ad Martyres at Trier, by that of Saint Matthias at Trier, by that of Saint Disibod, by those of Kempten, Ellwangen, Maulbronn, Monks' Mountain, Bamberg, Zwiefalten, Sponheim, Salem, Besonis villa of Saint Martin, Cologne, Brauweiler, [Wetel?], Heilsbronn, Bellevaux, [Cariloc?], [Clarefontes?], Charity, Bethany, Sprengersbach, Rodenkirchen, El...

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

of regular censure.

When Lothar the emperor had received the royal insignia at Aachen on the holy day of Easter, this man publicly excommunicated his brother Simon and, under the Gospel, with such [unclear], in the presence of the emperor himself, compelled him to leave the church. But from the monastery of St. Matthias and the other monasteries of monks he violently seized many things and converted them to his own uses. Hillinus, dean of the greater church, succeeded him in the archbishopric and presided for eighteen years. Arnold, archbishop of Cologne, having set out for Rome, was ordained by Pope Eugenius; by him he was sent back to his see with the pallium and honor.

1153.

In the thirty-second year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1153 of the Lord’s nativity, Henry, archbishop of Mainz, by order of Pope Eugenius, on the holy day of Pentecost, was deposed by two cardinals, Gregory and Bernard; and he died in the same year, on the Kalends of September. St. Hildegard foretold to him this shortness of life two years before; in a certain letter to him she says thus: “Hear, you who neglect me amid many inquiries. Heaven is opened for the vengeance of the Lord, and now the boundaries have been released to enemies. But you, rise, because your days are short; and remember that Nebuchadnezzar fell, and that his crown perished. And many others fell who rashly exalted themselves into heaven. Ah, you ashes, why are you not ashamed to scatter yourself on high, when you ought to be in corruption?”

Therefore, when Henry had been deposed from the archbishopric, Arnold, the king’s chancellor and provost of Aachen, succeeded; he was afterward slain in the monastery of St. James outside the walls of Mainz, as we shall say in its place. To him St. Hildegard writes thus, among other things: “O father, living in human fashion, these words he gave me for you. Why are you not strong in my fear? And why do you have zeal, displaying as it were [unclear], so that by separating you cast down what is contrary to you? But this I do not will. Wipe away, from the eye of your heart, an unquiet mind; and cut off injustice from your people, because the time of wars now stands in the morals of men, so that they are neither in discipline nor in the severity of the fear of the Lord. You shall endure; do not be afraid, because the Son of God suffered the same things. Therefore rise to God, because the time is at hand [unclear] will come.”

In the same year also, when Henry, bishop of Minden, could not clear himself concerning a certain cleric who had been [unclear] in the city by his men, with his own consent, as was said, being wearied by many adversities, he renounced the bishopric before the aforesaid cardinals. Werner, provost of the same church, succeeded him.

Pope Eugenius III also died. Conrad, abbot of the monastery of St. Rufus in the diocese of Velletri, of our order and a cardinal, succeeded him and was named Anastasius IV; he sat one year, four months, and twenty-four days. This Pope Anastasius sent, in the first year of his pontificate, letters to St. Hildegard the virgin, full of paternal affection and showing devotion, in which he wonderfully extols her writings and humbly commends himself to the prayers of her and of the whole congregation, beseeching from her with great prayers a divine response. The holy virgin, taught divinely through revelation, wrote back to him all the things that were necessary for him for the amendment of life, even the most hidden things.

In the same year at Cologne, a certain man born of a Jewish father, but a convert, after he had received by mouth the sacrament of the body of Christ at the solemnity of Easter, and had gone out of the church and thought of carrying it home, intending I know not what to do with it, was struck with divine terror and shuddered; and, not knowing where to turn, he made a pit in the cemetery and buried in it the most holy body of the Lord. But a priest came upon him, and, learning the matter, opened the pit; finding the form of a little child, and reverently lifting him in his hands, he wished to carry him to the church. But, wondrous to say, when light was sent from heaven, the little boy slipped from the hands of the one holding him and, ascending in that light, penetrated the heavens.

1154.

In the thirty-third year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year 1154 of the Lord’s nativity, on the fourth day before the Kalends of March, Mechtild, a nun and virgin, died in my monastery of Spanheim, enclosed for the love of Christ for twenty-nine years, the sister of Bernhelm, the first abbot of the same monastery. She was first enclosed at St. Alban’s in Mainz for seven years; then, when Bernhelm her brother had been ordained abbot of Spanheim, for greater quiet and solitude, to the city

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...to the same monastery, with the consent of the archbishop of Mainz and the abbot of St Alban, she transferred herself, and served almighty God most devoutly in fasts and prayers, day and night, until the end of her life. She was buried in the middle of the choir beside the tomb of her brother, Abbot Bernhelm, not without a reputation for holiness. For the harmony of angels was heard at her passing, and various visions were shown; and St Hildegard, while she was still living in the flesh, bore witness to her holiness.

Around the feast of St Michael King Frederick set out for Italy with a great army. The expedition of the king into Italy. Meanwhile Pope Anastasius died. Nicholas the Englishman, first a monk of St Rufus, then abbot, afterward cardinal bishop of Albano of our order, succeeded him, called Adrian IV, and sat for 4 years and 10 months. King Frederick, after his army had crossed into Italy, at the first assault subdued Piacenza, a city of Emilia; he also devastated certain castles by fire because of the insolence of the Milanese and Cremonese. Then he burned Spoleto, the very wealthy city of Umbria, entirely with fire. And so, passing with his army toward the sea [unclear], he came to Rome, where he was honorably received by the Roman pontiff and the whole senate, was consecrated emperor, and, after the solemn ordination, when a sedition had been stirred up by certain common people at noon, he was unexpectedly attacked in battle. But the emperor and his men, suddenly armed, drove the enemy across the Tiber with drawn swords, and raged against them with such slaughter that the very bed of the river was entirely changed by the blood of the slain. Having carried out this bloody victory on 18 June with a small band of his men, he did not delay on the following day but began his return, and led his army back unharmed into his homeland.

In these times the bishopric of Lübeck was transferred from Oldenburg, and Gerold was ordained the first bishop there.

1155.

In the 34th year of Abbot Volmar, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1155, there was a serious war between Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, and Hermann, count palatine of the Rhine. War between the archbishop of Mainz and the count palatine. But Frederick the Emperor, returning from Italy, so subdued the disturbers of the kingdom and of peace that in a short time a very firm peace was restored by the terror of his arrival. For the emperor himself had established Arnold as archbishop, against the wishes of many powerful men round about, since they knew him to be a just and severe man, in no way consenting to their wicked designs. Therefore, while the emperor was in Italy, Hermann, count [unclear], Emicho, count of Leiningen, Godfrey, count of Sponheim, Henry, count of Katzenelnbogen, Conrad, count of Kirchberg, and Hericus, count of Didesheim, with certain others, took up arms against the pontiff. Counts on the side of Hermann. The emperor, therefore, returning from Italy, celebrated the Lord’s Nativity at Worms, and, by the counsel of the princes, imposed satisfaction as penance on the aforesaid counts together with the aforesaid Archbishop Arnold, because they had violated the peace that had been commanded. For the aforesaid counts Emicho, Godfrey, Henry, and others, on the side of the aforesaid Count Hermann, carried dogs at the emperor’s command; and so Lord Arnold the archbishop absolved them from excommunication. But on the side of the bishop himself, Count Louis of Lohun, Count William of Glitzberg, and others began to carry dogs, but out of reverence for the archbishop they were ordered by the emperor to desist. The carrying of dogs as satisfaction.

In the same year Bernard, bishop of Hildesheim in Saxony, because he had been blind for ten years and was useless for ruling, resigned the bishopric; and in his place Bruno, dean of the same church, was ordained, a holy man and most devoted to blessed Mary ever virgin. He was the first to celebrate the octaves of her Nativity, and solemnly instituted their celebration in his diocese. And the most holy Virgin herself once visibly appeared to him at matins while he was celebrating those same octaves, and, giving thanks to him for so great a service, [unclear] great consolation and hope of future recompense. The emperor, dismissing his wife, marries [unclear]. [unclear]

In the course of the 35th year of Abbot Volmar, Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, provoked by the injuries of certain men, came into the presence of Pope Adrian; honorably received by him, he obtained from him the apostolic legation, and then, returning to Mainz, was received with honor.

In this same year the emperor Frederick took as wife Agnes, daughter of the prince of Burgundy, having repudiated his former legitimate wife at Constance; from this a very grave [unclear] in the church.

Hermann, count palatine, died. He was succeeded by the emperor’s brother on his father’s side, named Conrad, a man forgetful of God, who by violence inflicted many injuries on churches and monasteries and their ministers, especially on Conrad, bishop of Worms.

The Monastery of Hirsau

Another Conrad also, a monk of this monastery, at about the same time, with the consent of Abbot Volmar himself, was ordained abbot for the monastery in Schwarzach in the diocese of Strasbourg. Burchard also, a monk of this monastery, was elected abbot at Weingarten, a man shrewd in ability, and in affairs very provident and experienced.

After his death Diethmar, our monk, by the election of the brothers of that place, was made abbot; by his industry he did and acquired many good things for that same monastery.

At the same time when Hartwig, from being provost, became a monk under Abbot Volmar, the cloistral prior was Manegold, a Frank by nation, who was afterwards elected abbot of this monastery, concerning whom we shall speak. He loved Hartwig with great charity, a wise man, magnificent in all his actions. Hence, when promoted to the cellarership of the monastery, he watched with much solicitude over the necessity of the brothers; ministering well in the lower office, he deserved a higher rank.

After him Adelhelm was appointed prior, first at Amöneburg, afterwards abbot at [Mediolacum?] in the diocese of Trier, a man venerable for wisdom and religion. In his place Heymericus was substituted as prior, an old and weak monk; when he died shortly thereafter, Gerlach succeeded him. After him Manegold was again ordained prior, and he remained in that office until the death of Abbot Hartwig.

In this very year of the installation of Abbot Hartwig, which was the year 1157 of the Lord’s Nativity, Adelhelm, as we have said, having been lawfully ordained by Hillin, archbishop of Trier, visited the holy virgin Hildegard at Bingen and returned to Hirsau, where he was received with the greatest joy of the brothers, as a shepherd of most upright charity.

The emperor celebrated Easter at Worms, where almost all the princes of the German kingdom assembled, and swore that in the following year they would go with the king into Lombardy against the rebels of the empire. Afterwards in this same year the emperor, by his great industry, brought it about that abbots, provosts, and indeed many of the better ministerials of the church of Mainz promised into the hands of certain of his friends that, should Archbishop Arnold depart for any reason, they would not elect another without his counsel and assent.

In the same year Arnold, archbishop of Cologne, the second of this name, died, a man acute in ability and most experienced in military affairs, who, having always followed the emperor into Italy, spent much for his empire. He [unclear] of the monasteries of Rindorf near [Bundericus?], the second of that name, in which he was buried; to him Frederick [unclear], was consecrated pope at Rome, and, having received the pallium, [unclear] of Cologne, was consecrated by Pope Adrian at Rome, and, having received the pallium, returned with honor to Cologne. Against him, amid very grave dissension, Gerard, provost of Bonn, was elected; but at Regensburg, by the emperor’s command of the princes, he was compelled to yield to Frederick.

At the same time very grave contentions began to arise from a slight occasion between Pope Adrian and Emperor Frederick. Pope Innocent II had once caused his own image to be painted on a wall at Rome, as though he were sitting on the pontifical seat, with Emperor Lothar before him with folded hands, bent down, receiving the crown of the empire.

When Emperor Frederick saw this while he was at Rome, urged on by his own men, he took it badly. To this affront, if it is right to call it so, there was added another thing very similar, which was a great seedbed of new commotion and dissension.

When the emperor was holding a court with the chief men of the kingdom in the city of Besançon in Burgundy, two cardinals were present, carrying letters of Pope Adrian, in which, among other things, this was contained: “We have conferred on you the benefit of the crown, nor would we be moved by regret if your Excellency had received greater benefits from us.” This word, namely “benefit,” those who were about the emperor interpreted in its customary sense and asserted that it had been put there as an insult to him; they stirred his mind to anger. He cast the cardinals, after they had been subjected to insults, quickly from his sight, saying: “We have the crown from God alone; that is, we attribute the crown of the empire not to the Roman pontiff, but to God alone. We acknowledge the first voice of royal election as belonging to the archbishop of Mainz; we allow the royal consecration to the archbishop of Cologne; we assign the imperial consecration to the Roman pontiff. Therefore let the painting and the writing be removed and corrected; otherwise concord and peace will not be able to exist between kingdom and priesthood.” But the Romans, fearing the indignation and anger of the emperor, [offered] another interpretation

Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1156, the emperor came to Cologne around the feast of All Saints, and was received with sufficient honor both by the citizens and by Archbishop Arnold. There a certain knight named Bernhard, who had been convicted by the duke of the Saxons of having conspired in the murder of Hermann of Winceburg, was beheaded by order of the emperor.

1157.

In the following year, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1157, in the fifth indiction, Volmar, the fifteenth abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, departed from this world on the fifth day before the Kalends of February, around the first watch of the night, and rested in the Lord: a man worthy of remembrance among all posterity, since by his industry, wisdom, and piety he did many good things for this monastery of his. He increased its revenues, enlarged its income, restored the ruined buildings of the cenobium, constructed anew several houses and dwellings necessary for the convenience of the brethren, increased the number of monks serving God, and showed himself, by word and example, an excellent pastor to all his subjects. He was buried in the greater church, before the altar of Saint Michael.

Concerning Hartwig, Sixteenth Abbot of This Monastery, who presided for only two months, and concerning his life and conduct.

[unclear] — the emperor holds court at Cologne. Abbot Volmar dies.

After the most reverend and God-beloved abbot Volmar had been buried, although the brethren were held by the very great love they had for him, and could not erase from their hearts the memory of so most pious a father, not, I say, quickly, but not ever entirely, whom they had always found to be in all things a useful, pious, and most gentle pastor; nevertheless, lest the malice of the times, which then abounded in the land, should introduce anything sinister by the suggestion of depravity, it seemed to them that they should not delay in the election of a new pastor.

Therefore on the same day on which they had committed Volmar to ecclesiastical burial, they came together [unclear] temporal matters, so that one useful and suitable for the rule of the monastery might be considered. Accordingly, after the grace of the Holy Spirit had been invoked, as is the custom, they unanimously and concordantly elected as abbot a monk named Hartwig, a venerable old man, in the year of the Lord 1157, in the fifth indiction, on the octave of Saint Agnes, virgin and martyr, which is the fifth day before the Kalends of February. When the election, according to custom, had been publicly announced in the person of Hartwig, he fell to the ground before the whole convent and tearfully begged the brethren, with supplication, that he be spared so great a burden. “If I had wished,” he said, “indeed, if I had been fit to rule souls, I would have remained in that state in which I had been before my entrance into religion. But because I know my imperfection, and that it is more expedient for me to be subject than to preside, therefore I gladly gave up my house, provostship, dignities, and the benefices that I had, though all my friends and kinsmen opposed it, so that without care and anxiety for temporal affairs I might be able to render pleasing service to almighty God in the simplicity of my heart.”

And when the brethren strongly pressed him to take up the burden of rule imposed on him by God as upon one fit for it, at last, consenting, he said: “To despise your prayers, most beloved brethren, I judge [unclear]; yet I know myself wholly insufficient for so great a weight of rule. Nevertheless I trust in the mercy of almighty God, for love of whom I once despised all worldly things, that he will not long permit me to live in this misery, if he knows before himself that this care of souls, which inexperienced men demand, will harm my soul.” And so, yielding to the very great insistence of the brethren, he undertook the burden of pastoral care for the love of Christ, and went down with certain monks to Hillin, archbishop of Trier, for the gift of benediction. He refused, however, to be blessed by Günther, bishop of Speyer, for certain reasons; and therefore, according to the tenor of the privilege long since granted by the Apostolic See to the monastery of Hirsau, he went down to Trier. Thus on the Sunday of Quadragesima, which in that year had fallen on the fourth day before the Nones of March, he was blessed in the greater church of Trier by Archbishop Hillin, in the presence of several abbots.

While he was on that journey, he visited the most holy bride of Christ, Hildegard, of whose holiness, miracles, writings, and revelations he had heard many things. When he heard her speaking, he was turned to amazement and shed tears for exceeding joy. Having obtained an opportunity to speak with her privately, he opened to her the whole state and grief of his mind, and simply related in what great anxieties he was because of the care of souls imposed upon him. And he humbly asked that, for the love of Jesus Christ, she would deign to inquire into the divine will concerning his state, and what he ought to do regarding those thoughts in which he was engaged concerning pastoral care.

The Monastery of Hirsau.

Manegold is elected abbot.

... some impediment might intervene through the contrivance of the wicked because of a long vacancy, and might somehow have been able to weaken that most free election of a new pastor. After much deliberation beforehand, the brothers who had votes in the election immediately came together on the same day as one, with the mind and intention of setting a new pastor over themselves. Therefore, after the grace of the Holy Spirit had been invoked, in the year of the Lord 1157, in the fifth indiction, on the eighth day before the Kalends of April, at about the third hour of the day, while Frederick I was reigning as emperor, in the sixth year of his reign, the conventual monks of this monastery unanimously elected as abbot Manegold, a venerable monk, a Frank by birth, sprung from the kin of Hartwig his predecessor, being almost sixty years of age. After a long and humble refusal, yielding to the prayers of the brothers, he took up the burden of pastoral care, but deferred the office of blessing until the Saturday of the Ember fast after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, because he resolved to offer himself to be well tested by the brothers.

He is consecrated at Speyer by Bishop Gunther, and presided for eight years.

At length, scarcely induced by the urgent prayers of the brothers, he set out for Speyer to be blessed, with a large and distinguished company; and on the aforesaid Saturday of the autumnal fast, after twenty-five of his monks had been promoted to holy orders by Gunther, bishop of Speyer, he himself on the following Sunday solemnly received from the same pontiff the gift of blessing, six abbots standing by, vested in sacred vestments.

Life of Abbot Manegold.

He presided in the abbacy for eight years, four months, and six days, a man of good and praiseworthy conduct, and he did many good things for this monastery. He was a Frank by birth, as we have said, born of honorable parents; when he was set to learning letters in his youth, he turned out sufficiently learned and educated. He had, so to speak, drunk in the fear of the Lord from infancy; hence he was accustomed to take delight not in games, not in running about, not in the frivolities of boys, but rather to devote himself, so far as his age allowed, to the study of letters and to prayers.

Manegold becomes a monk.

For, having by nature obtained a good intelligence, and having drunk in the taste of eternal wisdom, he learned to love nothing more in this life than the knowledge of the Scriptures. At length, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was made a monk under Abbot Volmar, and lived among the brothers so piously, so religiously, and so humbly that he scarcely had an equal in the whole congregation. Walking before God and men in all tranquillity of mind and action, he was burdensome to no one, troublesome to no one, but in all things showed himself a worthy monk according to the Rule of our holy father Benedict.

He becomes succentor.

He was indeed short in bodily stature, but great and distinguished in the virtues of the soul. Finally, after the years of his initial monastic training had been completed, he was appointed succentor by Abbot Volmar; and while placed in that office he caused more than sixty volumes to be copied for the adornment of the library and the use of the brothers, his friends and secular kinsmen providing the expenses for this. After this, when in all things he had shown himself lowly and irreproachable, upon the death of Ditho the prior he was appointed prior in his place, and by word and example he was a rule of holy conduct for the brothers. In admonishing he was gentle, pious, and meek; in correcting, serious, since he knew very well that the governance of souls is the most difficult of all arts, and therefore must be exercised with greater zeal. To the [unclear] and [disobedient?] he showed himself stern and fearsome. Hence it came about that the good and humble embraced him with the greatest love, while the slothful and those who had no care for their own souls feared him as a lord and a singular avenger of their iniquity.

He becomes cellarer.

Then, so that he might be tested in all things, he was appointed chief cellarer by Abbot Volmar, and Adelhelm was substituted in his place; not long afterward Adelhelm was appointed at Mediolacum in the diocese of Trier. When he had been made cellarer, he applied great care and solicitude in administering his office, and yet did not neglect the inward conduct of the spirit. Again, after some years, when Gerlach the prior had died, he became prior a second time, and in his usual manner vigorously carried out zeal for regular discipline. Always first and last in choir, he promoted the worship of the divine service with the greatest diligence. He loved the divine Scriptures wonderfully, and as long as he lived he devoted all his zeal to the copying of authentic books of the saints.

He is elected abbot.

Finally, after the passing of Abbot Hartwig had been happily completed, he was elected the seventeenth abbot of this monastery, as we have said, in the year of the Lord 1157, in the fifth indiction, on the eighth day before the Kalends of April; and on the tenth day before the Kalends of October, that is, on the Sunday of the autumnal Ember fast after the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which was the day of Saint Maurice the martyr, receiving the office of blessing from Gunther, bishop of Speyer, he presided for eight years, four months, and six days. He is consecrated at Speyer. He was a man adorned with holy morals: gentle, calm, humble, peaceable, mild, and affable, and chaste in mind and body

to indicate that the pastoral office should be left behind. But the virgin Saint Hildegard, in her manner raising the sight of her mind to the invisible light, gave Hartwig this reply: “The living light says to you: O man, your mind is made subject to me in my will, and I shall not cast you away. For the man who is ready to serve me, for the honor of my name, in feeding my souls, and seeks nothing else, remains in me. But I know who [unclear] in prelacy, and I shall not abandon him. And he who reigns without me, him I do not [unclear]. But you, be ready, because I am soon to come.” Then, having returned to Hirsau, he did not live long, as we shall say.

Hartwig was by birth a Frank; as a young man he was set to the study of letters and became sufficiently learned and educated, not only in divine but also in secular letters. When at length his years increased, he was made a canon of the greater church of Speyer, where he conducted himself so wisely and religiously that by the consent of all he was elected first chamberlain and then provost of the same church. He was a man of good conscience, of gentle heart, and of most honorable conduct; although he abounded in riches and earthly honors, yet with his mind always raised upward to God he devoted himself to good and holy studies. For though he had abundant wealth, he by no means set his heart upon it, but opened his hand to the needy and most readily relieved the necessities of the poor as far as he could. Among other works of piety, while he was still living a secular life, he was bound by great affection to the brothers of this monastery of Hirsau, and bestowed many benefits on them. He often visited them, and whenever anyone from the monastery of Hirsau happened to come to Speyer on any business, it was permitted to find lodging nowhere but in the provost’s house. His house, like a monastery, was furnished with a most honorable household, into which no dishonorable person at all had entrance. By his good and God-fearing morals he was held honorable by all; in his presence no one dared to speak or do base or dishonorable things. Being also inwardly bound in devotion to almighty God, he allowed no idle time to pass in which he did not add some good work to the due measure of his service. He was frequent in prayers and devoted to the reading of the holy Scriptures, as one who had learned by daily meditation the fruit and sweetness of spiritual exercises.

When, however, he saw that many of his fellow canons were going through the steep paths of vices, he applied the medicine of fraternal correction, both by reason of his office and by obedience to the command, and showed, by manifold witness of the Scriptures, how the ministers of the Lord ought to live. But when he perceived that his admonitions profited little among most of them, it wearied him to live in the office of prelacy, in which he saw that he was uselessly set over the rest. Therefore, after mature deliberation had first been held, he resolved for the love of God to abandon all worldly pomp and honor and to bind himself wholly to almighty God by the monastic [unclear]. To undertake this holy and arduous purpose he was especially moved by the sermons and miracles of the holy father performed at Speyer, at which he had been present, and which, as long as he lived, he was accustomed to recount to everyone with the greatest devotion.

Therefore, having sold many of his possessions, and [unclear] the price. He also brought with him to the monastery many things in gold, silver, precious vessels, and various furnishings; all these he resigned into the hands of Abbot Volmar before the whole congregation. Receiving the habit of holy religion from the hands of Abbot Volmar, he thereafter gave himself wholly to God, and was always intent, either in mind or in body, upon his service. To be present at psalmody and at the hours prescribed by the rule, both by night and by day, was always pleasant and most sweet to him; and he groaned that he had lost all the time which he had not devoted to the service of the Creator. He took care to bring his body into servitude to the spirit by abstinence and fastings, and to show himself imitable to all in good works. In all his conduct among the brothers he was peaceful, tranquil, and quiet, and so abounding in charity toward all that he deservedly was called the mother of the congregation. No one ever saw him disturbed; no one heard him murmuring; but walking before his face in true humility, he caused absolutely no one sorrow.

At the same time Siegfried, dean of Pforzheim, who gave many goods to this monastery [unclear] Conrad, as is contained in the Book of Donations, became a monk under Abbot Volmar, a man of singular learning and wisdom, provoked by the instruction and example of Hartwig himself. Likewise very many other notable men, distinguished in wisdom, birth, and wealth, were stirred by the example of the provost of Speyer and were made [monks] in this monastery of Hirsau in the abbacy of Volmar. They [unclear] for the use of the brothers many [unclear]. And he was first appointed prior in Schöntal, then, by Volmar’s consent, abbot in Amorbach: a man well suited to govern both in spiritual and in secular matters. For he was very learned in the holy Scriptures and endowed with singular experience in affairs.

The response of Hildegard. The life of Abbot Hartwig. He is made provost in the church of Speyer. He was merciful to the poor. He loved the monks of Hirsau. In his manner of life he was devout. Armed with zeal for righteousness. He is moved to compunction by St. Bernard. He becomes a monk at Hirsau. In the divine office [unclear] diligent. Never [unclear] disturbed. The dean of Pforzheim, under Volmar, [unclear] Amorbach. Monk.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

[They] put forward the [interpreta]tion of this name, saying that “benefice” ought to be understood as though “a good deed.”

In these times Saint William flourished, formerly count of Poitou, a most renowned hermit, who wore a mail-shirt against his bare flesh and mortified his body with the greatest abstinence, glorious for many miracles.

When he was obstinately siding with the schismatics against Pope Innocent, Saint Bernard, by means of the most sacred body of the Lord, so firmly terrified him and brought him to such compunction that he not only laid aside all obstinacy, but, what is more, abandoned his county, despised all honors and riches, fled men, and entered the wilderness. In these times too the wondrous vision of the knight Tondalus is said to have taken place in Ireland; since it is everywhere very well known, there is no need for it to be inserted into this work.

In these times there flourished in the Church of God many very learned men, who published various little works for the instruction of the simple.

Gilbert, surnamed Porreta, a Frenchman by nation, formerly a scholastic of Paris and then bishop of Poitiers, a man most learned in every respect, wrote a notable exposition on the Psalms; likewise on the Gospel of John, and also on all the epistles of Paul; on Boethius, On the Holy Trinity; and in philosophy he published many subtle treatises.

Lucas also, abbot of Saint Cornelius, of our order, a very learned man, among other little works of his studies, published in these times a work on the Song of Songs of Solomon, not to be despised in reading. Richard of Saint-Victor, a Parisian canon, a man in these times, by everyone’s judgment, by far the most learned in the sacred scriptures, and distinguished no less by the holiness of his manner of life than by his literary learning, published many excellent volumes, the reading of which is set before both the learned and the [unclear]. He also wrote commentaries on the Psalms and on the Epistle, which are quite useful. We have already long since made mention of his little works in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers.

Around these times too Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris, gathered from various sayings of the holy fathers and transmitted to posterity the four books of the Sentences; today they are of such authority in the schools of theologians that they are preferred in daily reading to almost all others. He also wrote commentaries on the Psalms and on the Apostle, which are quite useful, and certain other works which have not come to our knowledge through reading.

In these same times another Peter also was famous, a priest of Troyes, whom people commonly call Comestor. He wrote an outstanding work to William, archbishop of Sens, and certain other little works not to be rejected in reading. Richard, a monk of Cluny, of our order, is held in esteem among the chronographers in these times; among the many things he wrote, he composed a history of the events of past time, quite pleasant and useful.

In these times also, under the first Emperor Frederick, Joachim, abbot of the monastery of Fiore in Calabria, of our order, flourished: a man indeed studious and learned, who, being regarded by many as a prophet, was also accustomed to foretell future things. He wrote on the prophet Jeremiah, on the prophet Daniel, on the Gospel of John, and on the Apocalypse of John; in all these he always attempts to foretell future things. He also wrote several works to Henry VI. Likewise on the Seven Seals in the Apocalypse; on the Psalter of ten strings; likewise the book Concordia. Likewise, concerning twenty-five future Roman pontiffs after his own time, he wrote one prophecy. He also composed many letters to various persons, and various works concerning future times. In this very year of the Lord’s nativity 1357, the sign of the cross appeared plainly in the moon.

In the same year the lord Hartwig, the aforesaid abbot of this monastery, on the eighth day before the Kalends of April, around the first watch of the night, released from the flesh, rested in the Lord, on the fifty-sixth [unclear].

[Unclear] gathered into one book of Decrees from the various opinions, decrees, and writings of the holy fathers, and offered it to be confirmed by the supreme pontiff.

[Unclear] in his mercy, according to his desire, removed him from the midst after a short time, lest wickedness should change his understanding; for prelacy is often accustomed to deceive the mind.

Concerning Manegold, the seventeenth abbot of this monastery, who presided for 8 years, 4 months, and 6 days, and concerning his life and manner of conduct.

After he had entered, and after the burial had been entrusted to him, not without many tears of the brothers,

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius 743

chaste, who in his time did not diminish the substance of the monastery, but increased it, as [unclear] in the book Donation. For in his time many people, for the love of God, handed over many goods to this monastery, and he himself also bought several things for a price. Among others, moreover, there was at that time a certain canon named Ruthardus, who had a brother in Hirsau, a monk, [and was] resident in the church of Mainz; for the remedy of his soul he handed over to the monastery of Hirsau an estate at Bingen, which his brother the monk, by order of the abbot, sold for [unclear] marks of silver, and spent the price for the use of the brothers.

After some time, however, Hedericus, nephew through his brother of the aforesaid Ruthardus, himself also a canon of Mainz, conferred twelve talents on this monastery; for these, Hugo his paternal uncle, at the request of Abbot Manegold, bought three yokes of vineyards in Gruningen for the monastery.

Rupertus also of Tubingen [gave] many goods to the monastery of Hirsau in the time of the abbess [unclear], and also to co-purchasers and others of the convent, of accounts and of others for the common matter. But that benefits of this sort are not as if by the authority of the kingdom or empire, but by the authority of the monastery itself; nevertheless they are held in this way, as if they had been by the authority of the Kingdom or Empire, and ought to pertain to it. And therefore it is said that this is the donation of the monastery of Saint George in Tubingen, which Johannes, bishop in Tubingen, had made. And for that reason it is said that this monastery is now in the possession and hand of the church of Saint George in Tubingen, which Johannes, bishop in Tubingen, had held, who founded this monastery. And all men who have been benefited from this donation shall have this monastery, just as also all men who have been benefited from the donation of Johannes, bishop in Tubingen.

In the first year of Abbot Manegold, that is, in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1157, there was a great earthquake in Asia in various places, which utterly destroyed Tripoli, Damascus, and a certain other city. Moreover the city of the Catanensians was completely overturned; in it almost up to twenty thousand of a very great multitude of men, women, young people, and children perished, suffocated in a miserable disaster. In these days Sophia of Holland, wife of Theodoric, count of Holland, flourished: a holy woman and most devoted in the love of Christ, continually intent on prayers, fasts, vigils, and almsgiving; she is said to have been illustrious for miracles both in life and after death.

When this holy woman, about to visit the threshold of the holy apostle James in Galicia, had fallen among cruel robbers, who wished not only to despoil her of her jewels but even to deprive her of life, she so constrained and bound them by the power of her prayers that they could in no way move from the place or lay hands upon her. Therefore, astonished, they sought pardon from her; having received it, they suddenly fled away. At last, however, after many works of piety, when she had already set out in terror to visit the holy sepulcher of Christ at Jerusalem, and had most devoutly visited the sacred places, on 26 September she happily rested in the Lord; and she was buried in the hospital of the Teutons in Jerusalem.

In the second year of Abbot Manegold, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1158, Emperor Frederick, with the princes of the German kingdom, around the feast of Pentecost entered Lombardy with a strong hand, and took the city of Brescia with many others. Moving his army from there, with fifty thousand fighting men he besieged Milan, and assaulted it fiercely for many days. And when the Milanese saw themselves surrounded by a tight siege, and could expect no help from anyone, they handed the city over to the emperor. When this had been done, the emperor sent his German soldiers back to their homeland for the most part, and imposed on the defeated Milanese an annual payment of tribute.

In the same year Godfridus, abbot of Saint James of Mainz, and Burchardus, provost of Saint Peter’s, together with almost the whole clergy and the citizens of Mainz, began to hold their archbishop in great hatred, and petitioned the emperor against him. Only the Creopoli, whom they call butchers, defended the archbishop’s side with all their strength; whence both by Emperor Frederick and by the archbishop of Mainz, who succeeded Arnold, they were granted a certain singular liberty and privilege, down to the present day, for such great fidelity.

In the third year of Abbot Manegold, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1159, the emperor [unclear] were assembled.

1158.

1159.

Donation of Ruthardus.

Donation of Hedericus.

Religion of the Hirsau brothers.

Various donations.

Earthquake.

Sophia, most [unclear] countess, a holy woman.

Robbers [unclear] without [unclear].

The emperor moves his army into Lombardy.

Milan is taken by the emperor.

Adversaries of the archbishop of Mainz [unclear].

[Minimal text on this page — chiefly running headers or page furniture.]

144 Of the Monastery of Hirsau

having [gathered?] the whole army, he besieged and took by storm Crema, a very strongly fortified city, over seven months, while the Cremonese brought assistance. At last, when they could not withstand the force of the soldiers, they submitted themselves and the city to the emperor’s power, taking away no small hope from the Milanese.

In the same year, after the feast of Saint Remigius, the adversaries of the archbishop of Mainz entered a synod with armed force and wished to kill him. But when the counts, together with their men, resisted bravely, they were compelled to depart shamefully. For this reason Arnold himself, archbishop of Mainz, after the feast of All Saints, went to Lombardy, intending to make complaint about the matter to the emperor; and his adversaries, by no means inactive, followed after him.

In the same year Frederick II, archbishop of Cologne, died in Italy; his body was brought back to his homeland and buried in a certain monastery at Aldenburg. When he had been buried, the people of Cologne sent envoys to the emperor in Italy, asking from him Reinhold the chancellor, whom he had chosen as archbishop. The emperor, glad that he had found an occasion to confer honor upon him, consented with grateful mind and granted Reinhold as archbishop to those who asked. Not long afterward the same Reinhold, having received the emperor’s permission, came to Cologne, took possession of the archbishopric and all that belonged to it, and, after arranging affairs briefly, returned again to the emperor in Lombardy with three hundred chosen soldiers.

In the same year, when Pope Adrian was preparing to excommunicate Emperor Frederick because of the discord concerning the marriage, he was overtaken by death and departed this life in the month of October. After his death a great disturbance followed in the Church of God. For the cardinals, disagreeing among themselves, chose two pontiffs for themselves: Roland the chancellor, whom they call Alexander III, and Octavian, whom they named Victor IV. Alexander, the old vicar of Christ, approved in every respect the sentence of his predecessor Peter [unclear], but Victor favored the emperor very greatly. This Pope Alexander confirmed the Carthusian order and gave them certain privileges, receiving that order itself under the protection and defense of the holy Apostolic See.

1160.

In the aforesaid year of Abbot Manegold, not yet completed, which was begun as the year 1160 of the Lord’s Nativity on the octave of Epiphany, Emperor Frederick ordered a council to be held at Padua, at which he received Victor, who was present, as pope, but condemned Alexander, who was absent. When the council had been completed, Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, having received permission from the emperor, returned to Mainz. At last, when on the day of the Nativity of blessed John the Baptist he had gone out for devotion’s sake to the monastery of Saint James outside the walls of Mainz, Godfrey, abbot of that place, and Burchard, provost of Saint Peter’s, together with the other associates of the conspiracy, sent out assassins whom they had hired from ambushes, and they cruelly killed the archbishop in that same monastery, a great part of the citizens consenting. When the crime had been committed, the perpetrators of the monstrous offense withdrew with haste to the city; and immediately the counts and ministeriales of the murdered archbishop, together with the butchers, violently drove out the monks, plundered that monastery itself, set it on fire, and utterly overthrew all the dwellings of the monks. But Abbot Godfrey, with the rest of the accomplices of his impiety, had betaken himself into the city, where the authors of the crime, together with the clergy, though compelled by violence, set aside the fidelity which they had given into the emperor’s hands three years earlier and elected as archbishop Rudolph, son of Conrad, duke of Zähringen; and when, by the counsel of his men, he intended to appease the emperor with gifts, he stripped the church of its ornament.

At that time there was in the church of Mainz a most precious cross, which Willigis, archbishop of Mainz, in the time of Emperor Otto III, had ordered to be made for the adornment of the house of the Lord. Its crossbeam was of cypress wood, covered above with gold plates and precious stones. The large image, however, made wholly of the purest gold, weighed six hundred pounds of gold, as the verse carved on it showed, in words of this tenor:

This golden cross holds the following pounds of gold.

Marcelphus the archbishop took one foot of this image and sent it to Rome for the pallium. The other, with the legs, Arnold the above-mentioned archbishop took away, and with it rebelled against Hermann, count palatine. All that remained, this Rudolph, with the consent of the people of Mainz, took, intending to appease the emperor with it; in [unclear] the count palatine of the Rhine, the emperor’s brother, rejected and drove out Rudolph, and raised Christian, a certain noble man, to the archbishopric; he at last to the pontificate

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

...did not at that time attain the [unclear], because Conrad, brother of Otto, count palatine of Wittelsbach, was placed over him by the emperor, as we shall say.

In these times the pernicious heresy of the Poor of Lyons, which by another name is called Waldensian, began through a certain wealthy citizen of Lyons, who, after leaving everything behind, professed evangelical poverty; and, after certain books of Sacred Scripture had been translated from Latin into the French tongue, he took upon himself the office of the apostles, and both by himself and through his accomplices in error preached everywhere the Scriptures badly understood. They despised the rulers and prelates of the churches, together with their constitutions, and made nothing of established orders. When they were admonished to come to their senses, they were accustomed to reply that God must be obeyed more than men. At last, stubborn and obstinate in wicked errors, they were driven from the Church, excommunicated, and declared heretics.

About these times, when Saint Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, passed from this life, which happened in the year of the Lord 1153, in the first indiction, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of September, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, a dreadful vision was shown to the bishop of Langres. For there appeared to him a certain dead hermit, whom he had once known while living; moved by fear of God, some years earlier, when he was called a wealthy dean, he had despised everything and entered a hermitage for the love of Christ. But among the other places which he sanctified by his presence, he also came to Hirsau, and Abbot Manegold and the community of brothers received [him] with inestimable joy, as an angel of the Lord coming from heaven. But she, after the customary prayer, sitting in the midst of the brothers, opened her mouth in the name of Christ; the word which the Holy Spirit had entrusted to her, so fervently [unclear] others were sent to purgatory; all the rest, by the sentence of the just judge, were condemned and went down to hell, to be tormented forever.

In the third year of Abbot Manegold, which was, as we have said, the year 1160 from the Lord’s nativity, Saint Hildegard, virgin of Christ, abbess of the monastery of the holy confessor Rupert near Bingen, compelled by the Holy Spirit, personally announced the word of God to people in many places. Among the other places which she sanctified by her presence, she also came to Hirsau, and Abbot Manegold and the community of brothers received her with inestimable joy, as an angel of the Lord coming from heaven. But after holy prayer, sitting in the midst of the brothers, she opened her mouth in the name of Christ and delivered to her hearers the word which the Holy Spirit had entrusted to her, so fervently, soberly, and prudently that all were turned to amazement. A wondrous thing happened. While she spoke the word outwardly, the Holy Spirit inwardly worked its effect in the hearts of the hearers; and he poured over all so great a grace of compunction that they were compelled, from deep feeling and because of the sweetness of mind, to shed tears. Among the other discourses of her sweetest sermon, she foretold to the brothers that, unless they cautiously guarded against the snares of the ancient enemy, they would within a very short space of time experience some tribulation. This happened in that same year in the pernicious dissension which, at the devil’s instigation, arose between Abbot Manegold and the community; of this we shall speak in its proper place. All together, in those matters which concerned the community, instructed by the Holy Spirit, she reproved hidden and manifest faults, and showed with most prudent reasoning what things in their assembly or conduct displeased the divine majesty. Proceeding from there, she went to the monastery of Zwiefalten of our order, and there likewise announced both to the nuns and to the monks what the Holy Spirit had commanded her. In many monasteries and places of Swabia, too, she opened the word of the Lord to the people with the attestation of miracles, and by her admonitions turned many away from iniquity.

1161

In the fourth year of Abbot Manegold, which was the year 1161 from the Lord’s nativity, a grave discord arose, according to the prophecy of blessed Hildegard, through the devil’s instigation, between the abbot of Hirsau himself and his brothers; this spread great scandal and evil report among the people in almost every region of the Swabians. For it seemed to Prior Diemo and to the brothers that the abbot, by indulging his familiars too much, yielded to whatever they wished, and that by dissembling he tolerated many dissolutions and insolences of theirs against the peace of the community and monastic propriety. Hence, when he had several times been admonished about this by the seniors, and, using free power too much, seemed to amend none of the things being put forward, the brothers, thinking themselves held in contempt by him, conceived the gravest displeasure against him. This grew so much that it came to the knowledge of all dwelling in that region, not without disgrace, confusion, and detestation [unclear]. And since the dissension among the brothers thus produced many ordinances against the abbot, insults, and murmurings against him, the abbot, provoked against them, not with paternal mildness, as it seemed to them, but with severity, punished harshly whomever he could catch; the less affection of paternal gentleness he showed, the greater [unclear].

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

...provoked their displeasure against himself. But when Abbot Manegold saw that he could by no means bring the brothers back to concord, being a lover of his own salvation he wished to resign the abbacy. But lest he should rashly offend the eyes of the divine majesty, he sought counsel on this matter through a trusted messenger and by letters from the blessed virgin Hildegard, to whom he sent this letter:

To the most holy lady and his venerable mother Hildegard, Manegold, unworthy abbot of Hirsau, [sends] prayer with service. I have indeed heard that among the Cyrenians there is a certain [unclear] vein of waters, and [unclear]; I know you, and have found by experience among the Alemanni, good mother, to be the vein [unclear] of those entering and going out, and the bosom of kinds in things, like the pupil of the eye [unclear]. For you draw, O my lady, and pour forth; you give form and distinguish into species; and in practical matters [unclear] into contemplation [unclear]. Therefore it has been my impulse, and long has been, to love you, to honor you, to admire you, to serve you and yours, and in all things, by word and deed, to be yours and of your women, in prayers insofar as is right for me, and in services. I ask you, my mother and lady, remember me in your most holy prayers; love one who humbly loves you; acknowledge one who reveres you in Christ; and write back to me by letter concerning the questions asked, having been petitioned in God. When the blessed Hildegard, virgin of Christ, had received these letters and heard the words entrusted by the abbot to the messenger, to...

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... who has sinned, if he does not have the one who anoints him, straightway flees into despair and withers away, because no medicine is administered to him according as he himself can bear it. Now, dear sons, hear the voice of the living light: Take hold of mercy, which has arisen not from us, but which comes from God. And therefore do not withdraw it from those to whom it must be shown. Therefore draw them back to the health of their souls.

After the brothers of Hirsau had received these letters from Saint Hildegard, handmaid of Christ, they rejoiced in a wonderful manner; and, changing their plan, they began to treat among themselves concerning peace and the tranquillity of concord. But Abbot Manegold too, according to the counsel of the lady virgin Hildegard, forestalling them in a spirit of meekness and gentleness, showed himself in all things, in word and deed, a most loving father. The brothers likewise, through the sweetness of his fatherly promise, promised that they would show themselves humble and obedient sons in all things, and would never thereafter provide an occasion for discord. Thus, therefore, by the merits, prayers, and counsels of the blessed Hildegard, virgin of Christ, concord between the abbot and the convent was restored with the Lord's help; and thereafter, while Abbot Manegold himself lived, both sides firmly preserved it inviolable among themselves.

1162.

In the fifth year of Abbot Manegold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1162, the emperor Frederick, while he was in Lombardy together with the leading men of the church of Mainz, passed over Christian the prior, or rather despised him, and set up as archbishop of the aforesaid church Conrad, brother of Otto, Count Palatine of Wittelsbach; and he presided for two years.

In the same year also, when the Milanese, forgetful of their pledged faith and oath, refused obedience to the emperor, the city of Milan itself was again besieged by Caesar and was shortly captured. The people were expelled, the wall all around was stripped bare, and all the buildings, except the churches of the saints, were destroyed down to the ground, so that, at the emperor's command, a plow was drawn through the middle of the city in the form of a cross. Reinhold, archbishop of Cologne, taking away from Milan, with the emperor's consent, the bodies of the holy Magi who had adored Christ in the cradle, transferred them to Cologne and placed them in the greater church of Saint Peter, where [unclear] they promised to do [unclear]. On Tuesday the men of Brescia swore similar things.

At the same time Louis, king of France, sent envoys to the emperor for arranging peace and unity of the holy Church, and he received them graciously. Therefore, when a general synod had been proclaimed in the town called Leona, on the river Saone, in the bishopric of Besancon, the emperor was present with Pope Victor and many archbishops and abbots on the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist. The king of France, however, had arrived the day before on the other side of the river, but by the counsel of Pope Alexander and those obedient to him, he remained in a nearby castle and did not come to the emperor. Waldemar, king of the Danes, was present at this synod, and there he received the crown of the kingdom of Denmark from the hands of the lord emperor. Therefore the emperor and the aforesaid king of the Danes, with that assembly of bishops, abbots, and princes, just as in the first and second synod, named Victor universal pope, but designated Alexander with his adherents as schismatics.

1163.

In the sixth year of Abbot Manegold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1163, the emperor celebrated Easter at Worms, and in the octave held a solemn court at Mainz. But almost all the citizens, except for a few of the lower sort, fled from the city so that they would not be found by the emperor, on account of the murder of Archbishop Arnold, committed in the monastery of Saint James, concerning which I have spoken above. [Unclear], having been brought to court, received a capital sentence. Godefrid, abbot of Saint James, was presented to the emperor so that he might clear himself of the charges brought against him, and received a delay. But when he could not clear himself of the killing of that archbishop, by decree of the emperor and the princes he was expelled from the abbacy and was compelled also to abjure his homeland and the province of the church of Mainz. But the monks of the same monastery, all shut up in one house by order of the emperor, who had previously been obedientiaries, seeing that they had been placed in an evil situation, sought flight, some through the windows, others by whatever device they could. The rest, the older men, the weak, and the sick, who were unable to flee, were permitted to depart. And so, when the abbot had been expelled together with all the monks, and the monastery of Saint James had been utterly destroyed, that place remained desolate without inhabitants for fourteen years, and thus...

The brothers began to treat among themselves concerning peace.

Peace between the abbot and the brothers was restored.

Conrad becomes archbishop of Mainz.

The bodies of the three holy Magi are transferred to Cologne.

[Unclear] presents obedience to the emperor.

A synod of two popes is held.

Waldemar, king of the Danes.

The emperor comes to Mainz.

The abbot of Saint James is expelled from his abbacy and homeland.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... he knew [them] to be incorrigible, he resigned the abbacy after he had governed it for some years, preferring to remain in humility with his Hirsau brothers as one cast down than to preside fruitlessly in an abbacy over reprobate monks. Having therefore left the abbacy of the aforesaid Gotzaugian monastery, he returned to Hirsau and, received by the brothers with great charity, obtained the place of prior and continued among them a tranquil life, as he had been accustomed before, without reproach.

Afterwards, however, at the monastery of Schonrem, by the counsel and assent of the brothers of this community, he was appointed supreme prior and rector by Abbot Volmar; there he presided for almost ten years with sufficient usefulness, and enlarged that priory no less in spiritual than in temporal matters.

At length, after the death of Abbot Manegold, since no one more useful than he was found among the brothers at Hirsau, by common counsel and the unanimous consent of all he was elected abbot of this monastery in the aforesaid year of Christ’s nativity 1165, in the fourth indiction, on the Nones of August, and he presided, as we have said, for eleven years. In the observance of regular discipline he was quite zealous and fervent; but because the days were evil, and it was necessary to redeem the time, he governed the brothers not as he wished, but as he could. For already then they had begun to grow lukewarm from the fervor of their first institution, nor was it easy to call back all at once those who were slipping away too much. For this reason he received many injuries from weak subjects. Therefore, compelled by necessity, lest from bad they become worse, he kept silent and, with prudent moderation, as far as he was permitted, passed things over for the better course. [The monastic profession?] had grown lukewarm at this time.

As for the state of temporal affairs, he did not diminish the substance of the monastery, but enlarged it; and besides the many donations made by the faithful in his time, which are contained in the Book of Donations, he himself also acquired not a few estates and meadows for the use of the brothers. This Abbot Rupert also built, in the greater monastery of Hirsau, on the northern side, a chapel with beautiful woodwork in honor of St. Nicholas, the great archbishop of Myra, in which he was accustomed rather often to celebrate the solemnities of Mass. The chapel of St. Nicholas is founded.

This chapel, after 278 years, Abbot Wolffram, since it had almost collapsed from excessive age, destroyed with the consent and permission of Reinhard, bishop of Speyer; and transferring that altar itself into the church of the monastery, to the left side of the altar of the Holy Cross, he consecrated it in honor of Saints Peter the Apostle, Nicholas, Ulrich, and Aurelius, bishops, and Gall, abbot, through the ministry of Peter, bishop of Myra, vicar-general in pontificals of the aforesaid prelate Reinhard, as we shall say in its place.

In the course of the first year of Abbot Rupert, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1162, St. Elisabeth, nun, the holy and God-beloved virgin Elisabeth, a nun of our order, mistress of the virgins of Christ at Schönau in the diocese of Trier, sister of Eckbert, abbot there in the monastery of monks, of whom we made mention above, in the thirty-sixth year of her age, the twenty-fourth of her conversion to the order, and the thirteenth of the visitation of heavenly grace, with the Lord calling, [unclear: of Saints Peter the Apostle, Nicholas, Ulrich, and Aurelius, bishops, and Gall, abbot, through the ministry of Peter, bishop of Myra, the aforesaid vicar-general in pontificals of Bishop Reinhard, consecrated it], as we say in its place.

For in the eleventh year of her religious life, which was the twenty-third of her age, [unclear], she was buried in the monastery of men, there in the principal church toward the north [unclear]. Her life, manner of life, miracles, and revelations her brother, the aforesaid Abbot Eckbert, described for the edification of many. This virgin, when she was twelve years old, was given to the monastery of the poor virgins of Christ at Schönau, to the Lord God under the rule of our holy father Benedict and under the direction of Hildelin, first abbot and founder of both [monasteries?]; [unclear] angelic [visitations?], and, divinely illumined, to reveal the secrets of minds. And for as long as she lived thereafter, she was refreshed by divine revelations, and this especially on Sundays and on the feasts of saints; she had been given there, where she lived so holy, so pure and religious a life that she deserved more often to be divinely consoled in this mortality by many wondrous revelations.

For the [manner?] of the visions, or revelations, was this. A certain suffering of the breast came upon her, so that, having suddenly fallen in the church, she would remain as if lifeless, lying quietly or sitting motionless, and no breath could be perceived in her. While this rapture lasted, her spirit was carried away to various places, and in the meantime she was instructed by angelic speech. At length, after a long rapture, having recovered her spirit, she would utter most holy words, sometimes in the Teutonic tongue, which was her native language, and sometimes in Latin, although she had almost no [knowledge] of the Latin language

143

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

the services of divine praise there were interrupted. Finally, to curb its insolence, the wall around the city was, by order of the emperor, entirely destroyed and reduced to dust. And thus Mainz remained without a wall for thirty-seven years.

In this same year certain heretics of the sect of those who are called Cathars, coming from the parts of Flanders to Cologne, began to live secretly in a certain barn near the city. But since they did not enter the church even on the Lord’s day, they were brought in by the people living round about. They were therefore brought to the examination of holy mother Church, and were found to be most obstinate heretics.

In these times flourished Eckbert, abbot of the monastery of Saint Florinus the Confessor in Schönau, of the diocese of Trier, of our order, brother of the blessed Elisabeth, a consecrated virgin, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures and of great name and reputation in his time among ecclesiastical teachers. Therefore the clergy and the leading men of the city of Cologne, knowing him to be a man no less venerable for the holiness of his conversion than distinguished for his learning in the Scriptures, summoned him to Cologne by letters and messengers to examine the aforesaid heretics. When Abbot Eckbert came to Cologne, in the aforesaid year 1163 of the Lord’s Nativity, in the eleventh indiction, on the second day of the month of August, he entered upon a public contest of disputation with three heresiarchs who seemed more acute than the rest, namely Arnold, Marsilius, and Theodoric. Although they were very sharp, nevertheless by disputing vigorously he convicted them, so that they were altogether unable to contradict him.

And since by no arguments, no authorities, and no admonitions could they be induced to renounce their error, but persisted most obstinately in their purpose, they were cast out completely by the Church and handed over into the hands of the laity. These led them outside the city and, on the Nones of August, handed them over to the flames: eight men and two women. Among them was one young woman; when, through the pity of the people, she was almost being saved, in case perhaps, terrified by the death of the others, she might acquiesce in sounder counsel, she suddenly slipped from the hands of those holding her, threw herself voluntarily into the flames, and perished.

These heretics were entangled in many errors, Cataphrygians, or Cathars, so called because they said that they themselves were pure and the only Christians, but all other people impure and heretics. Despising the rulers of churches, prelates, priests, and all the clergy, they called them deceivers of souls and snares of the devil. They mocked the sacrament of the Church and denied the most holy body and blood. Lust committed among themselves in whatever manner or with whomever they said was not a sin, alleging: “All things are pure to the pure.” They also professed many other abominable errors, about which we blush to write for the sake of decency.

Against these Cathars, Saint Hildegard, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote a letter to the canons of the greater church of Mainz, which begins thus: “In the month of July of the present year, which is the 1163rd of the Lord’s Incarnation,” etc. The origin [unclear] of this heresy had its source from the dregs of Tanchelm, about whom we spoke much earlier, in the fifth year of Abbot Volmar; in the lower regions, and especially in Antwerp, he disseminated most foul errors and revived the heresy of the Adamites.

And although through the brothers of Saint Norbert, the first founder of the Premonstratensian order, that same heresy was then for the greater part extinguished, especially in that region, nevertheless meanwhile it has so often sprouted again in various provinces of the world, and especially in the kingdom of Bohemia, in Alsace, and in Thuringia, that down to the present day it has infected many with the venom of its depravity; nor is it even today believed to be wholly extinct, although it is very hidden and known to very few. For, through fear of fire, the professors of this error have always been accustomed to love hidden lurking-places. Since mention has fallen upon Abbot Eckbert, we must say who and how great he was. He was [unclear] of the aforesaid most devout [unclear], abandoned the world and all things that are in the world for the love of Christ, and under Hildelin, first abbot of the monastery of Schönau, became a monk.

When he died, succeeding in his place, he was appointed abbot by the election of the brothers. He was a man, both in the divine Scriptures and in secular letters, in his time among [unclear], ready and eloquent before the people, and he left to posterity many little works of his talent, written in a polished style. Of these few have come down to our reading. Against the heretics

Verdastus was.

Little works of Eckbert.

The Cathar heretics.

Eckbert, Abbot of Schönau, of our order.

He overcame the Cathar heretics by disputation.

The Cathars burned at Cologne.

The errors of the Cathars were very wicked among many.

Hildegard writes against the Cathars. The origin of the heresy of the Cathars.

This heresy is not yet extinct.

This Abbot Eckbert, who was

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

Against heretics he wrote one book. This book of his against the Cathars is extant, printed at Cologne in the year [1530?]. Also, On the Beginning of the Gospel of John. Also, on the Gospel, 'The angel was sent': a fine treatise, not to be despised. He also composed several letters to various persons, and many and varied sermons. He also wrote the life, conduct, revelations, and death of his blessed sister Elisabeth, of whom we shall speak later. He also published several poems of different kinds, and prayers suited to devotion, concerning the Lord Jesus, and concerning his most holy mother, the Virgin Mary, and many other diverse saints.

He was abbot of Schonau. At length, when Hildelin, first abbot of the aforesaid monastery of Schonau, had died, on the Nones of December in the year of the Lord 1167, by the unanimous consent of the brothers he was appointed abbot in the same monastery. He presided for eighteen years, and on the fifth day before the Kalends of April he passed from this life, not without a reputation for sanctity.

He was of such great learning that, in a public assembly of learned men at Koblenz, in the first disputation he convicted a certain heretic, [of Gardena?] by origin, who held wrong opinions and taught most wickedly concerning the body and blood of the Lord, and who, because of the subtlety of his mind and the fluency of his tongue, was formidable even to all the most learned; and he called him back from his error to the profession of the truth.

1163.

In the seventh year of Abbot Manegold, and in the year 1164 of the Lord's nativity, the archbishop of Salzburg was cruelly killed by the ministerials of St. Rupert. The Emperor returned again into Italy.

The archbishop of Salzburg is slain. The sea oversteps its bounds. The ocean in the lower regions, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of March, went beyond its boundary for twelve miles and submerged many thousands of people of both sexes and of different ages, especially around the river Weser.

In the same year, on Good Friday, namely the fourth day before the Ides of April, while Pope Alexander, who was also Roland, was celebrating the divine rites at Sens, horrible darkness came on; and then such a dreadful lightning bolt fell, and after it such a great crash thundered, that the pope, leaving the altar, and the deacon, leaving the reading, and all who were present judged that they must look to their safety by flight.

Dreadful tempest of the air. In that same year Pope Victor died at Lucca and was buried there. Wido, bishop of Crema, was ordained by Henry, bishop of Liege, on the tenth day before the Kalends of May, and was called Paschal III.

Pope Victor died; Paschal III succeeds. Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, is expelled; Christian is elected. In the same year Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, of whom we spoke above, bound himself by faith and oath to Pope Alexander and against the will of the Emperor, and withdrew from the Emperor and his antipope. Therefore the Emperor, indignant, expelled him from the archbishopric of Mainz and compelled him to flee to that father Alexander himself. When he had been expelled, Christian was appointed in his place; as we said above, the men of Mainz had elected him before Conrad. There is extant a letter of this Archbishop Christian to Saint Hildegard, in which he asks and obtains. At length, however, after Christian, Conrad again [unclear] to the archbishopric.

On the appointed day for battle, on the second feria of Rogation week in the field of Andernach, after the men of Cologne had been reconnoitered by scouts, Conrad the Palatine did not dare to come, although he had been awaited by them for twelve days.

In the same year, on the Kalends of October, the Emperor returned from Italy and held a famous court at Bamberg in the octave of St. Martin, where he restored peace between Conrad, count Palatine, his brother, and Reinold the elect and the men of Cologne.

In the eighth year of Abbot Manegold, which was the year 1165 of the Lord's nativity, Saint Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury in England, while he was stoutly defending the freedom and rights of his church against the tyranny of the king of the English, was driven by him from his country and at the same time from his archbishopric. Coming into the kingdom of the Franks, he first stayed in the monastery of [Pontigny?]. Afterwards he was maintained at royal expense at Sens, in the monastery of St. Columba.

Saint Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, is exiled. In the same year a son named Henry was born to the Emperor at Nijmegen. In that same year the Emperor held a very celebrated court at Wurzburg on the day of Pentecost, where both the Emperor himself and all the other princes swore that their pope Paschal[...]

[unclear] they would never desert, nor would they ever go over to the party of Alexander. There, then, Rainald, elect of Cologne, was first ordained priest on Ember Saturday, together with many others newly elected. Afterwards, on the sixth day before the Nones of October (October 2), he was elected archbishop of Cologne by Philip, bishop of Osnabruck, Emperor Frederick being present together with his empress.

In the same year also, on the day of Peter in Chains, which is the Kalends of August (August 1), after midday, Manegold, the seventeenth abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, and in the eighth of his abbacy, with four months and six days completed, departed from this life to the Lord, and was buried before the altar of St. Michael the Archangel. He was certainly a man worthy of remembrance: although he sometimes endured the murmurings of his brothers, as we have said before, nevertheless the cause of the displeasures arose not from evil, but rather from a good zeal for regular discipline. For he was a most fervent lover of the monastic life; and when he corrected delinquent monks rather harshly according to the monastic rule, he provoked the hatred of the weak against himself. But after he was once admonished by St. Hildegard, he changed severity into the greatest kindness, and supreme peace between him and the brothers prevailed until his death.

Concerning Rupert, the eighteenth abbot of this monastery, who presided for eleven years, and concerning his way of life and certain deeds of that time.

In the year of the Lord's nativity 1163, on the second day after the feast of Peter in Chains, which was the fourth day before the Nones of August (August 2), after Manegold, the venerable abbot, had died and been buried, as we have said, the brothers of this monastery came together as one to provide themselves with a new shepherd. After many necessary discussions among themselves, and after humble invocation of the grace of the Holy Spirit, they elected as abbot the venerable man Rupert, at that time prior in [Schonrain?]. But once elected, only with the greatest difficulty could he at last scarcely be induced by the brothers to consent, since, taught by experience, he had learned that there is more danger than honor in the prelacy of cloistered men. For he had previously been abbot in Gottesaue, as we shall say; and from this he had learned very fully in many matters how much the prelate of monks must necessarily suffer. He therefore refused to accept the abbacy of this great and distinguished monastery, [unclear]. At last, overcome by the prayers of the brothers, after he had long resisted, he gave his consent, and for the love of God humbly accepted the burden of pastoral care to be borne; in it he served the Lord strenuously for eleven years. The office of blessing, which he had once received in the abbey of Gottesaue, sufficed also in this one.

He was born of honorable parents in Eastern Francia, and, having been set to the study of letters in boyhood, advanced diligently, as his years increased, in good morals and in knowledge of the Scriptures; in a short time he surpassed many of his contemporaries in both. Then, as his years increased, touched by divine inspiration, he became a monk in this monastery under Abbot Volmar, where he gave himself wholly to spiritual exercise, so that as a young man he became an example of virtues even to many elders. As far as bodily constitution is concerned, he was [unclear]; he was resonant [of voice?], mature and eloquent in speech. In morals he was composed and gentle, ready and cautious in counsel, and circumspect in all his actions. He was of the mildest and most tranquil conduct among the brothers, and never offended anyone by injury. Finally, he applied himself with such diligence to serving almighty God that he always entered the choir among the first and left among the last; and day and night he devoted himself almost continually to the reading of Scripture, holy meditations, and prayers. At length, when the fame of his virtues spread everywhere, even to outsiders, the brothers of the monastery of Gottesaue, which is four miles distant from Hirsau, moved by his name and reputation, when they were bereft of a shepherd, sought him as abbot over them by unanimous election and obtained him. After a humble excuse, at last, constrained by the command of his abbot, he accepted that burden of pastoral care, and was solemnly ordained according to custom by the bishop of Speyer. Once ordained abbot, he applied all his zeal to [unclear], and made no small progress in the restoration of temporal affairs. But in spiritual matters he could not make progress to the same degree, because the insolence of certain brothers stood in the way not a little. And when, with the insolence of the monks standing in the way, he saw that he was making little progress, leaving to them those

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

and that you may know my innocence and that of our abbot, and may be able to make it known to others. I beseech you, moreover, both that you make me a sharer in your prayers, and, as the Spirit of the Lord shall suggest to you, that you write back to me some words of consolation. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

MCLXVI.

In the year noted above, in which the holy virgin Elisabeth departed from the body, which was the first year of Abbot Rupert, the winter was very harsh, and there followed a great famine with pestilence and many evils.

MCLXVII.

But in the third year of Abbot Rupert, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1167, Henry, bishop of Wurzburg, died; Herold, succeeding him, presided for 7 years, 5 months, and 10 days. To this Bishop Herold, Emperor Frederick was the first to confirm the duchy of Franconia under a golden bull, with all ducal power and jurisdiction.

MCLXVIII.

In the following year Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, was cruelly killed by his own citizens in the monastery of St. James on the day of St. John the Baptist. The leaders of this conspiracy among the clergy were Godfrey, abbot of St. James, and the provost of the churches of St. Peter, with many others consenting to the same deed against the bishop. When the murder of the venerable prelate had been carried out, the cruel killers elected as archbishop Rudolf, son of Conrad, duke of Zahringen; and so that he might appease the emperor for himself with gifts, he stripped the whole Church of its ornaments. But, being despised by the emperor, he by no means attained to the see of the pontificate. Meanwhile, while Rudolf was going to the emperor, who was staying in Italy, Conrad, count palatine of the Rhine, brother of the emperor himself by one parent, raised a certain Christian to be archbishop. But when both had been rejected, the emperor [unclear] Conrad, brother of Otto, count palatine of Wittelsbach, to be ordained archbishop [unclear], stripped the whole Church [unclear]. We shall say, he expelled him, and ordained the aforesaid Christian in his place. After the murder of Arnold, the venerable bishop, the monastery of St. James was destroyed by his supporters, and the dwellings of the monks were utterly scattered, so that for nearly twelve years no harmony of divine praise was celebrated in that place. The monks were scattered here and there, and the abbot stood [unclear]. But all the citizens who had consented to the murder of the bishop, except the poor and beggars, saved themselves by flight before the emperor's return from Italy.

MCLXX.

But in the fifth year of Rupert, abbot of the monastery of Hirsau, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1170, Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, because he adhered to Alexander, the third pope of the city of Rome, against the sentence of the emperor, was driven from his church. In his place the emperor caused the above-mentioned Christian to be ordained; he presided for 13 years, and after his death Conrad returned to his church. Meanwhile, fleeing, he turned aside to the pope; received by him with honor, he accepted from him the bishopric of Sabina for the sustenance of his life. Therefore, as long as he lived, even after returning to Mainz, he wrote himself in all letters archbishop of Mainz and bishop of Sabina.

MCLXXII.

In the seventh year of Abbot Rupert, Emperor Frederick I subdued Henry, duke of Brunswick, who until then had been rebellious against the empire, both by the forces of the princes and by imperial censure, and compelled him to come to obedience.

In the same year the emperor celebrated Pentecost at Mainz, together with his wife and his son Henry and many princes; and on the same day in the monastery of St. Alban outside the walls he established [unclear] for the benefit of the commonwealth. There [Heminus?], count of Flanders, subjected himself in obedience to the emperor, and promised that same county to the emperor's son, provided he died without children.

In the same year also Louis, the second margrave of Thuringia, died, a man of great deeds and always unconquered in spirit.

MCLXXIII.

In the eighth year of Abbot Rupert, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1173, the head of the holy virgin Irmina, daughter of Dagobert, once king of the Franks, who had been the first abbess of our order in the granary at Trier, was translated, at the petition of Lord [Craston?], the second abbot, to my monastery of Spanheim, with the consent of Hillin, archbishop.

MCLXXIIII.

152 The Monastery of Hirsau ... might have understanding. For the Spirit who spoke in her formed the words as he wished. Her whole life was, as it were, a certain long martyrdom, since, placed under regular discipline, she bore the Lord’s yoke for a long time under the manifold scourge of sufferings. For the hand of the Lord was always stretched out over her, and the scourge of her pious Creator was never lacking to her, weighing down her soul and crushing her weak body with continual illness. Although she was vexed by continual infirmities, nevertheless, always patient, always cheerful, mortifying herself by [unclear] chastisement, she offered an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord.

Instructed by divine revelations, moreover, she wrote several works for the edification of the faithful, among which we have read the following: The Ways of God, a beautiful and necessary work, in which several sermons are set down concerning the way of contemplatives, of active persons, of martyrs, of married persons, and of the continent; it begins thus: “It happened in the fifth year of my visitation,” etc. Likewise, instructed by angelic revelation, she issued a little work on the history, origin, discovery, and names of the eleven thousand, which begins thus: “To you who bear pious affections toward those things which are holy, I, Elisabeth, little woman of the handmaids of the Lord who are in Schönau, reveal the things which have been revealed to me through the grace of God.” Likewise she composed three books of various revelations, on various matters, causes, and propositions, containing one hundred forty-four chapters, in which she described many beautiful and useful things. The first of these begins thus: “You ask of me, brother; you have come for this, that I may recount to you the mercies of the Lord.” The second thus: “Benign is the mercy of our God.” The third thus: “The angel of the Lord took me up in the spirit to a place of great height.” Likewise, to the question [unclear] Saint Hildegard, mistress of the sisters at Bingen, which, after careful consideration, it has pleased us to insert word for word into this work of ours, as follows:

“To Lady Hildegard, venerable mistress of the brides of Christ who are at Bingen, Elisabeth, humble nun, mistress of the sisters who are at Schönau, offers devout prayers with all affection. May the grace and consolation of the Most High fill you with joy, because you have kindly had compassion for my disturbance, as I understood from the words of my consoler, whom you diligently [unclear] concerning my consolation. For, as you said that it had been revealed to you concerning me, I confess truly that recently I conceived in my soul a certain cloud of disturbance, because of the false words of people saying many things about me which are not true. But I would easily endure the words of the common people, if those who walk in the habit of religion did not grieve my spirit with bitter words. For these men, driven by I know not what goads, mock the grace of God in me; concerning things of which they are ignorant they do not fear to judge rashly. I hear that certain letters written from their own spirit are being circulated under my name, defaming me as having prophesied concerning the day of judgment. This, certainly, I presumed to do, since its coming escapes the knowledge of all mortals. But I shall disclose to you the occasion of this report, so that you may judge [unclear].

Many foolish persons mocked the visions of the holy virgin. [unclear] wished to [unclear] his [unclear] servants. She was struck by an angel. She reveals her visions to her abbot.

“On a certain Sunday, when I was in an ecstasy of mind, an angel stood by me, saying: ‘He has also frequently shown me through his angel what things would come upon his people in these days, unless they did penance for [unclear]; gold in the mud, that is, the word of God which has been sent through your mouth onto the earth because of the misfortunes of prophecy. Why do you hide it? Not that it may be hidden, but that it may be made manifest to the praise and glory of our Lord and the salvation of peoples.’ And when this had been said, he lifted over me a scourge, which with very great anger he inflicted on me five times most bitterly, so that for three days I was weak in my whole body from that blow. After this he placed his finger on my mouth, saying: ‘You will be silent until the ninth hour, when you will reveal the things which the Lord has worked with you.’ I therefore remained mute until the ninth hour. Then I signified to the mistress that she should bring me a certain little book, which I had hidden by my instruction, containing in part those things which the Lord had done with me. When I offered it into the hands of Abbot Hildelin, who had come to visit me, my tongue was loosed in these words: ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory.’ After this, when I had revealed certain other things to him, which I had not wished to commit to writing, namely concerning the great vengeance of the Lord which I had learned from the angel would in a short time come upon the whole world, I asked him very diligently to keep that word hidden with himself. But the lord abbot himself commanded me to devote myself to prayer, and to ask the Lord to grant me understanding whether he wished the things which I had said to be governed by silence or not. And when for some time I had applied myself to prayer over this matter, the angel of the Lord stood by me, saying: ‘Cry out strongly, say “alas” to all nations, because the whole world has been turned into darkness. And you shall say: Come out; he has called you, who formed you from the earth; and say: Do penance,’

The Monastery of Hirsau

Concerning Conrad, the nineteenth abbot of this monastery, who presided for 12 years, and concerning his way of life and certain deeds of his and of that time.

Conrad becomes abbot of Hirsau.

After the resignation of the most reverend father, Lord Abbot Rupert, lest the monastery long feel the inconveniences of its widowhood, the prior and brothers of this community appointed a day for the election of a new shepherd. When it arrived, and all who were required to be present at the election had assembled in the chapter place, the grace of the Holy Spirit having been invoked, as is customary, after mature deliberation they unanimously elected as abbot the venerable man Conrad, a monk of this community, brother of Count Hermann of Kilberg, a holy and excellent man. After humbly excusing himself, he was at last overcome by the prayers of the brothers, gave his consent, and accepted the dignity with its burden. Thus elected by the common assent of the brothers, after a few days he was ordained abbot by the bishop of the church of Bamberg, and he presided vigorously over this monastery for 12 years. He refused, however, to be ordained by the bishop of Speyer, because that bishop adhered to Emperor Frederick, long since excommunicated, against the supreme pontiff.

This Conrad, as we have said, was sprung from the noble stock of the Swabians, the son of the noble count of Kilberg and the brother of Count Hermann. From his earliest age he was set to learning letters, and he made no small progress in every branch of knowledge, both divine and human. At last, when he had grown into a mature man, and was held glorious and distinguished for riches and honors and for the nobility of his lineage, he despised all things as dung for the love of God, betook himself to the present community, and, becoming a monk, lived in all religion and holiness. For the higher and nobler he was by birth, the humbler he showed himself in all things in his way of life. He never saddened anyone, offended no one wrongfully, but lived among the brothers without complaint and went about without offense. He was gentle in disposition and ready for obedience, so that he had no equal in the community. For in humility, obedience, patience, and uprightness of conduct he surpassed all, and by continence both of body and mind he was of singular chastity. He was dark in face, of middling stature, grave in gait, contemptible in habit, but excellent and gracious in virtue of soul.

When he had been ordained abbot, he strove in all things to show himself the form of the flock by word and example, tempering modestly the former measure of his humility, so that to the good and well-disposed he seemed a companion in manner of life, but to the hard and disobedient he was to be revered through the censure of justice. In his whole life he always lived most chastely, giving greater care to the soul than to the body. He was gentle in disposition, subtle and calm, cautious, ready, and circumspect in counsel, succinct, eloquent, and orderly in speech. In arranging temporal affairs he was strong in great sagacity and prudence, and he abundantly supplied to his subjects the necessities both of mind and body, according to the Rule of our most holy father Benedict. At table before the brothers and guests he was sufficiently generous and bountiful, and, receiving in Christ with all charity all who came, he treated them liberally according to the command of the Rule. He was dear to all, and held in the greatest reverence and honor by his subjects.

1177.

In the first year of Abbot Conrad, which was the year 1177 from the Lord’s Nativity, at Bingen, in the monastery of Saint Rupert, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of December, died Saint Hiltrudis, a virgin nun of our order, daughter of Count Meginhard of Spanheim and sister of Lord Crafto, the second abbot of my monastery of Spanheim. Blessed Hildegard, her mistress, is said to have borne witness to her sanctity both in life and after death.

1178.

In the second year of Abbot Conrad, the monastery of Saint James on Mount Speciosus near Mainz, destroyed nine years earlier on account of the murder of Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, began to be rebuilt by permission of Frederick, the first emperor, and with the aid of Archbishop Christian.

In the same year Reinhard, bishop of Würzburg, died. Godfrey succeeded him and presided for 6 years, eight months, and 24 days. This Bishop Godfrey dedicated the greater church of Würzburg in honor of Saint Kilian the martyr, and governed his church quite usefully and vigorously.

1180.

In the fourth year of Conrad, abbot of this community, which was the year 1180 from the Lord’s Nativity, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of October, died Saint Hildegard, a nun of our order, foundress and mistress, of the diocese of Mainz, of whom mention has been made above, in the [unclear] year of her age. She was buried in the middle of the choir of her monastery before the high altar; she, by many things both in life and after

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

153

[unclear], for the kingdom is near. Therefore, moved by this sermon, the lord abbot began to spread the word before the officials of the Church and men of religion. Some of them received the word with reverence; others, however, did not, but spoke ill of the angel who was familiar to me, saying that he was a deceiving spirit and transformed into an angel of light. Therefore the lord abbot himself bound me by my obedience, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I, judging this presumptuous, accepted this command with great fear. Therefore one day, when I was in my ecstasy, in the usual manner he presented himself to me and stood in my sight. And trembling I said to him: I adjure you by God the Father and the Son and the Spirit. But tell me rightly whether you are a true angel of God, and whether the visions which I saw in my ecstasy are true, and the things which

[The following text is a heavily corrupted repetition of the same passage:]

bound me, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord, to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I, [unclear], it is, he presented himself to me, but stood in my sight. And trembling I said to him: I adjure you by God the Father and the Son and the Spirit. But tell me rightly whether you are a true angel of God, and whether the visions which I saw in my ecstasy are true, and the things which

bound me, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord, to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I, [unclear], it is, he presented himself to me, but stood in my sight. And I said, trembling to him: I adjure you by God the Father and the Son and the Spirit. But tell me rightly whether you are a true angel of God, and whether the visions which I saw in my ecstasy are true, and the things which

bound me, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord, to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I, [unclear], it is, he presented himself to me, but stood in my sight. And trembling I said to him: I adjure you by God the Father and the Son and the Spirit. But tell me rightly whether you are a true angel of God, and whether the visions which I saw in my ecstasy are true, and the things which

bound me, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord, to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I, judging this presumptuous, accepted this command with great fear. Therefore one day, when I was in my ecstasy, in the usual manner he presented himself to me and stood in my sight. And I said to him [unclear]. Therefore the lord abbot himself bound me by my obedience, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord, to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I [unclear], he presented himself to me, but stood in my sight. I adjure you by God the Father and the Son and the Spirit. But tell me rightly whether you are a true angel of God, and whether the visions which I saw in my ecstasy are true, and the things which

bound me, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord, to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I [unclear], he presented himself to me, but stood in my sight. I adjure you by God the Father and the Son and the Spirit. But tell me rightly whether you are a true angel of God, and whether the visions which I saw in my ecstasy are true, and the things which

bound me, ordering that, when he appeared to me again, I should adjure him by the name of the Lord, to tell me whether he was a true angel of God or not. But I [unclear], he presented himself to me, but stood in my sight. I adjure you by God

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

1174.

In the ninth year of Abbot Rupert, Craffto, the second abbot of my aforesaid monastery, died on the fifth day before the Kalends of June; he was the son of Count Meginhard of Spanheim, aged fifty-eight, and was buried in the middle of the choir, in one sarcophagus with his predecessor Bernhelm. Adelger, a monk and custodian of my monastery, succeeded him and presided for six years, [unclear] month, and only three days. Before entering religious life he had for a long time been in charge of the public school at Mainz, and left behind after him many distinguished pupils.

Adelger becomes abbot of Spanheim.

In the same year Herold, bishop of Würzburg, died; Reinhard succeeded him and presided for four years, ten months, and fifteen days.

1175.

In the tenth year of Abbot Rupert, which was the year 1175 of the Lord’s Nativity, there was great disturbance throughout the whole Roman Empire because of the disobedience and rebellion of Frederick, the first emperor, against the apostolic see. Rupert himself, abbot, and the brothers of this monastery, openly taking the side of the holy Roman Church from the first, suffered many troubles and injuries in goods and persons from the emperor’s supporters, until at last they were freed by the counsel of friends.

Great disturbance of the Roman Empire.

Therefore, since throughout all Germany there was an enormous disturbance of the people and of the clergy, because the excommunicated emperor was persecuting the pope with words, writings, and arms, and held in excessive hatred all who agreed with him, and both by himself and through his men inflicted many losses and inconveniences on them and permitted many injuries to be done, good and God-fearing men, seeing that they were placed in an evil situation, desired to save themselves either by flight or by silence.

The emperor persecutes the pope.

But since Rupert, the distinguished abbot of this monastery, was among those prelates who had agreed with the supreme pontiff, and was not the least of them, and daily endured many injuries from his rivals, fearing a general loss to the monastery because of the emperor’s personal hatred, and wishing to give place to anger, he resolved to resign the abbacy for the peace of the brothers and the benefit of the monastery.

Abbot Rupert agrees with the pope.

1176.

Therefore, in the eleventh year of his promotion, which was the year 1176 of the Lord’s Nativity, already greatly weighed down by age and cares, he freely resigned the abbacy into the hands of his brothers, and for the support of his life received from the brothers the provostship at Roth. There he lived for some time amid many labors, and at last rested in the Lord, being buried there, according to his prior arrangement, on the threshold of the church, so that he might be trodden by the feet of the brothers; this was a great sign of his humility. For he was, as we said above, a good and [unclear] man, who was accustomed to live among the brothers in all peace and tranquility.

Rupert resigned the abbacy.

For this reason he had formerly left the abbacy at Götzau, in which he could not live peacefully, and returned to his monastery of Hirsau. The monastery of Götzau is of our order, in the diocese of Speyer, in the county of Vorchheim, in eastern Francia, in the district called Albegau, beside the river called Alba; it was built by Count Berthold of Hennenberg in the year 1010 of the Lord’s Nativity, which was the eighth year during which this abbacy of Hirsau was vacant after the death of Abbot Conrad. In it Rupert presided for almost ten years. When he compelled the monks, who had strayed too far from the right path of monastic life, to observe regular discipline, he provoked the hatred of many against himself. Therefore he gave up both the place and the dignity, preferring to live humbly among his brothers of Hirsau rather than, among wicked and rebellious monks, to suffer harm to his soul under the burden of a pastor.

The monastery of Götzau is founded.

In the same year in which Rupert resigned the abbacy of this monastery of Hirsau, Clementia, a nun of our order in the monastery of Horrea at Trier, daughter of the late count of Homburg, died on the twelfth day before the Kalends of April. She was of most holy conduct, and by day and night intent upon [unclear] and contemplation, desired nothing more than to please God in all things.

Saint Clementia the virgin dies.

This most holy virgin had formerly been betrothed by her father, Count Adolf, to Lord Craffto, son of Count Meginhard of Spanheim; but since she had a holy purpose of virginity, with the consent of her betrothed she became a nun at Trier in the aforesaid monastery. Her betrothed, however, became a monk in my monastery of Spanheim under Bernhelm, the first abbot, succeeded him in the abbacy, and rested in holy conduct.

Craffto, abbot of Spanheim.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

after death she was illustrious through miracles. This most holy virgin deserved to be visited by divine revelations from her youth, and by divine command wrote many things for the benefit of posterity.

1181.

In the following year, on the fifth day before the Nones of July, Adelgerus, the third abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died, a good and very learned man, who greatly increased and maintained the observance of regular discipline; concerning him I have made fuller mention in the chronicle of that same monastery of mine. Baldemarus, the fourth abbot, succeeded him in the abbacy, and presided for 17 years, 2 months, and 17 days, a sufficiently good man and a lover of piety.

In the same year Pope Alexander III died; [unclear] sat for 4 years and 2 months, and was by nation a Tuscan.

Pope Alexander died.

In the same year also Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, defeated Saladin, king of the Egyptians, not far from Ascalon, and put him to flight.

1182.

In the sixth year of Abbot Conrad, Emperor Frederick entered Italy with a great army, and committed many evils against the pope and the Roman Church with sword and fire.

1183.

In the following year, which was the seventh of Abbot Conrad, Christian, archbishop of Mainz, died; and Conrad, whom the emperor had formerly expelled because of his obedience to the Apostolic See, returned to the see of Mainz and presided for 2 years, and retained, together with the archbishopric of Mainz, the title of bishop of Sabina, which the pope had conferred on him when he was expelled from Mainz.

1185.

In the ninth year of Abbot Conrad, which was the year 1185 of the Lord's Nativity, Godfridus, bishop of Wuerzburg, died while on pilgrimage overseas to the sepulchre of our Savior Jesus Christ, and was buried in Antioch. Henry III succeeded him, for 2 years.

In the same year Pope Lucius III died, by nation a Tuscan; Urban III, by nation a Lombard, succeeded him and presided for only 2 years. Emperor Frederick deprived all the cities, except Pistorium, of their agrarian jurisdiction, and accomplished many things in Italy against the rebels of the empire.

1186.

In the tenth year of Abbot Conrad, Godridus, formerly count palatine and a monk of this monastery of Hirsau, died, a man once vigorous and illustrious in the world, but in religion [unclear], devout, who brought with him no small gifts to this monastery, and after many [unclear]. [unclear] III, by nation a Roman, [presided] for three years, five months, and 16 days, who came to agreement with the emperor. [unclear] of his brothers.

1187.

In the eleventh and last year of Abbot Conrad, which was the year 1188 of the Lord's Nativity, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of May, there died in the monastery of Schoenau, of the Cistercian order, in the diocese of Worms, not far from Heidelberg, a devout virgin of Christ named Hildegundis, who, having disguised her sex and presenting herself as male, had there taken the habit of a novice among the monks; and, changing her name, she called herself Joseph, and remained unknown until death. Caesarius, monk of Heisterbach, wrote her life at sufficient length in the first distinction of his Dialogues.

In the same year Frederick, emperor of the Romans, and Philip, king of the Franks, together with Richard, king of the English, and Clement, the supreme pontiff, [unclear] for the aid and recovery [unclear]. He went on certain causes and business to the cell of St. Gregory in Reichenbach; when he had arrived there, he began to be struck by frequent burning fevers, and, lying in bed, was ill there for some time. As the disease grew day by day, he turned himself wholly to the Lord with most intent mind; and, after first making humble confession and receiving the sacraments of the Church with great devotion, at last on the fifth day of the month of September he rested in the Lord with a blessed end. His body through

brought by the brethren to Hirsau, it was buried with reverence and honor in the greater monastery at the entrance of the church before the altar of All Saints, not without the tears of his subjects. In the same year also died Ulrich, the forty-first bishop of Speyer, who had presided for 8 years; Otto, the forty-second bishop, succeeded him for 2 years.

Concerning Henry, the twentieth abbot of this monastery, who presided for 8 years; concerning his character and certain deeds of that time.

After the most reverend abbot Conrad had died and been buried, as we have said, and after the funeral rites had been celebrated in Christian fashion with the customary solemnity, the prior and the brethren, assembling on the day appointed for the election in the chapter place, after the invocation of the Holy Spirit, by unanimous consent elected as the twentieth abbot of this monastery Henry, a conventual monk, who at that time held the office of cantor. But after his election he resisted for a long time, until at last, overcome by the prayers of the brethren, he gave his consent to the election. He presided for eight years.

He was from eastern Francia, born of honorable parents; having been set to letters in his youth, he made no small progress over time by learning, so that, instructed by long practice both in divine and in human philosophy, he became exceptionally learned. Afterwards, touched by divine inspiration, he began to consider in his mind the vanity of this world and the brevity of the present life; and after mature deliberation had first been held, he came to Hirsau and, by putting on the monastic habit, undertook monastic customs. Once made a monk, he lived among the brethren without complaint, always first with the last in the divine service, to which he wholly bound himself. Afterwards, since he seemed zealous in the divine offices and was not ignorant of music, he undertook the office of cantor, which he fulfilled for some years so studiously and eagerly that he yielded to all as an example through admiration. He also used to be intent with the greatest diligence upon the labors of his hands, according to the Rule of our holy father Benedict, planting vineyards, cultivating gardens, and grafting trees of various kinds.

By his own zeal and labor he also greatly adorned the church, [unclear] from day to day he advanced more and more in religion, and was dear and beloved to all the brethren; the fame of his name began also to spread abroad to outsiders, [unclear] with manifold praise. He was elected abbot by the brethren of the same monastery, [unclear] received with much honor and reverence.

Having been ordained abbot at Brauweiler, he took care with all zeal to instruct the monks in the observance of regular discipline and to forbid all the vices of the monks more strictly under a fixed censure. But, affected by weariness because of the poverty of the place and the excessive importunity of the brethren, when he saw that he could make less progress, he repented of having undertaken so arduous a burden of pastoral care. Therefore, after long and mature deliberation, he resolved to lay down the abbacy he had undertaken and to return to Hirsau, whence he had come. And so he then resigned the office of pastoral care and, having returned to the monastery whence he had come, was again appointed cantor, persevering in the same humility after the abbacy in which he had lived before.

After this, when the venerable abbot Conrad had died, as we have said, he was substituted in his place and presided over the monastery of Hirsau for 8 years: a good man, gentle in disposition, who at the beginning of his advancement for some years ordered both his own life and that of his subjects modestly enough and according to the Rule, and took care in all things to show himself a useful pastor in each state. But in the course of time, too much weighed down by the cares and anxieties of secular affairs, he turned his mind away from the rigor of holy observance; and, becoming more lax in the custody of monastic discipline, he relaxed in himself and toward his subjects the fervor of a holy superior. Hence, when 8 years had been completed in the abbacy, he brought back to memory the negligences of his past life and, fearing the punishment of divine vengeance, abdicated the abbatial dignity, as we shall say in its place, and accepted the provostship in Reuth for the support of his life.

As far as the disposition of his body is concerned, he was a man of middling stature, his body somewhat spread out in [unclear]. In his way of life he was very humane and affable to all with a certain sociability; though he was quickly moved to anger, he could be placated by a quick satisfaction. In his time, the holy observance of religion had declined not a little in the present monastery, since he immersed himself wholly in the cares of temporal affairs and did not seem to give as much thought as he ought to the spiritual advancement of his subjects.

1189.

In the first year of abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1189, when Frederick, emperor of the Romans, was in the Holy Land and held Syria, and [unclear] to the Christians against the infidels

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...he was preparing what seemed necessary, when, while bathing in a certain river, the passages of life being closed, he was suffocated, and miserably entered the way of all flesh. After his death, the princes took his son Henry, the sixth of this name, as king of the Romans; Philip, archbishop of Cologne, crowned him at Aachen according to custom, and he reigned after his father for ten years, having reigned with him, while he was alive, for almost twenty-two years. He took as wife Constance, daughter of William king of Apulia, by the counsel and dispensation of Pope Clement III, because she had been a nun for many years and was the only daughter of the aforesaid king. With her he obtained the kingdom of Apulia and Sicily, the pope lending favor and assistance. And although she was fifty years old, nevertheless she bore him a son named Frederick, later Frederick II, emperor, of whom we shall speak in his own place.

The emperor Frederick dies.

Henry his son becomes emperor.

[Unclear] countess.

Saint Margaret, nun.

Eclipse of the sun.

1190.

In the second year of Abbot Henry, Ida, countess of Spanheim, became a nun of our order in the monastery of Mount St. Rupert near Bingen, in which thereafter, all the days of her life, she lived most religiously, second to none in continual humility and obedience, in prayers and meditations on the divine Scriptures. Her sister was Margaret, a virgin of most holy life, [unclear], who carried out the office of prioress for many years in the same monastery, and, renowned for miracles, at last passed to the Lord. The feast day of her commemoration is observed on the fourth day before the Kalends of November, when she passed from life.

1192.

In the [unclear] year of Henry, Philip, archbishop of Cologne, died in Apulia, having been established with the emperor. Bruno III, provost of the major church, succeeded him and presided for three years, and afterward became a monk. There was an obscuration of the sun, and famine followed in the land, and no small barrenness of fields and vineyards.

In this same year also Philip, king of the Franks, and Richard, the renowned king of the English, with their army joined together in Syria, at first waged war prosperously against Saladin. But soon discord between them having arisen at the devil’s instigation, Philip returned to Gaul. Richard, however, vigorously pursued the war he had begun in this same year; but in the following year he too returned home, not without harm to the Christians, whom he left afterward exposed to many dangers in the Holy Land.

In the same year also Pope Clement III died. Celestine III succeeded him and presided for six years and eight months. On the sixteenth day before the Kalends of May, after celebrating his pontifical coronation at the solemnity of Easter, on the following day he crowned Henry VI, king of Rome, as emperor of the Romans.

In these times the Order of the Teutons began in the Holy Land through certain citizens of Bremen and Lubeck, who, crossing the sea with Count Adolf of Holstein under Emperor Frederick I, took poor, sick pilgrims into their care for the love of God and, as far as they were able, supported them by nourishing them under tents. They built at Acre the first house and church of this undertaking; calling it the house of the Teutonic brothers, they gave the order its name. The work of this order is to serve sick pilgrims. Around the same time also began the Order of the Holy Trinity for the redemption of captives, whose more important monasteries are established in France. The work of this order is cheerfully to expend its substance for the redemption of Christians who are held captive among the unbelievers in the Holy Land, and to aid them by ministering to them with all its strength.

In the fourth year of Henry, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, a grave dissension arose because of the insolence of his servants, who were disturbing the peace of the brothers with excessive importunity. But when the brothers had often asked the abbot either to cast the wicked and restless servants out of the monastery or at least to correct them, and [unclear], certain of the younger men, offended in spirit, calling upon the aid of outside friends, violently drove some of the abbot’s own household out of the monastery. In that tumult one of the abbot’s servants, named Adelbert, was gravely wounded, and after eight days he died from the same wound. From this arose a great dissension between shepherd and sheep, not without danger to souls, until Otto, bishop of the church of Speyer, interposed his authority with the counsel of friends and restored concord.

Vision of a certain monk.

1193.

In the fifth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year 1193 of the Lord’s nativity, Rupert, the fourth prior of my monastery of Spanheim, beheld a wondrous vision of the joys and punishments of the life to come. When he revealed it in public with too little prudence, he was soon gravely struck by paralysis and suffered punishment for almost the space of a year.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year Albert was born, later surnamed the Great, in a village of Swabia whose name is Laugingen. There was also an eclipse of the sun.

1193.

In the following year, which was the sixth of Abbot Henry, Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, resigned his episcopal office into the hands of Emperor Henry VI and became a monk of the Cistercian order in the monastery of Altenberg. His brother, named Adolf of Altena, a canon of the cathedral church, succeeded him in the archbishopric and presided for twelve years.

1195.

In the seventh year of Abbot Henry, the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1195, Henry VI, emperor of the Romans, took Sicily with a mighty hand, and Tancred, the usurper of the kingdom, having been captured and his eyes gouged out,

In the same year Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine, who was dwelling at Heidelberg, changed the provostship of the monastery of our order near the town of Heidelberg itself, which is called Neuburg, in the diocese of Worms, into a monastery of nuns of the same order of ours, with the consent of Sighard, abbot of Lorsch, to whom that provostship belonged by full right and without intermediary. There Cunegundis, a very devout and religious virgin, was appointed by him as the first abbess.

1196.

In the following year, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1196, when Henry, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, called to mind the negligences of his past life and the wrongs he had committed, and fearfully pondered the vengeance of divine retribution, inwardly touched with sorrow of heart, he began to discuss with certain friends the resignation of the abbacy. But although all who knew themselves to be his intimates and friends opposed his will with one steadfast resolve, nevertheless they could not turn him away from his decision so as to prevent him from carrying out in deed the thought he had conceived in his mind. For he was moved to resign the abbacy chiefly by two causes: [first, that] he knew he had committed [unclear] in temporal matters; for these, unless the occasion of affairs were cut away, he could by no means [make satisfaction?] as he desired. The other was that, [unclear] with peace and tranquillity, much exhausted in body, he had greatly declined, and could no longer usefully attend to the affairs of the monastery as he ought.

And so, pierced in heart, grieving and repentant for his past negligences, in order to save his soul, in the eighth year of his rule, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1196, indiction 14, in the month of [June?], he freely and voluntarily resigned his abbacy into the hands of his community before them all. After the resignation had been made, he received from the brothers the provostship in Rothe for the support of his life, where, surviving for almost [eleven?] months in sorrow of spirit and continual tears, at last in the following year, on the fourth day before the Nones of June, he rested in the Lord. His body was buried with reverence beside the body of Rupert, formerly abbot, here in the same monastery, at the very entrance of the church.

[H.] after [a year?] died in Rothe.

On Marquard, twenty-first abbot of this monastery, who governed for 8 years, 6 months, and 21 days, and on the events of his time.

After the resignation, therefore, of Dom Henry, the twentieth abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, which took place in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1196, indiction 14, on the last day of the month of June, that is, on the feast of the Commemoration of Saint Paul the Apostle, on the same day the brothers, invoking the grace of the Holy Spirit and proceeding to the election of a new shepherd, after much deliberation at last unanimously elected as the twenty-first abbot of this monastery Marquard, a conventual monk, a venerable and most prudent man. Confirmed and blessed according to custom, he governed this monastery vigorously for 8 years, 6 months, and 21 days, a man of great deeds and many virtues, who prudently and bravely defended the rights of the monastery against the attacks of tyrants, resisting without fear.

Under Abbot Marquard [unclear].

He was by origin from Swabia, born of most noble parents, drawing his descent from the counts of Montis Solis; in writings both divine and human he became sufficiently learned. From his youth he was instructed in the way of the Lord in fear; when he had reached the years of discretion, despising the world, his parents, brothers, kinsmen, the splendor of a great patrimony, and also the nobility of his lineage for the love of God, he became a monk in the present monastery of Hirsau under Abbot Conrad, his maternal uncle

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... made profession. When he had learned the monastic discipline according to our most holy father Benedict, he strove to conform his conduct wholly to it, and, living among the brothers without complaint even in the lowest rank, he showed everyone an example of humility. After he had been ordained abbot, he took every care to show himself a shepherd worthy of his sheep, and to teach no less by example than by word.

As for the disposition of his body, he was a robust and strong man, handsomely proportioned in stature, somewhat exceeding middle height, with a sound and not small head, surrounded all about with much hair tending toward black. He had a resonant and trumpet-like voice, by which alone he was accustomed to strike terror into the wicked. In speaking he was sufficiently eloquent, whether the discourse had to be delivered in Latin or in German. He was of a very gentle nature, and was not easily moved to anger; but when he was angry with reason, he did not quickly let the matter pass into oblivion. In all things generous, he was of such benevolence toward his subjects, and of such loyalty, charity, and affection toward his friends, that he had no equal in his time.

Nevertheless he was marked by certain stains of negligence and tepidity in those matters that seemed to pertain to the complete observance of regular discipline, chiefly for this reason: that he had many continual occupations, labors, and cares in household affairs, and that at the beginning of his promotion he necessarily endured dangers, injuries, and innumerable tribulations, both from the advocate of the monastery, Count Adelbert, and from various others whom it was necessary to resist.

For the aforesaid Count Adelbert, advocate of this monastery, forgetful of the duty of his office, undertook, contrary to the liberty and privilege formerly granted by the supreme pontiffs and emperors, to burden, harass, and disturb the household and servants of the monastery. A certain tyrannical advocate. For, at the devil’s instigation, he strove so greatly to violate and infringe the rights and liberties of the monastery, which he ought to have defended, that one day he seized the chamberlain of the monastery before the gate, and, with his hands bound behind his back, [unclear] the innocent [unclear], while the abbot protested.

Compelled by necessity, the abbot first went to Rome in his own person, and afterward, once and again through messengers, laid the violence of the advocate before the examination of the most holy apostolic see; he sought and obtained the counsel and aid of the supreme pontiff against the tyranny of the count. For, when the privilege of liberty had been renewed, and a declaration made concerning the law of the advocate as limited, [unclear].

The conduct and character of his life. The disposition and condition of his body. He was an excellent and humane man. A certain tyrannical advocate. Abbot Marquard went to Rome.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year also Luthold, bishop of Basel, Baldwin, count of Flanders, Adelbert, count of Spanheim, and many other princes, proceeding through Greece with a great army toward the Holy Land, took Constantinople and made Alexius, son of Isaac, formerly emperor of Constantinople, emperor. When he was soon killed by the Greeks, Baldwin, the aforesaid count of Flanders, received the empire. Through his agency the union of the Eastern and Roman Church was confirmed. He ruled over the Greeks for almost seven years.

In the same year also Conrad, count of Zollern and burgrave of Nuremberg, established in the presence of King Otto, freely and willingly resigned forever to Conrad, bishop of Speyer, and to his successors, the castle of Rietburg, which he had received in fief from the church of Speyer.

1201.

In the sixth year of Abbot Marquard, namely in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1201, King Philip, gathering an army again, crossed the Moselle, besieged Cologne, took the archbishop, and thus compelled the city and the whole province to surrender. Afterwards, coming to Aachen with many princes, he placed himself, together with the queen, on the seat of the kingdom.

In the same year, after King Philip had prosperously returned to the upper parts, King Otto, having gathered an army of his men, ascending again to the upper parts, reached as far as Wissembourg; but, unable to advance farther, he returned to the lower regions of the land.

In the same year also, around the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul, Guido, cardinal bishop of Palestrina, came to Cologne and declared King Philip and all those who agreed with him excommunicated, commanding all men by apostolic authority to accept Otto as king and to abandon Philip, under penalty of excommunication. There then for the first time Siegfried, elect of Mainz, was ordained priest and archbishop by the hands of that cardinal; and, having proceeded to Rome with them and with letters of mandate from King Otto, he was confirmed by Pope Innocent III with the pallium, as is customary.

In the same year King Philip held a solemn assembly of princes in Bamberg, where many bishops, abbots, dukes, counts, and nobles gathered. There the bones of the holy emperors Henry and Cunegund were raised up, and they shone forth with many miracles. There was a very great gathering of peoples there, from both distant and neighboring regions. At about these times the order of the Friars Preachers began, through the institution of St. Dominic, a man of outstanding holiness, who was originally from Spain. Pope Innocent confirmed his institution.

1202.

In the sixth year of Abbot Marquard, namely in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1202, King Otto and Arnold, archbishop of Cologne, with other princes, held a conference at Maastricht by the Meuse concerning the commonwealth and various affairs of the kingdom; and among other matters they restored peace between the duke of Brabant and the count of Guelders, who with great opposing armed forces had often already prepared themselves for war, not without very grave injury to the poor.

In the same year Conrad, bishop of Strasbourg, died. Henry of Veringen succeeded him, a good, religious, and devout man, a lover of peace and a most upright defender of the clergy; in the fourth year after his election he was scarcely able to obtain consent from Pope Innocent to receive the office of consecration from the archbishop of Sens, because he was compelled to side with King Philip, which displeased the pope, who always favored Otto for the reasons alleged above.

In the same year also, on the feast of St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, Conrad, bishop of Würzburg, formerly chancellor of the imperial court, was cruelly killed in the public street of the city of Würzburg by Bodo and Henry, knights of Ravensburg, and by their servants Herald and Conrad. Henry, called Cascus because he took delight in cheese, succeeded him and presided for four years, seven months, and [unclear] days; he was a learned man and very much instructed in all Scripture, who governed his church quite well. Those parricides, however, led by penitence and seeking Rome, after two years received from the supreme pontiff such a penance as he gave in his letters patent, sounding as follows: Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful of Christ who shall inspect these letters, greeting and apostolic blessing. What an execrable crime and singular outrage they committed who, with sacrilegious daring, wickedly laid impious hands upon the Christ of the Lord, cruelly killing Conrad of Würzburg, bishop of good memory and chancellor of the imperial court, it is more fitting to weep over than to relate. But since

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

... having died at Palermo (as we have said). For Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, and Theodoric, archbishop of Trier, maintaining that the election of the king belonged to their jurisdiction, held counsel at Andernach with Duke Bernard and with other bishops, counts, and many nobles, and proclaimed to all the princes a general court at Cologne for the Sunday Oculi mei, to celebrate the election of a new king. Meanwhile the eastern margraves, Conrad archbishop of Mainz, Bernard duke of Saxony, the archbishop of Magdeburg, and other higher princes, meeting at Erfurt, elected Philip duke of Swabia as king of the Romans, namely the brother of the deceased emperor Henry.

Therefore, on the appointed day, the aforesaid princes, coming to Cologne, waited with great desire for the arrival of Bertold, duke of Zahringen, whom they had promised that they would elect. But when he had received from Philip 1,000 marks of silver together with the duchy of Swabia, and had renounced the election, he disdained to come. When this became known to the aforesaid princes, greatly indignant, they elected Otto, count of Poitou, son of the late Henry duke of Saxony, as king of the Romans against Philip. And evils were multiplied in the land: wars, burnings, destruction of cities, and the slaughter of the poor.

But when Philip heard of Otto's election, he sent ahead to Aachen three hundred armed knights with many other shield-bearers, so that they might keep Otto from entering the city and preserve the city and the seat of the kingdom for him. But Otto, with his supporters, surrounding that city with a siege at harvest time, took it by force and held it; and after sitting for three days in the seat of the kingdom, he departed from there, entrusting it to his faithful men to guard. Meanwhile Philip, having gathered an army, entered Alsace; and because it was near harvest, he destroyed all the grain found in the fields. Thus there were many wars between this Philip and Otto for almost eight years, during which Philip lived in the kingdom, until at last, after his death, peace was in some measure restored, as we shall say in its place.

In the year noted above Celestine III, pope, also died; Innocent III succeeded him, by nation a Campanian, and he presided for 18 years. Because he hated King Philip on account of his father and brother, who had committed many acts against the Roman Church, he held Otto's side, and crowned him emperor, as we shall say later.

In the same year a battle was joined between King Philip and his adversary Otto, not far from Koblenz beside the Moselle, but nothing worthy of memory was done, except the plundering of the poor and the desolation of all the provinces round about.

In the same year Baldemar, the fourth abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died. Rupert succeeded him as fifth abbot, and presided for 14 years and 2 months. He was a man very learned in both divine and secular letters, and venerable no less for his life than for his knowledge.

Otto, bishop of Speyer, died.

Likewise in the same year, on the Kalends of July, Baldemar, the fourth abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died. Rupert succeeded him as fifth abbot, and presided for 8 years. In the same year [unclear], who had previously been chancellor of the imperial court, a prudent man and for a long time sufficiently experienced in many varieties of affairs, [died?]. He governed his church well, increasing its revenues and restoring what had been ruined. There are those who write that he had first been bishop of the church of Metz.

Also in the year noted above, the third of Abbot Marquard, and the 150th from the foundation of this house, King Philip besieged Strasbourg, destroyed Rubiacum and many strongholds of the bishop of Strasbourg and of Count Adelbert of Dagsburg, and leveled them to the ground. At last, through the mediation of Lord Berthold duke of Zahringen and other princes, concord was made between them, so that the bishop, abandoning Otto's side, would give Philip, for retaining the governance of the kingdom, aid and support with his son as far as he could. This same thing the count of Dagsburg promised that he would do thereafter.

This year, on the Assumption of blessed Mary ever virgin, King Philip held a great court of his princes at Mainz. Since Conrad, its archbishop, was still in the Holy Land with other princes, the archbishop of Tarentum there, in place of the aforesaid archbishop, anointed Philip as king. In the same assembly King Philip, as [unclear], gave crowns to him and to his wife. At that time the empress Constance died in Sicily, and her son Frederick, after many hardships, at last obtained the kingdom of Apulia and of Sicily.

In the same year, around the beginning of October, King Philip, together with the new king of the Bohemians, crossed the river Moselle with a strong force and a numerous army, invaded the territory of the people of Cologne against Otto, and burned Remagen, Bonn, and many surrounding villages with fire.

In the same

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year also Theoderic, count of Holland, died, and the province, together with the daughter of the deceased, was handed over to the count of Lo. William, Theoderic’s brother, taking this very ill, gathered soldiers, expelled that same count of Lo from Holland, and took his brother’s daughter.

In these times also Pope Innocent III composed five books of Decretals, which he ordered to be read in the schools and observed everywhere in legal proceedings; this was done, and is done down to the present day. Lupold, bishop of Worms, who had sought the archbishopric of Mainz, as we said above, adhered to King Philip against King Otto and Pope Innocent, and committed many evils throughout the whole province. In all the wars he was personally present with Philip his king against Otto; he fought as a knight, plundered the poor, and spared neither monasteries nor churches. And when the soldiers said to him, “Lord, it is not lawful for us to plunder churches and monasteries,” he would answer, “When you take away the bones of the dead, then you are plundering churches and cemeteries.” At last he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent and deposed from his pontificate because of the countless crimes he had committed. Finally, out of hatred for King Otto, he was restored to his office and benefice.

1204.

In the eighth year of Abbot Marquard, which was the year 1204 of the Lord’s Nativity, around the month of [unclear], King Philip, having assembled a very great army, entered Thuringia and burned and devastated a certain city of the landgrave, named Wizen[see?]; also [unclear] the king of Bohemia with a very great [unclear]. The landgrave, seeing the ruin of his land and that he could not resist the king’s anger, came to him as a suppliant through the intervention of certain princes, seeking his favor, and obtained it. After this, through the mediation of the archbishop of Trier and the bishops of Speyer and Constance, he gained over to himself Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, at a council at Andernach: in order to make the duke of Brabant and the remaining nobles of Lotharingia faithful to himself, he gave him nine thousand marks, restored Saalfeld, long before taken away from the church of Cologne, and promised that he would give very many other things. Enticed by these promises, Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, making little of the oath he had formerly sworn to Otto, and not fearing perjury or the pope’s excommunication, came after the feast of St. Martin to that same Philip with the duke of Brabant at Koblenz. Both offered him the oath of fidelity, which afterward did not turn out to his prosperity.

The princes go over to Philip. Philip again gains Thuringia for himself.

1205.

In the ninth year of Abbot Marquard, on the feast of the Epiphany in the year 1205 of the Lord’s Nativity, in the eighth indiction, King Philip held a great assembly of the princes adhering to him at Aachen, where the archbishop of Cologne came to meet him with very great display. There the king, after taking counsel with his men, so that the princes might not lose their free election according to the ordinance of antiquity, laid down the royal name and crown, and asked and obtained that he be re-elected by all in concord. Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, with great solemnity, together with Maria his wife, daughter of the emperor of Constantinople, again anointed and crowned him, while Otto was held by a very grave illness and deprived of the help of almost everyone. In this year the summer was dry, the winter harsh.

In the same year the most reverend Marquard, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, after he had energetically and usefully governed this cenobium for eight years, six months, and twenty-one days, at last weakened by a subsequent dysentery, rested in the Lord on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of February, in the year of the Lord 1205, in the eighth indiction, and was buried, not without the tears of the brothers, before the altar of St. Nicholas. [Unclear], he triumphed over all. In many things he increased the revenues of the monastery; he restored the supply of resources [unclear] with many other structures; he began, in excellent stonework, the wall before the doors of the monastery, which, forestalled by death, he did not complete. For he was a man noble in blood and character, distinguished in intellect and wisdom, known to kings and princes, who in the time of the schism of the empire between Philip and Otto conducted himself so prudently toward all that he won merit before God and praise from men.

Concerning Lutfrid, twenty-second abbot of this monastery, who presided for 2 years and 15 days; concerning various deeds and affairs of that time.

After the most reverend Marquard, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, had died in the aforesaid year and day, and after his body had been committed with honor and reverence to ecclesiastical

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

At the same time the Lotharingians, whom Otto had summoned to his aid near Andernach, being unable to withstand King Philip and fearing for their own skins, secretly favored his side, perpetrating many unheard-of crimes in that region. It will be enough to have set down one of these, from which the other unspeakable things they committed may be weighed. They stripped a certain nun of all her clothing, smeared her with honey, rolled her in bed-feathers, and, thus made monstrously shaggy, put her on a horse, with her face turned toward the horse’s tail. And when they had led this ridiculous, indeed pitiable, spectacle around for several days, the matter became known to King Philip, who, inflamed with zeal for God, ordered all those guilty of this crime to be handed over to boiling water. The town of Andernach also was burned by the army of the same King Philip. Afterwards he returned to his own territories.

Meanwhile King Otto entered Saxony with his army and began to attack Goslar, together with the other neighboring towns. But when King Philip came upon him, he was compelled to desist from his purpose and withdraw. Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of King Otto himself, and the landgrave of Hesse and the duke of Brabant, together with Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, returned from the lands overseas, the affairs of our men there having been left in a bad condition. But the aforesaid archbishop, hearing of the discord between Philip and Otto over the kingdom, resolved to make some stay in Italy until he should deliberate what he ought to do in so grave a matter of disturbance in the commonwealth. At this time grave [unclear].

He was compelled to desist from his purpose and withdraw. Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of King Otto himself, and the landgrave of Hesse and the duke of Brabant, together with Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, returned from the lands overseas, the affairs of our men there having been left in bad condition. But the aforesaid archbishop, hearing of the discord between Philip and Otto over the kingdom, began to attack [unclear] with the other neighboring towns. But when King Philip came upon him, he was compelled to desist from his purpose and withdraw. Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of King Otto himself, and the landgrave of Hesse and the duke of Brabant, together with Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, returned from the lands overseas, the affairs of our men there having been left in bad [unclear].

Afterwards he returned to his own territories. Meanwhile King Otto entered Saxony with his army and, because of the discord over the kingdom, resolved to make some stay in Italy until he should deliberate what he ought to do in so grave a matter of disturbance in the commonwealth. At this time grave [unclear]. He was compelled to desist from his purpose and withdraw. Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of King Otto himself, and the landgrave of Hesse and the duke of Brabant, together with Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, returned from the lands overseas, the affairs of our men there having been left in bad condition. But the aforesaid archbishop, hearing of the discord between Philip and Otto over the kingdom, began to attack [unclear] with the other neighboring towns. But when King Philip came upon him, he was compelled to desist from his purpose and withdraw. Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of King Otto himself, and the landgrave of Hesse and the duke of Brabant, together with Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, returned from the lands overseas, the affairs of our men there having been left in bad [unclear].

They also did many evil things in the cities and neighboring villages. Between the landgrave likewise [unclear] discord over the kingdom. He resolved to make some stay in Italy until he should deliberate what he ought to do in so grave a matter of disturbance in the commonwealth. At this time grave [unclear]. He was compelled to desist from his purpose and withdraw. Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of King Otto himself, and the landgrave of Hesse and the duke of Brabant, together with Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, returned from the lands overseas, the affairs of our men there having been left in bad condition. But the aforesaid archbishop, hearing of the discord between Philip and Otto over the kingdom, began to attack [unclear] with the other neighboring towns. But when King Philip came upon him, he was compelled to desist from his purpose and withdraw. Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, brother of King Otto himself, and the landgrave of Hesse and the duke of Brabant, together with Conrad of Mainz, returned from the lands overseas, the affairs of our men there being in bad [unclear].

In the year of the Nativity 1200, Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, returning from Hungary, whither in the preceding year he had gone to restore peace between two brothers contending over the kingdom, after concord had been made in the parts of Austria, in the territory of Passau, released from the flesh, passed over to the Lord for his merits. Wolfher, bishop of Passau, with solemn obsequies brought his body back to Mainz, where it was buried with great honor. Meanwhile a serious tumult arose in Mainz because of the election of a new pontiff. For certain men, by the will and favor of King Philip, elected Lupold, bishop of Worms, as archbishop; [unclear] having been taken, Siegfried drove him thence with an army. But Siegfried, seeing that he and his men were making too little progress, betook himself with his men to King Otto, by whom he was graciously received; he received the regalia from him, and, relying on his authority, with an army [unclear] to the diocese in Philip’s [unclear] came to Bingen, and there what they had intended concerning the election of Siegfried [unclear].

A common [unclear] arose in Mainz because of the election of a new pontiff. For certain men, by the will and favor of King Philip, Lupold [unclear], came with a strong army of King Philip and the town of Bingen. After concord had been made in the parts of Austria, in the territory of Passau, released from the flesh, he passed over to the Lord for his merits. Wolfher, bishop of Passau, with solemn obsequies brought his body back to Mainz, where it was buried with great honor. Meanwhile a serious tumult arose in Mainz because of the election of a new pontiff. For certain men, by the will and favor of King Philip, Lupold, bishop of Worms, was elected as archbishop; [unclear] having been taken, Siegfried drove him thence with an army. But Siegfried and his men, seeing that they were making too little progress, betook themselves with their men to King Otto, by whom he was graciously received; he received the regalia from him, and, relying on his authority, [unclear] with an army to the diocese. They had come to Bingen in Philip’s [unclear], and there what they had intended concerning the election of Siegfried [unclear].

A common [unclear] arose in Mainz besides the election of a new pontiff. For certain men, by the will and favor of King Philip, Lupold came with a strong army, in the manner of a strong [unclear], of King Philip, and

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

165

... divine mercy surpasses human impiety, and the miseries of men cannot be compared with the compassions of the Lord; since the Lord does not will the death of the sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live, as one who is patient and very merciful, [unclear] over wickedness. We, who, although unworthy, exercise his office on earth, knowing that there is greater joy among the angels over one sinner doing penance, however much homicides of this kind may have offended, nevertheless could not, nor ought we, close the approach to pardon to the penitent, since we know that the Lord said through the Prophets: “In whatever hour the sinner has been converted and has groaned, I shall no longer remember any of his iniquities.”

Therefore Bodo, Henry, his vassal, knights, with Herold and Conrad, his servants, came into our presence, confessing that they had killed the aforesaid bishop. Since they tearfully repented of their excesses, they humbly asked that penance be enjoined upon them by us for the enormity of so great a crime. Because the door of indulgence must not be closed to the penitent, by the counsel of our brothers we committed them to our beloved son Hugh, cardinal priest of the title of St. Martin, to be heard. After hearing their confession, he made them stand for several days before us, naked in their breeches, with ropes around their necks, in the presence of crowds of people; and by our command he enjoined upon them this penance: that henceforth they should never use arms, except against the Saracens or in defense of [unclear]. They should not wear vair, gray fur, ermine, or colored cloths. They should not go to public spectacles; they should not contract marriages after the death of their wives. As soon as they are able, they should go into the province of Jerusalem, to serve the Lord there for four years against the Saracens. Bodo, however, who was the greater [offender?], should bring with him three men, or at least one, at his own expense. And until those four execrable homicides [unclear], they should make fifty genuflections. They should not presume to receive the body and blood of the Lord except at the very last moment of death. When they are overseas, they should fast on water on Wednesday and Friday and on the vigils of saints. They should keep three Lents in the year, namely before the Resurrection, Pentecost, and the Nativity of the Lord. They should not eat meat except only on those three feasts; and on the day on which the aforesaid bishop was killed, they should not eat meat forever. They should recite the Lord’s Prayer one hundred times between day and night; they should make fifty genuflections. They should not presume to receive the body of the Lord except at the very last moment of death. When they are overseas, they should fast on water on Wednesday and Friday and on the vigils of the saints. They should keep three Lents in the year, namely before the Resurrection, Pentecost, and the Nativity of the Lord. They should not eat meat except only on those same three feasts; and on the day on which the aforesaid bishop was slain, they should not eat meat forever. They should recite the Lord’s Prayer one hundred times between day and night; they should make fifty genuflections. They should not presume to receive the body and blood of the Lord except at the very last moment of death. When he is overseas, he should fast on water on Wednesday and Friday and on the vigils of saints. Three Lents in the year, it will be seen, before [refreshment?], Pentecost, the Nativity. The Lord should do [unclear]. He should not eat meats except only on those same three feasts; and on the day on which the aforesaid bishop had been slain, they should not eat meats forever. They should recite the Lord’s Prayer one hundred times between day and night. They should make fifty genuflections. They should not presume to receive the body and blood of the Lord except at the very last moment of death. When he is overseas: Wednesday and Friday, the vigils of saints, they should fast on water. Three Lents in the year, namely before the Resurrection, Pentecost, the Nativity. The Lord will do [unclear]. They should not eat meats except only on those same three feasts; and on the day on which the aforesaid bishop was slain, they should not eat meat forever. They should recite the Lord’s Prayer one hundred times between day and night. They should make fifty genuflections. The body and blood of the Lord to be received, except at the very last moment of death, [they should] not presume. When he is overseas, Wednesday and Friday, the vigils of saints, he should fast on water. Three Lents in the year, it will be seen, before [refreshment?], Pentecost, the Nativity. The Lord should do [unclear]. They should not eat meats except only on those same three feasts; and on the day on which the aforesaid bishop had been slain, they should not eat meats forever. They should recite the Lord’s Prayer one hundred times between day and night. They should make fifty genuflections. They should not presume to receive the body and blood of the Lord except at the very last moment of death. When he is overseas, Thursday and Friday, the vigils of saints, they should fast on water. Three Lents in the year, namely before [unclear], Pentecost, the Nativity. The Lord should do [unclear]. They should not eat meats except only on those same three feasts; and on the day on which the aforesaid bishop was [unclear] slain, they should not eat meat forever. They should recite the Lord’s Prayer one hundred times between day and night. They should make fifty genuflections. The body and blood of the Lord to be received, except at the very last moment of death, they should not presume.

Also in the year noted above, the Tartars, having come out from the mountains of India with their wives and children, plundered the neighboring provinces, to which they had always been accustomed. Then they sought the Parthians; with equal terror they overran Media, Assyria, Persia, Armenia, and the Sarmatians in no long time; at last they fixed their settlements around the Maeotic marshes and did many evils to the neighboring Christians.

M.CC.III.

In the sixth year of Abbot Marquard, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1203, King Philip, having gathered a strong army, entered Thuringia in order to humble Hermann the Landgrave, because he had abandoned him, adhered to Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, against his will, and supported him, and because he had converted to the uses of his enemy, that is, King Otto, the revenues and proceeds of the church of Mainz falling due in Thuringia. The Landgrave, perceiving openly that the duke of Bohemia was surrounding the city with a siege, and that Philip would capture him, consumed everything by fire, and thus betook himself with his men into Erfurt. When the counts in that

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... from the burial. The prior and convent, lest they wander any longer like sheep without a shepherd, unanimously appointed the third day thereafter, that is, 23 January, for the election of a new abbot. When that day arrived, and those absent who ought to be present at an election of this kind had meanwhile been summoned, all assembled in the chapter-place in the morning; and, after the grace of the Holy Spirit had been invoked in the customary manner, after long and mature discussions held among themselves, they at last elected as the twenty-second abbot of this monastery Lutfrid, a monk of this convent, a gentle and religious man. After he had been confirmed by the Ordinary, the bishop of the church of Speyer, he received the office of benediction from Guido, cardinal of the holy Roman Church, bishop of Palestrina and legate of the Apostolic See throughout Germany. He presided over this monastery for eleven years and five days. For he refused to be blessed by his own bishop of Speyer, who favored King Philip against the mandate of the supreme pontiff; and for that reason, in accordance with the privilege long before granted by Pope Urban under Abbot Gebhard, [unclear].

Lutfrid becomes abbot of this place, 2a.

Abbot Lutfrid is blessed by Guido the cardinal.

[unclear] he was accustomed to be reproached; but, from earliest age devoting himself to peace and silence, even while still a boy he already seemed to live as one who had become a monk. When he had grown older, he resolved to renounce worldly affairs utterly for the love of Christ, and to serve the almighty Lord in tranquillity of mind and body. He therefore came to Hirsau, and under Abbot Conrad became a monk. He lived among the brethren without complaint and, after being tested for a good many years in certain lesser offices, at last, after the death of Marquard, as we have said, he was ordained abbot.

His family and origin.

He was born in East Francia, begotten of free and honorable parents. As a young man he was set to letters and made moderate progress in study. For he did not immerse himself, as many do, in the games of the people and temporal affairs, but rather entrusted himself to necessity. [unclear]

How he became a monk [unclear].

At about the same time at which his election was held at Hirsau, namely in the year of the Lord 1205, Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, and the bishop of Cambrai, appointed commissioners and judges by the Apostolic See, came to Cologne. In the greater church of St. Peter, before the clergy and the whole people, they publicly announced that Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, had been excommunicated by Pope Innocent, and they ordered that, in all the conventual and parish churches of the same city, on each Sunday and feast day, he should be declared excommunicate. They also had this in their mandate: that if, within a month after [unclear], he persisted in defying the censures of the supreme pontiff, the aforesaid commissioners should again come to Cologne. In the greater church, before the clergy and people, in the presence of King Otto, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of July, by definitive sentence and apostolic authority they deposed the same Adolf from every office and archiepiscopal dignity, and by the same authority ordered the canons to elect another bishop. Obeying the apostolic commands, they elected Bruno of Sayn, provost of Bonn, as archbishop; and countless evils followed.

Adolf is excommunicated.

Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, is deposed.

Bruno becomes archbishop of Cologne.

For Adolf, going to King Philip, on account of whose adherence he had been deposed, while Philip was holding court with the princes at Speyer, explained what he was suffering and sought counsel and help. Therefore, by the common decree of the princes, the king gathered a great army against Bruno and the people of Cologne; and after the Nativity of Blessed Mary ever Virgin he crossed the Moselle. On the feast of St. Michael the Archangel he encircled Cologne with a siege; when this was finally abandoned, he besieged and captured Neuss, which he gave to the deposed Adolf. When these things had been done, by burning, plundering, and miserably afflicting it everywhere, he devastated the whole province and captured many fortifications. He also built in his time a handsome and very strong castle called Landskron, to subdue the people of Cologne.

King Philip [unclear] an army into Cologne.

Landskron Castle.

There was very great calamity in all the land at these times, and especially in the land of Cologne, because of the deposition of Adolf, and in the diocese of Mainz because of Siegfried, who had deposed him; and nowhere was faith secure, but a thousand dangers raged everywhere.

Calamity of the province of the Rhine.

1206.

In the first year of Abbot Lutfrid, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1206, Henry, bishop of Wurzburg, a learned man and master of sacred letters of the University of Paris, died. Otto of Ladenburg succeeded him in the episcopate and presided for sixteen years and five months, a magnanimous prince, feared for wisdom and dignity.

Henry died.

Lutfrid becomes abbot of this place, 2b.

How he became a monk [unclear].

Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, is deposed.

Bruno becomes archbishop of Cologne [unclear] castle.

King Philip [unclear] an army into Cologne.

Landskron Castle.

Henry died.

Calamity of the province of the Rhine, and lately faith was secure. But [unclear] of a thousand dangers were raging.

1206. In the first year of Abbot Lutfrid, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity. In the year of Bishop Henry [unclear].

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year Baldwin, count of Flanders, emperor of Constantinople, died, a most Christian prince, who accomplished many things for the defense of Christians. His brother Henry succeeded him in the empire of the Greeks, and ruled vigorously for eleven years.

In the same year also King Philip again entered the territories of the people of Cologne. Adolf, formerly archbishop, came to meet him, and with counts and a great army he traversed the whole bishopric, subjecting everything to his will. But King Otto and Bruno, who in the same month had been ordained archbishop by Siegfried of Mainz, with two bishops from Britain sent by the king of England and with four hundred horsemen and two thousand foot soldiers, set out from Cologne and resolved to fight with Philip. Therefore, when these two kings joined battle with their armies at Wassenberg, Otto and his men turned their backs, and King Philip obtained the victory. Among many other nobles he also captured Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, whom he took away with him bound in iron manacles, and kept in close custody for more than the space of a year. Meanwhile the people of Cologne, considering that the whole empire was opposed to them and that their efforts were everywhere frustrated, took the counsel and assistance of the duke of Brabant, went to King Philip while he was staying at Boppard, and, asking pardon for their offenses, were received back into his favor at Cologne. They also afterward, when Conrad had been sent [unclear]. King Otto, leaving Cologne, came to Brunswick in Saxony, and there [unclear] came by ship across the sea into England, where he was received with honor by the king of England, namely his uncle, and remained for some time.

In the same year, on the second day before the Kalends of March, at the tenth hour of the day, there was an eclipse of the sun, and many testified that they had seen a human head in the sun.

1207.

In the second year of Abbot Lutfried, which was the year 1207 of the Lord’s Nativity, Conrad, bishop of Speyer, granted in perpetuity to the provost in Denkendorf the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Speyer, in which there were nuns, with all its rights and appurtenances, so that, when the nuns who were then in it had died or had been transferred to other [places?], their necessities of life being preserved, he might establish there a convent of men of his own [profession?], which nevertheless would be subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop of Speyer for the time being.

In the same year, around the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, King Philip held a great assembly of princes at Augsburg. There two cardinals appeared, namely Hugh, bishop of Ostia, and Leo, priest of [Holy Cross?], sent by the supreme pontiff Innocent to restore peace in the kingdom. Through the king’s intervention, they released Adolf, formerly archbishop of Cologne, from excommunication, and sent him to the examination of the apostolic see for satisfaction. At their prayers also King Philip [unclear] Bruno the archbishop [unclear]

who, after being admitted, drew his sword and killed the king himself, and immediately fled with his men before the deed became known. The body of the slain king was first [buried?] there in the major church; [afterward?], together with his nephew by his brother, they were transferred to Speyer and buried in the major church with the kings. He was killed on the eleventh day before the Kalends of July, and the empire remained vacant until the feast of Saint Martin. Moreover the murderer, Count Otto, became a fugitive and was outlawed from the land, and after a few years was killed by Philip’s marshal.

In the same year, on the feast of Saint Martin the bishop, through the agency of Conrad, bishop of the church of Speyer and chancellor of the slain King Philip, who at that time had the royal insignia in his possession, a very great assembly of princes, nobles, and prelates was held at Frankfurt. There King Otto, formerly Philip’s adversary, was again unanimously elected by all and confirmed in the kingship; he also took the daughter of King Philip as his wife.

In the same year also, after King Philip had been killed, Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, from Ro-

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius

from Rome, where for two years he had held the cardinalatial title of the church of Saint Sabina, at the command of Pope Innocent he returned with honor to the see of Mainz; and, with the blind Lupold, bishop of Worms, a most unjust invader, set aside, by the authority of the lord pope he was received by all at Mainz with glory. For Lupold, protected by the power of King Philip, had occupied the see of Mainz for a full two years after Siphrid had been expelled, despising the pope’s excommunication, because he was a wicked man, as we have said.

At the same time Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, sent by the pope together with the aforesaid Siphrid, archbishop of Mainz, returned to Cologne; and on the feast of the holy martyrs Protus and Hyacinth he was received with the greatest exultation and joy by all the people and clergy of Cologne. At his arrival peace was restored to the lands, the province, purged of robbers, was quiet, and the counts and nobles of the land subjected themselves to him by oath in obedience. Adolf also, formerly archbishop, came to him and promised him obedience according to the apostolic mandate. But this fair weather in the province did not last long. For after everything had gone according to his wish, Archbishop Bruno was seized by illness, and in the same year, on the day after the feast of All Saints, he departed from this life and was buried in the greater church, not without the tears of many, all of whom hoped that, while he lived, they would have peace in the province. After his death Theoderic, provost of the Apostles, with the counsel and aid of King Otto, was unanimously elected archbishop and presided for twenty-six years.

1209.

In the fourth year of Abbot Lutfrid, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1209, Pope Innocent, hearing that the princes of the whole empire had elected Otto as king, and that by their counsel he had taken in marriage the daughter of King Philip, although she was joined to him by blood relationship, for the good of peace and concord, praised the deed, and again sent the cardinals Hugh and Leo into Germany, so that [unclear] was received at [unclear]. At his arrival the counts and nobles of the land subjected themselves to him by oath in obedience. Adolf also, formerly archbishop, came to him and promised him obedience according to the apostolic mandate. But this fair weather in the province did not last long. For after everything had gone according to his wish, Archbishop Bruno [unclear] of many departed from this life and was buried in the greater church, not without the tears of many, all of whom hoped that, while he lived, they would have peace in the province. After his death Theoderic, provost, was unanimously elected and presided for twenty-six years.

In the same year King Otto entered Italy with great splendor, where the princes of all Lombardy came to meet him, received him with glory, subjected cities and castles to his lordship, and handed over into his hands an infinite amount of money from taxes and tributes reserved from the time of Emperor Henry. After this, proceeding to Rome, with the pope and the cardinals coming to meet him, he was received with honor by the senate, and on the following Sunday after the feast of Saint Michael, that is, on the fourth day before the Nones of October, in the greater church of blessed Peter the Apostle, he was crowned emperor by Pope Innocent himself.

Around the same times Saint Francis began the order of the Friars Minor in Italy with much religion and holiness; in it, in the course of time, many holy and most learned men shone forth, who by word and example magnificently illumined the church.

This year the summer was very violent with thunders, lightning-bolts, and rains, and the winter exceedingly hard and most harsh, and it lasted a long time.

1210.

In the fifth year of Abbot Lutfrid, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1210, very grave dissensions arose between the pope and Otto IV, emperor, concerning the March of Apulia, which the emperor asserted belonged to the empire, but the pope to the Roman church, by the testamentary donation of Lady Matilda, daughter of the famous Prince Roger of Sicily and wife of King Conrad, son of Henry IV, emperor. The pope said that this donation, made by a woman without the consent of the princes, was valid for the church; the emperor said it was invalid. At last, when the emperor would not concede that march to the pope, he was excommunicated by him and finally deposed from the empire.

1211.

In the fifth year of Abbot Lutfrid, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1211, Emperor Otto, enjoying prosperous successes, subjected all Apulia and Calabria to himself, received the cities in surrender, entrusted castles to his soldiers to be guarded, attempted to exterminate utterly King Frederick, son of Emperor Henry VI, and scorned to obey the apostolic commands. Wherefore the pope, moved by this, ordered Siphrid, archbishop of Mainz, to announce throughout all Germany that the emperor was excommunicated and deposed from the empire; this he did. When this had been done, Henry, count palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Brabant, and many other princes and nobles favoring Otto began, around the feast of Saint Michael, to devastate the whole bishopric of Mainz with fire and plunder, leaving nothing untouched except fortified cities and the strongest castles, but despoiling villages, churches, and monasteries by laying them waste, the whole land almost in [unclear].

Siphrid, archbishop of Mainz, returns.

Bruno returns to Cologne.

The pope sent legates into Germany.

King Otto enters Italy with [unclear].

King Otto is crowned emperor at Rome.

Beginning of the Order of Minors.

Discord between the pope and the emperor. Cause of the dissension.

The emperor obtains all Apulia.

The emperor is excommunicated. Persecution of the church of Mainz.

172. Of the Monastery of Hirsau

was excommunicated, and afterward, by Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, legate of the Apostolic See, was deposed at Cologne, in the greater church, from every office, benefice, and pontifical function. Having gone to Rome, he long sought the favor of restitution, but could not obtain it.

MCCXV.

In the tenth year of Abbot Lutfrid, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1215, Adolf, count of Berg, besieged and took the castle of Werden, and by mighty force freed Otto, bishop of Münster, who had there been put in chains by the emperor, as we have said, namely on the vigil of St. James the Apostle.

In the same year Pope Innocent held at Rome, in the Lateran church, a synod of 130 bishops for the recovery of Jerusalem; in it he condemned as erroneous certain little books of Joachim, abbot of the Florensian monastery in Calabria. Sending his letters throughout all the borders of Christendom, he ordered all suitable persons to preach the cross. Hence throughout various provinces an innumerable multitude were signed for love of Christ and the liberation of the Holy Land. Among them were Frederick, king of the Romans and of Sicily; Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz; also the bishops of Liège, Bamberg, Poitiers, and Strasbourg; Duke Henry of Brabant; the duke of Moravia; the duke of Limburg; the duke of [Ancei?]; the count palatine of Tübingen; the margrave of Baden; the count of Looz; the count of Jülich; the count of Sayn; the count of Berg; and many others, all of whom took up the cross at Aachen when John, scholasticus of Xanten, preached it.

In the same year Theodoric, archbishop of Trier, came to Cologne; through the agency of Duke Henry of Brabant he brought the citizens back to peace and to submission to King Frederick, according to the apostolic mandate, and absolved them from the excommunication and interdict under which they had lain for a year and five months. On the fourth day of the month of August he solemnly celebrated masses in the greater church of St. Peter before all the people.

On the same day Frederick entered the city and was received with great honor; after receiving the homage of fidelity, he remained for seven days.

In the same year also lord Lutfrid, venerable abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, obtained from Frederick II, illustrious king of the Romans and of Sicily, confirmation of all privileges granted to that monastery by kings and emperors, together with further concessions, as appears in the letters of that confirmation, which were issued at Haguenau in the year of the Lord’s Incarnation 1215, on the sixth day before the Ides of July, in the third indiction.

In the same year, when Theodoric, formerly archbishop of Cologne, had long labored at Rome before the pope for his own restoration and made no progress, he was compelled to return empty-handed; the pope wrote to the people of Cologne that they should elect another as archbishop. Assembling together, they elected as archbishop Engelbert, provost of the greater church and son of the count of Berg; he presided for almost ten years, a very good man, a lover of the clergy and defender of the poor. Frederick, count of Isenburg, his kinsman, afterward cruelly killed him.

In the same year Walter, bishop-elect of Basel, being accused of having entered office uncanonically, was summoned to Rome by Pope Innocent. Since he could not canonically clear himself of the charges brought against him, he was deposed by the same pope; Henry, succeeding by canonical election, was confirmed.

In these times there were many hidden heretics of both sexes, who sowed various errors in Germany, France, and Italy; many of them, when detected, were burned in the flames. In the city of Strasbourg, indeed, in this year more than 80 in number were seized together at one time, of whom few were found innocent. Brother Conrad of Marburg, the apostolic inquisitor, was accustomed, if they denied the heresy, to test them by the ordeal of glowing iron; those whom the iron burned he handed over as heretics to the secular court to be burned. Hence, with few exceptions, all who had once been accused and brought to his examination were condemned by him to the fire. There were those who believed that many were condemned innocently, because glowing iron found no one free from sins, even if he had never been infected by any stain of heresy.

MCCXVI.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Lutfrid, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1216, Pope Innocent died. Honorius III was appointed; he presided for ten years and two months. He confirmed the orders of Preachers and of the Friars Minor of Saint Francis.

In the same year King Frederick held an assembly of princes around the beginning of the month of May at Nuremberg

170 Of the Monastery of Hirsau

they carry on devastation. But Siegfried the archbishop, suffering all these evils on account of obedience to the apostolic see, safe nowhere in his homeland, fled to Hermann, Landgrave of Thuringia, and remained there for some time.

In the same year, around Lent, Otto the Emperor returned from Italy, excommunicated by the pope and declared so throughout all Germany.

MCCXII.

In the seventh year of Abbot Lutfrid, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1212, Otto the Emperor, around the feast of Pentecost, held an assembly of princes at Nuremberg, setting forth to the princes the cause of the dissension between himself and the pope. After this he launched an expedition into Thuringia against Hermann the Landgrave, who opposed him, where he destroyed two very strong fortifications, Rotenberg and Saltzungen. Advancing from there, he surrounded the town of Wizense with a siege, which he also took, apart from the citadel. There then for the first time began to be used the war engine which is called a Tribock.

In the same year Liège, on the day of the Lord’s Ascension, was captured by Henry, duke of Brabant, after Bishop Huard had been put to flight; and very great booty and inestimable treasures of riches were plundered by the soldiers and [unclear], to the harm of many. In this same year a very great multitude of people of both sexes and every age, from all Germany and Gaul, and also Burgundy, set out on the road toward Italy: old men and young, boys and adolescents, married women and virgins, poor and rich, without order, without a leader, without authority, led by their own presumption, mutually marking themselves with the cross, saying that they wished to cross the sea against the Saracens and recover the Holy Land. But when they came to the sea, some perished from hunger and want, others were seized by pirates and sold, and the rest returned home with great confusion, many carrying back the reward of their own corruption.

In the same year an expedition of those marked with the cross was made by the duke of Austria and certain barons of the land, and other men of diverse condition, from Austria, Saxony, Westphalia, Frisia, and all Germany, in aid of the count of Montfort, to attack the Albigensian heretics, who were also called Ruptarii or Coterelli, from the land of Saint-Gilles, at the pope’s command. When they heard that so great an army was coming against them, some abandoned their cities and castles and fled; others, having returned to the unity of the Catholic faith, promised obedience under oath to the cardinal sent for this by the pope. When these things had been done, the aforesaid duke of Austria, Leopold, with a great army of Christians, proceeded into Spain against the Saracens, sent by ship by Massamutus, king of Maroth. There, when battle had been joined with those same faithful, the Christians gained the victory, an infinite multitude of Saracens being slain and the rest drowned in the sea.

In the same year also Otto the Emperor celebrated his wedding at Nordhausen, taking as wife the daughter of King Philip, previously betrothed to him, as we said; on the fourth day after this she departed from human affairs. Meanwhile Pope Innocent, seeing the stubbornness of Otto, whom he had formerly always favored against Philip and raised on high, since Otto labored neither for absolution nor for any settlement, sent into Sicily and brought out from there the above-mentioned Frederick, a son of the former Emperor Henry, and sent him into Germany with letters and commands, instructing and commanding the princes of the empire that, Otto being excommunicated, deposed, and annulled, they should elect him emperor, receive him, uphold him before the others, and stand by him manfully in all things, and that each in his own place should honorably provide safe-conduct for him as he passed through their lands. And this was done. When Otto learned of Frederick’s arrival, abandoning his attack on the Landgrave, he set out with an army to meet him. When they had come together in the regions of Swabia, Otto with his men was compelled to give way and could not prevail, because many were leaving him on account of his obstinacy. Yet, still having confidence in the duke of Zähringen alone, he went down as far as Breisach, a royal town, wishing to await the outcome of the matter, to see whether in some way he could have the means to resist. While he was staying there in garrison, and his retainers, provoking the townsmen with robberies and injuries, were violently plundering wine, fodder, and whatever pertained to provisions, the citizens gathered as one and drove him with all his men from the town, some being wounded and mutilated in their limbs. Departing from there, he returned into Saxony, certain nobles of that land escorting him.

After this, since Frederick was being received by all as king, while the citizens of the imperial town of Hagenau still persisted in loyalty to Otto, he surrounded the city with a siege and received its surrender. Advancing from there from city to city, he was received by all with honor as king, and in a short time obtained the whole realm of the empire. Also on the feast of Saint Andrew:

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

A most vigorous defender of his liberties, nor did he ever permit any violation of them to be endured. He was steadfast in spirit, and could not easily be overcome by those doing him injury, since prudence made him provident in his affairs, and inborn kindness, together with humble patience, made him glorious in suffering.

1217. Lupoldus.

In the first year of Abbot Eberhard, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1217, Lupoldus, bishop of Worms, died. Caesarius, monk of Heisterbach, mentions him in the second distinction of his Dialogues, chapter nine, bearing witness to his wicked manner of life. After his death Henry, provost of Neuhausen, son of the count of Saarbrücken, succeeded; he presided for nearly seventeen years.

In the same year Andrew, king of Hungary, Lupoldus, duke of Austria, with many bishops, counts, nobles, and a numerous multitude of those signed with the cross, crossed the sea for love of Christ in aid of the Holy Land. Likewise William, most powerful count of Holland, George, count of Wied, John, count of Spanheim, with Juvanus, sixth abbot of my monastery, and many other men of Germany signed with the cross, set out to recover the Holy Land. Among them were also the bishop of Bamberg, his brother the duke of Merania, Poppo also, count of Henneberg, Ludovicus, count of Oettingen, and one cardinal, legate of the apostolic see.

1218.

In the second year of Abbot Eberhard, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity [1218], on Palm [Sunday], the duke of Austria, Lupoldus, with the pope’s legate, the Templars, the Hospitallers, and a numerous army, approaching the borders of Egypt, besieged for some time the very wealthy city of Damietta. By storming it on the vigil of Saint Bartholomew they took the very strongly fortified tower beside the shore of the Nile, which is called the Key of the Land; afterwards they also obtained the city, which however they could not hold for long, as is read in their acts.

In the same year Berthold, duke of Zähringen, died, a strong and warlike man, who in his life waged many wars with adversaries.

Also in the same year the sea, passing beyond its bounds in Phrygia and going out far, occupied the land in length round about, destroyed entire villages, and overthrew churches, houses, castles, and innumerable towns; it consumed more than one hundred thousand people. There are those who write that the cause of this flood was a certain irreverence shown to the venerable sacrament of the Lord’s body by a drunken man, who had struck the hosts from the pyx in the priest’s hand to the ground with his fist; hence divine vengeance raged.

1219.

In the third year of Abbot Eberhard, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1219, Jerusalem, queen of cities, which seemed impregnable, was destroyed by Coradinus, son of Saphadinus. Its walls, inside and outside, together with its towers, were reduced to heaps of stones, except for the temple of the Lord, the church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the citadel which they call the Tower of David.

In the same year King Frederick set out for Rome with the greatest display for the imperial blessing; around the feast of Blessed Cecilia he was anointed and crowned emperor by Pope Honorius. Proceeding further into Apulia, with a great army of his men he waged many wars there and subjected all the land, together with Sicily, to his empire. Immediately dissensions followed between him and Pope Honorius, which lasted for many years to the loss of both parties.

Also in the same year the duke of Lorraine, with the consent or connivance of the bishop of Strasbourg, entered Alsace with a strong army, intending to take the vengeance he had planned upon certain men who had injured him.

1220.

In the fourth year of Abbot Eberhard, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1220, Emperor Frederick, being established in Apulia, waged many wars with the neighboring Saracens; after many had been cut down and killed, he compelled the rest to be subject to his lordship. Henry, his son, a boy of about ten years, meanwhile was said to govern the kingdom of Germany in his father’s absence through Otto, bishop of Würzburg, to whose guardianship he had been entrusted, with the cooperation of Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne.

In the same year there was serious discord between Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, and Conrad, Wildgrave count of Dhaun, on account of the advocacy in Heimbach: so much so that the archbishop, after excommunicating him, placed his land under ecclesiastical interdict. At length, when friends intervened, a concord was made in this manner, that the count [unclear] one hundred of silver

Conrad, Wildgrave count.

Frederick the Emperor [unclear] Apulia.

A flood submerged about [unclear] thousand people.

Jerusalem is overthrown by the Saracens.

The duke of Lorraine.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

of Andrew the Apostle, he held a celebrated court at Mainz, where many princes swore an oath of fidelity to him.

In this same year also Lupold, bishop of Worms, through the intervention of King Frederick and with the pope’s permission, returned to his see and was received into the grace of the apostolic see: out of hatred, as it seemed to most, of Otto, who, after King Philip had died, with the pope’s consent had proscribed him into exile. Meanwhile Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, for as long as he stood in Otto’s favor, also governed the church of Worms, especially with regard to ordinations and sacraments.

The court at Mainz. Lupold. 1213.

In the eighth year of Abbot Lutfrid, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1213, Frederick held a celebrated assembly of princes at Aachen on the feast of Saint James. There, with the consent of all the princes, he was called king and placed on the throne of the realm. There too, together with many others, he was signed with the cross against the Saracens for the recovery of the Lord’s Sepulchre, Master Conrad preaching the cross, then dean, who afterward was made bishop of Hildesheim in Saxony, a holy and most learned man.

King Frederick first took as wife Maria, daughter of the king of Aragon, who in this same year, while bringing aid to the Albigensians [and?] to the count of Toulouse, was killed. By her he begot Henry, king of the Romans, who died before his father, and Conrad the king. After his first wife died, he took a second, the daughter of John, king of Jerusalem, who had a son named Jordan. After she too died, he took a third.

Frederick: wives, etc.; children. 1213.

In the year of Lutfrid [unclear], the king of France entered Flanders with an army, to drive out Count Ferrand and subject the land to his own dominion. But [unclear] two daughters, two daughters, Frederick king of Tuscany, Eric king of Lombardy, Agnes wife of the landgrave of Thuringia, and Constance wife of Louis, landgrave of Hesse. By a concubine he begot Manfred, king of Sicily.

In the same year Leuthold, bishop of Basel, died; Walter succeeded him.

In the same year also Philip, king of France, entered Flanders with a very great army, to drive out Count Ferrand and [unclear] the land to his own lordship; when [unclear] had been killed, he could not fulfill his desire, for very many of his men were killed there, and with great loss and disgrace he was compelled to return to France.

Around autumn also Duke Henry of Brabant, fighting with the bishop of Liège, was defeated, with almost all his men either captured or killed. Theoderic, archbishop of Cologne, stubbornly disobeying the apostolic mandates, openly supported the party of Otto against Frederick, and by this brought much calamity upon his diocese. It happened in that year that the bishop of Münster came to Cologne; he was seized by certain supporters of the deposed emperor, sent to Werden, and at his order consigned to chains. On account of this the people of Cologne were excommunicated by Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz and legate of the Roman pontiff, and the celebration of divine offices in Cologne was forbidden.

In the same year also, on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of September, Rupert, the fifth abbot of my monastery of Spanheim, died. Juvanus, succeeding him as sixth in the order of abbots, presided for 39 years and 3 months.

1214.

In the year of Abbot Lutfrid [unclear], but of the Lord’s Nativity 1214, Otto, formerly emperor, devastated the land of the count of Guelders with fire and sword. In the month of July the same Emperor Otto, together with the king of England, his maternal uncle, and also Henry, duke of Brabant, Ferrand, count of Flanders, of whom mention was made before, and many others, marched to war against Philip, king of the French; when battle was joined, he was defeated by him near Tournai. There Count Ferrand, with many nobles both of Flanders and of Lotharingia, was captured; all of them were sent to Paris and consigned to chains.

At the same time Frederick crossed the Moselle with a very powerful army and by fear of him compelled all the nobles of that land to his obedience. Then, crossing the Meuse, he resolved to attack Henry, the aforesaid duke of Brabant, in war. Terrified by his swift arrival, Henry came to him as a suppliant, swore fidelity, gave his son with many other nobles as hostage, and withdrew from Otto, the deposed emperor.

In this same year, on the day before the Nones of March, a comet-star appeared.

In the same year also Brother Conrad of Marburg, of the Order of Preachers, began to preach in Germany by apostolic authority; he continued for nearly [unclear] years and caused many to be burned as heretics, with no one preventing it. At last, as we shall say, he himself was killed. Theoderic, archbishop of Cologne, because of disobedience to the pope’s mandate and his continued adherence to Otto, the former emperor who had been deposed, first [unclear]

Brother Conrad of Marburg. Theoderic, archbishop of Cologne, is deposed.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

... celebrated at [Nuremberg?], at which Peter of Santa Pudenziana, sent by the pope, was present. There [unclear] Engelbert, elect of Cologne, was confirmed as archbishop by the same cardinal. Likewise in the same year Otto, formerly emperor, abandoned by all, made ill by sorrow of mind, died after many distresses.

In the same year also Abbot Lutfrid, seized by illness and old age, after many labors by which he had governed this monastery quite usefully for 11 years and 5 days, rested in the Lord in April: a man gentle in disposition and of singular meekness, who lived as both monk and abbot in all tranquility and peace among the brothers; he made various buildings, and did not diminish the revenues.

Concerning Everhard, twenty-third abbot of this monastery, who governed for 15 years; concerning the various events of that time in Germany.

When the venerable Abbot Lutfrid had entered the way of all flesh and had been given ecclesiastical burial according to custom, the brothers, deprived of their shepherd, assembled together and began to deliberate on the election of a new abbot. At length, after mature deliberation among themselves had first been held, and after the grace of the Holy Spirit had first been invoked, by unanimous consent they elected as twenty-third abbot of this monastery lord Everhard, a professed monk of this community, a man of complete integrity, distinguished in learning and morals. Canonically elected, confirmed by Conrad, bishop of Speyer, and solemnly ordained according to custom, he governed this monastery vigorously for 13 years and some days.

He was born in Swabia, begotten of free and noble parents; in his boyhood he was set by them to love letters, and, advancing with age in all studies of the liberal arts, he became learned. Then, coming to the religious life, he was made a monk and was ordained among the brothers. Ordained, moreover, in the aforesaid year of the Lord’s nativity 1216, in the fourth indiction, in the month of April, as we have said, he took every care to show himself to all, in morals and life, a useful shepherd, instructing those subject to him in regular observance no less by example than by word, which he both greatly increased and maintained.

For he was so circumspect in ordering external affairs for the benefit of the monastery and the brothers that one would openly attest that he could in no way be wholly free for the spirit of inward life. For he was wholly intent upon the observance of monastic discipline, and so solicitous and circumspect concerning the conduct of the brothers that he was both called and truly was the shepherd of all. He was also diligent and provident in the care of temporal affairs.

Against the provost of Roth.

The abbot, against the rebellious [unclear], wishing to avoid obedience, appealed to the bishop of the aforesaid church of Augsburg, thinking, in the manner of the other abbots of the said church, that he was immediately subject not to the abbot but to the bishop. Abbot Everhard, taking this provost’s rashness ill, opposed him steadfastly, and before the aforesaid bishop and the whole chapter of the church of Augsburg he triumphed gloriously by judgment. For when the rights and privileges of the monastery of Hirsau had been examined, it was there declared by all that the provost in Roth was subject not to the bishop, but without any intermediary to the abbot of this monastery for the time being: namely, in such a way that his institution and deposition, according to the rule of our most holy father Benedict, belonged to the abbot alone, and that no one else whatsoever should in any way interfere in his ordination. For Abbot Everhard was [unclear] of the rights, liberties, privileges, properties, and goods of the monastery...

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

having received [unclear] marks from the chapter of Mainz, he resigned the advocacy, and was absolved from the sentence of excommunication or interdict.

In this same year, on the Nones of August, St. Dominic died, the first founder of the Order of Friars Preachers, a man of incomparable holiness.

1221.

In the fifth year of Abbot Everhard, the year of the Lord's Nativity 1221, the city of Damietta, which the Christians had taken and possessed in the preceding year with the greatest labor and much shedding of blood, was restored by the Christians to the Sultan of Babylon for the liberation of the captives in his kingdom and of Coradinus his brother. There is no doubt that this was done because their sins deserved it. For Saladin, a little before, seeking peace with the Christians, had promised that he would restore the kingdom of Jerusalem, rebuild that city itself, and grant Damietta, with the adjacent region for twenty miles, to be possessed in peace, provided they proceeded no farther into his land; and now the Christians seek his favor.

In the same year, on the day of St. Margaret, virgin and martyr, the city of Worms was burned by an accidental fire, and many houses, especially around the market and the surrounding streets, were consumed, so that almost half the city was destroyed. The church of St. Paul likewise was also burned, and endless losses were inflicted on the citizens.

In this same year the Friars Minor, entering Worms for the first time, built there a monastery of their order from the alms of the faithful.

1222.

In the sixth year of Abbot Everhard, the year of the Lord's Nativity 1222, Conrad, bishop of Speyer, hearing that the nuns at Hausen of our order near Durkheim had departed too far from the path of regular observance, and were living a wicked and excessively shameful life, united their convent, with the consent of Lord Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, to the monastery of Limburg of the same order, and wholly extinguished the title of a convent of nuns, so that when those who were then living had died, none should thereafter be received there, and the abbot of Limburg, through his monks, should have divine services celebrated there for the time being, according to the capacity and revenues of the place.

In the same year, on the seventh Ides of May, which was the Sunday nearest before Ascension Sunday, Henry, son of Emperor Frederick II, at the instance of his father and with the consent of the princes, while still a boy, was consecrated king of the Romans by Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne.

In the same year also, on the third Ides of January, in the morning at the first hour of the day, there was a great earthquake in Cologne and round about, and it overthrew many buildings. In Cyprus too two cities in the same year collapsed from an earthquake, with many people killed. In Italy also and Lombardy there were very great and terrible earthquakes this year, to such an extent that people abandoned the cities and lived in tents. For on the very day of the Nativity of the Lord, and throughout the two following weeks, almost every day twice in Lombardy there was a dreadful earthquake, which in many places overturned buildings and very strong churches, and crushed people together with priests. It also overthrew almost the whole city of Brescia with its people, tore rocks from the mountains, cast down castles, and wretchedly killed many thousands of people in various places. At Rome also earth mixed with blood was seen to fall from the clouds like rain.

In the same year also, Valdemar, king of Denmark, together with his son, was captured by Count Henry of Schwerin, and for two years was held and kept in custody by him in the very strong castle of Dannenberg.

1223.

In the seventh year of Abbot Everhard, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1223, Otto, bishop of Wurzburg, died on the Nones of December. Theoderic succeeded him and presided for one year, two months, and fourteen days.

In the same year Everhard, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, obtained from Emperor Frederick II confirmation of indulgences and privileges with fuller favor, as is clear in the letters, which were given at Precima in the month of January of the aforesaid year.

In the same year also, after the death of the wife of Emperor Frederick, namely the first, the daughter of the king of Aragon, there was betrothed to him as a second wife the daughter of John, king of Jerusalem, whom not long afterward he took as wife.

In this same year there arose a very great pestilence among cattle, which, lasting almost three years, began from Hungary and infected all Germany and Gaul with its foulness, so that scarcely a green third part of the cattle and draft-animals was spared from so great a pestilence.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year Henry, bishop of Strasbourg, also died; Berthold, a prudent man, a vigorous defender and supporter of the Church, succeeded him. In that same year also King Henry, son of Emperor Frederick, held a court of princes at [Nordhausen?], where Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, labored greatly for the liberation of the king of Denmark.

In the same year, as Philip, king of France, was dying, he bequeathed one hundred and fifty thousand marks for the aid of the Holy Land. In this same year also Pope Honorius, sending messengers everywhere, ordered the cross to be preached to the faithful, announcing to all that after two years, on the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, they should be ready with Emperor Frederick to cross the sea and again liberate the Holy Land.

In the same year also Pope Honorius III, with the consent of the cardinals, confirmed the Order of the Friars Minor of Saint Francis on the third day before the Kalends of December, two years before the death of that same holy confessor of Christ.

1223.

In the eighth year of Abbot Eberhard, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1224, Conrad, bishop of Speyer, died. Berengar of Entringen succeeded him, the forty-fourth bishop of the church of Speyer, namely on the sixth day before the Kalends of April; he presided over it for almost nine years.

In the same year Theoderic, bishop of Würzburg, died. Hermann of Ladenburg succeeded him and presided for almost twenty-six years; he endured many pressures and persecutions from his citizens on account of the excommunicated Emperor Frederick, but always obtained victory.

In the same year also, around the middle of the month of May, King Henry held a court of princes at Frankfurt, where messengers of the emperor were present with his letters, announcing that he would come from Sicily to Germany as quickly as possible, and would hold counsel with the princes concerning the recovery of the Holy Land and the maintaining of possession by force.

In the same year Pope Honorius sent as legate into Germany Conrad, bishop of Porto and cardinal of Santa Rufina. As he was about to go down to Cologne, he made his journey through Swabia, and came with his men to Hirsau, where he was received with honor by Abbot Eberhard and the brothers.

At the same time Henry, with the aforesaid legate of the Apostolic See, Engelbert archbishop of Cologne, and certain princes, set out for Saxony for the liberation of the king of Denmark and the restoration of the land of the empire unjustly possessed by him. There that same king, with his son, was being held captive by Count Henry of Schwerin in the very strong castle of Dannenberg. When the aforesaid counts came to the river Elbe, they sent ahead Hermann, master of the Hospital of the Teutons, who had been sent by the emperor into Germany for the sake of reconciliation and of making an agreement between both parties, namely the king and the count. Through his mediation, the same king was induced to restore all the land taken from the empire, to receive the crown of the kingdom of Denmark from the hand of the emperor, and furthermore to promise to give one hundred thousand marks for his liberation. When the princes who were present with the king accepted this, Albert, count of Orlamünde, [unclear] son of the king, and the barons of Denmark rejected this agreement, annulled what had been promised, and, boarding ships, departed in indignation, taking with them the immense sum of money that they had brought to redeem the king. And the aforesaid princes, the affair unfinished, returned in confusion to their own lands.

1225.

In the ninth year of Abbot Eberhard, the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1225, King Henry, son of Emperor Frederick II, held a court of princes at Frankfurt, in which he dealt with many matters.

In the same year, after the Nativity of the Lord, Count Albert of Schwerin resolved to attack; Henry met him, and when battle had been joined with great fierceness and much bloodshed, they fought from the first hour of the day until evening, with many falling there. There also Count Albert himself, with many nobles of Denmark, was captured by Count Henry and committed to custody in the castle of Dannenberg.

In this same year the winter was very long and very harsh. There was also a great and unheard-of famine, lasting for two years, in every province.

In the same year also, on the Ides of September, Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, the second of that name, died; Siegfried III succeeded him and presided for twenty-four years, a man [unclear].

Henry, bishop of Strasbourg, died.

The cross is again preached everywhere.

The Order of the Friars Minor is confirmed.

Conrad, bishop of Speyer, died.

Theoderic, bishop of Würzburg, died.

Assembly of princes.

Conrad, apostolic legate.

King Henry enters Saxony.

The king of Denmark.

Hermann, master of the Hospital.

Count Albert of Orlamünde.

Great famine.

Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, died.

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

...a man of great virtues and deeds, who was of such steadfastness that, by order of the pope, he publicly declared Emperor Frederick excommunicated and pursued him as such.

In the same year Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, was cruelly killed by Frederick, count of Isenburg, his brother’s son, with thirty-eight wounds. His body, buried in the greater church, soon began to become famous through countless miracles. But when the killer was, not long afterward, broken on the wheel before the walls, the miracles at once ceased. He was succeeded in the archbishopric by Henry of Molenarck, provost of Bonn, who presided for twelve years and destroyed the castle of Isenburg.

Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, is killed.

In the same year also Henry, king of the Romans, son of Emperor Frederick II, took as wife the daughter of Leopold, duke of Austria; the wedding was celebrated at Nuremberg with great solemnity, where a capital sentence was given against the killer of the archbishop of Cologne.

Henry the king takes a wife.

1226.

Now in the tenth year of Abbot Eberhard, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1226, Saint Francis, first founder of the Order of Friars Minor, rested in the Lord on the fourth Nones of October, and two years later was enrolled in the catalogue of the saints by Pope Gregory IX.

St. Francis dies.

In these times Henry, bishop of Worms, raised from the foundations a convent of nuns of the Cistercian order at Kirsgarten, outside the city walls, installed nuns there, and provided them with necessities. But after 217 years Frederick, bishop of Worms, expelled the nuns because of the enormity of their life, and put in their place regular canons of Saint Augustine of the Windesheim observance; they inhabit that place itself, with profit, up to the present day. Between the aforesaid Bishop Henry and the citizens of Worms a serious dissension arose over ecclesiastical liberty. Since they disdained to obey his command, he placed the city under ecclesiastical interdict, and also ordered all the clergy, except the parish priests, to leave the city, strictly forbidding the parish priests to confer the sacraments on the sick unless they promised the pontiff that they would obey him in all things if they recovered. Nor were the bodies of the dead permitted to be buried in holy places. But when these evils had lasted for the space of a year, some of the citizens, affected by weariness of the troubles, began to incline to the bishop’s side. Seeing this, those who were in charge of the consulship, and fearing to experience worse things, accepted peace.

Dissension between the bishop and his people of Worms.

In the same year the Lombards, rebelling against Emperor Frederick at the suggestion of Pope Honorius, formed an association, which for a long time was called that of the Lombards, to no small detriment of the Roman Empire and an impediment to the recovery of the Holy Land.

The association of the Lombards against the empire.

And in the same year Pope Honorius III himself died. Gregory IX succeeded him and presided for fourteen years and three months.

Pope Honorius dies.

1227.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Eberhard, and in the one thousand two hundred twenty-seventh year of the Lord’s nativity, Henry the king, son of the emperor, coming to Aachen around Passion Sunday, held a very celebrated court of the princes and nobles of almost all Germany. Among them the chief were the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Salzburg, with many bishops, the dukes of Bavaria, Carinthia, Brabant, and Lorraine, Henry count palatine of the Rhine, the landgrave of Thuringia, the count of Flanders, who for twelve years had been detained in captivity at Paris by the king of France and had been released the previous year, with many other counts and nobles. In this assembly of princes, the wife of Henry, king of the Romans, daughter of Leopold, duke of Austria, was consecrated as queen by Henry, archbishop of Cologne, and, with great solemnity, placed on the royal seat beside the king.

The queen is crowned at Aachen.

In the same year, on the day of St. Mary Magdalene, the king of Denmark, a violator of the faith and oath that he had pledged in the previous year for his absolution, prepared to avenge himself: after gathering an immense multitude of armed men, he challenged Henry, count of Schwerin, to war. By him, with the aid of the archbishop of Bremen and Albert, duke of Saxony, he was defeated and scarcely escaped by flight, four thousand men on his side having been slain, and many captured from the Danes.

Emperor Frederick is excommunicated by the pope.

Because of this, he was excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX, and the archbishop of Mainz announced him as such. Yet many princes of Germany, counts, dukes, barons, and nobles, notwithstanding the emperor’s contumacy, prepared to cross the sea. Among them were Louis, the fifth landgrave of the Thuringians, the first margrave of Meissen, husband...

The Monastery of Hirsau [unclear]. The temporal substance of the monastery, however, was well preserved under him, because he was sufficiently experienced in the ordering of household affairs and solicitous with singular attention in the care of temporal business.

1232.

In the first year of Abbot Ernest, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1232, the emperor Frederick, staying at Ravenna, prepared war against the Lombards; but he made no progress, since the Lombards blocked the route to the king, Henry his son, and to the German soldiery whom the emperor had summoned to him at Ravenna.

In this same year the Sultan of Babylon sent the emperor a tent constructed with marvelous art, in which images of the sun and moon, moved artificially, completed their course through fixed and proper intervals and indicated the hours of day and night infallibly. The value of this tent was said to have exceeded the price of five thousand florins.

In the same year a great war was made between Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, and Conrad the Landgrave. Taking the town of Fritzlar, he almost utterly destroyed it. In the same place men were captured by the Landgrave himself. At last peace was made between them.

Also in the same year Frederick II, emperor, abolished from the monastery itself the principality of a monastery of our order, not far from Worms, called Lorsch, with every honor, vassals, ministeriales, towns, castles, villages, rights, revenues, and its appurtenances, which the abbot of that place had always been accustomed to hold; and he gave almost all the canonry-rights of the aforesaid town to the archbishop and the church of Mainz forever, whose value exceeds the price of one hundred thousand florins. Pope Gregory IX, at the archbishop’s request, confirmed this donation, commanding him that, after the monks of our order had been expelled from there, he should put Cistercians in their place. When he had done this, our men, grieving that they had been expelled from their monastery so unjustly by the archbishop, returned one night to the monastery, relying on the help of friends; and they attacked the Cistercian monks found there, who feared nothing of the kind, struck them, wounded them, and expelled them from the monastery; and they began to inhabit the place again. But not many days later the archbishop arrived, and with a strong hand expelled them once more from the monastery, and recalled his Cistercians again. And on a certain night, during matins, when the Cistercians believed themselves to be safe, our men again came with their friends to Lorsch, attacked them again, cut them down, struck them, and expelled them once more, declaring that they would kill them all if they presumed to return again to that monastery of Lorsch. Therefore from that day the Cistercians could no longer be induced to return to Lorsch. The monastery was thus vacant for some time, since neither they nor our men [unclear] safely place themselves there. [He] commanded, in the second year of his pontificate, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1246, that he should put monks of whatever order, or certainly secular canons, back into the monastery, lest it remain vacant any longer. Having taken counsel, he [unclear] monks of the Premonstratensian order from the monastery of All Saints in the diocese of Strasbourg for this purpose [unclear] 764, built and magnificently endowed it. In it afterward Saint Ermenold was made the fifth abbot of this monastery, although he resigned the abbacy because of a scruple of conscience; and, translated into Bavaria, he was appointed the first abbot of the monastery of Saint George in Prüfening, where he was renowned for many signs and miracles, as is read in his Life.

This year the summer was dry and very hot; excellent wine grew.

1233.

In the second year of Abbot Ernest, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1233, the emperor Frederick violently took Messina, a city of Sicily rebelling against him, and burned all his rebels in it with fire.

At the same time in Germany many noble and non-noble persons, clerics, monks, nuns in-

178

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Louis, husband of St. Elisabeth. Bernstein is taken. Henry, Count Palatine. The Emperor Frederick crosses the sea. The coronation of the kings of Bohemia belongs to the archbishop of Mainz. War between the bishop of Strasbourg and the count of Pfirt. Jerusalem is handed over to the Christians. Dissension between the pope and the emperor. Concord is made between the bishop of Strasbourg and the count of Pfirt. The king of Leon attacks the Saracens. Majorca is taken by the king of Aragon. The archbishop of Cologne. The duke of Limburg. The emperor is absolved. Duke Leopold dies.

St. Elisabeth of Marburg, a most pious prince, who died on the third day before the Ides of September in a certain city of Sicily called Otranto; his bones were brought back to Thuringia and buried in Reinhardsbrunn, a monastery of our order. Louis also of Castel, Louis the elder of Stolberg, and the bishop of Augsburg, who himself also died on the journey, not without suspicion of poisoning.

In this same year also Berthold, bishop of Strasbourg, besieged the castle of Bernstein, stormed it, and after a month obtained it.

In the same year lord Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine and lord of Brunswick in Saxony, gave his daughter Gertrude as wife to Otto, duke of Bavaria, with whom [unclear].

1228.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Eberhard, and in the year of the Lord's Nativity 1228, the Emperor Frederick, having already for many years been signed with the cross, at last undertook the journey overseas with many other princes; nevertheless Pope Gregory meanwhile caused him, as excommunicate, to be proclaimed throughout all Germany, especially by the Friars Preachers.

In the same year Odakar and Wenceslaus, kings of Bohemia, gave such a privilege to the church of Mainz that the consecration of the kings of Bohemia should belong to the archbishop of Mainz for all future times forever. This was observed for many years, until at last by a certain archbishop of Mainz this right was sold to the church of Prague.

Also in the year noted above a grave dissension arose between Berthold, bishop of Strasbourg, and his kinsmen, the counts of Pfirt; and as it grew stronger day by day, almost the whole province for nearly three years was laid waste and lay open to the fire and plundering of robbers. Therefore, after many injuries had been suffered, the bishop, having gathered an army of his men, together with Albert, count of Habsburg, who himself also had sustained many losses, prepared himself to resist. The counts of Pfirt, then, having as aid Egon, count of Freiburg, and the imperial cities between Blodelsheim and Hirnfeld, met the bishop with a very great army; and when battle was joined, they were defeated by him, many of them being killed, others wounded, others led away into captivity.

1229.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Eberhard, and in the year of the Lord's Nativity 1229, the holy city of Jerusalem, with certain castles, was recovered by the Emperor Frederick II, under certain conditions, from the sultan of the Egyptians without any engagement or shedding of blood, and was handed over again into the hands of the Christians. The Emperor Frederick himself, moreover, on Laetare Sunday entered Jerusalem crowned; and after making truces with the Saracens for ten years, on the next day he set out for the ships and returned to his own land. But when he entered Sicily, he found that many towns, castles, and fortifications had gone over to the pope's side. Recovering all these by the strong hand of the Germans, he utterly destroyed some of them; and from that time grave enmities arose between him and the pope.

1230.

Now in the fourteenth year of Abbot Eberhard, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1230, concord was made between King Henry, the counts of Pfirt, and Berthold, bishop of Strasbourg, and the land fell silent from the tumult of wars. But it could not be cleansed of thieves and robbers, who by night, breaking the doors of monasteries and churches, since they had been accustomed to live from plunder, secretly carried off whatever they could find.

In the same year in Spain the king of Leon and his son the king of Castile, taking up arms against the Saracens, occupied a great part of the land, powerfully taking the city of Merida with many castles from their hands. The king of Aragon also, in this same year, took by armed force the island of Majorca, which was once a kingdom and had for many years been possessed by the Saracens; he led away its king captive with the whole royal household, entrusted the island to his Christian knights to be guarded, and carried off much spoil.

In the same year also a dissension arose between the archbishop of Cologne and the duke of Limburg over the advocacy of the monastery of Siegburg of our order, which each contended belonged to his own right. From this fires and plundering followed around the territories of both, until at last truces were interposed by King Henry.

In this same year the Emperor Frederick was absolved by Pope Gregory at the entreaty of Leopold, duke of Austria, and restored to the communion of the Church. This duke, after the treaty of peace had been completed, died at San Germano in Campania; his entrails and flesh [unclear] in the chapter house [unclear].

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

179

...of the monastery of Cassino of our order were buried, the bones having been carried back into Austria. At this time the impiety of many heretics, who had long lain hidden in Germany, Italy, and especially in Lombardy, was detected, and very many of them were burned with fire. The sect of the Nico-[unclear]. The heresy of the Lombards is detected. Their errors. They despised the Church and prelates; they also ate meat in Lent; and they did many evil things, secretly drawing into their error whomever they could. Their very great multitude. Every year from Germany, Gaul, and Italy they used to send an annual tribute to Milan, where the primacy of diverse heresies and errors was exercised. Certain of them, when captured, publicly confessed that so great was the number of those in error everywhere that, if anyone, setting out from Cologne, wished to go to Milan, every night he would find a host of their sect, in whose house [unclear] mother, wife, daughter; and they had small signs around the doors of the houses, or above the dwellings of their accomplices, [wherever] they could find them.

MCCXXXI.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Eberhard, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1231. Ludovicus, duke of Bavaria, is killed. Ludovicus, duke of Bavaria, returning from overseas regions, when he had come to Kelheim, was stabbed through with a knife and killed in the sight of his household by a certain messenger of the Old Man of the Mountains, sent for this purpose; Frederick the emperor, as was reported, having procured this crime. For the aforesaid Old Man of the Mountains, prince of the Saracens, allied with the emperor, wishing to avenge the many injuries which the same duke had inflicted on the emperor, sent his servant to kill him. And [unclear] in his place, so that if anyone, setting out from Cologne, wished to go to Milan, [unclear] every night he would find a host of their sect, in whose house [unclear] mother, wife, daughter; and they had small signs around the doors of the houses, or above the dwellings of their accomplices, [wherever] they could find them.

In the same year, on the third day before the Kalends of December, died Saint Elisabeth, daughter of the king of Hungary, wife of Lu-[unclear]. Otto, duke of Bavaria, count palatine of the Rhine. In Hesse she dies. [unclear] of the count palatine of the Rhine dwelling at Heidelberg, and after him his son Otto succeeded to that same palatinate in the duchy of Bavaria; he had as wife Gertrude, daughter of Henry [unclear], and joined the duchy of Bavaria to it down to the present day. From her he begot two sons, Henry and Ludovicus, of whom we shall speak later in their proper place.

In the same year also Antonius of Padua, of the Order of Minors, disciple of Blessed Francis, a learned and most holy man, died.

In the same year also Eberhard, abbot of this monastery, after many labors undertaken for the defense of the rights and liberties of the place, rested in the Lord, a man worthy of eternal memory, who in every respect did good to the monastery during the time of his rule. Saint Elisabeth dies. He adorned the church, [built] many buildings for the brethren [unclear] from the second to the glorious [unclear], on the penultimate day of the month of December, after he had presided for 15 years, 8 months, and 20 days, in the sixty-fifth year of his age; he was buried in the greater monastery with reverence and honor, not without many tears of the sons whom he left behind.

Concerning Ernest, twenty-third abbot of this monastery, who presided for 13 years, one month, and three days, and concerning the various deeds of that time.

After the death of the most reverend and God-beloved abbot Eberhard, the brothers of this monastery, assembling together on the last day of the month of December, which was the second day after the death of their shepherd, began to have discussion among themselves about the necessary substitution of a new abbot. Therefore, after the customary prayers had first been said, at length they unanimously elected Ernest, a good man, born of respectable parents in Swabia, who, ordained abbot by Berengar, bishop of Speyer, presided over this monastery for 13 years, one month, and three days. The life and character of Abbot Ernest. And he was, as we have said, a good man of honorable conduct, yet more inclined to temporal affairs than to the observance of monastic discipline. Hence it came about that the integrity of discipline gradually failed under him, since he cared less for the inner life of the brothers, but rather for external things...

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius, 181

[unclear] enclosed women, townsmen, citizens, and peasants, in various places of Germany, were condemned to punishment by fire under the name of [Luciferians?] by a certain friar of Marburg of the Order of Preachers, who had been appointed general inquisitor of heretics by the apostolic see, with too hasty a sentence, as it then seemed to many. For, as someone writes, on the same day on which a person was accused, whether justly or unjustly, with no refuge of appeal or defense availing him, he was condemned and cast into the cruel flames.

Among the many who were then accused, the count of Sayn was denounced to him, falsely defamed for heresy; for his purgation or defense King Henry held an assembly of many princes at Mainz. For this reason Brother Conrad, the minister and author of this persecution among the Germans, fell into the hatred of many nobles and commoners.

Departing from Mainz with an army, he entered Bavaria, having in his host six thousand fighting men, whom he brought out to battle against the duke of Bavaria in the fields of the river Lech near Augsburg of the Raetians; in a short time he received the duke himself, with all Bavaria, in surrender. Meanwhile, while these things were being done in Bavaria, Theoderic, count of Montbeliard, was killed on the road with arms near the borders of Alsace. His body lies buried at Marburg.

At the same time King Henry, leaving Mainz with the princes, began to depart with a strong hand, after certain men had been captured together with booty; when behold, a clamor arose, and the people of the land pursued those fleeing. The count was again captured with many others and handed over to the custody of the bishop of Strasbourg. The bishop, returning from the Bavarian expedition, received security and permitted him to go free.

In the same year also the bishop of Chur was killed by certain wicked men. In the year noted above Berenger, bishop of Speyer, also died; Conrad of Thann succeeded him, and was the forty-fifth in the order of the bishops of Speyer. He presided for almost four years usefully enough.

In this same year, on the third day before the Kalends of March, a concord was made between the bishop and the citizens of Worms in the town of Frankfurt, through Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, Conrad the aforesaid bishop of Speyer, and the margrave of Baden, by the order and command of King Henry, son of Emperor Frederick.

1234. In the third year of Abbot Ernest, which was the year 1234 of the Lord's nativity, Pope Gregory IX caused the cross to be preached against the Stedingen peoples, situated on the borders of Frisia and Saxony, surrounded by roads, marshes, and rivers. Because of disobedience, their offenses, and the withholding of tithes, they had for many years been excommunicated and placed under interdict by the apostolic see, and had shown themselves despisers of the ecclesiastical keys; fighting often with bishops, counts, and other neighboring nobles, they were frequently victors and rarely defeated. But when an army of crusaders came against them, they were overcome and defeated; more than two thousand of them were slain, and the rest fled to their neighbors. Their confederation against the Church came to an end.

In the same year the city of Worms, set alight by an accidental fire, was burned in great part, not without irrecoverable loss to many citizens. This fire began on the tenth day before the Kalends of July, at night, and lasted two days.

In the same year also, on the day before the Ides of September, Henry of Saarbrucken, bishop of Worms, died and was buried with honor in the middle of the choir of his cathedral church. Landolph succeeded him and presided for three years. He expelled the nuns of our order from the monastery commonly called Nonnenmunster, in the suburb of the city, because of their disorderly life, and introduced others of the Cistercian order there; they inhabit that place down to the present day, as we see.

In this year also King Henry summoned an assembly of princes at Boppard, where, after accepting the counsel of wicked men, he made a conspiracy against his father, Frederick II, to his own destruction and the danger of very many. From that day onward he began to solicit whomever he could, with threats, entreaties, and promises, to leave his father and follow him, and he gained many. But the Worms men and the others who, because of their oath, refused to defect from the father, he troubled for a long time with many injuries. Seeing this, the margrave of Baden, faithful to the emperor, set out for Sicily to the emperor, urging him to return to Germany as quickly as possible; otherwise his native land would be [unclear], and he himself would lose [unclear].

Many heretics are burned in Germany.

Brother Conrad of Marburg.

The count of Sayn is accused.

The army of Brother Conrad [unclear]; expedition of the king into Bavaria.

Theoderic, count of Montbeliard.

Berenger, bishop of Speyer, dies.

The Worms men are reconciled with the bishop.

The cross preached against the Stedingen.

The Stedingen are slaughtered after being defeated.

Henry of Worms dies.

Nonnenmunster of our order is transferred.

King Henry conspired against his father.

The margrave of Baden recalls the emperor.

Monastery of Hirsau

whom the duke himself had formerly unjustly oppressed, or had driven from his land, devastated all Austria and subjected it to the emperor, except for a few very strongly fortified castles, into which the duke had withdrawn. But the emperor, after arranging his affairs in Lombardy as best he could and leaving part of his army there, returned to Austria; and, remaining in the city of Vienna through the winter, he began to make arrangements concerning the condition of that duchy newly subjected to him, and to secure it with his own soldiers, having with him the army brought back from Italy.

MCCXXXVII.

In the sixth year of Abbot Ernest, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1237, Emperor Frederick, being established in Austria, caused his son Conrad, still a boy, born of his overseas wife, to be elected king of the Romans. He was elected by the archbishops of Mainz and Trier, and also by the king of Bohemia and the duke of Bavaria, Otto count palatine of the Rhine, with the consent of the other princes who were present. When this had been done, the emperor himself, leaving a garrison of soldiers there at that time, went up to Regensburg and summoned an assembly of princes at Speyer. When they came there at the appointed time, he again caused his son Conrad, the boy, to be designated king. After this, having sent Count Eberhard of Eberstein into Austria with two hundred soldiers to guard the city of Vienna, he himself set out again for Lombardy with the rest of the army; and around the feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle he had a battle with the Milanese, and, after gaining the victory, captured and killed many thousands of them.

In the same year before autumn, a quarter of wine was being sold for sixteen denarii in Alsace; in the preceding year there had been such abundance of it that a quarter of wine was sold for one denarius, as was said above.

In the same year also Pope Gregory IX excommunicated Emperor Frederick, who was laying waste Lombardy, which was in rebellion against him, and caused him to be denounced everywhere by the Friars Minor; and countless evils followed in every land subject to the Roman Empire and to the Church.

In this same year, in the month of April, Emperor Frederick resigned in perpetuity to Archbishop Siegfried and his successors, with all its appurtenances, the fief of the advocacy of the village of Bischoffsheim on the borders of Franconia, which is [unclear] by the church of Mainz in the name of the duchy of Swabia.

In the same year, at the end of Lent, Henry, archbishop of Cologne, died; Conrad of Hochstaden, a warlike man, succeeded him. At that time many troubles of wars arose in the provinces of Mainz, Trier, Cologne, and especially in the land of Liège; because of these there were many incursions of wars, plunderings, and burnings, followed not without the shedding of blood. At the end of this aforesaid year, on the vigil of the Nativity of Christ, Conrad of Tann, bishop of Speyer, died. He gave the church of Deidesheim, with all its revenues, to the canons of the greater church of Speyer for their common use, as a perpetual possession. At his urging also, Cuno, abbot of Wissembourg, with the consent of his convent, handed over the church in the village of Billigheim, not far from Landau, with all its revenues, to the canonical church of Speyer. And the abbot of the monastery of Klingenmünster, then of our order but now of secular clerics, at the persuasion of the said pontiff, gave the right of patronage of the church in Offenbach to the chapter of Speyer. He [held office] almost eight years.

MCCXXXVIII.

In the seventh year of Ernest, in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1238, Henry, the last landgrave of Alsace, died without heirs. He had held many fiefs from the Empire, from the church of Strasbourg, and from others; after his death these reverted to their lords. Moreover, the title of the provincial countship has remained with the church of Strasbourg down to the present.

In the same year Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, Conrad, bishop of Speyer, [unclear] Conrad his son into Germany with the aforesaid archbishop of Mainz, [unclear] set out, with whose help he fought many battles there. But after a short time, commending him and the affairs of the kingdom to his loyalty and protection, [unclear].

In the same year Henry, bishop of Basel, died; Lütold of Röttelnheim lawfully succeeded him by election of the canons. In these times the Tartars, an immense multitude also pouring out from their own places, miserably destroyed Hungary, Poland, and Moravia, and all the adjacent lands, devastating them with fire, plunder, and sword. Against their incursions, many princes, signed with the cross, assembled at Merseburg; and in the year

182 — Of the Hirsau Monastery

... the empire, with the princes and his son conspiring against him. But when the emperor heard this news, he sent the margrave ahead into Germany and promised that he himself would come as quickly as possible. But Henry the king, the emperor’s son, took it badly that his father had been informed of the things he had committed and would be returning to Germany by his counsel. Therefore, having gathered an army of his men, he entered his territory and contrived great evils against him. But the margrave, certain of the emperor’s coming, defended himself and his men stoutly and put the king’s army to flight.

In the same year the count of Holland, in a certain tournament at Corbie, in the diocese of Amiens, was miserably suffocated and died, expired.

Likewise in this same year Frederick, count of Pfirriß, being held in captivity, was cruelly killed by his own son, after a long starvation in prison.

1235.

In the year [unclear], with 4 subtracted, which was the Sunday of the Nativity, 1235, Henry the king, son of the emperor, hearing that his father would shortly come into Germany, and fearing him, began to seek the friendships of princes and cities for himself; and beginning from Basel, he received hostages from all the cities with which he was confederated in Alsace, as a precaution, lest they should fall away from him when the emperor came, but should remain firm with him against his father in the conspiracy already begun until the end.

But the emperor, returning from Apulia around the Nativity of John the Baptist, came through Austria into Germany. Soon, after sending his messengers throughout the whole kingdom, he summoned the princes to an assembly to be held at Mainz on the feast of the Assumption of the blessed Mary ever virgin. Meanwhile Henry the king, who because of fear of his father was staying in the very strongly fortified castle of Driuels, at the persuasion of Hermann, master of the hospital of the Teutonic Knights, came to his father at Worms on the Nones of July, where he was with certain princes. He immediately placed him in custody, first at Worms, in a very strong house near the church of Saint Andrew the Apostle; then in Heidelberg castle, under the custody of Otto, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria. Afterwards he was led from Heidelberg to Alzey, and finally, sent to Sicily, he was held in close custody until death for five years: God rendering to him the way according to his merits, since he had made the noble kingdom of Germany common to robbers, had violently oppressed religious and ecclesiastical men with unjust services and exactions, and had exposed the province to such plundering by the impious that there was now no security of peace for travellers.

When the feast of the Assumption of the blessed Mary ever virgin arrived, a very great multitude of princes, bishops, abbots, counts, and nobles from all parts of Germany assembled at Mainz according to the emperor’s edict. There the emperor, crowned on the octave of the feast of the Assumption, proceeded and ordained many things for the peace and advantage of the empire. In this assembly there are those who testified that more than twelve thousand noblemen and soldiers had gathered. In the same assembly of princes the discord which had lasted for almost eight years between the emperor Frederick and Otto, duke of Saxony, was settled by the counsel of friends. For when Henry, count palatine, who was also lord of Brunswick and Lueneburg, had died eight years before and left two daughters, Otto, duke of Bavaria, taking the first daughter, Gertrude, as wife, as was said above, obtained with her the county palatine of the Rhine; but the margrave of Baden took the second as wife, with whom he received the lordship of Brunswick as dowry, which he sold to the aforesaid emperor Frederick for a certain sum of money. And when the emperor had sent his men to Saxony to take possession of the lordship newly purchased, Otto, duke of Saxony and Lueneburg, taking it very ill that the inheritance of his forefathers, which they had possessed by right for a long time, had come into the emperor’s hands, constantly opposed himself. By violent force he compelled the soldiers sent by him to leave Brunswick.

The duke comes into the emperor’s favor.

Albert of Anhalt becomes duke of Saxony.

But Duke Otto, persuaded by the counsel of friends, came into the emperor’s favor in the aforesaid assembly of princes at Mainz, where concord between them was confirmed in this manner, with the consent of the princes: that the same Duke Otto, for himself and his heirs, should hold in perpetuity the duchy of Brunswick and Lueneburg. Further, the emperor transferred the title of the duchy of Saxony to Albert of Anhalt, who was in the county of Lauenburg, creating him duke of Saxony and prince elector. And so that the integrity of the history may more easily become known to the reader, let him who desires to know the truth know that Henry, once duke of Saxony, who on account of his wonderful deeds obtained the name of the Lion, concerning whom there is that famous battle of the lion and the griffin, and the long [unclear] at sea...

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

After his deposition he entered Italy, and afflicted the pope and the peoples subject to him with such great evils that the pontiff grew weary of living, and wished that he had never thought of deposing him. [unclear] lasted almost to this day, for two hundred and sixty years, not without the shedding of much blood. For those who followed the party of the Roman pontiff, to whose supporters the name Guelfs had been given, strove with all zeal and all strength to pursue and utterly destroy the supporters of the emperor, who were called Ghibellines. Nor with less zeal did the Ghibellines pursue the Guelfs. But what was done concerning the Empire after King Henry died, or even after the emperor died, we shall tell in its proper order after six years.

1245.

In the year of the Lord’s nativity 1245, indiction 2, Ernest, the twenty-fourth abbot of the monastery of Hirsau, died on the day of Saint Blaise, bishop, which is the third day of the month of February, in the fourteenth year of his rule, begun but not completed, and at about sixty-three years of age. He was a good, tranquil, peaceable man, who [unclear].

On Volpold, Twenty-First Abbot of the Monastery, Who Presided Twenty Years and as Many Days; on the Various Events of That Time.

When Ernest, the venerable abbot of this monastery, had died, as we have said, and had been buried with the reverence of his sons, as is customary, in the year and on the day prescribed above, the brothers, bereft of a shepherd, came together on the first suitable day following in the chapter place and began to take counsel concerning the election of a new abbot. Therefore, after the customary prayers had first been said, at length, confirmed by Conrad, bishop of Speyer, and, as is customary, ordained with great solemnity in the greater church of the said city of Speyer, he presided over this monastery of Hirsau for twenty years and as many days. He was a man of middling stature, inclining more to corpulence than to slenderness of body. He was a Swabian by nation, born of honorable parents, and, according to the custom of that time, had been adequately instructed in the Scriptures for necessity. Having become a monk, he lived quietly and peacefully among the brothers at all times, walking without reproach. He is not found to have alienated anything. Moreover, the fervor of monastic life at that time had grown not a little lukewarm in this monastery, as in almost all others; he could not easily revive it, nor did he labor greatly on that account.

In the course of his first year, the year prescribed above, which was, as we have said, 1245 from the Lord’s nativity, in the month of November, Conrad of Eberstein, the forty-sixth bishop of Speyer, died. Henry, son of the count of Leiningen, chancellor of the imperial court, succeeded him and presided for twenty-seven years. This Henry, elected but not yet confirmed, besieged and took by armed force the castle called Starkenberg, which pertains to the principality of the monastery of Lorsch, after driving out from it the guardians of the church of Mainz. From this a great dissension arose between him and Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz. At length Pope Innocent, at the instance of the aforesaid archbishop, entrusted the case to certain judges for determination and restored peace.

In the same year, on the vigil of Saint Andrew the Apostle, at night, Otto, the first of the dukes of Bavaria to be count palatine of the Rhine, died. At the beginning of his rule he was a pious, just, and most merciful prince. Afterwards, when he sided with the excommunicated and deposed Emperor Frederick, as we have said, he himself was excommunicated by the pope, and he began to persecute the clergy out of hatred for the pope; this did not turn out well for him. For on the aforesaid vigil of Saint Andrew, when he was cheerful and well with his wife, sons, and household, he was found dead suddenly in that very night, excommunicate. He left two sons, Louis and Henry, who governed his principality for ten years in fraternal community. But after ten years, that is, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1255, they divided the principality between themselves. Henry received Landshut with Lower Bavaria as his legitimate portion. But Louis [unclear].

Otto, count palatine of the Rhine, died.

Louis, duke of Bavaria, count palatine.

Conrad, bishop of Speyer, died.

Henry, bishop [unclear] Starkenberg [unclear].

The Life of Abbot Volpold.

Conrad, count palatine of the Rhine, died.

Otto, count palatine of the Rhine, died.

Louis, count palatine of the Rhine, died.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

183

[unclear] his pilgrimage is depicted as having been fabricated; he begot two sons, namely Otto, the fourth emperor, and William, duke of Saxony and Brunswick, concerning whom there is nothing relevant to the matter at hand. But he begot as his third son Henry, who married Agnes, daughter of Conrad, count palatine of the Rhine. She bore him two daughters: namely Gertrude, whom Otto, duke of Bavaria, as we have said, had as wife, and with whom he also obtained the palatinate of the Rhine; and Adelaide, whom [Ericus?], margrave of Baden, married, and with whom, as has been said, he obtained the duchy of Brunswick, which, as we have already said, he sold to Emperor Frederick.

This Henry, from the dukes of Saxony count palatine of the Rhine, after the death of Agnes, daughter of Conrad the count palatine and mother of his daughters Gertrude and Adelaide, took a second wife, namely Agnes, daughter of the count of Landsberg, but by her he had no children. Therefore, when concord had been made between Emperor Frederick and Otto, duke of Brunswick, mentioned above, in the aforesaid assembly of princes at Mainz, the emperor, after the solemnities of the masses on the octave of the Assumption, invited the princes to a feast. Because of the very great multitude of people, this had been prepared at great expense outside the city in an open place, the emperor himself rejoicing with all the others that he had increased the Roman empire by the creation of a new duke.

Not long afterward the archbishop of Besançon, a wise and glorious man, in the same assembly of princes at Mainz, closed his last day. His body was brought back to the church over which he had presided, and was buried with honor in Christian fashion. After this the emperor invited the third [unclear] on the octave of the Assumption to a feast, which, because of the very great multitude of people, had been prepared at great expense outside the city in an open place, the emperor himself rejoicing with all the others that he had increased the Roman empire by the creation of a new duke.

After the celebration [unclear], he sent her after the wedding to Haguenau, in Alsace, and remained there with her for almost the whole winter together with his princes. On the feast of All Saints the emperor held an assembly of princes at Augsburg, where the king of Bohemia was present, receiving from the emperor ten thousand marks for the part of the duchy of Swabia which had devolved by hereditary right to his wife. From there the emperor returned to Haguenau and wintered there. Among other princes there were the count of Toulouse, who received the March from the emperor as a fief, after giving the oath of fidelity, as is the custom; and the count of Provence, in his fiftieth year, whom the emperor made a knight, although he resisted in part, because the counts in his family did not believe they could live long after they had attained the rank of knighthood. Nor would he even then have consented to knighthood, unless the kings of France and England, each of whom had taken his daughters as wives for their sons, had compelled him to this order of knighthood, judging it unworthy that their father-in-law should not be a knight. There were also envoys of the king of Spain, bringing very beautiful destriers and precious gifts to the emperor with greetings.

1236.

In the fifth year of Abbot Ernest, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1236, on the kalends of May, Saint Elizabeth was raised from her subterranean tomb at Marburg by the archbishops of Mainz and Trier and the bishop of Hildesheim, apostolic commissioners, in the presence of Emperor Frederick and many princes, bishops, abbots, counts, prelates, nobles and commoners, the number of all of whom was estimated at twelve hundred thousand. There, before all the people, countless miracles occurred at the invocation of her holy name. The emperor lifted the first stone from the sarcophagus, and reverently placed upon the sacred head of the saint the golden crown brought forth from his treasures. Her body was placed in a golden tomb, because she had been canonized by Pope Gregory IX. After this the emperor moved his army into Italy against the Lombards, who for many years past had gone out in rebellion against him.

In the same year, before the emperor’s aforesaid expedition into Italy, the Jews dwelling in the town of Fulda secretly killed certain Christian boys in a mill in order to obtain their blood. When this crime was discovered, many of them were burned. The bodies of the boys, however, were presented at Haguenau for the emperor to inspect, and there were buried with honor as if they were martyrs; and a great persecution of the Jews followed.

In the same year there grew a very great abundance of wine, especially in the regions of Alsace, so that one quartal of wine was bought for one denarius. And so the emperor, coming into Italy with a strong army of his men, in the first encounter took Vicenza, and, setting it on fire, destroyed it for the greater part. Mantua also and Padua, after long rebellion and many dangers, came into his surrender. Meanwhile, while these things were being done in Italy, the king of the Bohemians and the duke of Bavaria, with certain bishops, by the emperor’s command entered the land of the duke of Austria with a strong army, on account of the manifold excesses and grave crimes by which that same duke had been defamed. When they had come into Austria, with the nobles of the land joining themselves to them, whom

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

1239.

In the eighth year of Abbot Ernest, which was the year 1239 of the Lord’s Nativity, the greater church of Mainz, newly repaired by Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, was consecrated with great solemnity.

The church of Mainz [unclear].

In the same year there occurred a failure of the sun, which the Greeks call an eclipse, and a great pestilence followed it in very many regions. In these times there was much persecution of the ministers of God’s Church, especially in the kingdom of Germany, on account of the excommunication of Emperor Frederick II, who did not cease persecuting all who agreed with the pope, despoiling churches of their ornaments and revenues, and afflicting prelates, monks, and priests with many injuries.

1240.

In the ninth year of Abbot Ernest, and in the year 1240 of the Lord’s Nativity, Pope Gregory IX died; Celestine IV was elected pope.

Celestine IV, succeeding him, presided for only seventeen days. After his death, because the cardinals did not agree, the Apostolic See was vacant for one year and nine months, not without danger to many souls.

1241.

In the following year, which was the tenth of Abbot Ernest, Pope Innocent IV, elected after Celestine, presided for eleven years and three months.

In the same year, a mountain in Burgundy, splitting away from the mountains and constricting the valleys, wretchedly crushed many thousands of farmers.

1242.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Ernest, and in the year 1242 of the Lord’s Nativity, Theoderic, archbishop of Trier, died in the thirtieth year of his pontificate, in the fifteenth indiction, on the first day before the Kalends of April; he was buried in the greater church of Trier before the altar of St Martin. Arnold succeeded him, provost of the greater church, son of the count of Isenberg, nephew by his sister of the aforesaid Archbishop Theoderic, and he presided for almost sixteen years. Against this Arnold, elected by the greater and sounder part of the chapter, Rudolph, provost of St Paulinus, born of Ponte, elected by a few, set himself, trusting in the aid of the duke of Lorraine and the counts of Luxembourg and of Sayn, and resisted as much as he could the election that had been made of him. At length agreement was made between them. Pope Innocent confirmed Arnold as archbishop and granted to him, for his table, that he might lawfully retain all the ecclesiastical benefices that he had held before.

Worms perished by fire.

In the same year, on the Ides of April at the hour of Vespers, the city of Worms, set on fire by a chance blaze, was half consumed by that fire, and more than three hundred people perished in the same fire.

1243.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Ernest, which was the 1243rd year of the Lord’s Nativity, [unclear] archbishop [unclear], monks of the Premonstratensian order, began to inhabit that famous monastery of Lorsch of our order, as we said above by anticipation.

1244.

In the following year, which was the thirteenth of Abbot Ernest and the 1244th of the Lord’s Nativity, Emperor Frederick II, cited by Pope Innocent to that famous council at Lyons and not appearing, was [unclear] from the imperial majesty. Henry [unclear], provincial count of Hesse, having been elected king against Frederick, defended his party as much as they could. Henry, once elected, had a war with Conrad, the emperor’s son, in the fields near Frankfurt, and, emerging victorious, overcame Conrad.

Therefore, bearing the royal name for five years, he accomplished nothing worthy of memory, but died without ever obtaining the crown of the empire. For as long as Emperor Frederick lived, for almost six years none of the princes could prevail against him; but, not heeding the pope’s sentence, which he called unjust and frivolous, he conducted himself as emperor, and had a great adherence of princes, nobles, and cities until his death.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

... took as wife Mary, of the duke of Brabant, a very beautiful woman; by her he had no children, but killed her in the third year of Abbot Volpold, because of suspicion of adultery, as we shall say there in its own place and order. But his brother Henry took as wife Elizabeth, daughter of Hungary, niece through her brother of St. Elizabeth of Marburg; by her he begot three sons, Otto, afterwards king of Hungary, Louis, and Stephen, dukes of Bavaria. We shall mention them below in order; they divided Bavaria among themselves.

1246.

In the second current year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year 1246 of the Lord’s Nativity, after Emperor Frederick had been deposed, as we have said, Conrad, the younger son, usurped the empire for himself. Against him Henry Raspe, landgrave of Hesse, son of Saint Elizabeth, elected king by certain princes, went forth to war, defeated him near Frankfurt, and drove him into Italy.

In the same year Ludolph, bishop of Worms, died, and was buried with great pomp and honor before the high altar in the convent of nuns called Nonnenmünster, which he had taken away from our order. After his death the canons of Worms unanimously elected as bishop Cuno, dean of the greater church of Mainz, a good man and worthy of the honor of the episcopate. After he had presided for twenty days, he was taken off by death, perfected in a short time, and fulfilled many times, lest malice should change his understanding. When he had died, Richard, a native of Trier, was elected bishop and presided for nearly fifteen years, a good man and provident governor of his church, who did many good things in his time.

1247.

In the third year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year 1247 of the Lord’s Nativity, Louis, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, had his wife Mary, strongly suspected of the crime of adultery, killed at Werd in Swabia; she died slain with remarkable severity, without children. In satisfaction for so great a crime committed, he afterwards had the monastery of Fürstenfeld built in Bavaria, which he magnificently endowed with many goods and revenues.

In this same year the aforesaid Louis, count palatine and duke, built from the foundations the very strong castle called Friedberg, for the defense of the duchy of Bavaria against the bishop of Augsburg. After this he took a second wife, Anna, daughter of the king of Poland; by her he begot three sons, Louis, duke of Bavaria, Rudolph, count palatine of the Rhine, and the other Louis, afterwards Roman emperor. Of these we shall speak below in order.

1248.

In the fourth year of Abbot Volpold, and the year 1248 of the Lord’s Nativity, Conrad, archbishop of Cologne, a rich and magnanimous man, began to build that great and distinguished greater church of Cologne, laying the first stone on the vigil of the Assumption of Blessed Mary ever Virgin. Although that work takes increase daily by the labors of craftsmen, and has now for two hundred and fifty-four years been [unclear] without interruption [unclear], he himself also being a good man.

In the same year a very great famine oppressed Germany and killed many.

1249.

In the following year, which was the fifth of Abbot Volpold and the year 1249 of the Lord’s Nativity, in the seventh indiction, Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, died on the Ides of March: a man of great works, who magnificently enlarged his church in honor and possessions, and amid so many evils, so many wars, and so many dangers by which the empire was tottering, ruled it most wisely. To him in [unclear] ... as we have said, a few years before, by certain princes, at the command of Pope Innocent, [unclear] came. He died of a flux of the belly and was buried in his town of Eisenach. After Henry’s death, William, count of Holland, son of Count Floris, was elected king of the Romans by certain princes at the village of Wörnich, against Emperor Frederick and his son Conrad, in the presence of Pietro Capocci, cardinal deacon of the Golden Veil and legate of the Apostolic See. When he was elected, he was still a young man of twenty years, and he reigned nearly seven years; although he did not obtain the crown of the empire, nevertheless [unclear].

Mary of Saxony [unclear] of Louis, count palatine.

Henry, duke of Bavaria; Elizabeth his wife.

Conrad the king, son of the emperor.

Ludolph, bishop of Worms, died.

Cuno becomes bishop, and [unclear].

Richard becomes bishop of Worms.

Louis, count palatine, [unclear].

Louis the Palatine [unclear] the duke’s wife.

The new church of Cologne is [unclear].

Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, died.

Henry the king and landgrave [unclear].

William becomes king of the Romans.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

[unclear] king by nature. [He] had obedience. But on the last day of the month of October he entered the royal city of Aachen with a great multitude of nobles, and on the following day, that is, on the feast of All Saints, having been presented in the church by two bishops, of Minden and of Munster, to the archbishop of Cologne to be blessed, two other bishops, of Utrecht and of Liege, clothed him with a dalmatic in the manner of a deacon; and the aforesaid archbishop Conrad, with great solemnity, anointed and crowned him king of the Romans.

When the consecration had been completed, the same archbishop placed him on the royal seat, saying: May you sit upon the throne of the glorious seat, and do judgment and justice on earth.

Christian, archbishop of Mainz, anointed his right hand outwardly with sanctified oil, saying: May almighty God deign to consecrate you as king of the Romans, who commanded David to be anointed by the hand of Samuel the prophet over the people of the Hebrews.

Arnold, archbishop of Trier, placed his hands upon his head, saying: May the spirit of wisdom, understanding, knowledge, piety, strength, and counsel descend upon you, and may you be filled with the spirit of fear of the Lord.

Ludwig, count palatine of the Rhine, arch-steward of the kingdom, placed the golden orb in his hands, saying: Receive the spherical orb, that you may subject all the nations of the earth to the Roman empire, and may be able to be called a glorious Augustus.

The margrave of Brandenburg, the king's chamberlain, handed the ring into his hand, saying: Receive the seal of the monarchy, that you may preserve the Roman empire in its vigor and defend it with unconquered virtue from every incursion of the barbarians.

Duke of Saxony.

King of Bohemia.

The duke of Saxony, the king's sword-bearer, gave him the sword, saying: Receive the royal scepter, that you may powerfully afflict rebels with severe reproof, and govern all the well-disposed in tranquil peace.

The king of Bohemia, cupbearer of the empire, with the consent of the archbishop of Cologne, placed the silver crown on the king's head, saying: Receive the splendid diadem, that you may be so radiant on earth with virtuous deeds that you may deserve to have the crown of eternal blessedness in heaven. Amen.

After these things he kept the octave there solemnly. And all the princes and nobles of the lower parts offered him obedience, except for certain castellans still faithful to Frederick.

Among them was the castellan of Kaiserswerth, whom King William, surrounding him with a siege, could not overcome, because he defended himself strongly.

1250.

In the sixth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1250, in the eighth indiction, Emperor Frederick II died at Taranto, in the fifty-seventh year of his age, leaving two sons: one, named Conrad, king of Jerusalem, whom he had long before designated king of the Romans, although he had been expelled from Germany; the other, named Manfred, by a concubine, who invaded the kingdom of Apulia after his father's death, though his brother resisted him, but he did not reign long.

In the same year Hermann, bishop of Wurzburg, died. Eringius of Reinstein succeeded him and presided for sixteen years, amid much disturbance and discord which he had with his citizens of Wurzburg.

In this same year the winter was very harsh and exceedingly long-lasting, abounding greatly in snow and ice; when these were at length dissolved into water, a very great flood followed, which overthrew many buildings.

1251.

In the seventh year of Abbot Volpold, and in the one thousand two hundred [unclear] year of the Lord's Nativity, [Conrad], once the son of Emperor Frederick II, took up the kingdom of Apulia; then in the following year he died, destroyed by poison, as is believed, his brother Manfred, as we have said, having contrived it.

In the same year the archbishop of Mainz died; [unclear] succeeded him and presided for nine years, a magnanimous and very prudent man, named Gerard, who, like the others, supported the party of King William.

1252.

In the eighth year of Abbot Volpold, and in the one thousand two hundred fifty-second year of the Lord's Nativity, in the tenth indiction, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of April, the holy virgin Jutta died, formerly attendant of blessed Elisabeth of Marburg, landgravine of Thuringia and Hesse, concerning whom mention was made above. This holy virgin is said to have been renowned for many signs and miracles both in life and after death; she had been privy to all the virtues and works of her lady while she was still living among men, a zealous co-worker in all things, and to the utmost of her strength she most steadfastly took care to imitate her until death.

In the same year, on the fourth day before the Kalends of December, Ibanus of my monastery of Sponheim

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

[unclear], the sixth abbot, whom Johannes de Schonberg, cantor, succeeded; he presided for 12 years, 4 months, and 21 days.

In the ninth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1253, there was a great and dreadful wind, which in various places overturned many buildings, tore up several very strong trees from the earth by the roots, and with infinite losses crushed many people.

In the same year Manfred, son of the late Emperor Frederick by a concubine, after Conrad had, as they say, been killed by poison in the preceding year, occupied the kingdom of Sicily, and held it for a few years while he lived.

MCCLIII.

In the following year, which was the tenth of Abbot Volpold, and of the Lord’s Nativity 1254, in the twelfth indiction, Pope Innocent IV died, and the Apostolic See was vacant for two years because of discord among the brethren.

In the same year, in the month of February, the citizens of Worms and Mainz, who for a long time had stood in mutual dissension, established perpetual peace, concord, and confederation among themselves. In these times also Count Emicho of Leiningen, brother of the bishop of Speyer, bearing a hostile spirit against Richard, bishop of Worms, strove with every effort to capture him; but Richard, defended by the aid of his own citizens and admitted into Worms, although before this he had been in discord with the citizens, escaped his threats. In those times there was great tumult in the kingdom, and various dissensions, because not all [unclear] of King William of the Romans.

In the year noted above, when the cities of these parts that sided with King William, such as Mainz, Worms, Frankfurt, Boppard, Wesel, Bingen, Oppenheim, Gelnhausen, Friedberg, Fritzlar, and certain others, while he was in the lower regions, had no defenders against their adversaries, after counsel was held at Mainz on the day of St Margaret, virgin and martyr, they joined themselves together in a very firm mutual confederation, to defend everything against all persons whatsoever, laying aside the tolls which they had for the common peace.

MCCLV.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Volpold, and of the Lord’s Nativity 1255, King William held an assembly of certain princes at Worms, where envoys and legates sent from many cities were present. But on a certain day, when the queen his wife was proceeding from Worms to the castle of Trifels, which now belongs to Duke Alexander, not far from Landau, with an honorable company, she was captured by Hermann, knight of the castle of Rieberg, together with the count of Waldeck and certain others, and was brought to the aforesaid castle of Rieberg. He kept her captive for some time; afterwards, stripped of all her jewels and possessions, he allowed her to go, to no small disgrace of the king and of the whole country.

Afterwards in the same year, since the Apostolic See had been vacant for almost two years, not without danger to many souls, Alexander IV was at last elected pope by the cardinals, a Campanian by nation; he sat for six years and as many months, and canonized St Clare of the Order of Minors.

MCCLVI.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1256, King William resolved to set out for Rome for the imperial crown, when suddenly the most restless people of the Frisians, stirred up by a tumult, began to rebel, and, having entered the borders of Holland, to devastate everything with plundering and fire. But the king, seeing that their ferocity had to be subdued by the sword and no otherwise, gathered a huge army of his men and advanced against them at the end of this year, that is, on the sixth day before the Kalends of January; and, showing them many kinds of hardship, he overcame them with a strong hand, building the castle of Corenburg against their assault. After this, intending to advance farther, when the harshness of winter had drawn ice over the waters and marshes, he went ahead of the army on horseback, alone, to investigate all the hidden places of the enemy, as he thought. But behold, when the ice broke, his horse sank and stuck fast in a marshy ford, unable to go forward anywhere. Seeing this, the Frisians, who were hiding in the reeds, ran together and killed him, not knowing that he was the king, in the seventh year of his reign, the twenty-first of his countship of Holland, and the twenty-seventh of his age, and buried him in a certain house. But afterwards his body was transferred to Middelburg and honorably entombed in a certain monastery. After his death his son Florentius, a boy of six months, received the countship of Holland, and [unclear] it for almost forty years.

Johannes, abbot of Sponheim, died.

A great wind.

Duke Manfred.

Pope Innocent; the See is vacant.

Mainz, etc.; the Worms citizens.

Count Emicho of Leiningen.

Richenstein Castle is captured.

Confederation of many cities.

Assembly of princes at Worms.

The queen is captured.

Alexander becomes Pope IV.

King William against the Frisians.

King William is killed in Frisia.

Florentius, count of Holland, 15.

King William is killed in Frisia.

Florentius, count of Holland, 15.

King William is killed in Frisia.

Florentius, count of Holland, 15.

King William is killed in Frisia.

Florentius, count of Holland, 15.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

[unclear] governed, and avenged his father's death; he waged many wars with the Frisians, and captured and killed many of them.

1257.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1257, after the death of William, king of the Romans, the princes came together to appoint a new king, lest, if they neglected the matter too long, they should suffer some impairment of their right. But, being at variance with one another, they elected two men.

For Conrad, archbishop of Cologne, and Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, elected Richard, count of Cornwall, brother of the king of England, as king. Arnold, electing the king of Castile as king of the Romans, sent formal envoys to him, asking that he would deign to come as quickly as possible to the regions of the Rhine to take up the government of the kingdom, promising that he would provide counsel and aid to the best of his powers.

But King Alfonso, either despising or not caring for the Roman Empire, sent the envoys back with honor, after bestowing great gifts on them, promising that at a suitable time he would follow with an army of his men. Yet, content with his own kingdom, and because he was a most excellent philosopher and astronomer, he disdained to come to Germany, nor did he involve himself in any way in governing the Roman kingdom, except for the title alone, which, out of regard for those who had elected him, he retained for a time in his letters.

Moreover, the aforesaid Count Richard, summoned from England by Conrad, archbishop of Cologne, came into Germany; elected at Frankfurt, he willingly assumed the empire and was consecrated as king by the same archbishop. Then, by the favor and support of his princes, he was received as true king with great honor by the people of Cologne, Boppard, Wesel, Mainz, Frankfurt, Worms, Speyer, and many other cities, and was led around these parts with great pomp. And when, going up through all the cities of the Rhine, he made his way as far as Basel, and the money spent far too lavishly for acquiring the kingdom was now on the point of running out, all the princes left him and returned to their own places, silently indicating that up to that point they had followed the booty, not the king. He [entrusted?] the administration of the Wetterau to [unclear] of Falkenstein, whose sister he had married because of her extraordinary beauty; to Philip of Hohenfels [he entrusted?] Boppard, Wesel, and the other adjacent cities of the empire. Then, taking his wife with him, he returned to England and did not come to Germany again.

In the year written above, on the sixth day before the Ides of November, Richard, bishop of Worms, died; he had had many disputes with his citizens. He had as his adversary Eberhard of Badenberg, who in the beginning had been elected against him by many; Count Emicho of Leiningen supported him, who [unclear] all the episcopal revenues accruing outside Worms, [unclear].

After Richard had died and been buried, Conrad of Durekem, dean of the greater church of Mainz, was elected bishop of the aforesaid church; he presided for only twenty-two days, died, and was buried in the church of Mainz before the altar of Saint Peter. After him the brothers of the chapter, for the peace and advantage of the church, unanimously elected Eberhard of Badenberg, provost of the church of Saint Cyriacus in Nuhusen; he presided for nearly twenty years, did many good things for the canons of Nuhusen, and had disputes with the people of Worms.

In the fourteenth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1258, Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, [unclear] the church of Saint Catherine in Oppenheim, [unclear] in the presence of Ge-

In the same year Richard, count of Cornwall, who had been elected in the preceding year by Conrad, archbishop of Cologne, was crowned at Aachen as king of the Romans, in the presence of Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, and certain other princes. After his coronation, as we have already said, he was led by them through all the cities of the empire along the Rhine, began to conduct the business of the kingdom, received the obedience of the citizens, and held assemblies of the princes, until at last he was deserted by them.

In the year

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius.

1259.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1259, the monastery of Saint Disibod, of our order, in the county of Sponheim, in the diocese of Mainz, near the town of Sobernheim, was transferred from our order by Gerard, archbishop, and the canons of the church of Mainz, and given to fathers of the Cistercian order. Their first abbot, named Johannes, as though in thanksgiving for the benefit received, with the consent of his brethren, promised back to the canons of the aforesaid church, from the revenues of the same monastery, an annual rent of one hundred malters of wheat, to be rendered every year at Mainz for all time, as appears from the letters drawn up concerning this matter, whose date is the day before the Nones of March, in the aforesaid year, at Mainz, done in the presence of many witnesses.

In the same year Albert, surnamed the Great, of the Order of Preachers, of the convent of Cologne, a Swabian by nation, a man most learned in every respect, by the provision of Alexander IV was made bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria, when he was sixty-six years of age; but not long afterward he resigned.

Also in the same year Arnold of Isenburg, archbishop of Trier, in the town called Montabaur, in the seventeenth year of his pontificate, closed his last day; he lived magnificently in every respect and did many things vigorously in peace and war. He took the very strong castle of Thuron after it had been besieged for two years. He most beautifully fortified anew a great part of the city of Trier with a wall, and likewise enclosed the monasteries of Meinfeld and Koblenz with a wall. When he had died and had been buried with honor in the greater church of Trier before the altar of the Holy Trinity, two men were elected by the chapter in disagreement, namely Arnold of Sleyda and Henry of Bolanden. When they were contending over their elections before him at Rome in consistory, Pope Alexander IV, by the counsel of the brethren, annulled them, and [unclear], provost of the church, and he presided for twenty-four years and six months, a man excellent in ability and prudence, who ordained the bishop; and when he came to Trier with the pallium and apostolic letters, he was received by all the clergy and people of the city as archbishop, and he presided for twenty-seven years, a steadfast and [unclear] man.

Also in the aforesaid year, on the last day of the month of April, the city of Worms, again set alight by accidental fire, burned through the whole night around the hour of Compline, and with the loss of many people was consumed almost by half.

1260.

In the sixteenth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1260, in the third indiction, Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, died. Werner of Falkenstein, provost of the greater church, succeeded him and presided for four years, a man excellent in ability and prudence, who governed his church very well and greatly increased its revenues.

In the same year two knights, Jacob of Lapide and Simon of Guntheim, [unclear] enmities [unclear]. For in those times, since there was no king in the lands, [unclear], movements of robbers [unclear], things were done rather at whim.

Also in the aforesaid year, on the last day of the month of April, the city of Worms, again set alight by accidental fire, burned through the whole night around the hour of Compline, and with the loss of many people was consumed almost by half.

1261.

In the seventeenth year of Abbot Volpold, and the year of the Lord's Nativity 1261, in the fourth indiction, Conrad of Hochstaden, archbishop of Cologne, died; he had many disputes with his citizens during his pontificate. He was buried in the greater church of Cologne. Engelbert II of Valkenburg, provost of Saint Gereon, succeeding him by election of the chapter, presided for almost fourteen years; he too had many and continual dissensions with the people of Cologne.

In the same year Pope Alexander IV died. Urban IV, a Frenchman by nation, succeeded him and presided for three years, one month, and four days. He instituted the feast of the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be celebrated every year on the Thursday after the octave of Pentecost throughout the whole Christian world, and granted indulgences in its favor. The kingdom of Sicily also, which Manfred, duke of Swabia, son of the late Emperor Frederick II, had occupied after the death of [Conrad, his brother?], as we have said, Urban conferred on Charles, count of Provence, brother of the king of the Franks, and summoned him from Gaul into Italy through legates; and he occupied Sicily after Manfred had been put to flight, not without the bloodshed of many.

The monastery of St. Disibod is transferred from the order.

Albertus Magnus is ordained bishop.

Arnold, archbishop of Trier, dies. Two [unclear].

Henry [unclear], archbishop of [unclear], dies.

Worms is burned by fire.

Very great floods of water.

Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, dies.

[Unclear].

Pope Alexander dies. Pope Urban.

Conrad, archbishop of Cologne, dies.

Manfred is [driven?] from Sicily.

The Monastery of Hirsau

1262.

In the eighteenth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1262, Richard the hermit died, formerly a priest and monk of our order in Alsace, in his hermitage near Paffenborn, on the Kalends of November, that is, on the feast of All Saints; he had for many years led a hard life in the strictest penance.

In the same year Werner, archbishop of Mainz, excommunicated Philip of Hoenfels, whom King Richard, after returning to England, had appointed captain in the regions of the Rhine, placing his land under ecclesiastical interdict, because he was oppressing too heavily, with new and unwonted exactions and demands, the courts and goods of the clergy of Mainz situated in his lordship, and, though often admonished, had refused to desist. But afterwards, changing his purpose, he remitted the unjust exactions he had presumed to impose on the clergy; and, agreement having been made between them, he was absolved.

1263.

In the nineteenth year of Abbot Volpold, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1263, the citizens of Cologne, after long disputes, wars, and losses, suddenly shut up in a certain house Engelbert their archbishop, who was in the city and suspected no such thing, together with Theoderic of Valkenburg his brother, and compelled him to conditions of peace, although thereafter no such concord was maintained between the parties.

In the same year there was great discord between the aforesaid archbishop and the count of Juelich, which grew even to arms. And so, when the forces of the parties advanced to battle, the archbishop, relying on the aid of Henry, bishop of Utrecht, and of the Hollanders, defeated the men of Juelich, with many slain.

1264.

In the following year, which was the twentieth of Abbot Volpold and the year of the Lord's Nativity 1264, the hermit brothers of the rule of Saint Augustine, whom the common people call Augustinians, entered Worms and there built a convent and monastery of their order, with Bishop Everhard consenting and the citizens providing aid and support.

In the same year, on the second day before the Kalends of May, John, the seventh abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died. He was succeeded by Peter, the eighth abbot, who presided for twenty-five years and four months; in the first year of his rule he gave the church in Genzingen, with the right of patronage, tithes, and all its revenues, to the canons of the greater church of Mainz, for perpetual possession for the augmentation of their prebends.

In the same year also Pope Urban IV died, and the Apostolic See was vacant for five months, until the following year, because of the discord of the brethren.

1265.

In the following year, which was the twenty-first, begun, of Abbot Volpold, and the year of the Lord's Nativity 1265, after the Apostolic See had been vacant for five months, Clement IV was elected supreme pontiff, by nation a Narbonese, from the town of Saint-Gilles. He presided for three years, nine months, and twenty-one days, a man of holy conduct and illuminated, as was said, by a prophetic spirit. He enrolled with great honor in the catalogue of the saints Hedwig, formerly duchess of Poland, a widow of wondrous holiness, who had been canonized.

In the same year Abbot Volpold, touched by grave illness, ended his last day on the fifth day before the Kalends of March, having been healthfully fortified by good confession and the ecclesiastical sacraments, after completing the twentieth year of his rule with the same number of days; he was a man of modest conduct and very solicitous about the condition of household affairs, although the monastery in both its conditions declined not a little in his time, and also under certain other abbots, as we shall say in what follows.

Concerning John, the Twenty-Sixth Abbot of This Monastery, who presided for 10 years, 3 months, and 4 days, and concerning the various deeds of that time.

[unclear]

After Abbot Volpold had died and been buried in the year and on the day written above, according to custom [unclear] to lament the misfortunes, they appointed the day for the election of a new shepherd, the penultimate day of the month of February; on that day they assembled, and, after the customary prayers had first been offered and the other things that are accustomed to be done in the act of election, after various discussions had been held among them, at last the greater and sounder part elected John, prior of this monastery, as abbot, the rest being divided among various others. Yet these, yielding to the election of the greater number, all unanimously consented to him.

The elected

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

Elected, moreover, and confirmed by Henry of Liningen, bishop of Speyer, and solemnly ordained according to praiseworthy custom, he presided over this monastery of Hirsau as the twenty-sixth in the order of abbots for 10 years, 3 months, and 4 days. He was Bavarian by nation; having become a monk under Eberhard, the twenty-third abbot of this monastery, and then having been appointed prior under Volpoldus, his predecessor, he continued the weak discipline that he found. At length, when ordained abbot, he cared little for the integrity of regular observance, but rather pursued external things, the pomp of power and the vanity of glory. Among the abbots of his time he was not of the lowest reputation, because of a very celebrated fame acquired by many labors [unclear] and abstinences. For the observance of the order of our most holy father Benedict had, in the time of this abbot, failed to such an extent in almost all the monasteries of the German nation that no trace of the former institution was discerned in their morals. Everything was corrupted, everything collapsed; the monks together with the abbots fell headlong into the abyss of vices. No one cared about this deformation of our order; no one seemed to have grieved over it: not the king, not the pope, not the princes; indeed no prelate at all gave any thought to the reform of the monks. For the transgressions of the monks were so public that they were thought lawful. Hence it came about that the deeds and actions of the abbots of this monastery, from this point down to Abbot Frederick, the thirty-seventh, have been transmitted to our memory in very small number, because of the obscurity of the times and the negligence of ignorant monks.

In the year noted above, in which John was elected abbot, Iringus, bishop of Wurzburg, and the clergy suffered many injuries from the citizens; for these, at length, the citizens themselves were compelled to make satisfaction in two hundred and two thousand marks of silver and to return to obedience to the bishop.

1266.

In the first year of Abbot John, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1266, the aforesaid Iringus of Reinstein died, the forty-first bishop of Wurzburg, a steadfast, warlike, and magnanimous man. Berthold of Sternberg succeeded him and presided for almost 18 years.

In the same year Charles, appointed king of Sicily by Pope Urban, cruelly killed Manfred, king of Swabia, duke, son of Frederick II the emperor, after he had been defeated not far from Benevento. After his death Conrad, whom the Italians called Conradin, grandson of the former Emperor Frederick through his son Conrad, a very handsome young man and the last duke of Swabia, sought the kingdom of Apulia by right of his paternal inheritance; but, having been unjustly repelled by Pope Clement IV and Charles, count of Provence, of whom we spoke above, he did not attain the kingdom. Indeed, after two years he was miserably killed by that same Charles.

1267.

But in the second year of Abbot John, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1267, a monastery of the Friars Preachers of St. Dominic was founded in the city of Speyer, from the alms of the citizens and other faithful, with the consent of Henry, bishop of the same [unclear]. [unclear] cruelly killed. In the same year a very great sedition arose between the citizens and the council of the city of Cologne. For when the rulers of that city seemed to burden the citizens with unusual levies and exactions, the citizens, following the counsel of wicked men, rashly opposed the council; and after a very grave sedition had been stirred up, rushing to arms, and attacking one another in a mutual gathering within the city itself, they wounded one another with weapons, with not a few killed on both sides.

1268.

In the third year of Abbot John, in the year of the Lord's nativity 1268, Conrad, grandson of Emperor Frederick through his son Conrad, the last duke of Swabia, having gathered an army of helpers from Germany and from wherever he could, determined to enter Apulia against Charles and to recover his paternal kingdom. Charles defeated him in the borders of the Alban territory, captured him, and cruelly killed the most noble youth. In him the genealogy of the illustrious Swabians came to an end; under it the Roman empire, resting securely for more than one hundred and twenty years, had received its growth.

In the same year, on the day before the Nones of June, Henry, bishop of Utrecht, died in the twenty-fifth year of his pontificate; John of Nassau succeeded him. In these times knights fighting with one another at night in the regions of Holland are said to have appeared in the air with arms. A great calamity of that people followed this prodigy. For the untamed common people rose up against the princes and nobles of the land and, after forming a conspiracy, resolved by unanimous consent to extinguish them all and utterly destroy them, and to claim every kind of liberty for themselves

The Monastery of Hirsau [unclear]. Therefore, assembling armed in a very great multitude, they brought forth a huge army; and coming to Utrecht, they were gladly admitted by the citizens as defenders of liberty. They at once expelled all the nobles from the city with disgrace, distributing their goods to the poor and needy. Advancing from there, they seized many towns, castles, and fortifications of the nobles, and utterly destroyed some. Then, when they were vigorously besieging a certain town named Harlem, situated in Guelders, the townsmen, through the effort of a certain knight and with the aid, it seems, of the aforesaid bishop of Utrecht and the count of Guelders, defeated in battle those confederates of the Sotularian faction, many being captured and more being killed. And thus the Sotularian society of peasants, reduced to nothing, vanished.

1269.

In the fourth year of Abbot John, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1269, a great quarrel arose between Berthold, bishop of Würzburg, and the counts of Henneberg, Castell, and Hohenlohe. As it gradually grew exceedingly, they finally came to arms; and when battle was joined near the town of Kitzingen, many on both sides fell wounded.

In the same year certain men proscribed from the city of Cologne fled to Engelbert the archbishop, who was staying at Bonn. They were kindly received by him, because he was not in good accord with the people of Cologne. Having taken counsel, they approached Cologne by night and tried to enter through a hidden underground passage, made by someone for a price, laboring to hand the city over into the hands of that bishop. But when the plan was discovered, they accomplished nothing, although many perished on this evil occasion.

1271.

In the fifth year of Abbot John, in the one thousand two hundred seventieth year of the Lord’s nativity, Pope Clement IV died, and the see was vacant for nearly two years.

In the same year peace and concord were made between Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, and the citizens, through the mediation of Albert the Great, bishop of Regensburg.

In this same year there were many seditions in various cities and several wars among the princes of the land, not only in Germany but in all the neighboring provinces, and many thousands of men fell.

1281.

In the following year, which was the sixth of Abbot John and the year of the Lord’s nativity 1271, in the fourteenth indiction, after the two-year vacancy of the apostolic see, the cardinals elected as Roman pontiff the archdeacon of Liège, named Theobald, who at that time was in Asia with the army of the Christians fighting against the infidels. Summoning him to Viterbo, they made him pope, and he was called Gregory X. He presided for four years, a man worthy of so great an honor, if indeed a mortal man ought to be deemed worthy to hold on earth the place and vicariate of our Lord the Savior, who sits in heaven. He celebrated a general council at Lyon in the second year of his pontificate, at which many cardinals, archbishops, abbots, and other prelates of various ranks appeared. Many things [were done] concerning the election of the supreme pontiff, the expedition against the Saracens, the union of the Greek and Latin Church, and the peace of Christians [unclear] from Poland, [unclear], on the fourth nones of March. And he presided for thirty years, a good and [unclear] man, who ruled the church well.

1282.

In the seventh year of Abbot John, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1272, Henry of Leiningen, the forty-seventh bishop of Speyer, died on the day of Saint Prisca the virgin, that is, on the fifteenth kalends of February. He was buried in the greater church of Speyer, under white marble. Frederick of Westerburg succeeded him and presided for twenty-four years and five months, a man patient of labors and not ignorant of war.

1273.

In the eighth year of Abbot John, and in the one thousand two hundred seventy-third year of the Lord’s nativity, Pope Gregory X, hearing of the disorder of the Roman Empire and the plunderings by the princes, [unclear], so that within a fixed time, according to the power entrusted to them, they should elect a king suitable for the empire; otherwise he himself wished to provide the Roman Empire with a ruler. Assemb-

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

Rudolf is elected king of the Romans.

Therefore the princes, assembling in the aforesaid year at Frankfurt, after many and various negotiations, at last unanimously elected as king of the Romans Rudolf, count of Habsburg, who was then absent and besieging Basel with a great army. As soon as he heard that he had been elected king of the Romans, he raised the siege and came with great display to Frankfurt; going down with the princes to Aachen, he received the rite of consecration in the customary manner. There the princes, after swearing peace and obedience into the hands of the new king, received their fiefs from him, promising him firm and faithful assistance, to the best of their powers, against all men.

Rudolf reigned nineteen years.

Thus Rudolf, having received the kingdom, reigned vigorously for eighteen years and ten months. He restored peace in the land, checked robbers, and destroyed many of their strongholds and fortifications; he repaired, as far as he could, the fallen empire, and in a short time recovered by his labor and industry many things that had been alienated from the kingdom. He had as wife Elisabeth, daughter of Burchard, count of Haigerloch, by whom he begot three sons and four daughters.

The sons of King Rudolf.

The first son was Albert, whom he afterwards made duke of Austria; he succeeded Adolf in the kingdom of the Romans, as we shall say in its place. From him our illustrious king Maximilian is descended, together with all the dukes of Austria who have lived in the meantime. The second son, Hartmann, was drowned in the Rhine not far from Basel. The third son was Rudolf, count of Habsburg and duke of Swabia, who married the daughter of Ottokar, king of Bohemia.

The first of the daughters married Wenceslaus, brother of the king of Bohemia. The second, named Mechthild, married Louis, count palatine of the Rhine. The third married Albert, duke of Saxony. The fourth married Charles, king of Apulia. Thus Rudolf, the renowned king, advancing with his army from city [to city?], was everywhere received as the true lord.

Count Albert, father of the king.

The father of King Rudolf was Albert, count of Habsburg, who had once been landgrave of Alsace and captain of the city of Strasbourg, a warlike man, of whom many wars are reported to have been bravely fought. After his death Rudolf, rising in his place, like a lion in the midst of shepherds, so overcame all his adversaries without fear. While still a count, by military force he claimed the county of Kyburg, Baden, and Mersburg from the hand of the count of Savoy, and he obtained Molenberg, Grötzingen, Durlach, and a great part of Swabia.

1274.

In the ninth year of Abbot John, which was the year of the Lord's birth 1274, Eberhard, count of Württemberg, the count of Montfort, the count of Helfenstein, and the count of Dockenberg, with eleven other counts and certain nobles, having formed a conspiracy, strove with all their might either to capture or to kill King Rudolf. Against them he led a great army; he defeated them all and bound them forever to obedience to himself and to the empire, and [unclear] peace in [unclear]. [Asked when he would set out for Rome] with an army for the crown of the Roman Empire, he would answer: “Italy has consumed many kings of the Germans. I shall not go to Rome. I am king, and I trust that I shall do no less for the benefit of the commonwealth than if I had been crowned at Rome.” Reigning, therefore, for almost nineteen years, as we have said, he did not receive the crown of the empire from the supreme pontiff, for the reason he stated.

[Unclear date].

The king's expedition into Bohemia.

In the tenth year of Abbot John, and in the year of the Lord's birth [unclear], around the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary ever virgin, King Rudolf set out with a great army into Bohemia against King Ottokar, who was occupying lands of the empire. For when the duke of Austria had died in the preceding year [without?] children, and that duchy itself, together with the counties of Tyrol and Carinthia, was vacant to the Roman Empire, the aforesaid king of the Bohemians invaded and occupied those lands, alleging a certain hereditary right, without the authority of the empire. But Rudolf, raised to be king of the Romans, admonished him by letter to restore to the empire what had been unjustly taken away, or else to expect danger. Scorning his commands, he said to those standing by: “Behold a new thing: the count of Habsburg, who was the captain of our army and the servant of our majesty, has sent commands to us as if he were lord. By our crown, we shall not be his obedient subjects.”

The duchy of Austria is vacant to the empire. Rudolf defeated the king of Bohemia.

Moved by this, King Rudolf led an army into Bohemia, defeated him in war, and compelled him to terms of subjection. Later, as we shall say, when he violated his promises, Rudolf defeated him again in battle in the fourth year of his reign, killed him, and gave the duchy of Austria to his son.

Pope Gregory died. Innocent V sits for six months.

In the same year Pope Gregory X died and was buried at Arezzo; Innocent V succeeded him in the pontificate and presided for only six months, an excellent man, from whom all good things were hoped. He had previously been called Peter of Tarentaise, of the Order of Friars Preachers of St Dominic, a most learned theologian, who wrote most profoundly on the four books of the Sentences and certain other works; and when he became pope he strove with all zeal to restore peace in Italy.

The Monastery of Hirsau

In the year of the Lord's nativity noted above, John, the twenty-sixth abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, afflicted by the severe trouble of fevers, passed from this mortal life to eternal life on 3 June, after ten years, three months, and four days of his rule had been completed. His body was buried in the greater monastery.

Concerning Voland, the twenty-seventh abbot of this monastery, who presided for 6 years, 8 months, and 14 days, and concerning various deeds.

After the death of John, the twenty-sixth abbot of this monastery, which occurred, as we have said, on 3 June in the year of the Lord's nativity 1275, on the same day after his burial the brothers, lacking a shepherd, assembled in the chapter place. After many and various discussions held among themselves, they elected as abbot Voland, a certain monk of the same monastery. He was soon confirmed and ordained by Frederick of Bolanden, bishop of Speyer, and presided over this monastery for 6 years, 8 months, and 14 days: a wholly useless man, a dissipater of the monastery's substance, who pursued pleasures and the comforts of the flesh. He had no care for regular observance, and no thought for the governance of public honesty and advancement. By nation he was an Alsatian, born not far from Strasbourg; from the monastery of Gengenbach, under lord Abbot John, I do not know on what occasion he came to Hirsau, and, received by the brothers into the convent, became one of them. But when Abbot John had died, he was put into his place by cunning and artifice, governed badly, and in a few years disposed of many goods of the monastery by pledging them, sold them, and alienated them.

For in the second year of his rule, as we shall say below, he unjustly alienated a very profitable tithe, without the consent of the diocesan bishop and the brothers.

1276.

In the first year of Abbot Voland, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1276, when Odacharus, king of Bohemia, did not keep the agreements which in the previous year he had promised to Rudolf, king of the Romans, King Rudolf himself again entered Bohemia with a great army, overcame Odacharus in war, killed him, and subjected the whole kingdom to his power.

Moreover, the duchy of Austria, together with Styria and Carinthia, belonging to the empire, as we have said above, he conferred upon his first-born son named Albert; and with the consent of the princes he placed him, from the number of the counts, into the college of dukes. Thus the duchy of the house of Austria came by imperial munificence to the counts of Habsburg, and remains with them down to the present day. From this Albert all the dukes of Austria have descended in order down to Maximilian, who reigns today, and his son Philip, duke of Brabant, as we shall say in what follows.

In the year noted above Pope Innocent V died, of the order of the Friars Preachers, and was buried at Rome in the Lateran church. He was succeeded in the pontificate by Othobonus, Genoese by birth, cardinal deacon of St. Adrian, nephew of Pope Innocent, called Adrian V; he presided for one month and ten days, and died at Viterbo before the office of consecration, and was buried there in the convent of the Friars Minor. This pontiff [unclear] King Rudolf by letters, and [unclear] his son Conradin [unclear] had conferred upon himself. In Rome he did everything according to his own will, God avenging the wrong done to them. But Rudolf, entangled in the Bohemian war, could not satisfy the pontiff. When Adrian also had died within forty days, Peter, bishop of Tusculum, a Lisbonese by birth, succeeded to the pontificate and was called John XXI. He presided for eight months; when he at last died at Viterbo, a new chamber having fallen upon him, the Apostolic See was vacant for six months. He was most learned in medicine and philosophy, and wrote many things. Among them there is extant a certain little summa, which they call the Treasure of the Poor, a work indeed pleasant, delightful, and not useless in medicine.

1277.

In the second year of Abbot Voland, which was the year of the Lord's nativity 1277, this Abbot Voland, excessively given to banquets and pleasures, spending the substance of the monastery prodigally by distributing it to his friends and kinsmen and other useless persons, began, when money failed, to dispose of and alienate the immovable property of the monastery. And first he sold the tithe, with all its revenues in Elmendingen and the half share in Wyl, to the grave and perpetual loss of this monastery; and he spent that money for the uses of his own people, not for the advantage of posterity, as he ought to have done. Several other [goods?] of the monastery also

[unclear] alienated immovable goods during the time of his administration; their names an excessive lapse of time thereafter brought into oblivion. Indeed, this age was full of sloth, and the monks did not take care to bring deeds done to the knowledge of posterity through writings, but, having become ignorant and carnal, they pursued the vain and useless things of the world.

In the same year Henry of Vinstingen, archbishop of Trier, built the castle beside the Moselle that is called Bernkastel; he surrounded the town itself with a wall. Since it is otherwise enclosed by very high mountains on the east, south, and north, and by the river Moselle on the west, it could seem impregnable by the protection of nature.

Also in the same year Hartmann, a youth, the third-born son of Rudolf, king of the Romans, was drowned in the Rhine not far from Basel, and was buried with his mother in the church of Basel itself.

Also in the year noted above, Eberhard, bishop of Worms, who was in Italy, died. His body was brought back to Germany and buried in the monastery of Otterburg, of the Cistercian order. Frederick succeeded him in the episcopate and presided for almost six years.

In the same year, on the day of St. Heribert the bishop, William, count of Jülich, with three sons and noble armed knights, entered Aachen secretly in the evening, about the ninth hour, wishing to take the city and subject it to his own lordship. When this was learned, the citizens ran to arms, attacked him and all his men in the middle of the marketplace, and killed them, so that not one escaped. For the expiation of this deed they were afterward heavily fined. For in the end they were compelled forever to give to the counts of Jülich a third part of the offerings in the church of the blessed Mary ever virgin, whether coming from the devotion of pilgrims or accruing from any source whatever. The counts of Jülich, who are now dukes, also received from that time until the present day the institution of the provost of the church of Aachen. But when William, count of Jülich, had died, Siegfried, archbishop of Cologne, long before an enemy of his, allied with the people of Aachen, entered his land, bereft of its prince, with armed force, destroyed everything with sword and fire, captured towns, occupied fortifications, and reduced the whole county to his power. Against him the duke of Brabant, with the aid of the kinsmen and friends of the slain count, led an army, but accomplished little. At length, when Pope Martin IV interposed his offices, peace was made; the archbishop restored all the lordships, towns, castles, and villages that he had taken away.

Also in the year noted above, after the apostolic see had been vacant for six months, the cardinals at last elected John Gaetano, a Roman by country, of the Orsini family, as supreme pontiff. He was called Nicholas III and presided for three years, eight months, and twenty days.

[unclear] became an enemy of the archbishop.

In these times also, under Frederick, bishop of Worms, the convent of nuns of the Order of Preachers at Hocheim near Worms was founded in honor of the blessed Mary ever virgin by Dirolphus the knight and Agnes his wife, who [unclear].

Spanheim, the castle Bickelnheim, is situated not far from my monastery of Spanheim, [unclear], with many killed on both sides. Among the chief men whom [unclear] on the side of that count [unclear], the count of Velingen, with many other nobles, most distinguished men, all of whom were held in captivity for two years, until between the archbishop and the aforesaid counts [unclear], to serve the Lord there perpetually in holy virginity.

In the fourth year of Abbot Volandus, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1279, a fierce war was waged between Werner, archbishop of Mainz, and John, count of Spanheim, in the field near Sprendlingen, one mile from Kreuznach. In it the count with his men was overcome, with many captured and many more killed on both sides. Among the chief men whom the aforesaid archbishop led away captive were the count of the Rhine, count Emicho of Leiningen, [unclear], the count of Veldenz the younger. They handed over to that same convent all movable and immovable goods [unclear] the daughter [unclear] with all movable and immovable goods. [unclear], to serve there perpetually in holy virginity.

In the same year Henry, count of Veldenz, seneschal of the church of Mainz, [unclear] entered into a treaty [unclear] with lord Werner, archbishop of Mainz, for himself and his heirs. At length, through Rudolf, king of the Romans, peace was made at Mainz in the year of the Lord 1281, in the ninth indiction, on the [unclear] day of December; in it all the captives, after taking an oath of peace, were released.

198 The Monastery of Hirsau and his successors, in which they promised one another faithful assistance against any injurers whatsoever, as is clear in the letters of the same confederation, which were issued in the aforesaid year on the Kalends of September at Mainz.

1280.

In the fifth year of Abbot Volandus, in 1280 of the Lord’s Nativity, Albertus Magnus of the Order of Preachers died, formerly bishop of [unclear] in Bavaria, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. He was buried at Cologne in the middle of the choir of his convent, not without a reputation for sanctity.

In the same year Pope Nicholas III, in the third year of his pontificate, confirmed all the privileges, liberties, and goods of this monastery of Hirsau, at the request of the abbot and convent, giving them a bull under lead at Avignon, as is customary, on the eighth day before the Kalends of December. He also gave the same persons another bull confirming their privileges at Rome at St. Peter’s, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of January, in the first year of his pontificate.

1281.

In the sixth year of Abbot Volandus, in 1281 of the Lord’s Nativity, Rudolph, king of the Romans, after matters in Austria and Bohemia had been carried out prosperously, and after he had given his daughter in marriage to Wenceslaus, son of Otakar, king of Bohemia, whom, as we said above, he deprived of life and kingdom, surrounded [unclear] with a siege and took it. He also defeated the count himself, who came against him for battle with a very great army, and compelled him to surrender. Returning from Burgundy, he captured by assault Colmar, Zurich, [Bern?], and Hagenau, cities joined in rebellion; the leaders of the rebels were partly slain and partly outlawed, and the land was silent before him in peace.

In the same year Pope Nicholas III died at Rome, at St. Peter’s, and was buried with honor; and the Apostolic See was vacant for five months because of the discord of the cardinals. When these months had passed, at last they elected Simon, cardinal priest of St. Cecilia, a Gaul by nation, born in the city of Tours, who was crowned on the tenth day before the Kalends of April and called Martin IV. He presided for four years and one month, a man of most holy conduct, who is said to have been renowned for miracles.

1282.

In the following year, which was 1282 of the Lord’s Nativity, since Abbot Volandus, by his bad rule, had inflicted very grave losses on this distinguished monastery, both in spiritual and temporal matters, the brothers, no longer able to bear his insolence and excessive prodigality, using the counsels of friends, finally induced him to resign the abbacy, which he had not been able usefully to govern and rule. Therefore he resigned the abbacy into the hands of the brothers on the twelfth day before the Kalends of February, in the year of the Lord 1282, in the tenth indiction, after he had ruled it badly for six years, eight months, and fourteen days, not without damage to the monastery.

Concerning Lord Crafto, the twenty-eighth abbot of this monastery, who presided for eleven years, and concerning various deeds of that time in Germany.

[unclear]

Crafto became abbot [29?]. He presided for thirty-one years.

In the aforesaid year, King Rudolph violently captured Richenstein and Schonek, very strongly fortified castles of robbers, and utterly destroyed them.

Also in the same year, on the second weekday after the feast of the Lord’s Resurrection, the citizens of Mainz, after making an uprising against the Jews, killed many and drove the rest out of the city, stripped of all their goods; and soon afterward a general persecution of the Jews followed throughout all Germany.

Year [unclear].

Nikhestein. Schneck. Persecution of the Jews. Johannes Benedictus. Gottfriedus Hartmanns. Rodericus Munsterm. Stephanus Wernher. Theodoricus Schoenecker. Joachimus Krebs. Matthias Ludwig. Dominicus Freytag. Georgius Steinmetz. Jacobus Dietrich. Stephanus Reichardt. Martinus Pfaffenberger.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

1283.

When the first year of Abbot Crafto had been completed, in the year of the Lord's Nativity 1283, on the day of St. Potentiana the virgin, the counts of Henneberg led an army against Berthold, bishop of Wurzburg, and burned with fire the very strong town of Schwarzach near the Main. Plundering the monastery of St. Felicity of our order, situated there outside the walls, they carried off everything they had found.

In the same year Pope Martin IV sent into Germany as legate a latere the bishop of Tusculum. Coming to Wurzburg, in the presence of Rudolf, king of the Romans, and of many princes, bishops, abbots, dukes, counts, and nobles, he held a council. There, among other matters, the legate himself in the name of the pope, and the king from the whole people of the empire, began to demand most urgently a contribution of the tenth penny from the clergy, many princes consenting to their view. But Siegfried, archbishop of Cologne, and Henry, archbishop of Trier, strongly opposing the unaccustomed and excessively burdensome exaction, wholly revoked the business.

1284.

In the second year of Abbot Crafto, in the year of the Lord's Nativity 1284, Frederick, bishop of Worms, died. Simon of Schoneck succeeded him and presided for eight years, three months, and fourteen days, a just man and of remarkable integrity, who did many good things.

In the same year, on the second day of the month of April, Werner of Falkenstein, archbishop [unclear], held a council; there, among other matters, the legate himself in the name of the pope, and the king from the whole people of the empire, began to demand most urgently a contribution of the tenth penny from the clergy, many princes consenting to their view. But Siegfried, archbishop of Cologne, and Henry, archbishop of Trier, strongly opposing the unaccustomed and excessively burdensome exaction, wholly revoked the business.

1285.

In the year of Abbot Crafto [unclear], with two having been elected in disagreement, namely Peter, canon of the greater church of Basel [unclear], bishop of Mainz, buried in the greater church; and the see of Mainz was vacant for almost three [unclear]. In the said church at the Steps, together with one tower adjoining the greater church and the new shops, it was burned.

In the same year Berthold, the forty-second bishop of Wurzburg, died and was buried in the greater church. Mangold of Neuenburg succeeded him and presided for twelve years.

1285.

In the third year of Abbot Crafto, in the year of the Lord's Nativity 1285, the church of Blessed Mary ever virgin at Mainz, called "at the Steps," together with one tower adjoining the greater church and with the new [unclear].

In the same year, on the sixth day before the Ides of January, the citizens of Wurzburg expelled from the city all the canons and clergy, stripping them of all their goods.

In this same year Louis, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, son of Otto, died. He was the first of the dukes of Bavaria to obtain the Palatinate, as was said in the preceding sections. Louis was buried in the monastery of Furstenfeld in Bavaria, which he himself had newly built in Bavaria in satisfaction for the wife he had killed. He left two sons: Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine, who had taken as wife Mechthild, daughter of Adolf, king of the Romans, by whom he begot Rudolf, Rupert, and Adolf, concerning whom we shall speak later [unclear] count of Holland, Zeeland, and Hainaut and lord of Frisia; Otto called "the Roman," because he had been born at Rome; and Louis, the other duke of Bavaria. The mother of the aforesaid dukes was Margaret, sister of the king of France and daughter of William, count of Holland; after her father died without sons, she obtained the paternal county of Holland, Hainaut, and Zeeland, and assigned it to her son William, as we shall say in its proper place.

In the same year also Pope Martin IV died at Perugia and was buried in the greater church. At his tomb many sick persons brought there, blind persons led there, and mute and lame persons recovered their former health. Honorius IV, a Roman by origin, formerly called Jacob, cardinal deacon, succeeded him in the pontificate and presided for one year and eleven days, a good and upright man, a true lover of knowledge and honesty.

1286.

In the fourth year of Abbot Crafto, and in the year of the Lord's Nativity 1286, the aforesaid Pope Honorius, after annulling the election of the canons of Mainz, which they had made two years before

Of the Monastery of Hirsau, concerning Peter the Physician and Gerhard of Epstein, he appointed Henry, bishop of Basel, as we said above, of the Order of Minors, as archbishop of the church of Mainz; he presided for one year, eleven months, five days. In the same year Rudolf, king of the Romans, driven by money, committed a shameful deed for a prince: he sent his chancellor into Italy, who, after receiving money, was to make peoples free, especially those who redeemed themselves by payment. The Lucchesi paid twelve thousand gold coins on this account, but the Florentines six thousand. Having immediately been made wholly free, they created the magistracy which they call the priors of the arts, with the addition of the standard-bearer of justice. In this way most of the other cities also, with money intervening, brought themselves into liberty.

MCCLXXXVII.

In the fifth year of Abbot Crato, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1287, the Jews stealthily seized a certain Christian boy, born from the village of Wamraid, named Werner, and brought him with them to the town of Wesel by the Rhine; and, in order to receive his blood, on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of May, piercing him with needles and knives, after a long martyrdom they cruelly killed him. His little body, buried in the town of Bacharach, is shown incorrupt in a certain chapel up to the present day, and is venerated by the inhabitants of the place as a martyr, and is said to have been renowned for many signs.

In the year noted above Pope Honorius IV died, and the Apostolic See was vacant for ten months. He, after changing the striped mantles of the Carmelites into white ones, confirmed the Carmelite order, not sufficiently approved in the council, and the order of the hermits of Saint Augustine, which had been disapproved at Paris. He was buried at Rome in the church of Saint Peter.

MCCLXXXVIII.

In the sixth year of Abbot Crato, and the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1288, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of April, brother Henry of the Order of Minors, archbishop of Mainz, died and was buried in the major church at Mainz. After him two men were again elected in dissension: Gerard of Epstein, canon of Mainz and archdeacon of Trier, whom we have said was elected before Henry against Peter, and Emeric of Schoneck, scholasticus of Mainz. But while these things were happening at Mainz, the Apostolic See, Pope Honorius having died, as we said, was vacant; for this reason their case could not be concluded either in those regions or at Rome.

Meanwhile Henry, archbishop of Trier, died, and the aforesaid Gerard was postulated as archbishop by one part of the chapter against Bohemund. At length, after Nicholas IV had been created pope, Gerard went to Rome with a double election, and was ordained archbishop of Mainz by the pope himself against Emeric of Mainz and Bohemund of Trier. He presided for sixteen years, a prudent and magnanimous man, who ruled his church well and usefully and did many things vigorously in peace and war. Bohemund, however, having been ordained archbishop of Trier, presided for eleven years; he too did many things uprightly and defended the rights of the church.

In the year noted above the duke of Limburg died without children, and over his duchy a great dissension arose between John, duke of Brabant, and Reinhard, count of Guelders. [unclear] war [unclear] Waring. Henry, count of Westerburg, and also the count of Jülich, Everard count of Mark and his brother, and also the count of Saint-Pol, the count of Loon, the bishop of Liège, [unclear] the Cologne men, and many other very strong nobles. Moreover with Reinald, count of Guelders, were Siegfried, archbishop of Cologne, Henry [unclear]. Men fell on both sides, and at last John, duke of Brabant, obtained the victory. There, among many other nobles, Henry count of Luxembourg and his brother Walram fell. Reinald, count of Guelders, captured by the duke of Brabant, was compelled not only to yield his right to the duchy of Limburg, but also, for his own release, to give many castles, dominions, and a huge sum of money. Siegfried also, archbishop of Cologne, captured by Adolf count of Berg, was kept in custody for seven years, and could not be released before he freed himself from him, at great loss, with money, castles, and many revenues. Many others also were captured, and still more were killed. There are those who write that in that battle a hundred thousand men came together for the conflict of war.

In the same

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius. 201

In the same year, after the apostolic see had been vacant for ten months, the cardinals at last assembled at Perugia and elected as pope Jerome, cardinal priest of St. Sabina, of the Order of Friars Minor. He was called Nicholas IV and presided for 4 years, 1 month, and 8 days, a good man, a lover of religion and peace.

Nicholas IV is elected pope.

1289.

In the 7th year of Abbot Crafto, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1289, King Rudolph again led an army into Burgundy; and first, besieging the city of Payerne, he took it. Afterwards he captured the count of Burgundy, a rebel and perjurer, and put him in chains. He likewise captured the count of Savoy and the count of Montbeliard, and compelled them to swear to his dominion.

The king again into Burgundy.

1290.

In the same year Emicho, count of Lingen, Diether, son of Eberhard, count of Katzenelnbogen, Walter, count of Geroldseck, Gerlach the elder, lord of Limburg, also the count of Welingen and the count of Rieneck, died at one time near the Black Forest [unclear].

Counts [unclear] died.

Henry, duke of Bavaria, dies.

In the 8th year of Abbot Crafto, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1290, Henry, duke of Bavaria, son of Otto I from the dukes of Bavaria, count palatine, brother of Ludwig, of whom mention was made above, died. He had as wife Elisabeth, daughter of King Bela of Hungary; she bore him Otto, king of Hungary, and Ludwig and Stephen, dukes of Bavaria. These two, after their father’s death, held the lordship in Landshut.

Peter, abbot of Sponheim, died.

1291.

In the same year, on the sixth day before the Nones of May, Peter, the eighth abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died. John II succeeded him and presided for 7 years and 11 months; with every zeal he took care to adorn the church, and in his first year he also had it dedicated anew, together with the altars. In these times, while Siegfried, archbishop of the church of Cologne, was for seven years, as we have said, captive under the custody of the count of Berg, Walram, count of Julich, raging with sword and fire through the lands of the church of Cologne, inflicted many harmful losses on the poor. Among other things he took a very strong castle of the church called Zulpich and utterly destroyed it. Stirred by a similar madness, Eberhard, count of Mark, entered Westphalia with a powerful army of his men, and devastated by burning and plunder the duchy of Angria belonging to the lordship of that archbishop, and subjected to himself many fortifications of the land, castles, and towns.

Assembly of the princes.

King Rudolph dies at Speyer.

1291.

In the 9th year of Abbot Crafto, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1291, Rudolph, king of the Romans, held a solemn assembly of the princes at Frankfurt, where with many entreaties, means, and methods he tried to induce the princes to elect his son Albert, duke [of Austria], as king. Yet he could not obtain this, although after the death of Adolf of Nassau that same son was at last made king, as we shall say in its place. Rudolph therefore went with his friends to Strasbourg for the sake of refreshing his spirit, and fell into an illness that could not be cured. Therefore he had himself quickly brought to Speyer, where his predecessors, kings and emperors, had been buried. When he had arrived there, he soon died in the aforesaid year, on the octave of the Division of the Apostles, and was buried there in the greater church; and the empire was vacant for almost one year, because of the discord of the princes.

Nicholas IV [unclear].

1292.

In the 10th year of Abbot Crafto, in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1292, at the beginning of the month of May the princes assembled at Frankfurt, after the empire had been vacant for almost a year, in order to elect a king of the Romans. After many counsels and negotiations had been held among them, they [unclear] Adolf [unclear], who, having received the kingdom, ruled for 6 years. Against him Albert, duke of Austria, son of the late King Rudolph, exerted himself with the aid of certain princes, saying that the empire belonged to him by paternal right, and that no one else should be elected so long as someone fit for the kingdom could be found from the royal lineage. Therefore, on all the days that Adolf lived, Albert regarded him as an enemy, until at last, deserted by the princes, he was killed by him in the field of Worms.

Adolf, count of Nassau, becomes king for 8 years.

Albert, duke of Austria.

In the aforesaid year Gerhard, archbishop of Mainz, summoned a provincial synod to be celebrated with his suffragans and prelates at Aschaffenburg, where they assembled

Synod of Mainz.

202. Of the Monastery of Hirsau

the bishops of Eichstätt, Speyer, Würzburg, Bamberg, Hildesheim, and Worms, with many other abbots, provosts, deans, and priests, who enacted many and various measures useful in ecclesiastical affairs. When the council was dissolved, and each had set out on his own journey, Gerhard, provost of Utrecht, son of Eberhard, count of Katzenelnbogen, seized Frederick, bishop of Speyer, on the road beside a little village situated near Mainz, called Keferbach, and led him away captive, until, through the intervention of a pact of concord, he was released by him.

1293.

In the second year of Crafto, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity [1293], a great part was again consumed by a terrible fire. In the same year also, on the day of Saint Othmar the abbot, Simon, bishop of Worms, died and was buried in the monastery of Schönau. After his death Gerhard, son of the count [Hirluti?], commonly called Raugraf, was elected as his successor; before he could be confirmed, while the Apostolic See was vacant, he was overtaken by an untimely death. After him, in the following year, Eberhard of Strahlenberg was elected; he presided for only ten months, and died.

In the same year also, Adolf, the new king of the Romans, led an army against the margraves of Meissen, and made that very march subject to the Roman Empire and obedient, together with its princes. Between Philip, king of the French, and Edward, king of the English, in this same year there began a war which lasted for some years, with great loss to both, not without the bloodshed of many.

In these times also Eberhard, count of Württemberg, siding with Albert, duke of Austria, persecuted Adolf, king of the Romans, inflicting many losses upon him and receiving many in return. This Count Eberhard, a man impatient of peace, a lover of war, always in commotion, always restless, had disputes with all the kings who in his time governed the Roman Empire; he was hostile to all, rebellious and opposed to all. Allied with Rudolf the First, he rebelled with fourteen counts, as we said above. Later, in persecuting Adolf, he clung most firmly to Duke Albert. Then, after Adolf’s death, he was no less opposed to Albert than he had, with all his strength, persecuted the other kings before him.

In the year noted above Crafto, the twenty-eighth abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, died, having completed the second year of his rule; he was indeed a good man in his time, but by no means to be compared with the ancient fathers in zeal and fervor for monastic integrity, since he found the observance of regular discipline fallen into ruin and left it so.

Concerning Godfrey, Twenty-Ninth Abbot of This Monastery, who presided for seven years; and concerning various deeds of that time in Germany.

When the venerable Abbot Crafto had died and been buried, the brothers of this monastery came together in the chapter-place for the election of a new shepherd; after prayers had first been offered for counsel, they began to hold mature discussion among themselves. At length, after many deliberations, they unanimously elected Godfrey, a venerable old man, who had for a long time held the office of custodian, a Swabian by nation, born of honorable parents according to [unclear], who, confirmed by Frederick, bishop of Speyer, and blessed according to custom, was the twenty-ninth in the order of abbots of this monastery and presided for seven years. He was a man of great stature and elegant appearance, born of a [unclear] family, prompt and capable in carrying out affairs, subtle in intellect, cautious and prudent in counsel, eloquent in speech, outstanding in action, mature in life and conduct. He would gladly have restored the fallen observance of regular discipline to the former state of its integrity; but, with the monks, long since accustomed to laxity, opposing him, and the malice of the times resisting, he could not bring the holy purpose of reform to its due [unclear]. He bore their vexations [unclear]; and since he was a prudent man, he easily surpassed them all in counsel.

1293.

In the course of his first year, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1294, after the Apostolic See had been vacant for two years and almost four months, by divine ordinance at last, as was believed, Celestine V was elected pope: a hermit, professed under the rule of our holy father Benedict, from whom the order of Celestines took its beginning; a man of most holy conduct, called Peter before his pontificate. He presided for only five months and renounced the papacy.

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius [unclear]. Boniface VIII succeeded him and presided for 8 years, 9 months, and 17 days; because of his scheming Celestine had resigned.

In these times also a great dispute arose between Philip, king of France, and Edward, king of England; on that occasion a fierce war was begun between them. The king of England summoned Adolf of Nassau, king of the Romans, to his aid for one hundred thousand marks of silver, on this condition: that the money be divided among the princes of the empire and that, by common agreement, they assist him against the French. But King Adolf, after receiving the money, held it back for his own uses, despising them. Hence, spurned by them also, and unable to keep his promises to the king of the English, he incurred great disgrace.

1295.

In the following year, which was the 2nd of Abbot Gotfrid, and the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1295, indiction 8, Albert, duke of Austria, son of Rudolf, formerly emperor, aspiring to the Roman kingdom, pursued King Adolf with all his strength, inflicting many losses on him.

The king of England [unclear] despised the princes, held back [unclear]. Hence, spurned by the same men, and unable to keep his promises to the king of the English, he incurred great disgrace.

1296.

In the same year Siegfried, archbishop of Cologne, after seven years of his captivity, was nevertheless freed from the hand of the count of Berg at a great price. Not long afterward, when the same king had resolved to deprive [him] of the duchy, overcome by fear of the princes adhering to him, he was compelled to change his plan.

Albert, duke of Austria, pursues King Adolf.

Siegfried.

The count of Berg is captured by treachery.

In the same year Siegfried, archbishop of Cologne, after seven years of his captivity, was freed [unclear] of the whole kingdom. Not long afterward the same archbishop, using craft and industry, against the oath of alliance, seized the same count, who feared no such thing, and consigned him to harsh imprisonment until death. The count, captured and detained in very great affliction, freely and of his own accord promised that he would restore to the archbishop everything that he had extorted from him, and would add greater things for his liberation; but he was not heard by the pontiff. Rather, he received from him this reproachful reply: “St. Peter has the means by which, from your goods and promises, he may maintain his servants; therefore you shall not be released while I live, but you shall undergo death in prison, and you shall learn how you ought to hold an archbishop captive.” And so the count died in custody.

In the same year also John, duke of Brabant, was killed in a tournament.

1297.

In the 3rd year of Abbot Gotfrid, the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1296, Manegold, bishop of Würzburg, died. Andrew of Gundelfingen succeeded him and presided for 22 years; he too had many disputes with his citizens, from whom he suffered various injuries.

Duke of Brabant.

Andrew becomes bishop of Würzburg.

Count Florentius of Holland is killed.

In the same year Florentius, count of Holland, in the 42nd year of his rule, betrayed by his own men, was cruelly killed at the hands of his adversaries on the third day before the Kalends of July. John, his son, succeeded him; he had taken as wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward, king of the English, by whom he had no children. He ruled Holland only three years and six months, and waged many wars and battles.

In the same year also Pope Boniface VIII transferred John, bishop of Utrecht, to the church of Toul, and appointed in his place as pontiff Wilhelm, born at Mechelen, auditor of causes in the Roman Curia. He presided for 5 years amid many tribulations, and at length was killed in war.

Frisians killed.

1298.

In the 4th year of Abbot Gotfrid, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1297, John, count of Holland, having gathered a large army of his own men and Zeelanders, entered Frisia, and on the sixth day before the Kalends of April, after battle had been joined with the Frisians near Alkmaar, killed 4,000 of them.

King Adolf of the Romans.

Conspiracy of the princes against Adolf.

In these times also Adolf, king of the Roman Empire, [brought] many calamities and dissensions into the land among those who had peace. For at his command Hermann, count of Geroldseck, and a certain other count, appointed provincial prefects in Alsace, were exceedingly troublesome to Conrad of Lichtenberg, bishop of Strasbourg, and to all the people of Alsace, and inflicted many injuries, insults, and losses. Hence, provoked to impatience, the aforesaid bishop, the citizens of Strasbourg, the counts of Ochsenstein, the landgrave of Alsace, the count of Freiburg, the count of Zweibrücken, and the count of Hohenlohe, with many other princes, counts, nobles, and peoples, conspired unanimously against King Adolf; and, despising his commands and orders, [unclear], until, when many princes had joined in the same opinion, they at last deposed him from the kingdom and deprived him at once of life and honor, as we shall say in its place.

1298.

In the 5th year of Abbot Gotfrid, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1298, Siegfried, archbishop [unclear], died.

Boniface VIII.

[Blank page in the source scan.]

204. MONASTERY OF HIRSAU.

…bishop of Cologne, buried in the church of Bonn, whom Wichbold, dean of the greater church, succeeded, and presided nearly 4 years; whom Bohemund, archbishop of Trier, weighed down by age and disease, soon took as his coadjutor.

In the same year, when king Adolf was weakening the empire, nourishing discords and wars, burdening the people with unaccustomed tributes, fostering robbers and oppressors of the poor, and despising the princes: Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, with certain other princes, called Albert, duke of Austria and count of Habsburg, son of Rudolf the former king of the Romans, from Austria to Mainz, promising that he—Adolf being deposed—would be elected king of the Romans. These [things] known, duke Albert came to the Rhine with a very great army of his [men], whom the princes of Alsace and the aforesaid counts, together with Everhard, count of Württemberg, meeting at Strasbourg with a great army, promised aid against Adolf. The Strasbourg-men, too, receiving four thousand warriors as aid, led [them] to Strasbourg. King Adolf, hearing these [things], soon walled Rouffach with a siege, but, the matter unfinished, [his men] lost, he betook himself into the city of Speyer, awaiting the outcome of the new affair. Meanwhile duke Albert, with a great army of dukes, counts, nobles, and soldiers gathered from Austria, Bohemia, Swabia, and Alsace—accompanied by the bishop of Constance, the bishop of Strasbourg, the provincial count of Alsace, and the aforenamed counts—with none resisting, came to Mainz, where he found Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, Wichbold, elect of Cologne, with certain other princes, assembled. There, therefore, on the vigil of the nativity of St John the Baptist, the princes, king Adolf having been deposed from the kingdom by sentence on account of grave excesses, unanimously elected duke Albert himself as king, and promised him fidelity, obedience, and assistance against whatsoever adversaries. These [things] accomplished at Mainz with great solemnity, Albert the new king, with his whole army, crossed to the town of Alzey, set in mid-journey from Worms to Kreuznach, destroying the whole of it except the castle, and there, tents fixed, settled, about to fight against king Adolf. Meanwhile king Adolf, hearing that he was deprived of the kingdom, and Albert elected by the princes, was dismayed in mind, and, gathering a great army of warriors from the cities faithful to him—Speyer, Worms, Oppenheim, Frankfurt—together with his princes (namely Rudolf, count Palatine and duke of Bavaria, his son-in-law; the count of Isenburg also; the count of Sponheim; the Hairy count; and many others), betook himself to Oppenheim, and for ten days awaited the aids of the friends to whom he had written. But, ten days elapsed, before the promised aids of [his] friends came, impatient of delay, inconsiderately and too precipitately, unequal in strength, he advanced to battle, between the village called Göllheim and the nuns' monastery called Rosenthal, not far from the Worms field; where, battle joined, it was sharply fought, and many fell on either side. King Adolf himself, too, fought most bravely with his own hand; to whom, when victory now seemed to be approaching, his [men] began to flee, and he, deserted in the midst of [his] adversaries, was killed in the same place, and his son captured—the count of Isenburg also, the bravest captain on his side. [Margin: The king is buried at Rosenthal. Albert is made king. The offspring of Albert. The king's six sons.] Otto, count of Oxenstein, supreme captain of Albert, fell there too, with sixty companions and the chief nobles of the land. But the body of the slain king Adolf was buried in the aforesaid monastery of Rosenthal, until the times of Henry, king of Luxembourg, by whose command it was brought with honor to Speyer and placed in the tombs of the kings. There are [those] who write that all those who conspired against king Adolf perished by an evil death, divine grace avenging his injury. For Albert himself, the usurper of the kingdom, was killed by his brother's son, as we shall say in [its] place; the count of Holloch and the count of Oxenstein were likewise killed; the archbishop of Mainz, sitting on his chair, was carried off by an unexpected death; the count of Zweibrücken was drowned in the bank called Glan; Conrad, bishop of Strasbourg, before Freiburg, was slain by a sword by a certain peasant; the count of Leiningen became frenzied and was made wretched by various calamities; and almost all the rest passed from this world by a similar destruction. But Albert, escaping the victor with his princes, sets out for the city of Aachen, and there is crowned king of the Romans by Wichbold, archbishop of Cologne, and reigned 10 years. He had as wife Elizabeth, daughter of Meinhard, duke of Carinthia, of whom he begot six sons and five daughters. The first-born was Rudolf, king of Bohemia. The second, Frederick, duke of Austria, who was elected against Louis the Bavarian, the emperor, as we shall say below. The third was Leopold, duke of Carinthia and Styria. The fourth was Henry the duke, who had as wife Elizabeth, daughter of the count of Virn[eburg]…

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Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

Virnenburg. The fifth was Duke Albert, who founded the monastery in Gimeneo; through him the line of dukes is continued. The last of the sons was Duke Otto, who had as wife Elisabeth, daughter of the duke of Bavaria. Of the daughters, the first, Agnes, married Andrew, king of Hungary, and after him the duke of Vratislavia. The second, Elisabeth, married Frederick, duke of Lorraine, to whom she bore Rudolf, who succeeded his father in the duchy. The third, Anna, married Hermann, margrave of Brandenburg. The fourth was Catharina, who was betrothed to Henry of Luxembourg, king of the Romans; when he died before the wedding, she married Rupert, king of Apulia. Ulrich, count of Oetingen, a vigorous and warlike man, took as wife the fifth and last of his daughters, named Gutta.

In this same year in which Albert was elected king of the Romans, the city of Cologne, which for seven years, the same number of months, and nine days had lain under excommunication and ecclesiastical interdict because of disputes and dissensions held with Archbishop Sifrid, with the consent of Wichbold, his successor, was absolved by Pope Boniface VIII, and divine offices were again permitted to be celebrated in it. In the same year also, on the fifth day before the Kalends of April, John II died, the ninth abbot of my monastery of Spanheim; Dietlib, formerly chancellor of John, count of Spanheim, succeeded him and presided for six years and six months. He renewed again the observance of regular discipline, which had utterly collapsed.

In the same year, on the fifth day before the Ides of November, Bohemund, archbishop of Trier, died. He had built anew from the foundations the castle of Neumagen, near Trittenheim, the village of my birth, on the Moselle. He was buried at Hemelrad, a monastery of the Cistercian order.

After him Diether of Nassau, brother of the former king Adolf, not elected nor postulated, but out of hatred for King Albert ordained archbishop by Pope Boniface VIII, was sent to Trier. He presided for almost eight years. He was of the Order of Preachers, and although he was always opposed to Albert, he was nevertheless able to do nothing.

In the same year also, on the vigil of Saint James the Apostle, lord Emicho, bishop of Worms, died, buried in the major church under the monastic habit, as they say. Eberwin of Kronenberg succeeded him and presided for three years and [unclear] months. At the insistence of his citizens he consented that from the community sixteen men should be admitted to the council of the senate, which had not been done before.

In his time the convent of nuns of the Order of Preachers, which is called Liebenau, outside the walls of the city of Worms near Neuhausen, was founded by a certain citizen named Jacob Engelmar, abundantly provided with the necessary goods for the support of the handmaids of Christ, and that foundation itself was confirmed by him.

1299.

In the sixth year of Abbot Gotfrid, which was the one thousand two hundred ninety-ninth year of the Lord’s nativity, Pope Boniface VIII condemned the heresy of those who called themselves Fraticelli, and utterly destroyed it everywhere.

In the same year, on the fourth day before the Kalends of November, John, count of Holland, died at Haarlem, without children. After his death John, count of Hainaut, son of Adelaide, sister of the former William, king of the Romans, assumed the duchy by right of kinship and joined all Holland to his dominion. He had taken as wife Philippa, daughter of the count of Luxembourg, by whom he begot John, the first-born; William, successor as count of Holland; John, lord of Beaumont; Henry, canon of the church of Cambrai; Margaret, countess of Artois; Adelaide, countess of Clermont; Mary, countess of Bourbon; and Mechtild, countess of Nyede. Against this John, King Albert held an assembly of princes, asserting that the county of Holland had fallen vacant to the Roman Empire; yet by the counsel of the princes he granted it to him in fief.

1300.

In the seventh year of Abbot Gotfrid, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1300, Pope Boniface VIII first instituted at Rome the jubilee of plenary remission and indulgence of all sins from punishment and guilt, and commanded that it be celebrated again after a hundred years. This was a new thing, previously unheard of: because such indulgences had been announced throughout the whole world in the preceding year, so great a multitude of people set out from all Germany for Rome that it seemed utterly infinite and innumerable. And from that time the use of the jubilee began in the Roman Church; there had previously been no account of it. Among the many princes, bishops, abbots, and other prelates who then sought Rome, Gotfrid too, the twenty-ninth abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, went there with certain brothers for the grace of the jubilee, in hope of eternal reward. So great a multitude of people came to Rome from all sides in that year that it was scarcely possible to walk through the city, broad and vast though it is.

The daughters of King Albert were [unclear].

The people of Cologne are released from the interdict.

Abbot John.

Bohemund, archbishop of Trier, died.

Emicho died.

The monastery of Liebenau is founded.

The heresy of the Fraticelli is condemned. John, count of Holland, died.

The jubilee year is instituted by the pope.

Gotfrid, otherwise Romanus, is recorded.

Gotfrid, otherwise Romanus, is recorded.

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206. Of the Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year Albert, king of the Romans, entered the lower parts of Germany with a strong hand, with the mind and intention of making war on John, count of Hainaut, who, as we have said, had occupied Holland. And when he had come to Nijmegen, a town of Guelders, he caused letters such as these to be published throughout the whole region: “Let all men know that Albert, king of the Romans, ever unconquered, has powerfully incorporated into the Roman Empire the vacant principality of Holland, which Emperor Charles, once called the Great, gave as a fief to Count Theoderic.” But when John heard that the king was about to come against him with an army, he gathered a very great multitude of armed men. The king, fearing his boldness and at the same time his strength, entered into peace with him through the mediation of the archbishop of Cologne, and granted him the county of Holland, always to be received as a fief from the Empire.

In the year noted above, while the Jubilee was still continuing at Rome, lord Gotfrid, abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, died in the twenty-ninth year of his rule and the sixty-eighth of his age, a good, mature, prudent man, who governed honorably enough and usefully.

Concerning Henry the Second, Thirtieth Abbot of This Monastery, Who Presided for Seventeen Years; Concerning Various Deeds in His Time

When Abbot Gotfrid had died and been buried, the brethren, bereft of a shepherd, assembled together at the time already appointed by the senior monks through the prior. After many counsels and various deliberations, at last they unanimously elected as the thirtieth abbot of this place Henry, the second of that name. Confirmed and ordained, as is customary, by Frederick of Bolanden, bishop of Speyer, he governed this monastery badly for seventeen years, and at last, by command of Emperor Louis IV, was deposed because of the deformity of his life and the squandering of the substance of the monastery, as we shall say in its proper place. He was by nation a Swabian, born of respectable parents; when he was eighteen years old, under Abbot Voland, he became a monk. He was a man given over to quiet idleness, ready and prompt with words for anything whatever, but slow and inept in work and action. Once ordained abbot, he soon began to conduct himself licentiously in all things, and, given over to idleness and sloth, shamefully neglecting both the household property and regular observance, he reduced it almost to nothing. For the temporal condition of this monastery, which he found in good state, he finally left in bad state when he yielded office. He pledged many of the monastery’s goods, sold many, and secretly alienated many without the consent of his subjects; and the price he partly gave to his blood-relatives and worthless persons, and partly consumed uselessly. In morals he was dissolute, wholly secular, since by day and night he was accustomed to have nothing else among his delights than banquets and pleasures. He neither possessed in himself the observance of regular discipline, nor took care to reform it in his subjects. Finally, he was not free from suspicion of a graver crime, because the curtain of vices is accustomed to draw after it a curtain.

1301

In the first year of Abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1301, a comet appeared in the sky. Many evils followed, seditions and rumors of wars in various regions.

In the same year, on the fourth day before the Nones of July, William, bishop of Utrecht, was killed in war by his enemies, after he had governed the church of Utrecht for almost five years amid many storms of tribulation and persecution. Guy, canon and treasurer of the church of Liege, succeeded him and presided for sixteen years, a man magnificent in all respects. His natural brothers were Botzard, bishop of Metz; John, bishop of Cambrai; John, count of Holland; and Florentius, prince of Morea.

Also in the same year, on the day of Saint Mary Magdalene, Henry, count of Luxembourg, set up his camp beside the church of the Holy Cross, and laid waste everything round about: hamlets, houses, vineyards, wine-presses, and orchards. He would have advanced further, had not almighty God, through the merits of his saints resting at Trier, sent upon them, on the eleventh night after they had arrived, a spirit of dizziness, so that they struck one another and fled, with no one pursuing.

1302

In the second year of Abbot Henry, but of the Lord’s Nativity [1302], in February, Frederick of Bolanden, bishop of Speyer, died; he was buried in the monastery of Eußerthal of the Cistercian order. Sibodo of Lichtenberg succeeded him and presided for eleven years.

In the same year Gerard, archbishop of Mainz; Diether, archbishop of Trier; Henry, archbishop of Cologne; Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine,

Frederick, bishop of Speyer, died. Sibodo succeeded in the episcopate. John, count of Hainaut, renowned. Gotfrid, abbot of this place, died. Henry is elected the thirtieth abbot. The origin and life of this abbot. The substance of the monastery is squandered. A comet appeared. William, bishop of Utrecht, is killed. Henry, count of Luxembourg.

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of the Rhine, and certain other princes, swore among themselves a great and very firm league and confederation; Albert, king of the Romans, took it very ill, as made to the detriment of his power. Therefore, bringing a great armed army from Austria and Swabia, he first entered the lands of Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine, and, inflicting much damage on the poor, received him graciously when he came to surrender. Then, moving his army against the archbishop of Mainz, among the other losses that he brought upon him, he also surrounded Bingen, a town on the Rhine, with a siege. But the archbishop, seeing himself unequal in strength, sought and obtained the king’s grace; and coming to Bingen he lifted the siege by entreaties, and accepted the conditions of peace proposed by the king, resigning into the king’s hands the towns of Bingen and Lahnstein, with the castles Klopp, Ehrenfels, Scharfenstein, and certain others. When matters had been pacified with the archbishop of Mainz, King Albert led his army against the archbishops of Cologne and Trier, and subjected both to his rule; he forced them vigorously, not without losses on their part, to seek his grace.

In the same year, when a multitude had been stirred up in France against their rulers, craftsmen and men of the lowest condition revolted from the French; and, having become lords of the province, they overcame in war the great forces of the king of France and slew them most cruelly. But their savagery did not last long before they were all destroyed.

A.D. 1303.

In the third year of Abbot Henry, and of the Lord’s Nativity 1303, in the first indiction, Philip, king of the French, bearing with an unjust mind the arrogance of Pope Boniface VIII, caused him to be seized at Anagni, in his father’s house, while he was sleeping at night and fearing no such thing, and brought under guard to Rome. Worn out by grief of mind, he died thirty-five days later and was buried in the church of St Peter, after having first been taken from the tomb. Benedict XI, by nation a Trevisan, previously called Nicholas, cardinal of Ostia, succeeded him in the pontificate and presided only nine months.

A.D. 1304.

In the fourth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1304, on the fifth day before the Kalends of March, Gerhard, archbishop of Mainz, born of Eppstein, died. After his death the see of Mainz was vacant for some time. Meanwhile, in the same year, at the beginning of the month of June, Pope Benedict XI died at Perugia, in the church of the Friars Preachers, of whose order he had previously been a professed member. He was buried with great pomp, not without a reputation for sanctity, and the Apostolic See was vacant for two months, until the following year, not without loss to the salvation of many souls.

In the same year, between Guy, count of Flanders, and William, son of John, Eberwin, bishop of Worms, [unclear]; Emerich of Kronenberg succeeded him and presided for ten years, a peaceful and devout man. Also in the aforesaid year, on the third day before the Kalends of May, Eberwin, bishop of Worms, died; Emerich of Kronenberg succeeded him and presided for [unclear]. On the Ides of September the aforesaid John of Holland and Hainaut died [unclear]; and in the same year, on the fifth Ides of July, magnificent disputes arose in Holland, which, growing into very grave wars, miserably consumed many vigorous men on both sides. [unclear] a magnificent man, who had as wife Joan of Valois, sister of the king of France; by her he begot John the count, Margaret empress of England, William, heir received in the county, [unclear], Philippa queen of England, and Elizabeth, who died as a young woman.

A.D. 1305.

In the fifth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1305, after a long vacancy of the Apostolic See, the cardinals at last assembled at Perugia and unanimously elected Bertrand, bishop of Bordeaux, as pope. He was called Clement V and presided eight years, ten months, and eighteen days. He transferred the curia from Rome into France, not without the greatest inconvenience to Italy, and especially to the city of Rome; and there it remained continuously for seventy-four years.

To this Pope Clement, while he was staying at Poitiers, Henry, count of Luxembourg, sent Master Peter of Aspelt, his most experienced physician, to obtain the archbishopric of Mainz for his brother Baldwin, for at that time, after the death of Archbishop Gerhard, it was vacant, as we have already said. When Peter came into France to the pontiff, he set forth the embassy of his lord, the aforesaid count, and poured out many prayers to obtain the archbishopric of Mainz for the aforesaid brother of his lord. But the pope, after very many reasons had been alleged, would not listen to the petitioner, and refused to give the church of Mainz to Count Baldwin. Meanwhile it happened that the pontiff himself fell gravely ill, who by the art and skill [unclear]

The king’s expedition against the princes. Bingen is surrounded with a siege. League [unclear] in France. Benedict [unclear]. Gerhard, archbishop, dies. Eberwin, bishop of Worms, dies. A savage war in Holland. William, count of Holland. Pope Clement V is elected. Peter, physician of the count of Luxembourg.

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208. Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Clement the pope, sick, is cured. Peter the physician becomes archbishop of Mainz.

[unclear] of the same Peter, having been cured, with the consent of the cardinals, he ordained him archbishop of the often-mentioned church of Mainz, and, after giving letters and the necessary provisions, sent him back to Mainz with the pallium. The clergy, together with all the people, obeying the apostolic commands, received him with honor and reverence, and peacefully admitted him into possession of the church of Mainz. For he was a learned and magnificent man, worthy of the pontificate itself, who established many things useful for morals in synods, and presided vigorously for fifteen years. Hearing this, Henry, count of Luxembourg, who had sent him to the pope on behalf of his brother Baldwin, was angry, although afterward he confessed that the whole thing had been done by divine ordinance. For through the agency of the same master, Baldwin was afterward made archbishop of Trier, and Henry himself king of the Romans, as we shall say.

King Albert holds the funeral rites at Speyer.

In the same year, on the day of the commemoration of Saint Paul the Apostle, Albert, king of the Romans, celebrated with great pomp the obsequies of the recently deceased king of Bohemia in the greater church of Speyer, with many princes, bishops, and abbots standing by. Among them Henry, the aforementioned abbot of this house, was present, not of the lowest reputation. There, during the ringing, the great bell fell, and, breaking two vaults, fell to the pavement and was split into two parts.

In these times also a great discord arose between Diether, archbishop of Trier, and the townsmen of Koblenz, the pontiff oppressing the townsmen with exactions, and they refusing obedience. At last the archbishop, unable to endure their insolence any longer, hired fighters with money, besieged Koblenz, took it, and received its surrender, the townsmen being compelled to obedience. He spent much money on the preparation for this victory; to obtain it he pledged almost all the estates of his diocese.

1306.

In the sixth year of Abbot Henry, in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1306, on the day of the Purification of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, when the ice and snows had melted, there was a very great inundation of waters around the Rhine and the Main, which brought almost infinite losses upon the people living round about, overthrowing many houses and dwellings, and with incredible fury devastating gardens, vineyards, fields, and meadows. By its excessive force it threw down the bridge over the Main at Frankfurt, partly overturned the walls of Mainz, utterly overthrew two towers in the wall of Cologne, and drowned many people in various places. In these times the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, aided by Christian forces, after vigorously besieging the island of Rhodes, together with five others adjacent in the Mediterranean Sea, continuously for four years, finally obtained them; the Turks were killed and expelled, and they have peacefully held it down to the present day, for 196 years.

In this same year the Jews throughout the kingdom of France, after all their goods had been brought into the fisc, were killed; others were driven from the kingdom half-naked.

1307.

In the seventh year of Abbot Henry, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1307, indiction 5, when Diether of Nassau, archbishop of Trier, had alienated very much because of the multitude of expenses for the preparations of war, he was denounced by his clergy and summoned to the examination of the Apostolic See in Gaul. But before the date for appearing arrived, he was seized by illness and departed from this life on the twenty-third day of November. He was buried in the church of the Preachers, of whose order he had previously made profession, in the city of Trier. After his death, lord Peter, archbishop of Mainz, had such influence with Pope Clement V and brought it about that Baldwin, brother of Henry, count of Luxembourg, a young man in the year of his age [unclear], to whom two years before he had denied the church of Mainz because of his minority, as we have said, was raised to the archbishopric of Trier. After being ordained, and received honorably as archbishop by all the clergy and people of Trier, he presided for forty-six years, one month, and eighteen days, a man in every respect vigorous and magnificent, who ruled his church excellently and recovered everything alienated.

1308.

In the eighth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1308, Albert, king of the Romans, when he had crossed the Rhine by boat with a few men, while the rest of the army waited for the boat on the other side of the bank, as is customary, John, his nephew through his brother, approached with the associates of his conspiracy and killed him when he feared no such thing; slipping away in flight, he escaped. The cause was this: Rudolf, duke of Swabia, brother of King Albert, when about to die, entrusted the aforesaid John, his son, still a boy, together with his whole duchy, to his guardianship. When he had grown up, he asked his uncle for his paternal duchy, asserting that he was now sufficient to govern. But since Albert [text breaks off]

Chronicle of Jo. Trithemius.

...we despise. The aforesaid Brother Bernard, however, had many illustrious men as witnesses of his innocence, and likewise letters of John the king, son of the Emperor, and of archbishops and bishops who were present at the Emperor's death and excused him in a clear voice, namely those of Milan, Genoa, Perugia, Lucca, and Strasbourg.

The opinion of [Genosus?] is justly refuted.

Nevertheless Henry, count of Flanders, and the other noble courtiers, on the contrary, steadfastly affirmed that Bernard was guilty of the Emperor's death, and that he had poisoned him in the sacrament of the body of Christ. Hence a great persecution of the Order of Preachers arose, with too little justice, even if that brother had not been innocent of the charge laid against him, since the crime of one man should not have been referred to the whole order. In these times there was a great famine everywhere in the land, and a great pestilence followed, and in both dangers many people perished.

1314.

In the fourteenth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year 1314 of the Lord's nativity, Pope Clement V died, in the ninth year of his pontificate not yet completed; and the see of Peter was vacant for two years, three months, and seventeen days, because of discord among the brethren.

In the same year, on the day before the Ides of January, Sibodo of Lichtenberg, bishop of Speyer, died. Emicho of Liningen succeeded him and presided for fourteen years, not without dissension among his citizens, as is their custom.

In the same year also, on the fourth day before the Ides of February, Emericus, bishop of Worms, died. Henry, son of the Wildgrave of Dune, provost of the house, succeeded him and presided for five years.

In the same year also, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of November, the princes of the empire assembled at Frankfurt for the election of a new king; and when the votes were divided in different directions, Peter, archbishop of Mainz, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, Volmar, margrave of Brandenburg, and John, king of Bohemia, elected Louis, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, as king of the Romans. Against him Henry, archbishop of Cologne, [unclear], and it lasted eight years; then at last Louis prevailed and reigned alone, captured Frederick, and forced him to surrender. His own brother Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine, who obstinately took Frederick's side, he proscribed from his homeland and banished to England until the end of his life; there, living in great poverty, he finally died. Thus he held the Palatine county, with the other things that had belonged to Rudolf, for some time, but all [unclear]. This Louis had as wife Margaret, daughter of William, count of Holland; she bore him six sons: Louis, margrave of Brandenburg; Stephen, duke of Bavaria, dwelling in Landshut; Albert in Straubing; William, duke of Holland, afterwards count; Louis called the Roman, because he had been born at Rome; and Otto, duke, who was called the Brandenburger.

In the year noted above, three moons appeared at once in the sky. A brightness also, which they call a comet, shone in the sky for three months.

1315.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year 1315 of the Lord's nativity, there was a very great famine throughout all Germany, in which many thousands of people perished from want; and it lasted for two years. Afterwards an immense pestilence among people followed everywhere.

In the same year a battle took place between Louis, king of the Romans, and Frederick, duke of Austria, his adversary, near the city of Speyer, where Leopold, Frederick's brother, burned several villages round about with fire and inflicted much damage on the poor. Yet Louis came out victorious, and compelled Frederick his adversary, with his men, to flee shamefully. The famine, as we have said, was very great; but through the provision of Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, nothing necessary was lacking to the army.

In the same year also, in the city of Krems in the diocese of Passau, in the duchy of Austria, several most abominable heretics, investigated by the brothers Preachers, were found and burned. The first of the articles of their heresy was this: they said that Masses were vanity, and of no reverence or usefulness. The second article was: they said that Lucifer, with his demons, had been driven from heaven unjustly and was at last to be restored with all his own to blessedness; that Michael and all the angels were to be assigned to eternal torments; and that human beings outside their sect were likewise to be damned. Hence, when they greeted one another, they said: May he who suffered injury greet you, that is, Lucifer.

A most wicked heresy.

The third article, most abominable, was this: for they said...

Chronicle of Johann Trithemius.

keeping him in suspense from day to day with fair words, he pretended not to return what had been entrusted to him; the nephew, using the counsel of wicked men, resolved to kill him. Thus, having found an opportunity, he ran him through with a sword on the bank of the Rhine, as we have said, not far from Schaffhausen, on the day of Saints Philip and James the Apostles, which was the first day of May. His corpse was brought to Speyer the following year and was buried with honor among the kings in the greater church, on the fourth day before the Kalends of September.

In the same year, in the month of November, the prince-electors assembled at the village called Rhense, not far from Boppard, near the royal seat; and, through the agency of lord Peter, archbishop of Mainz, they unanimously elected as king of the Romans Henry, count of Luxembourg, brother of Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, a good and vigorous man, worthy of imperial honor. They solemnly made public his election at Frankfurt on 27 November; and thereafter, on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord in the following year, he was anointed and crowned king of the Romans at Aachen by the hands of Henry, archbishop of Cologne. He reigned four years and nine months. Soon after he had been crowned and came from Aachen to Speyer, he caused the bones of Kings Adolf and Albert to be brought to the greater church of Speyer and buried with honor. He had as wife Margaret, daughter of John, duke of Brabant, by whom he begot John, king of Bohemia, of whom we shall speak later.

John Scotus, the Subtle Doctor, dies.

In the year already noted, on the sixth day before the Ides of November, John, the Subtle Doctor, of the Order of Minors, died at Cologne and was buried there in his convent at the entrance to the sacristy. How much he wrote, and how subtle and profound in receptive theology, all theologians know, and we have noted it in our book on ecclesiastical writers.

In these times also Peter, archbishop of Mainz, newly constructed from the foundations a monastery of monks of the Carthusian order outside the walls of Mainz, and provided for it magnificently.

1309.

In the ninth year of Abbot Henry, the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1309, on the day of Saint Michael the Archangel, Dietlib, the tenth abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died: a good man and an outstanding lover of regular observance. He presided usefully in both states, for he both took away the private property which his predecessors had allowed the monks, and suitably enlarged the revenues of the monastery. In the abbacy of Sponheim he was succeeded by lord Willich, a conventual monk, son of the count of Westerburg, brother of the countess of Sponheim; and he presided vigorously for 27 years, [unclear] months, and 14 days. Concerning his life, morals, and governance we have arranged a full history according to the sequence of years in the Chronicle of the aforesaid monastery of Sponheim.

In the same year, when the king of Hungary died without children, the nobles of the land and the elders unanimously elected Otto, duke of Bavaria, son of Duke Henry, as king of Hungary, as the nearest heir, because through his mother he was the grandson of King Béla. Summoning him from Bavaria, they received him with great honor. But not long afterward, changing their mind, they drove him out of Hungary. Returning to Bavaria, he died not much later, leaving an only son, Henry, an infant of fourteen days, by his wife, the daughter of the duke of Poland; he was called prince of [Notterberg?].

1310.

In the tenth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1310, Henry, king of the Romans, held a great assembly of princes at Speyer. There Elisabeth, daughter of a former king of Bohemia, appeared in person and sought from the emperor to be enfeoffed with her father’s kingdom. But King Henry, using the counsel of the princes, with the consent of the nobles of Bohemia gave this same daughter, together with the kingdom of Bohemia, as wife to his son John, count of Luxembourg. The wedding was celebrated there with great solemnity, and he sent him with an army into Bohemia, joining to him Peter, archbishop of Mainz, once his physician. When John came into Bohemia, he was received as king with great honor by all the inhabitants of the kingdom, and was solemnly crowned by the same Peter, archbishop of Mainz, to whom by ancient right that office belonged. More than three hundred thousand people were said to have been present at this coronation. When the coronation had been performed, the king, among other small gifts, gave the archbishop a seat adorned with gold and gems, which, after it had been brought into the church of Mainz, the common people have been accustomed to call the seat of Saint Martin down to this day. Meanwhile, while these things were being done in Bohemia, King Henry, moving his army from the assembly at Speyer, directed his way into Italy to receive the imperial crown, having with him, among many other princes, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, his brother, Rudolph, count palatine of the Rhine, and Leopold, duke of Austria. On that journey he took many cities, towns, and castles of the rebels in Italy, and fought many battles bravely

Chronicle of Johann Trithemius.

1317.

In the seventeenth and last year of Abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1317, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, with King Louis's consent, redeemed with money the imperial castle of Sterrenberg, which had been pledged, and joined it to his church of Trier. For he was a magnificent man, and always obedient and pleasing to the emperors, which greatly benefited the church of Trier.

In the same year, on the fourth day before the Kalends of June, Guido, bishop of Utrecht, died. Frederick of Sierck, provost of the greater church, succeeded him and presided for five years, afflicted by many adversities.

Also in the same year Henry, the thirtieth abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, by order of Louis IV, emperor, was deposed from his abbatial dignity and recalled to private life. For, as we remember saying at the beginning, he was a man given to leisure and idleness, who, indulging too much in banquets and the comforts of the flesh, shamefully neglected the whole state of the monastery in temporal and spiritual matters. He sold off many movable and immovable goods of the monastery, alienated [unclear], and spent all the money badly. Therefore, when he disdained to amend his ways, after often being [unclear] by the more prudent men, the matter was brought by the brothers to the bishop, and through him to the king, and by his mandate he was deposed.

Concerning Sigismund, the thirty-first abbot of this monastery, who presided for twenty-four years, and concerning the various events of that time.

After Abbot Henry had been deposed and recalled, as we have said, to private life, there followed among the brothers a great examination of merits, lest, if they chose someone as pastor with too little deliberation and with hasty counsel, they should be subject to similar, or certainly graver, dangers and evils, and should inconveniently reduce both states of the monastery to extremes. Therefore, after mature deliberation had first been held for the election of a new pastor, at last they proceeded and directed their votes toward two men. One party, stronger in number and in maturity of counsel, strove to set over [unclear] Sigismund, formerly prior. When both elected men had first come to the judgment of the bishop of Speyer, and then to the audience of Louis, king of the Romans, after the process of the election had been heard, Sigismund, by the sentence of the doctors, was confirmed in the abbacy. Having been ordained according to custom, he presided vigorously over this monastery for twenty-four years, and in spiritual matters governed all things well. He was a Swabian by nation, born of noble stock, of seemly stature, neither short nor misshapen by excessive height. In manners he was humane, in disposition gentle and subtle, prompt in counsel and circumspect with singular prudence, eloquent in speech, and venerable through a certain severity. He managed the affairs of the monastery prudently and orderly, and restored to the monastery's possession many things alienated by his predecessor, Abbot Henry.

1318.

In his first year, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1318, Andrew, bishop of Wurzburg, died. Godfrey of Hohenlohe succeeded him and presided for nine years; after many disputes held with his citizens, he finally obtained victory and compelled them to obedience.

In the same year the people of Cologne, at the command of Emperor Louis, called to their aid John, king of Bohemia, who was then at Luxembourg with a great army, William, count of Holland, John his brother, count in Hainaut, Gerhard, count of Julich, Adolf, count of Berg, and John, count of Sayn, with certain others. Proceeding to war against Henry, archbishop of Cologne, who was violating the pacts and treaties of peace and siding with Frederick, duke of Austria, they inflicted much damage on him; and among other things, they besieged the castle called Bruhl for the space of four months. But at last, peace having been interposed and satisfaction made, they withdrew.

1319.

In the second year of Abbot Sigismund, the year of the Lord's Nativity 1319, Henry de Dune, from the count of Wildberg, bishop of Worms, died in the fifth year of his pontificate and was buried in the greater church; and the bishopric was vacant for two months and eight days. Afterward Cuno of Schoneck was elected, a son [unclear] of Worms. Some, however, think that he presided longer, but they have been found by us, after very diligent examination of the sequence of time, to be in error by ten years.

1320.

In the third year of Abbot Sigismund, however, in the year of the Lord's Nativity 1320, on the day before the Nones of June, died master [unclear].

Guido the abbot.

The castle of Sterrenberg is redeemed.

Abbot Henry is deposed.

A division was made in the election.

Sigismund, thirty-first abbot.

The life of Sigismund.

Andrew died.

War against the archbishop of Cologne.

Henry died.

Cuno of Schoneck becomes bishop of Worms.

[unclear].

Guido the abbot.

[Sigismund?] and Sigismund and Hildegard on this account in the church [unclear] granted to Louis the custom of having elections and elected men.

he carried on. And first, indeed, at Milan, he was crowned according to custom with the iron crown; and then at Rome, at St. John Lateran, he was exalted with the golden crown and the imperial blessing by three cardinals sent for this purpose by the pope from Gaul, with great pomp and solemnity, on the day of holy Pentecost. After he had been crowned, he made Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine, and many others knights in the same church. Meanwhile, while the emperor was staying in Italy for almost two years, the third army, which he had left in Germany, advanced bravely in fighting against the counts of Württemberg, rebels against the empire for many years, and obtained seventy-two of their eighty fortifications and castles, and killed many of them in war. But the emperor, waging many wars most bravely in Italy, defeated and overcame with a strong hand the Lombards, the Pavians, the Turinese, the men of Asti, the Veronese, the Piacentines, the Genoese, the Pisans, the Sienese, and also the Romans, and all the rest who resisted him, and powerfully compelled them to come into submission to him. This Emperor Henry was a wise, just, and gracious man, vigorous in arms, a most upright worshipper and defender of the Christian faith, ready in counsel and courage, a lover of the clergy and defender of the poor.

1311.

In the second year of Abbot Henry, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1311, Pope Clement V proclaimed that the Council of Vienne was to be held; it lasted two years. In it the book of the Clementines was published, and many things were decreed for the benefit of the Church. There the order of the Templars, which had stood for almost 184 years, was condemned by Pope Clement himself and destroyed throughout the whole world in a single day, at the urging of Philip, king of the Franks, through whose promotion that pope had been elected. The Templars were very wealthy; in order to acquire their possessions for himself, as many maintained, the king charged them with the false crime of heresy and prepared to extinguish them entirely.

In the same year Guido, bishop of Utrecht, coming to the Council of Vienne, was made a cardinal by Pope Clement V through the mediation of the king of the Franks and certain cardinals who spoke on his behalf; nevertheless, being content with his church of Utrecht, he did not conduct himself as a cardinal.

1312.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Henry, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1312, Otto, king of Hungary and duke of Bavaria, died, leaving one son, fourteen days old, whom, together with the two sons of his brother, Henry, aged six, [unclear] he entrusted to citizens in Landshut and in Straubing to be brought up under guardianship. But after his death, when Louis, duke of Upper Bavaria, together with the nobles of the land, opposed this commission, he carried off the boys.

In the same year Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, received from Henry the emperor himself, his brother, Boppard and Wesel, towns on this side of the Rhine, with certain others, as a pledge for the expenses which he had incurred in Italy and elsewhere on account of the empire, as is clear from letters given in the camp before Florence, in the aforesaid year of the Lord 1312, in the tenth indiction, on the sixth day before the Ides of December. After receiving these, the archbishop, leaving the emperor in Italy, returned to Trier.

In the same year also died John, duke of Brabant. John the third of the same name succeeded him; he had as wife Margaret, daughter of Louis, king of the Franks, by whom he begot three sons, all of whom died before him without children, namely John, Godfrey, and Henry. He also had three daughters, of whom the first, Joanna, first married William, count of Holland. After he was killed by the Frisians, she was betrothed to Wenceslaus, count of Luxembourg, brother of John, king of Bohemia, and of Charles, the fourth emperor. The second was Margaret, who married Louis, count of Flanders. The third was Mary, who married Reynald, duke of Guelders.

1313.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Henry, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity [1313], Henry, emperor of the Romans, the seventh, in Italy, having raised new armies and being about to advance against Robert, petty king of Apulia, was overcome on the journey at Buonconvento by the disease of dysentery, and died on the day of Saint Bartholomew, not without great loss to the whole Roman Empire; and the empire was vacant for one year. There are those who write that he perished by poison, through the administration of Brother Bernard of the Order of Preachers, his confessor and chaplain, by whom they say he was poisoned in the consecrated host when receiving communion on the day of the Assumption of Blessed Mary ever virgin; and for that reason all the Preachers were marked by the pope with this punishment, that up to this day and thereafter, when communicating persons at the altar, their priests give them communion with the left hand. But since we think this wholly fabricated, we therefore with just reason refuse to give credence to those who say such things.

King Henry is blessed as emperor at Rome.

War of the empire against the Württembergers.

Imperial wars in Italy.

The Council of Vienne is celebrated.

Defense of the order of the Templars.

Otto, king of Hungary, dies.

Boppard is given to the church of Trier.

John, duke of Brabant, dies.

Wenceslaus, count of Luxembourg.

Emperor Henry dies.

The emperor poisoned by a Dominican.

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

“If Mary remained a virgin after childbirth, she gave birth not to a man but to an angel; she was not a virgin after childbirth.” Likewise they said that they had twelve apostles, who each year surveyed the whole empire, and that two of them, senior in rank and profession, entered paradise each year and received from Elijah and Enoch the power of binding and loosing, which they communicated to others established in the same sect.

They mocked the sacrament of baptism, saying, “If baptism is a sacrament, then every bath is a sacrament, and consequently every bath-attendant would be God.”

They shamefully corrupted the sacrament of penance, confessing not to priests but to laymen generally, expressing their sins specifically, hoping that from this confession they would receive full remission of all sins, both from penalty and from guilt.

They did not believe in the sacrament of the Lord’s body, calling the consecrated host a fictitious God. They also called the sacrament of lawful marriage “sworn prostitution” in the vernacular.

They mocked the sacrament of extreme unction, and when asked what they thought about it, they answered unanimously: “We believe that vegetables are the better the more they have been seasoned with oil.” They said that the consecrations of churches and cemeteries, and the blessings of palms, salt, water, and the other things that are done in the church, were nothing.

Likewise they said that God neither knew nor punished evils that were done beneath the earth. Hence, gathering in underground caves and caverns, father with daughter, brother with sister, and son with mother indiscriminately practiced the foulness of their flesh.

They said that the Roman Church was not Christ’s but belonged to unbelieving gentiles, and they despised all the statutes of the Church together with its prelates and ministers. They mocked fasting; they ate meat at every season, even on the sixth day of Parasceve. They did not observe feast days, but worked on Easter day. They said that perjury was not a sin.

They denied that the merits and intercessions of any saints could provide assistance to human beings before God. But they also professed many other articles of error, the lengthy insertion of which would, I fear, cause weariness to these readers. There was a great number of them in Austria, Bohemia, and the neighboring lands. For, as a certain one of them burned at Vienna, named Novus Magister, confessed, there were at that time in Austria, Bohemia, and its borderlands more than eighty thousand persons, all sworn and professed into that sect, apart from those who were in other lands.

From this filth Bohemia, then infected, down to the present day abounds in the same errors and foul practices, as we shall say more fully below in the seventeenth year of Abbot Blasius. At that time many in Austria were burned in various places; all of them unanimously remained most obstinately in their errors until death, with great cheerfulness.

Among them was a beautiful girl named Giswa. When she was already about to be burned, she was asked by the judge whether she was still a virgin. She answered before everyone: “Above ground I am still a virgin, but underground by no means.” For the fools believed that virgins could not be deflowered underground, even if they were known by a thousand men, and that such illicit intercourse was not a sin.

In the sixteenth year of Abbot Henry, which was the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1316, Louis, king of the Romans, with all the princes and cities consenting to him, decreed peace throughout the whole kingdom. But Henry, archbishop of Cologne, with those who followed the party of Frederick, did not observe this treaty of peace, and for that reason subjected himself and his diocese to many calamities.

For in the same year King Louis himself, with the assistance of Baldwin of Trier and Peter of Mainz, archbishops, accomplished many things against Frederick’s party. He also encircled with a siege the fortifications of Wiesbaden and Scharfenstein; when he made no progress there because of the strength of the places, he left the matter unfinished and turned to other things.

In the same year, after the apostolic see had been vacant for two years, three months, and seventeen days, the cardinals, at last assembling at Lyon, elected as pope on the fifth day of September James of Cahors, bishop of Porto; called John XXII, he presided over the Roman Church for eighteen years and four months.

In the same year also a battle was fought near Strasbourg between Louis, king of the Romans, and Frederick, duke of Austria, his adversary; in it Frederick’s army was routed and defeated by Louis, and was forced to flee again.

In the year

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

Peter the physician, archbishop of Mainz, dies.

Master Peter of [Aspelt?], physician and archbishop of Mainz, a man magnificent in every respect, died; he newly founded the Carthusian house outside the walls of Mainz, and first established the college of canons of the church of St. Catherine at Oppenheim, endowing it quite magnificently. After his death the canons of Mainz petitioned for Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, as their prelate. But Pope John XXII, refusing to give consent to their petition, gave them as archbishop lord Matthias of Buseck, a professed monk of the Order of St. Benedict, an excellent man, worthy of such an honor. He was solemnly introduced at Mainz by lord Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, and by apostolic authority was honorably received by the clergy and people; and he presided for eight years. He immediately allied himself with Baldwin; strengthened by the help of his presence, he enclosed with a siege and took the town called [zu den Giessen?].

In the same year the citizens of Cologne, again proceeding to war on behalf of the Emperor Louis against Henry their archbishop, took his castle of Vrechem and utterly destroyed it.

MCCCXXI.

In the fourth year of Abbot Sigismund, which was the year 1321 of the Lord’s nativity, Frederick, duke of Austria, with his brother Leopold, entered Bavaria with a strong hand and a great army against King Louis, and devastated the whole region with fire and sword, everywhere inflicting many losses on the poor; meanwhile Emperor Louis kept himself in his fortifications, because of the absence of his army, beseeching strong fortune with prayers.

MCCCXXII.

In the following year, which was the fifth of Abbot Sigismund and the year 1322 of the Lord’s nativity, there was apprehended at Cologne a certain Lollard named Walter, the leading master of the school of heretics of that sect of which we made mention above, in the fifteenth year of Abbot Henry II. In the city of Cologne and outside it in many places he had secretly disseminated his errors, especially among little women, and had seduced many. He wrote little books in the German language suited to his errors, in which, by interpreting the words of sacred Scripture badly, he perverted them and applied them to his errors, and distributed them to women to read. When he was seized, however, he vigorously defended his errors; hence, condemned to the fire by sentence, he was burned, leaving behind, as he himself admitted, many hidden professors, cultivators, and disciples of his errors in the city of Cologne and outside it.

In the same year Isabella, wife of Edward king of the English, daughter of the late Philip IV, king of the French, seized Edward himself, her husband, and committed him to custody until death, because of the desolation, as she said, which he had caused in the kingdom with his servants.

MCCCXXIII.

In the sixth year of Abbot Sigismund, and the one thousand three hundred twenty-third year of the Lord’s nativity, Frederick, duke of Austria, again gathered a great army, more than five thousand fighting men from Austria and Hungary, intending to fight against Emperor Louis. Duke Leopold of Austria, his brother, met him with two thousand men, and, after many had been hired on every side, they entered Bavaria again and set about devastating everything. But Emperor Louis, having assembled a very great army of more than thirty thousand fighting men, together with John king of the Bohemians, Baldwin also archbishop of Trier, and Matthias archbishop of Mainz, met Frederick, his adversary, in Bavaria between Ottingen and Molendorf. There, battle having been joined, Duke Frederick was defeated, captured by the king of Bohemia, and presented to Emperor Louis under conditions of life; Louis committed him to custody in a certain very strong castle. Afterwards, while Duke Frederick was thus held in captivity, it happened that a certain magician came to Leopold his brother in Austria, promising that by his art, through the ministry of a spirit, he would bring Duke Frederick back to him from captivity safe and wholly unharmed in one hour, if he wished to promise and give him a fitting reward. He answered: “If you do what you promise,” he said, “I will honor you with a fitting reward.” And so, at an hour suitable to him, the magician entered the circle of conjuration together with the duke and called the spirit accustomed to obey his commands. When it appeared to him in human form, by the power of his conjurations he ordered it to bring Duke Frederick, freed from the emperor’s custody, back to him in Austria as quickly as possible without injury. The spirit answered him and said: “If the captured duke himself is willing to come with me, I will gladly obey your commands.” Having said this, the spirit at once flew off into Bavaria, flew through it after assuming the form of a pilgrim, and entered the prison where Duke Frederick was being held captive. When he had seen him, the spirit sent to him said: “If you wish to be freed from captivity, mount this horse; they will bring you safely and without injury into Austria to your brother Duke Leopold.”

[Blank page in the source scan.]

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

215

... I will bring [you]. The duke said to him, “Who, then, are you?” To him the spirit replied, “Do not ask who I am, because [unclear] has nothing to do with the matter; but mount this horse, which I offer you, and I will bring you, safe and unharmed, freed from here, back to Austria.” When he heard this, a certain horror seized the duke, otherwise a most daring man; and presently, when he fortified himself with the sign of the holy cross, the spirit disappeared together with the black horse which he had offered. He returned empty-handed to the one who had sent him, and, when reproached by him because he had not brought the captive, he narrated the course of what had happened. At length Duke Frederick, released from custody, confessed that this had happened to him in captivity on the recorded day. After this, Emperor Louis, having received an oath and the necessary guarantees from Duke Frederick that he would no longer involve himself in the kingdom, let him go free. He ruled alone for nearly thirty-three years, a strong man, exceedingly bold.

In the same year also Pope John XXII enrolled Thomas Aquinas, of the Order of Friars Preachers, a most acute theologian, in the catalogue of the saints, forty-eight years after his passing.

1324.

In the seventh year of Abbot Sigismund, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1324, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, John, king of Bohemia, his nephew through his brother, who was then staying at Luxembourg, and also the duke of Lorraine and the count of Bar, together with certain other counts and nobles, entered into alliance with one another and with a great army besieged the city of Metz. Since they could not take it by storm, they laid waste everything round about by devastation.

In these times Emperor Louis, desiring to enlarge his dominion, violently took away the wife of a certain powerful man, and joined her in marriage, with pomp and solemnity, to his son Otto, margrave of Brandenburg; while her husband, with whom she had lived matrimonially for eleven years, protested and invoked the aid of the supreme pontiff, though in vain. For the emperor said that between him and her there existed an impediment of consanguinity. But another cause moved him

The Monastery of Hirsau There at length he redeemed himself with money, after giving letters and sureties that in his own days he would not complete the castle begun in Birckenfeld, over which there had been a dispute.

In the same year also Cuno of Schoneck, bishop of Worms, ordered that the feast of the Body of Christ, according to the institution of Pope Urban, be solemnly celebrated throughout the city of Worms and the whole diocese.

1326.

In the ninth year of Abbot Sigismund, in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1326, Louis IV, emperor, raised Reinhard, count of Geldern, to duke; he had kept his father, of the same name, captive in custody for almost eight years until his death. And from then onward the princes of the land of Geldern began to be dukes, retaining the title of the county of Zutphen down to the present day.

And in this same year, on the seventh day before the Ides of October, his father died in captivity. When Frederick, bishop of Utrecht, had died, two men were named amid disagreement: James, dean of the greater church, was elected by the greater part of the chapter; James of [Suden?], bishop, was postulated by the smaller part at the urging of William, count of Holland.

But the former, James the dean, prevailed and was confirmed as bishop of Utrecht. When he died after a short time, the canons of the greater church unanimously elected John of Bruchorst, provost of the church of Saint Saviour in Utrecht, an excellent man, who at once took up the rule and administration of the whole episcopate as the true pontiff canonically elected. Meanwhile John of Diest, provost of Cambrai, came from Avignon, having been appointed and consecrated bishop of the church of Utrecht by Pope John XXII at the urging of the duke of Brabant, Reinhard duke of Geldern, and William count of Holland. Entering Utrecht with armed force and great display, after expelling John of Bruchorst, the elected bishop, he assumed the pontificate, which he governed for almost fourteen years.

In the aforesaid year also a certain Jew, receiving baptism in Hainaut, was lifted from the sacred font by William, count of Holland and Hainaut. Passing and living among Christians, he pretended to be devout, though filled with Jewish malice. For on one occasion, passing alone in the church of a certain monastery, he unworthily beheld a most beautifully painted image of blessed Mary ever virgin.

At once filled with his old hatred and inborn fury, he drew a dagger and, bursting out in words of blasphemy against the holy Mother of God, struck the bright face of the image and foully wounded it. And behold, immediately abundant blood, issuing from the wounded image, began to flow around. Seeing this, the wretch secretly fled from the church. But the blood, preserved by the faithful, was a remedy for many illnesses.

But after the perpetrator of so great a crime had lain hidden for some time and could not be discovered by anyone, the most blessed Mother of God, Mary ever-virgin and ever undefiled, appearing in dreams to a certain blacksmith as if pierced with wounds, showed him the perpetrator of the crime and encouraged him to a duel against the faithless man for the declaration of the truth. The smith came to the judge and accused the Jew of the crime; when sufficient testimonies for proof of the charged crime were not [unclear], or that he would deign to entrust the office of imperial consecration to one of the cardinals, as Pope Clement V had done with Henry VII, saying that it was neither suitable for him nor according to the custom of the Roman Empire to be blessed and crowned anywhere else. But the pope refused both, ordering him to come to him at Avignon.

In the tenth year of Abbot Sigismund, in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1327, Louis, king of the Romans, went to Rome with many princes and a great army for the crown of the empire, and by [unclear] although he was often invited by him, he did not believe it safe for him to go. Therefore he asked the pontiff by letters, both his own and those of the Romans and of other princes, that either he himself come to Rome, [unclear] deposed, a heretic, a schismatic, and deprived of every pontifical honor,

1327.

King Louis is professed at Rome. [unclear] had him crowned emperor, in the thirteenth year after his election. When this had been done, by the counsel of his [unclear]. Louis is crowned at Rome. Ludeonius the ruler. By presumption, deposed, a heretic, a schismatic, and deprived of every pontifical honor.

then had it proclaimed; and, appointing Peter of Corbara, of the Order of Friars Minor, a man indeed learned and fit for conducting affairs, as pope, he called him Nicholas V, from whom he received anew the crown of the empire with greater solemnity.

But when Peter was created, not as pontiff but as antipope, he created as cardinals and bishops men very like himself, and in all things conducted himself as a true pope. But after the emperor’s return into Germany, the antipope, left at Pisa, was captured by Boniface, count of Pisa, and brought to Avignon to Pope John, where, cast into prison, he exchanged life for death; although he acknowledged his error, nevertheless he could [not] be freed.

In the same year Gotfrid, bishop of Würzburg, died. He was succeeded by Wolfram of Grumbach, forty-sixth in the order of bishops, and he presided for six years, a man very well suited to rule, who compelled his citizens to every kind of subjection.

In the same year also Matthias, archbishop of Mainz, celebrated a provincial synod of his suffragans, abbots, and prelates, in which he issued many constitutions for the benefit of the Church.

1328.

In the second year of Abbot Sigismund, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1328, in the second indiction, on the Ides of September, Matthias, archbishop of Mainz, of the Order of Saint Benedict, born of Buseck, died, a man upright in [unclear] conduct and worthy of every honor and perpetual memory; and he was buried in the greater church of Mainz. After his death, the clergy again postulated Baldwin, archbishop of Trier; but since he was unwilling to abandon his own church of Trier, which he had already made wealthy, Pope John XXII gave the church of Mainz to Henry of Virneburg without the consent of the canons, and, having ordained him archbishop, sent him to Mainz with apostolic letters and mandates. But the canons, alleging many crimes against him, appealed to the Apostolic See. Therefore, while they litigated for three years before the pope in Avignon, lest the church of Mainz, again deprived of a pastor, incur grave losses, the pope, at their request, entrusted that church of Mainz to the aforesaid Baldwin, archbishop, in the name of administrator until the outcome of the suit.

After he had been appointed administrator, he took into his power the towns, castles, and fortifications of the whole diocese, and he began to build everything anew from the foundations, strongly and with great diligence, against the incursions of the wicked; and he surrounded the village itself on every side with a wall. Meanwhile the people of Mainz, fearing, as they said, a siege by Baldwin, but in fact [unclear] because of ecclesiastical liberty, with the former defending their rights and liberties, while the latter, on the other side, labored to infringe and violate everything.

Therefore, to repress the rashness of the people of Mainz, Baldwin the administrator [unclear].

Baldwin becomes administrator of the church of Mainz.

The castle called Eltville, situated two miles from Mainz down the river Rhine, he defended with wisdom. In these days there was great dissension between the clergy and the citizens of Mainz because of ecclesiastical liberty; and they destroyed in great part the notable buildings and structures of Saint Alban the Martyr, of Saint James the Apostle on the Fair Mountain, and of Saint Victor, belonging to secular canons, together with the castle in Weisenau, monasteries of our order distinguished by buildings and structures, as the traces especially in the monastery of Saint Alban show down to the present day.

Henry, archbishop of Mainz.

The monastery of Saint James, however, because it was very near the city, they utterly overthrew, together with its distinguished church. For this rashness they were afterward summoned to the emperor’s chamber, and by judicial sentence condemned to pay a very great sum of money to those monasteries. The monasteries were rebuilt in the course of time, but they did not attain their former splendor. From that time, however, until the capture of the city, which took place in the third year of Wignand, abbot of this monastery, with the power avenging the wrong done to the saints, fortune was always adverse to the people of Mainz. With God avenging the wrong done to the saints, fortune was always [unclear] to the people of Mainz, until at last, having lost their liberty, they were reduced to perpetual servitude.

After three years, however, judgment was given for Henry of Virneburg, who, confirmed as archbishop, was sent again to Mainz, and to Baldwin [unclear] the administration [unclear]. He was buried in his greater church; his successor was Berthold Burheck of the Order of the Teutonic Brethren, and he presided for one year, being transferred to the bishopric of Strasbourg, as we shall say later in its proper order.

In the same year also Eberhard, count of Württemberg, with the consent of Pope John [unclear].

King Louis made an antipope. The antipope is captured and imprisoned.

Gotfrid died.

Provincial synod [unclear].

[Malvoius?] died.

Contention of the clergy and [unclear] archbishops.

Baldwin becomes administrator of the church of Mainz.

Eltville castle is constructed.

The monastery of Saint Alban, Saint James, and Saint Victor is erected.

Henry, archbishop of Mainz, died.

Emicho died.

Zinichy died.

The Monastery of Hirsau

The college was transferred to Stuttgart.

[unclear] 22. [He] transferred the college of canons of Beutelsbach, together with the church in which the burial place of the counts of Wurttemberg was, to Stuttgart; the occasion of this transfer was as follows.

Since in earlier years under Henry VII, who began to reign in the eighth year of Henry the second abbot, as we have said, the nobles and citizens of the empire, by the king's command, had waged war for almost ten years against the aforesaid Count Eberhard, and out of his eighty fortifications had captured almost seventy, and these were destroyed, as we briefly recorded in the tenth year of the aforesaid abbot; among them was the castle of Beutelsbach, where the collegiate church had been situated, in which the counts, as we said, had their burial place. What we are about to relate then happened. The imperial troops, after the fortification was captured, forgetful of God and unmindful of their own salvation, to the insult of the living,

Cruelty against [unclear].

for they opened and broke open the sarcophagi, drew out the bones of the dead counts, and did not fear to scatter them among stones and ashes. Count Eberhard, taking very grievously this injury and insult inflicted on the dead resting in the earth, transferred the church with the burial place from Beutelsbach with apostolic consent. This count died in the same year on the day of St. Boniface, archbishop and martyr, leaving a son who survived him by ten years.

1329.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Sigismund, in the year of the Lord 1329, Cuno of Schoneck, bishop of Worms, died. After his death, the canons of the cathedral unanimously took Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, as administrator, against Gerlach Schenk of Erbach, who had ambitiously invaded the bishopric, which he also afterward obtained.

In the same year also Berthold, bishop of Speyer, was transferred by the pope's authority as bishop to the church of Strasbourg; and the aforesaid Archbishop Baldwin was taken up into the administration of the church of Speyer, now ruler of four churches.

1330.

In the thirteenth year of Abbot Sigismund, which was the year 1330 from the Lord's nativity, Walram, from the counts of Veldenz, by the promotion of Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, was made bishop of Speyer, and presided for six years, a good and merciful man.

In the same year, when Archbishop Baldwin resigned the administration of the church of Worms, Gerlach Schenk, about whom we spoke in the preceding year, secured the bishopric and presided for two years, not elected nor postulated, but violently intruded with the help and favor of friends, and, as was said, not confirmed by anyone.

In this same year, after a long contest held in the papal curia, Henry of Virneburg was sent to Mainz by the authority of Pope John XXII, and, having been ordained archbishop, was received by the clergy and people at the apostolic command, in the presence of two legates; and he presided for almost fifteen years, Baldwin resigning the administration by order of the pope and the legates of the apostolic see. This Archbishop Henry completed the castle of Eltville below Mainz beside the Rhine, which had been begun by Baldwin the administrator.

1331.

In the fourteenth year of Abbot Sigismund, in the year of the Lord 1331, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, purchased for a price the chapel of St. Alban, with a very broad garden adjoining it, from the monastery of St. Matthias outside the walls of Trier, and began to build a monastery for Carthusian monks. Completing it in eight years and endowing it magnificently, he consecrated the new foundation. The same archbishop also built anew at this time, at great expense, a stone bridge over the Moselle near Koblenz.

In the same year John, formerly count of Luxembourg, king of Bohemia, entered Italy with a great army and received Brescia, Parma, Reggio, and Modena into his power.

In this same year also a great dissension arose between Henry, duke of Bavaria, surnamed the Upright, on one side, and his brother Otto and the younger Henry, Otto's son, from the dukes of Bavaria and king of Hungary, on the other side, over the duchy of Lower Bavaria. Emperor Louis, on behalf of Otto and the younger Henry, having summoned the Hungarians to his aid, was preparing an army against the elder Henry. When this became known, the king of Bohemia, father-in-law of the elder Henry, with certain other princes joined to him, proclaimed a meeting for the disputants at Rambingen, Scharding, and other surrounding castles, fortifications, and villages. But to Otto his brother, his lot assigned Burghausen, Ottingen, Traunstein, Halle, and the rest as far as the Salzburg Alps-

Contention among the dukes of Bavaria.

Dissension of Lower Ba[varia?].

The Carthusian house of Trier is built.

The bridge at Koblenz.

John, king of Bohemia.

But to Otto, Straubing, Scharding, Traunstein, Halle, and the rest as far as the Salzburg Alps.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

219

the Salzburgers. Moreover Henry the Younger, in the division, received Dingolfing, Landau, Vilshofen, Deggendorf, Campurg, Kelheim, and other places situated round about.

1332.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Sigismund, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1332, Henry the Elder, duke of Bavaria, again began to contend for the duchy with his brother Otto and Henry the Younger. When Emperor Louis ordered peace for him, and he did not desist, he gathered an army and in his own person surrounded the town of Straubing with a siege and attacked it vigorously for eight weeks, until at last the aforesaid John, king of Bohemia, arrived and restored peace between them.

Straubing is surrounded with a siege.

In the same year, on the fifteenth day before the kalends of January, Gerlach Schenk, bishop of Worms, died. He was succeeded by Salamannus, born at Mainz, who presided for twenty-three years, confirmed by Pope John XXII but ordained by his successor Benedict XII. When the people of Worms refused to admit him, they were marked by the pope with an ecclesiastical interdict; and many of the canons, especially those of Saint Cyriacus, disobedient to the apostolic commands and rebellious against Salamannus, were excommunicated. At length, after satisfaction had first been made, he reconciled them by apostolic authority.

1334.

In the sixteenth year of Abbot Sigismund, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1333, Wolfram, bishop of Würzburg, died on the day before the kalends of July. Otto Wolfskeel succeeded him and presided for fifteen years, having been promoted and ordained at Liège on the twenty-first day of July by Pope John XXII against Hermann of Lichtenberg, Emperor Louis’s chancellor, out of hatred for the emperor, who wished him to be ordained bishop. For, as we said above in its place, after Emperor Henry VII had died in Italy, Louis, count palatine and duke of Bavaria, brother of Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine, by the election of the princes and after Frederick, duke of Austria, had been defeated, was raised to be king of the Romans in the year of the Lord 1314. He soon fell into great discord with Pope John XXII on such an occasion, as was reported.

Thus Otto becomes bishop of Würzburg.

Cause of the dissension between pope and emperor.

In the same sixteenth year a certain chancellor, Ulrich by name, a native of Augsburg of the Rhaetians, a rash and proud man, hostile to the clergy and to religion, and a very great hater and adversary of ecclesiastical dignity and liberty, in letters to the pope in the emperor’s name put certain unworthy things in that beginning, and among other things called the pope himself the beast rising from the sea, and wrote many insults against him. Provoked by these, not undeservedly, to indignation, the pontiff excommunicated King Louis. This chancellor, already near death, publicly confessed this wickedness of his before many people. Hence Louis, having set out for Rome in the year of the Lord 1327, wishing to be reconciled to the pope, while he was staying at Avignon, as we said above, in the ninth year of Abbot Sigismund received the office of blessing from a certain simple bishop, and remained in the dispensation of Pope John, appointing another as antipope. To this excommunicated Emperor Louis there came into Bavaria William of Ockham, of the Order of Minors, English by nation, a man indeed learned in philosophy and sacred letters, but exceedingly rash, excommunicated by Pope John XXII, against whom he wrote many things in blasphemy, as we have said more fully in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers.

In the same year Henry the Younger, duke of Bavaria, son of Otto, king of Hungary, died.

In this year a very great abundance of wine grew, so that casks were lacking.

1333.

In the seventeenth year of Abbot Sigismund, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1354, Henry, archbishop of Cologne, died. He was succeeded in the archbishopric by Walram, son of Gerard, count of Jülich, provost of Liège and treasurer of Cologne, who presided for sixteen years, six months, and nineteen days, a man very learned in both laws, energetic and peaceable; he governed the church committed to him quite energetically, peacefully, and profitably in its condition. This Archbishop Walram, among the many buildings which he erected in various places during the time of his pontificate, also built anew the monastery of the Carthusians in Cologne, which he honorably and abundantly endowed for the necessary support of the brothers.

Walram becomes archbishop of Cologne.

The Charterhouse at Cologne is founded.

In the same year, on the day before the nones of December, Pope John XXII died at Avignon in the ninetieth year of his age, leaving an inestimable quantity of gold in his treasuries. He was succeeded in the pontificate by Benedict XII, of Toulouse, of the Cistercian Order, doctor of sacred theology, previously called Jacques Fournier, and he presided for seven years, three months, and eighteen days. He was a man of the most perfect uprightness, who gave a constitution to our order for its reform, which [unclear]

Benedict becomes pope, John having died.

220. The Monastery of Hirsau

they call [it], whose true original under lead is kept at Trier at St. Matthias, and similarly in very many other monasteries.

1335.

In the fifteenth year of Abbot Sigismund, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1335, on the day of the apostles Simon and Jude, a very great and exceedingly tempestuous wind blew in the regions of the Rhine and Swabia; it overturned trees and many buildings in various places.

In the same year Otto, duke of Bavaria, of whom we made mention above, son of Duke Stephen and brother of Henry the Elder, died without children; his duchy devolved by right to his brother.

1336.

In the following year, which was the nineteenth of Abbot Sigismund, Willichin, or Wilhelm, the eleventh abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died in the twenty-eighth year of his rule, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of April.

In the same year, on the day of St. Augustine the bishop, Walram, bishop of Speyer, died and was buried there in the church of the Preachers before the high altar. Gerard of Ehrenberg succeeded him, elected on the day of St. Catherine, and presided for twenty-seven years, one month, and six days. But after Willichin, Henry, born at Kreuznach, was appointed twelfth abbot of my monastery of Sponheim; he presided for two years, one month, and six days, not with sufficient usefulness, as the time required.

1337.

In the twentieth year of Abbot Sigismund, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1337, there was everywhere a great mortality of men and livestock, and grain was sold at a high price, so that the poor were oppressed by great want, and many perished from hunger and lack of food.

1338.

In the following year, which was the twenty-first of Abbot Sigismund, Edward the Second [III?], king of England, came to Emperor Louis at Koblenz, seeking aid from him against Philip, king of France. Louis, after receiving money, promised him much support, but could not keep his promises, because he had princes unwilling to obey; and the king of England, frustrated in his hope, lost the money spent without profit.

In the same year Reinald, count of Guelders, who was afterward raised to duke, led out a great army and declared war against the people of Liege and the Brabanters, because in the previous year, while he was with the emperor, they had miserably laid waste his land by fire and plunder. He had with him Adolph, bishop of Liege, whom the citizens had formerly shamefully expelled. In this war more than nine thousand men fell on both sides. The victory went to Count Reinald; from it he became not only rich, but famous in every land and acceptable to all the princes.

1339.

In the twenty-second year of Abbot Sigismund, which was the year of the Lord's Nativity 1339, on the day of St. Kilian the martyr, around midday, there was a great eclipse of the sun for almost two hours.

In the same year, around autumn, the Suitenses [men of Schwyz?], after a dissension had arisen in the city of Berne, cruelly killed several of the citizens.

Also in the same year Emperor Louis held a solemn assembly of the princes at Frankfurt, where, among other things, he raised Reinald, count of Guelders, to duke, adding to his duchy the county of Zutphen, because of his singular prudence and the magnificent deeds done by him. For he had been the eleventh from the beginning in the line of the counts of Guelders, a prudent, bold, warlike, fortunate man, and in every respect magnificent, who vigorously accomplished many things in peace and in war.

At the same time also Wilhelm, count of Julich, was created margrave by Emperor Louis with the consent of the princes: a man worthy of such honor, since he [unclear]. In this year there was a fierce war between Philip, king of France, and Edward, king of England, over the county of Normandy, which each contended belonged to him by right. For the king of England, having hired troops at great pay, entered France with a strong force, laying waste to everything by plunder and fire, although it profited him little, because he did not obtain Normandy.

Also in the same year, on the [unclear] feast of St. Oswald, king and martyr, Emperor Louis, after the death of his brother Rudolf, Count Palatine of the Rhine, whom in England

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

(had driven out), as we said in the fourteenth year of Abbot Henry, summoned his sons Rudolph, Adolf, and Rupert, and divided among them their paternal inheritance, or rather restored what had been taken away, saying: “The father sinned against me, not the sons; therefore it is not just that others should undergo the penalty for the crime.”

Rudolph, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Rudolph, the firstborn of Rudolph, brother of Emperor Louis and Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Bavaria, a man of no great wisdom, had as wife the sister of the king of Hungary. By her he begot a single daughter, Margaret by name; Charles, king of Bohemia and afterward emperor, took her as wife. By her he received Wenceslaus, after his father king of the Romans; John, king of Bohemia; Sigismund, king of Hungary and afterward Roman emperor; Helen, who married the king of England; and Margaret, wife of the margrave of the Old March.

Adolf, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Adolf, the second-born son of the elder Rudolph Palatine, from whom the succession of the Counts Palatine of the Rhine is continued, took as wife the daughter of the count of Oettingen. She bore him Rupert, or, as very many maintain, Adolf, father of Rupert, afterward king of the Romans, by Beatrice, daughter of the king of Sicily; concerning him we shall speak more fully in his own place, when we come to him.

Rupert, Count Palatine. Rupert, however, the third-born son of the elder Rudolph, Count Palatine of the Rhine, died without children, although he had taken two wives. The first of them was Mechtild, duchess of Brabant; the second Beatrice, daughter of the duke of [Montenfis?].

The University of Heidelberg is founded. This Rupert first founded the universal school of Heidelberg, which Pope Benedict XII confirmed. Likewise afterward Pope Urban VI confirmed it. Its first director and moderator was Marsilius of Inghen, doctor of sacred theology, canon of Paris and treasurer of the church of St. Andrew in Cologne, as I remember that we said some time ago in the book On Ecclesiastical Writers. He also raised up from its foundations, founded, built, and endowed the collegiate church in the New City of the diocese of Speyer, with beautiful stone vaulting; in it he was afterward buried.

1340.

In the twenty-third year of Abbot Sigismund, and the year of the Lord 1340, there was a very great pestilence throughout all Germany, and it struck down many thousands of people. There was also a great famine [unclear], having gloriously triumphed over the captives, bringing no small booty to the English.

In this same year, on the sixth day before the Kalends of May, Henry of Kreuznach, the twelfth abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, died. Willichin II of Sponheim succeeded him and presided for only one year, three months, and four days.

In the same year also, on the twelfth day of the month of February, Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, died and was buried in the choir of the church of the New City, which he had raised from its foundations.

1341.

In the twenty-fourth year of Abbot Sigismund, and the year of the Lord 1341, a certain count in Isenburg, at the fair of St. Remigius in Cologne, in a friendly joust, publicly killed against his will Stephen, knight of Oersbeck, who, his neck broken, expired at once, nevertheless remaining seated on his horse as if alive, until he was found and taken down by the hands of servants, in all respects good and magnificent.

In this same year also, John, duke of Brabant, and Engelbert, bishop of Liège, [unclear] Pope XII, whom Clement VI succeeded, presiding for eleven years, a man full of piety and clemency; and [unclear], the rest being turned to flight, until at length they accepted terms of peace.

In the same year, on the eighth day before the Kalends of July, Sigismund, the thirty-first abbot of this monastery of Hirsau, died in the twenty-fifth year of his governance, an excellent man and to be honored with every honor; he presided in both states usefully enough and did many good things.

Pestilence occurred.

The king of England moves his army into France a second time.

Willicho, abbot.

A knight is killed in a joust.

Clement VI is elected pope.

Wilhelm, abbot of Sponheim.

Sigismund is moved here as abbot.

Sigismund is moved here as abbot.

222. Of the Monastery of Hirsau, concerning Wighard, the thirty-second abbot of this monastery, who presided for 12 years, and concerning various deeds of that time in Germany.

After the death, therefore, of the most reverend abbot Sigismund, the conventual brothers of this monastery of Hirsau assembled in the chapter-house, in the aforesaid year of the Lord’s nativity 1342, in the tenth Roman indiction, in order to elect a new shepherd of their souls in the place of the deceased. After the necessary deliberation had first been held, at last they unanimously elected Wighard, a monk of their convent, a Swabian by birth, a man proved in temporal affairs not without experience. Having lived in the monastery under the abbots Henry and Sigismund, he seemed, according to the customs of that time, more suitable and better than the others for the necessity of the place, although he was little fitted for the restoration of regular discipline, which at that time had fallen into ruin in almost all the monasteries of our order throughout Germany. Nevertheless he preserved the manner of living in the monastery which he found there, allowing private property to the monks, as his predecessors had done. Confirmed, however, by Gerard, bishop of the church of Speyer, and solemnly ordained abbot, as is the custom, he presided for 8 years and 3 days, as will be clear to one who calculates.

Wighard becomes abbot [unclear]. Life and conduct of abbot Wighard. Confirmation by the bishop of Speyer.

In his first year he obtained from Emperor Louis IV the confirmation of the royal privileges of his monastery.

In this same year of the Lord’s nativity 1342, while abbot Sigismund was still living, on the 23rd day of the month of January, at the first hour of the night, when a dreadful storm of clouds had arisen, thunder was heard, lightning and flashes appeared, with hail and heavy rain, so that a storm seemed to have arisen in the middle of summer.

In the same year, on the vigil of Saint James the Apostle, the river Main, suddenly rising contrary to its nature and custom, poured into the Rhine so great a force of waters as no one living at that time remembered having seen. For it caused much damage to men and overturned whole villages situated around the Rhine.

MCCCXIIII.

While the first year of abbot Wighard was still running, in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1343, Reinald, the first duke in Guelders, of whom we have spoken above, died. His son, a boy of ten years, undertook the governance of his duchy, later taking as wife the lady Mary, daughter of John, duke of Brabant; both of them died without children. Some years afterward his brother Edward, led by desire for rule, captured him and kept him in custody for ten years, and [unclear] the duchy of Guelders; concerning his deeds and death, so far as it has become known to us, we shall speak in its proper place.

In the same year, the second of abbot Wighard, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity MCCCXLIII.

In the [unclear] year of abbot Wighard, on the [unclear] day of the month of July, Ulrich, count of Württemberg, son of count Eberhard, of whom we have already spoken above, died, leaving two sons, Ulrich and Eberhard. The first of these died after 26 years without offspring, as we shall say in its proper place. But the second, Eberhard, living for a long time, waged many wars with the cities of the empire and with nobles for almost 46 years; concerning whose deeds and death, so far as [unclear], it has not been customary.

In these times Pope Clement VI, having sent legates into Germany, caused a general passage against the unbelieving Turks to be preached, promising to those contributing in support of the pilgrims from their goods to the chests publicly appointed for this purpose in the churches not only the customary indulgences, but also certain unusual ones: so that he granted to those who had put in their goods, assessed at a fixed amount, the eating of eggs on Fridays and of milk foods, and on all other days outside Lent on which they were permitted; something which until then had not been customary in Germany.

Baldwin of Trier and Walram of Cologne, archbishops, together with certain others, then obtained from the Apostolic See, after a considerable sum of money collected from their people had been spent on the crusade, that all persons established in their dioceses might be allowed in perpetuity, outside Lent, at every time to use milk foods, butter, and eggs; and this is observed so down to the present day. For the people of Trier and Cologne use milk foods and eggs throughout the whole year, with Lent alone excepted, on all vigils of saints and ecclesiastical fasts.

But Henry, archbishop of Mainz, who clung obstinately to the excommunicated Emperor Louis, did not have the favor of the Apostolic See; and therefore he neither wished to contribute anything to the crusade nor cared for the indulgences. Hence it is not lawful, down to the present day, throughout the whole diocese of Mainz, to use eggs at the time of any ecclesiastical fast.

And so Christians, assembled from almost all Europe, were carried in a great fleet against the Turks; and first taking the town of Smyrna, thereafter they fought often, with great slaughter of both peoples.

A very great storm in January.

The use of eggs is granted to the people of Trier and Cologne. A crusade against the Turks is preached. Henry, archbishop of Mainz. Expedition of the Christians into [unclear].

The Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

227

[unclear], increasing exceedingly, and showing a terrible blaze, at length with a great rumbling it passes away through the sky.

In the same year also Pope Clement VI died; Innocent VI, likewise, a Limousin by birth, succeeded him and presided for nine years and eight months, a good man and a lover of religious, a very great canonist, who afterwards crowned Charles emperor.

Innocent VI becomes pope.

1353.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Wighard, and in the year of the Lord 1353, on the eve of St. Thomas the Apostle, Henry of Virneburg, formerly archbishop of Mainz, long before deposed by Pope Clement VI, as we said above, died. Even after his deposition, as we have often said, he conducted himself as archbishop as long as Emperor Louis IV lived, although Gerlach, promoted and ordained by the pope, had the greater obedience, and very many cities, towns, and castles, in Thuringia Erfurt, and in Hesse almost all, which at first obeyed the apostolic commands. But when Henry died, Gerlach peacefully obtained the church of Mainz, and presided alone for sixteen years.

In the same year, on the day of St. Erasmus, Louis margrave of Brandenburg, Rupert, also called Adolph, the elder count palatine of the Rhine, and John burgrave of Nuremberg, elected for the public advantage, as chosen arbitrators, made a further division of the lands of Upper Bavaria among the dukes, the sons of the late Emperor Louis IV, namely Stephen, William, and Albert, as is clear in the letters. [unclear]

In the year also noted above, celestial flames again appeared, astonishing to behold, drawing after them a long extinguished trail.

A flame in the sky.

1354.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Wighard, and in the year of the Lord 1354, Charles, king of the Romans, in the month of January held a solemn assembly of princes at Mainz; there, among many things which [unclear], he treated of [unclear], which happened in the following year.

In the same year, on the kalends of February, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, died, a man worthy of perpetual remembrance; he amended and corrected the ordinary of the whole breviary for years, restored it to the form in which it now is, and magnificently enlarged his church with many riches and honors beyond all his predecessors. Boemund of Edendorf succeeded him.

[unclear] For that time was clouded and full of the darkness of ignorance, when regular observance perished, not only in this monastery of Hirsau, but also in all the monasteries of our order, almost throughout all Germany; and the monks, given over to the pleasures of the flesh and utterly casting away the study of letters, which had once made our forefathers glorious, thought of nothing less than writing down the deeds of their prelates. Hence there came about the shameful silence concerning the memorable acts of this distinguished monastery also, because there was no one from the time of Abbot Eberhard down to Frederick, the second of that name, for almost two hundred and seventy years, who clearly described the deeds and successions of the abbots, as others had once done. Therefore through all that time we have necessarily passed briefly.

Concerning Wighard the Second, thirty-third abbot of this monastery, who presided five years, two months, and twenty-one days, and concerning various acts.

When, however, lord Wighard the First, thirty-second abbot of this monastery, had died, and his poor body had been committed to ecclesiastical burial according to the custom of the order, lest the sheep should long be without a shepherd, or incur some danger to their souls, and lest the dead man’s household property, as often happens, should suffer loss, on the day appointed for electing, as the matter required, a new pastor, the brothers came together in one place in the year noted above, namely on the Sunday of the Nativity, 1354, in the seventh Roman indiction, on the morrow of St. Gregory the pope, which was Friday and the thirteenth day of the month of March. After they had held among themselves the necessary discussion concerning the form of election, the greater part of the brothers, with the others assenting, elected lord Wighard, the second of that name, [unclear].

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

The emperor’s crime

In the same year, Emperor Louis expelled John, son of the king of Bohemia, from the duchy of Carinthia, which he had previously given him after receiving money; and he joined his wife, seized without a judgment of the Church, to his own son, to the scandal of many. Hence for this as well as for many other crimes he was again excommunicated by Pope Clement VI, and at last, as we shall say, deposed from the empire.

1345.

In the third year of Abbot Wighard, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1345, William, count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, and lord of Frisia, around the feast of the Nativity of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, led a great army against the Frisians, having with him the count of Horn and many [unclear].

William, count of Holland, is killed in war.

In the fifth year of Abbot Wighard, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1345, William, count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, and lord of Frisia, around the feast of the Nativity of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, led a great army against the Frisians, having with him the count of Horn and many other nobles and very brave men. But the Frisians, surrounded by ditches full of water, came out against them in great fury, and, using their customary skill, when they had them enclosed among the marshes, killed some with the sword, while others they miserably drowned by suddenly releasing the waters. Among these Count William too was suffocated and died without children. After his death, his sister Margaret, wife of Emperor Louis IV, as the nearer heir, by decree of the emperor and princes, came down into Holland with her son William in great state; she at once subjected all her brother’s land to her own authority; and with the consent of the inhabitants she handed it over to her son William to govern. When matters had been settled in peace, she returned with her people to Bavaria. Therefore William, having obtained his uncle’s dominion, was accustomed to prefix such a title to his letters: William, by the grace of God count palatine of the Rhine, duke of Bavaria, count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, and lord of Frisia, etc. He was, however, a proud, restless, and warlike man, who did not know how to defer to his own mother. From this time the aforesaid counties began to belong to the dukes of Bavaria; by them they were governed in quiet possession for almost eighty years, until the year of the Lord 1425; then they passed to the dukes of Burgundy.

In the aforesaid year Henry, archbishop of Mainz, having been summoned by Pope Clement VI and not appearing at the curia, was excommunicated.

1346.

In the fourth year of Abbot Wighard, but the year of the Lord 1346, Pope Clement VI, in a public consistory and with the consent of the cardinals, by sentence deposed in his absence Henry of Virneburg, archbishop of Mainz, contumacious and rebellious against the apostolic commands, previously, as we have said, summoned and excommunicated; he stripped him of every pontifical honor, and substituted Gerlach of Nassau in his place. Yet Gerlach did not obtain possession of the archbishopric [unclear], dealing with Gerlach not without great harm to the church of Mainz and the subject people.

In the same year a very grave dispute arose between the brothers Edward and Reinard over the duchy of Guelders; it lasted for sixteen years, to their great loss and the devastation of the whole land. For while quarrels and wars were being waged between them, many thousands of men were killed, villages were deserted without inhabitants, castles too were destroyed, and the land of the whole duchy remained untilled, the peasants having either been killed or put to flight. But finally Edward, after Reinard had been thrust into custody, alone obtained the duchy, as we shall say in its place.

In the same year also Pope Clement VI, who said that he had deposed Louis from the empire by sentence, commanded the princes that within a fixed term which he had set for them, unless they wished to lose the right of election, they should elect another emperor in Louis’s place, one who would obey the commands of the Church as a son should; otherwise he would necessarily have care of the empire as supreme head. Accordingly, assembling at Rhens below Boppard near the Rhine on the second day of the month of July, Baldwin archbishop of Trier, Walram archbishop of Cologne, Gerlach, to whom the pope, as we have said, had provided the church of Mainz, John king of Bohemia, and the duke of Saxony, unanimously elected, in his presence, Charles, firstborn son of the aforesaid John, king of Bohemia, as king of the Romans. The archbishop of Cologne anointed him in the town of Bonn with great pomp, as is the custom. For they could not safely go down to Aachen, because the people of Aachen zealously followed Louis’s party. But Adolf, count palatine of the Rhine, Henry archbishop of Mainz, although deposed by the pope, the margrave of Brandenburg, the dukes of Bavaria, and almost all the cities of the empire followed and defended Louis’s party with all their strength until his death.

In the same year King Edward of England entered France again with a great army

Hirsau Monastery

[unclear], having with him John, king of Bohemia, father of Emperor Charles IV, and, when battle had been joined, he triumphed gloriously. But the king of Bohemia, wounded by the arrow of a certain Frenchman, fell. This John was the son of Emperor Henry VII and the father of Charles IV, as we said above, formerly count of Luxembourg; when his father was raised to the empire, he received Elizabeth, daughter of Wenceslaus king of Bohemia, together with the kingdom, as his wife, as we set out more clearly in the tenth year of Henry II the abbot; with him the duchy of Luxembourg passed to the Bohemians. He reigned in Bohemia for thirty-six years; when he died in this year, his son Charles succeeded him a little before he was elected to the empire, reigning with his son Wenceslaus for almost thirty-two years. The vines and the clusters hanging on them in this same year, during the octave of the Nativity of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, perished from cold and frost in many places, especially in the regions of Swabia and in many others.

1347.

In the fifth year of Abbot Wighard, which was A.D. 1347, on the day of St. Gereon the martyr, Emperor Louis IV died, and he was buried in the church of Blessed Mary ever Virgin in his city of Munich with pomp and honor. There were those who said that he had died by the poison of a certain duchess of Austria, whom, because of the ugly arrangement of her face, they called Maultasch, that is, “mouth-bag” or “sack”; whether this is true or not, we do not have it sufficiently established.

He left six sons, namely Louis, also called Otto, margrave of Brandenburg, the eldest by birth; Duke Louis, surnamed the Roman because he had been born at Rome; Duke Otto the younger; Duke Stephen; Duke William; and Duke Albert, whom he begot from Margaret, daughter of William, count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, as was said above in its place. How these six sons, after their father’s death, divided his duchy among themselves, we shall say below in the seventh year of Abbot Wighard. After Emperor Louis died, Henry archbishop of Mainz, although, as we said before, deposed by the pope, Adolf count palatine of the Rhine, Otto also called Louis, margrave of Brandenburg, and the other princes of Bavaria immediately came together; after taking counsel among themselves, they unanimously elected Edward, king of England, to the Roman empire against Charles. They also soon endeavored to summon him by letters and solemn envoys, promising that they would steadfastly provide him counsel and aid until death. Giving thanks to them, he sent back word that he was so occupied in governing the kingdoms of England and France that he could in no way attend to the empire of the Romans.

When these things were known, the aforesaid princes sent envoys with letters to the margrave of Meissen, son-in-law of the deceased Emperor Louis, and called him to the empire. Agreeing to them, he promised that he would come with an army as quickly as possible, although he did not come, having been skillfully forestalled or corrupted by Charles, as we shall say later.

1348.

In the sixth year of Abbot Wighard, A.D. 1348, when Charles learned that the margrave of Meissen had been elected against him as king of the Romans, as we said before, he nevertheless [bought him off?] from it for ten thousand pounds of silver. Hearing this, the aforesaid princes, gathered again at Frankfurt, elected Günther, count of Schwarzburg, a Thuringian, as king of the Romans.

In the same year Otto, bishop of Würzburg, died. Albert of Hohenlohe succeeded him and presided for twenty-four years; in the sixth year of his pontificate he surrounded the citizens of Würzburg, rebellious and disobedient to him, with a firm siege for three weeks and brought them back to obedience.

In the same year also William, count palatine of the Rhine, duke of Bavaria, count of Hainaut and Holland, and lord of Frisia, entered the lands of the church of Utrecht with a very great army of his men; miserably devastating everything with sword and fire, he annihilated the whole province. At length he paid the penalty for his cruelty, being made, by God’s vengeance, [insane?].

In the same year also Conrad de Deck was treacherously killed by a certain knight, [Suikerus?] of Gödelfingen, in his own house, which he had in the Bavarian city of Munich, from long-standing hatred.

1349.

In the seventh year of Abbot Wighard, and A.D. 1349, there was a great pestilence throughout the whole world, beginning from India and breaking everywhere into all the provinces, over the space of three years as far as Germany, England, and all peoples miserably

A very great pestilence in the whole world.

The Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius.

225

[unclear] raging, it scarcely allowed half of mankind to remain among the living. A pitiable calamity: for as soon as anyone had been infected with this plague, by his very breath alone he also infected others. At this time the human race, especially in Germany, was afflicted by three plagues: namely pestilence, which laid low almost countless thousands of people throughout nearly the whole world. The cause of this calamity was ascribed to the Jews, because they had infected the springs and the air with poison. Hence there followed a very severe persecution of them by the Christians. For in various regions of the world, when this belief of the Christians had been spread abroad against them, some were miserably suffocated, others thrown down, others drowned, others beheaded, others burned, others pierced through with swords and lances, others killed by various kinds of torments. Some of them, seeing that they had fallen into evil, first killed their children and wives, lest they be handed over into the hands of Christians raging cruelly to be tortured, and then, setting fire to their houses, willingly destroyed themselves by burning. This persecution against the Jews, beginning in the year already noted, lasted two years and consumed many thousands of them in all the provinces. The second plague was a flux of blood, which also carried off a huge multitude of people by an unheard-of kind of torment. The third was the burning of the sacred fire, as that disease is commonly called; it raged with such savagery that whomever it attacked, it at once utterly consumed the flesh down to the bones; nor was it hostile only to the living, but, attacking also the unburied corpses of the dead, it consumed the flesh before they could be buried. These were times full of calamities and overflowing with such great dangers that, except for the universal flood, no one has written of worse.

In the year already noted, Gunther, count of Schwarzburg, elected king by these [unclear], waited for Charles's arrival before the city with tents and camps for [unclear] days and six weeks. Moreover the citizens of Frankfurt were well disposed toward Gunther. Likewise the remaining cities of the empire in Upper Germany, except the people of Strasbourg, who were of Charles's party.

When Charles heard that Gunther had come to Frankfurt, he gathered an army of his men and advanced against him; but seeing that he was stronger than himself, using the skill of Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, he at last drew the duke of Bavaria to his side by many promises. Hence Gunther, seeing that he had been deceived, began to negotiate for concord through the mediation of Otto, margrave of Brandenburg; and having received two thousand two hundred marks of very pure silver, and two cities in Thuringia held for life for his expenses, [unclear].

Likewise the remaining cities of the empire in Upper Germany, except the people of Strasbourg, who were of Charles's party.

[unclear] of the archbishop of Trier, the duke of Bavaria was at last drawn to his side by many promises. Hence Gunther, seeing that he had been deceived, began to negotiate for concord through the mediation of Otto, margrave of Brandenburg; and having received two thousand two hundred marks of very pure silver, and two cities in Thuringia held for life for his expenses, [unclear].

Likewise the remaining cities of the empire in Upper Germany, except the people of Strasbourg, who were of Charles's party.

In the year already noted, Gunther, count of Schwarzburg, elected king by [unclear] ... When Charles heard that Gunther had come to Frankfurt, he gathered an army of his men and advanced against him; but seeing that he was stronger than himself, using the skill of Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, he at last drew the duke of Bavaria to his side by many promises. Hence Gunther, seeing that he had been deceived, began to negotiate for concord through the mediation of Otto, margrave of Brandenburg; and having received two thousand one hundred marks of very pure silver, and two cities in Thuringia held for life for his expenses, [unclear].

Likewise the remaining cities of the empire in Upper Germany, except the people of Strasbourg, who were of Charles's party.

[unclear] of the archbishop of Trier, the duke of Bavaria was at last drawn to his side by many promises. Hence Gunther, seeing that he had been deceived, began to negotiate for concord through the mediation of Otto, margrave of Brandenburg; and having received two thousand one hundred marks of very pure silver, and two cities in Thuringia held for life for his expenses, [unclear].

Likewise the remaining cities of the empire in Upper Germany, except the people of Strasbourg, who were of Charles's party.

In the year already noted, in the seventh year of Abbot Wighard, on the vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Walram, archbishop of Cologne, died; he, because of many [unclear].

[unclear], the mother of Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia and later emperor. The second was from France; after she also died without children, he took as his third wife the daughter of the prince of Swabia, by whom he begot a daughter, whom he gave as wife to the margrave of Brandenburg. The fourth wife was Elisabeth, daughter of the duke of Pomerania and Stettin, by whom he begot Sigismund, king of Hungary and later emperor of the Romans, and Johann, duke.

At the same time a certain new heresy arose, taking its beginning in Hungary, which in a short time was striving to infect all Germany with its poison. Ignorant, rustic, and unlearned people, under the pretext of penance, which they imposed on themselves without the judgment of a priest, men and women mixed together, walking half-naked, carried wooden crosses in their hands.

The heresy of the flagellants arose in Hungary.

with head, hood, and cap, but with their private parts covered by a linen covering, they publicly scourged themselves in church and outside, even to the shedding of blood, with whips having three knots and spikes at the tip; singing certain songs mostly either contrary to or suspect in the Christian faith, and more often prostrating themselves on the ground in the form of a cross, they cried out in prayer. But the pontiffs of the churches, considering that this sect was not sincere and would bring no small harm upon the faithful peoples, hastened, by the authority of Pope Clement VI, to remove it from their midst as quickly as possible, leading back the correctable, through public penance and the renunciation of error, to the way of truth; but the obstinate, handed over to secular judgment, they burned with fire. And so at length the new and foolish presumption of the Flagellants ceased.

Also in the aforesaid year there was a division of the duchy of Bavaria among the six sons of Louis, formerly emperor. Louis, who was also [unclear], the first-born, margrave of Brandenburg, Louis the Roman, duke, and the younger Otto, duke, received by lot Upper Bavaria, with all things belonging to it. But Stephen, William, and Albert received into possession Lower Bavaria, Holland, and the lordship of Frisia, although afterward another division was made.

In the same year there was a great earthquake in Germany; it overthrew the city of Villach, and many buildings, both in Italy and in Germany, fell from the violence of this commotion.

1350.

In the eighth year of Abbot Wighard, and in the year of the Lord’s nativity 1350, Pope Clement VI, by a solemn constitution previously issued on the matter, recalled the twentieth year of indulgences, which they called the Jubilee in imitation of the Hebrews, from the hundredth year, as Boniface VIII had instituted it, to the fiftieth, moved by the pious consideration that the very brief span of human life grants to very few the ability to live to the hundredth year. Accordingly the second Jubilee is celebrated this year in the city of Rome, by command of Pope Clement, with many flocking there from every side.

In the same year William, fourteenth in order, abbot of my monastery of Sponheim, freely and voluntarily resigned the abbacy into the hands of his community around the feast of Saint Lawrence the martyr; weighed down by old age and infirmity, he died in the same year, on the fifth day before the Kalends of October, and was buried in the chapel of the blessed Mary ever Virgin, which he himself had founded from the foundations in the cloister. After his resignation Philip Meyvvin, the fifteenth abbot, succeeding by election of the brothers, presided for twenty-four years, one month, and twelve days, confirmed by Gerlach, archbishop of Mainz, because Henry, as we have said, had been deposed and excommunicated by the pope and was not regarded as bishop by good and religious men.

1351.

In the ninth year of Abbot Wighard, and in the year of the Lord 1351, Emperor Charles IV, in order to please his princes, by whose help and favor he had come to the empire, established many new tolls around the Rhine and granted them to them, to the very great harm of the commonwealth. But when the merchants, too heavily burdened by this, avoided the traffic of the Rhine and brought their complaint to the cities, all with one accord opposed themselves to the emperor. They could in no way go either up or down from [unclear]. But when the princes saw that through this they were being deprived of the revenues of both the old and the new toll, they entered into concord and peace with the citizens and, content with the old and ancient tolls, renounced the new ones.

In the same year the empress Margaret, formerly wife of Emperor Louis IV, having assembled a great army of Bavarians and others, moved an expedition against her son William, count of Holland, who was oppressing his poor men and subjects very cruelly, after being invoked by the inhabitants as the sole daughter of that land. But when a naval battle was joined on the Meuse, on the fourth day of the month of July, that is, on the feast of the Translation of Saint Martin, the mother was defeated by the son; fleeing with a few, she went down to England.

Also in the same year, in the month of December, a comet appeared beneath the very north; when it had disappeared, violent storms of winds followed, and a heavenly beam, burning at its front part, was seen to glide through the sky.

1352.

In the tenth year of Abbot Wighard, which was the year of the Lord 1352, Reinhard, son of [unclear] of Sponheim, and Ernest of Molenack, canons of the greater church of Cologne, on the Friday before Palm Sunday, in the court of the official of Cologne, were killed very cruelly for a trivial cause, from rashness, by the leading men of the city.

In the same year, after sunset, a heavenly flame between the west and the south very broadly

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

his sister’s nephew, certainly a man at that time better than many in knowledge, character, and experience; he, confirmed and ordained by Gerhard of Ehrenberg, bishop of the church of Speyer, with great solemnity presided over this monastery of Hirsau for 5 years, 2 months, and 21 days. He was elected on a Friday and, after the space of a month, confirmed; he received his benediction here in the monastery on the feast of the holy apostles Philip and James. Since either nothing or little concerning his deeds has been committed to writing, we too have been able to insert only a few things in this work of ours and make them known to posterity. We have set down the reason for this openly a little earlier.

In the aforesaid current year of the Lord 1354, which was the first begun year of this Wighard, Salmann, bishop of Worms, died. Theodoric succeeded him, the son of a certain knight, from the family of those who to the present day are called the Bavarians of Boppard, an ancient and formerly privileged family; he presided for nine years and had disputes with the citizens.

In the same year also, on the eighth day before the Kalends of December, Pope Innocent VI, before the third year of his pontificate had yet been completed, at the request of Abbot Wighard confirmed all and individual goods and privileges of this monastery, while residing at Rome at St. Peter’s.

1355.

In the second year of Abbot Wighard, which was the year of the Lord 1355, King Charles, having set out for Rome with a great company of princes, nobles, knights, and foot-soldiers, received, together with the queen, the crown of empire with great solemnity and tranquillity. There are those who write that he received the crown of empire from the hand of the cardinal of Ostia, sent for this purpose by Pope Innocent from Avignon.

In the same year, in the month of September, on a certain day around the ninth hour, a great earthquake occurred around Basel and Strasbourg; under its force a great part of the city of Basel was overthrown, and many surrounding buildings and walls and very strong castles in the mountains collapsed, and they wretchedly crushed many people.

Also in the aforesaid year, John, the third of that name, duke of Brabant, when he saw that he was about to die from illness, assumed the monastic habit of the order of St. Benedict; fortified with the saving sacraments, on the sixth day of the month of December he most devoutly rested in the Lord. He was buried in Veleer, a monastery of our order, leaving one only daughter, named Joanna, whom Wenceslaus, count of Luxembourg and brother of Emperor Charles, had taken as wife; with her he contended that the duchy of Brabant had passed into his right. Hence a grave dispute arose between the bishop and Louis, count of Flanders; at length they were reconciled by choosing as arbitrator William, count of Hainaut and Holland, son of the late Emperor Louis.

1356.

In the second year of Abbot Wighard, but the year of the Lord 1356, Emperor Charles, having returned from Italy, held a solemn assembly of princes in the city of Metz, where all the princes and nobles of the whole kingdom, even from France, gathered. Charles himself was known and dear to them, since he had long ago devoted himself to letters at Paris, and at one time, with his father the king of Bohemia, was about to fight in aid of the king of the French. Present at this solemn assembly of princes was a certain archbishop, legate of the Apostolic See, for confirming the peace of the whole kingdom; out of reverence for the supreme pontiff, he alone ate at one table with the emperor, while the other princes, the electors, served according to the nature of each one’s office, once, and afterward sat in their own place according to custom. There William, margrave of Julich, with the consent of the princes, was raised by Charles to be duke, and his margraviate of Julich was changed into a duchy with great pomp. Wenceslaus, too, count of Luxembourg, brother of Emperor Charles and son-in-law of John, the last duke of Brabant, whom we said died in the preceding year, was likewise elevated to be duke. This Duke Wenceslaus, son of John king of Bohemia, grandson of Emperor Henry VII, and brother, as we have said, of Charles IV, a man most noble in birth, learned in the education of letters, vigorous in military affairs, hardly second to anyone in life and character, magnificent in justice, clemency, and piety, was, by I know not what divine judgment, always unfortunate; he frequently had the outcome of all his principal actions contrary to his wishes and liable to losses. He obtained the duchy of Brabant with his wife, which he governed together with Luxembourg for almost 28 years; concerning his death we shall write later under the year of the Lord 1383. In the same assembly of princes held at Metz, the county of the land of Bar was [unclear] into a margraviate

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

229

...was raised to a [duchy?], although among the common people, and among many even today through ignorance, the name of county remains. The same Charles, having summoned an assembly of the princes for the advantage of the commonwealth, caused the so-called Golden Bull, so called because it is strengthened with a golden seal, concerning the election of the Roman emperors, to be written and confirmed with the consent of all the electors and of the realm. When these matters had been duly completed and the assembly dissolved, he passed with his wife from city to city, from monastery to monastery, everywhere most diligently seeking out the relics of saints; and from those he found he carried many into Bohemia, by entreaties which no one could refuse, for the glory and adornment of the churches of his nation.

1357.

In the fourth year of Abbot Wighard, and the year of the Lord 1357, Wilhelm, Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Bavaria, Count of Holland, Hainaut, and Zeeland, and lord of Frisia, son of Louis, formerly the fourth emperor, about whom we have said much above in its proper places, after he had governed those lands for almost twelve years, not without tyranny, having taken poison, by the contrivance of I do not know whom, as was said, became mad. Committed to custody, he remained thus for twenty years until his death; he died mad in prison in the year from the birth of the Lord 1377, as we shall say below. And because he had no sons, Albert his brother, taking up after him the counties and lordships of Holland, Hainaut, and Frisia, governed them vigorously for forty-seven years; and he was twenty-first in the order of succession of the counts of Holland. He had as wife Margaret, daughter of the Duke of Brieg, who bore him two sons: Wilhelm, who succeeded his father in the aforesaid counties, and John, bishop of Liège, of whom mention will be made in their proper places; and one daughter named Catherine. She was first betrothed to Edward, Duke of Guelders, who was the brother of Duke Reinhard the captive. But before the wedding was celebrated, he was killed in a certain war, in the year of the Lord 1371, as we shall say there. When he had died, his betrothed, still a virgin and now a widow, thereafter agreed to be joined in marriage to no one unless he was of the blood of the dukes of Guelders. Therefore at length she married Wilhelm, son of the Duke of Jülich, by Sophia, daughter of the illustrious man Florentius of Mechlin, first wife of Reinhard, first Duke of Guelders, father of Edward her former betrothed, about whom we spoke above.

1358.

In the [fifth?] year of Abbot Wighard, which was the year of the Lord 1358, Albert, Duke of Austria, son of Albert formerly King of the Romans, died, leaving after him Leopold his son, duke, from whom the genealogy of Maximilian our king, who rules today, is continued, as will appear in order in what follows; also Albert, Duke of Austria, who founded the University of Vienna in Austria; also Rudolf, duke, who founded the provostship of St. Stephen the protomartyr in Vienna and joined the county of Tyrol to the duchy of Austria, and who had as wife Catherine, daughter of Emperor Charles IV; Frederick, duke, who died without children. He also left two daughters: Margaret, Margravine of Brandenburg, and Catherine, abbess of St. Clare in Vienna.

In the same year there was a great pestilence from the beginning of August until the Nativity of the Lord throughout almost all Germany; many thousands of people perished from this disease in a very short time.

Also in the year noted above, very serious wars arose between Louis, King of Hungary, and the Venetians over the kingdom of Dalmatia, which the Venetians had possessed for many years while the kings of Hungary protested. And so King Louis, having gathered a great army both of his own men and of Germans, entered Dalmatia in strength. First he obtained the city of Zadar, then the maritime cities, and finally all Dalmatia. Thereafter he also entered the borders of the Venetians, and after some of their fortifications had been captured, he struck great terror into them. Hence, compelled by necessity, they sought peace. The king not only granted it to them, but also restored their fortifications, which he had taken by right of war, except for the kingdom of Dalmatia itself, after receiving an oath from them that they would in no way harm or punish anyone in those lands which he had restored to them because of loyalty previously shown to the king; nevertheless they by no means kept this.

1359.

In the sixth year of Abbot Wighard, and the year of the Lord 1359, Edward, King of England, released John, King of France, and his son Philip, whom he had captured in battle the previous year, under certain conditions. When these were not observed, in the following year, with more than one hundred and fifty ships armed, he led a huge army into Gaul and, besieging Paris, afflicted the whole province with great slaughter, devastating everything with fire and sword.

230 The Monastery of Hirsau

In the same year, on the fourth day before the Kalends of June, which was the Wednesday after the feast of St. Urban, pope and martyr, Wighard himself, the second abbot of this name, but the thirty-third in the order of abbots, died, in the sixth current year of his rule.

Concerning Wignand, the Thirty-Fourth Abbot of This Monastery, who presided for 20 years, 10 months, 20 days, and concerning various events.

Abbot Wighard dies.

Wignand becomes abbot.

He presided for nearly twenty years.

The author complains that the monks did not write annals.

An excuse for the vain ignorance of monks.

Without history faith would be [unclear].

Delft, a town of the chief place of Holland.

An assembly of princes at Esslingen.

Esslingen is surrounded with a siege.

A contention between the archbishop of Trier and the count of Sponheim; Enkirch is subjected.

Now, after Wighard, the second of this name, the thirty-third abbot of the monastery of Hirsau, as we have said, had entered upon the way of all flesh and had been buried with due solemnity, as the custom then was, the prior and brothers, bereft of their spiritual shepherd, soon in the same year, on the last day of the month of May, which was the Friday after Urban’s day, came together in the chapter-place for the election of a new father. After the necessary counsels and discussions had meanwhile first been held, they set over them as thirty-fourth abbot of this monastery Wignand, a monk from their own company. Confirmed and ordained according to custom by Gerhard von Ehrenberg, bishop of Speyer, he presided in the abbacy for twenty years, ten months, and twenty days. Of his deeds, because of the sloth and idleness of the monks, we can bring down either nothing or little to the knowledge of posterity, since they were done beyond the memory of those who live today, and were committed to writing by no one, as ought to have been done. For after love and zeal for letters began to fail among monks, together with the discipline of regular observance, it is not surprising if no one either wished or was able to write the chronicle of the monastery for the instruction of posterity. Shameful to say, I am compelled to state what many abbots, who profess the holy observance of regular life with their monks, and who are ignorant of the usefulness of history, object against us. For they say: “What advantage can it bring us to know the antiquity of the foundations of monasteries? What does it contribute to recall to memory either the successions or the deeds of abbots, who sleep in the dust of death and are not soothed by any praises?” O you already buried, idle men though alive, whose memory will perish with a noise: how asinine and crude in wit you are, you openly show, since you despise the good of histories, which you cannot attain. History is written for the living, both present and future, not for the dead; therefore, if you lived in understanding, you would certainly love histories. For if history were taken away, neither would the memory of the most holy Gospel nor the martyrdoms and passions of the saints have come down to our knowledge. Let men alive yet buried in ignorance therefore fare well, and let them live for themselves alone, content with their own idleness, useful to none, and imitable by none in good actions or zeal. But let us pursue our own subject.

Around these times Albert, duke of Bavaria, count of Holland and Zeeland, and lord of Hainaut and Frisia, captured the town of Holland named Delft because of the disobedience and rebellion of its citizens. After taking it he overthrew its walls and gates down to the ground. He also utterly destroyed the castle of Heemskerk.

In the second current year of Abbot Wignand, in the year of the Lord [1360?], the emperor Charles summoned the princes of the empire to the Swabian town of Esslingen for certain affairs of the empire. There, when one day in the refectory of the Friars Minor he was discussing his counsels with them, a disturbance of the citizens arose against the emperor and princes, and a tumult was stirred up. Soon withdrawing from the town, he entrusted it to Eberhard, count of Württemberg, to make compensation for so great an affront inflicted upon him. He, after an army of his own men and of the imperial cities had been gathered together, encircled Esslingen with a siege and began to attack it vigorously. But when the citizens saw that they were placed in an evil situation and could not resist so great a multitude, they accepted peace through the intervention of money, paying to the emperor sixty thousand gold pieces in satisfaction, and thirty thousand to Count Eberhard for the expenses incurred. And thus the disturbance of the tumult, purchased for one hundred thousand, came to rest.

At these times serious disagreements had arisen between Boemund, archbishop of Trier, and the counts of Sponheim and Starkenburg, over certain castles and lordships. But through the intervention of friends, Count Walram of Sponheim soon returned into concord with the archbishop. The count of Starkenburg, however, began to lay waste grievously with sword and fire the fields, villages, and possessions of the church of Trier, and inflicted much damage. But the archbishop, having gathered an army, [attacked?] Enkirch, a village of the count situated on the bank of the Moselle, together with the fortification itself.

To the Reader.

Thus far, not only the earlier Basel edition, produced under the care of Guilhelmus Radens, but also the autograph itself, compared by us with that edition, which is preserved in the most splendid Palatine Library, copied with astonishing elegance by the careful hand of Trithemius. It is uncertain, however, whether the author carried the work further, and perhaps down to his own time, as he did the Spanheim chronicle. This raises a doubt, because in the preface to the Spanheim chronicle, written in the year 1506 in that monastery, he says as follows: “The chronicle of the monastery of Hirsau, begun here indeed, but at length completed at Würzburg, the city of the Franks: a great work, and divided into two volumes.” But in the letter to Rogerius Sicambrus, which is found among his familiar letters printed at Hagenau, p. 320, dated at Würzburg in the year 1507, he writes thus: “At the request of Blasius, abbot of Hirsau, I undertook to write the chronicle of that same monastery and completed the greater part; but after his death I have meanwhile halted its publication, uncertain with what reward his successor will recompense the labor.” Again, in the Breviarium of the Annals of the Franks, published at Paris, fol. III, he says: “We long ago wrote, at the urging of the abbots Blasius and Johannes, two volumes, of no small size, of the chronicles or annals of the distinguished monastery of Hirsau of our order, which is situated in the diocese of Speyer on the border of the Nemetes; in the first of which,” etc. It therefore appears either that the writing was suddenly broken off at this point by him in indignation, after the greater part, as he said, had been completed; or it must be regretted that a further volume of these annals, of equal size besides, is wanting. Yet this loss, if such it is, the following complete Spanheim chronicle, brought down to the author’s own time and now first published by our efforts, will be able in large part to repair.

the fortification which he had made beneath the castle of Starckenburg for exacting a toll from those sailing, though he, as prince of the land, opposed it, he seized and utterly destroyed. Seeing this, the count, fearing worse things, sought the pontiff’s favor through messengers, and received it together with pardon.

In these times also the emperor Charles IV, since he was a learned man, inasmuch as he had devoted himself for a long time to letters in the school of Paris, and loved learned men above others, laudably established the university of Prague for the adornment of the kingdom of Bohemia. It was distinguished by him with many privileges and donations, and in a short time grew beyond all the universities of all Germany in glory and in the number of persons, until at length, after almost fifty years, stained by many heresies, which are known to all, it was reduced to nothing. The bishop of the church of Prague also, for the honor of the kingdom, who until then had been a suffragan under the archbishop of Mainz, he raised by apostolic authority to an archbishop, and adorned him with many privileges, subjecting to him suffragans and bishops after the manner of the others. In Bohemia he founded many new churches, and churches founded both by himself and by his predecessors he magnificently honored with relics, ornaments, paintings, jewels, and various gifts. The hall of the village of Ingelheim, not far from Mainz and the Rhine, which the emperor Charles the Great once had as a castle of residence for his majesty [unclear], in which he was born, and where, according to the belief of the inhabitants, he received from heaven the sword sent by an angel when he was about to fight against the Saracens, which is shown yearly at Nuremberg, he changed into a monastery of canons of the rule of St. Augustine, decreeing that no one should be received into religion there unless he had been born in Bohemia. This has been observed up to now, and even to the present day, for no fewer than one hundred forty-four years. He subjected that monastery, however, to the abbot of the monastery of St. Charles in Prague for the time being, to whom its visitation was to belong. He also obtained from the pope, with great indulgences, graces, and remissions of sins, that the feast [unclear] every year on the Friday after the octave of Easter throughout the whole world of Christ [unclear], after a long contest among the brothers over the duchy of Guelders.

MCCCLXI.

In the third year of Abbot Wignand, which was the year of the Lord’s nativity 1361, on a certain day in the month of February toward evening the sky seemed to burn. That night William, the first duke of Jülich, a warlike and magnanimous man, died.

In the same year Gerhard, count of Mons, and Arnold, count of Blankenheim, laboring under an inveterate hatred against one another, killed each other in the city of Cologne while jousting with sharp lances, each pierced by the other.

In the same year also, after a long contest among the brothers over the duchy of Guelders, after many fires and homicides, at last Edward, coming out victorious, captured his brother Reinald. He kept him committed to custody until the end of his life for ten years, and, having obtained the duchy of Guelders, ruled without anyone’s opposition.

MCCCLXII.

In the fourth year of Abbot Wignand, and the year of the Lord 1362, certain brigands coming out of England were roaming through Spain and France, by plundering, fire, and sword inflicting many losses and injuries on the inhabitants of the land in villages, especially where there was no defense. When they had grown together in number and in boldness, they set over themselves a captain, whom in common speech they called the archpriest. That multitude of robbers, however, was called the Great Company or the English Company, having more than 40,000 men going forth to battle. After roaming through Spain and France, they at last entered the territory of Trier, laying waste everything with fire and rapine. On hearing of their arrival, Boemund the archbishop sent against them Kuno of Falkenstein, his coadjutor, Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, duke of Brabant, Walram, count of Spanheim, also the count of Veldenz, and the count of Starckenburg, with many other counts, nobles, and fighters. As soon as they understood that so many princes had assembled against them, they turned their backs and withdrew from the territory of Trier. Entering Alsace, they inflicted many losses on the villagers around Strasbourg, snatching away whatever they found.

Therefore that cursed company came by night to the walls of Strasbourg, stationed itself around the city, and consumed with fire Köningshonen and all the villages situated nearby. The gates of the city, however, were kept closed, and no one was permitted to go out as long as they remained there. Whomever they found afflicted in the field or in hamlets, they butchered with unheard-of tortures, unless it was permitted to pass safely, without their safe-conduct; and whatever safe-conduct they had given to anyone, they preserved with inviolable firmness. Women, virgins, nuns, and young girls, as many as they found, they violated with an insatiable kind of lust, and many

Of the Monastery of Hirsau

They killed [unclear]. They kept young males captive in servitude. But because report of them had preceded their arrival, the peasants had carried whatever was movable into the cities and fortified places. They did indeed surround several towns with a siege, but since they lacked the engines necessary for assault, they were able to capture none at all. Meanwhile the citizens of Strasbourg, together with the Alsatians, sent letters and messengers to Emperor Charles, then at Frankfurt with the princes, to implore aid; the emperor promised them that he would come shortly with an army. But, though often entreated, since he always promised his arrival and always put it off, he gave the Alsatians great [suspicion] concerning himself of a conspiracy secretly entered into with the English Company, because he allowed so noble a province to be laid waste by the basest little robbers. At last, compelled by shame and necessity, he sent an army into Alsace. As it approached, the band of robbers withdrew in flight; and when our men decided to pursue them, they used such speed in fleeing that our men could not cover in four days the journey they made in one day. But after the robbers’ departure, the emperor’s army, ranging through Alsace, did the inhabitants very great damage, trampling down and destroying the grain in the fields, since it was close to harvest-time, so much so that they seemed to have suffered heavier losses from friends than from enemies. Hence a great famine followed, which grievously afflicted all Alsace for six continuous years.

In the aforesaid year Bohemond, archbishop of Trier, burdened by gout and old age, caused Cuno of Falkenstein, canon of the church of Mainz, formerly coadjutor of Archbishop Henry against Gerlach, to be created canon of the church of Trier, and took him on as coadjutor, entrusting to him the handling of the affairs of the whole church and country. He, triumphing everywhere most gloriously against the enemies of the aforesaid church, soon at the beginning of his appointment accomplished wonderful things. Therefore Bohemond, rejoicing, obtained by his prayers from Pope Innocent VI consent to resign the archbishopric of Trier to Cuno. When the pope gladly assented to this, Bohemond abdicated the pontificate and had Cuno as successor, receiving from him for his own support, for as long as he should live, the town and castle of Saarburg with their appurtenances and revenues; he survived five years.

In the year written above Pope Innocent VI died. Urban V succeeded him, abbot of Marseille, of the Order of Saint Benedict; he presided for eight years, a learned man of most holy life, who caused the cross to be preached against the Turks and accomplished many good things. In his time flourished the devoted servant of Christ, Saint Bridget, formerly queen of Sweden, illuminated by many divine revelations; she scorned worldly rule for love of the heavenly, and, going out from her land and kindred, made pilgrimage to the thresholds of the saints, continually devoting herself to fasts, alms, and prayers. She came to Avignon to Pope Urban V, sent by our Lord Jesus Christ for the confirmation of her rule, which she had made.

Also in the aforesaid year William of Gennep, archbishop of Cologne, died, leaving an enormous treasure in gold, silver, wine, and grain. The see was vacant for ten months.

MCCCLXIII

In the fifth year of Abbot Wignand, and the Lord’s year 1363, Gerard, bishop of Speyer, died and was buried in the major church. Lampert of Buren, abbot of the monastery in Gengenbach, of the Order of Saint Benedict in the diocese of Strasbourg, immediately succeeded him and presided for eighteen years; when these had elapsed, by the authority of Pope Urban VI, he was transferred to the noble exempt bishopric of Bamberg.

In the same year John of Virneburg, dean of the major church, was elected archbishop of Cologne by the chapter. He went in person to the curia for his confirmation; but Pope Urban not only refused to confirm his election, [unclear].

Adolf was thus archbishop of Cologne [unclear] of Speyer.

[unclear] he raised up the will of the chapter; he presided only ten months, and afterwards resigned. [He held] for a long time episcopal churches of no mean dignity, such as Hildesheim in Saxony, Augsburg in Vindelicia, Culm in Prussia, and Constance in Swabia.

MCCCLXIV

John becomes bishop of Worms.

Of Worms.

Becomes.

Chronicle of Johannes Trithemius

1363.

In the sixth year of Abbot Wignand, which was the year of the Lord 1364, Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, having been accused before the apostolic see of being a squanderer of ecclesiastical property and of possessing nothing worthy of the pontificate, resigned the archbishopric, not by force or fear, but voluntarily.

Adolf, archbishop of Cologne, is deposed. Engelbert becomes archbishop of Cologne.

With the consent of Pope Urban V, provision was newly made, as was then the custom, for Engelbert of the Mark, bishop of Liege, his paternal uncle, to the church of Cologne; he presided for four years, not very usefully. Adolf, after resigning the pontificate, not without loss to the church of Cologne, married a certain girl, the sister of the count of Mark, through love of whom he hoped to obtain the county of Cleves; although he held the bishopric of Munster for five years, and, relying on the presumed confidence of [unclear], he at length obtained with his wife the county he had desired, so that both counties, namely Cleves and Mark, have remained joined even to the present day, although Cleves was afterwards, as we shall say in its place, gloriously raised to a duchy.

1365.

In the seventh year of Abbot Wignand, and the year of the Lord’s nativity 1365, Emperor Charles IV again entered Italy; and, after finding Pope Urban in Rome and holding with him a discussion of certain secrets, he returned safe to Germany with his nobles.

The emperor returns from Italy [unclear]. Severe winter, famine, and pestilence.

There was famine everywhere and a great pestilence in Germany, and many people died, some from cold, others from hunger. John of Rupescissa, led astray by I know not what spirit, unless his own, foretold many things soon to come concerning Antichrist, the general trampling-down of the clergy, and the reduction of the whole world to the faith [unclear].

John of Rupescissa, of the order of Saint Francis, on Antichrist.

He wrote many and various things about these matters to a certain cardinal, which are extant; but whether they have held true as he predicted, let those who have read his books, learned judges of histories, decide.

In these times a great and very firm confederation was made among the imperial and free cities, which even to the most powerful princes seemed formidable at its beginning.

The Worms contention against John [unclear], bishop. Great confederation of cities.

Among the people of Worms there was great disagreement over the establishment of the council and the office of Schultheiss, and over certain other matters belonging to jurisdiction; this was at last brought back to peace by Rupert, count palatine of the Rhine, who was also Adolf, and by the councils of Mainz and Speyer, on the day of the Conversion of Saint Paul in the aforesaid year. We often read that such confederations, which they commonly called leagues, “Bund,” were sworn and confirmed not only among cities but also among princes, and likewise we see it every day; but human instability preserves nothing inviolate for long. Hence the fitting proverb is:

The fickle crowd is always moved along with its prince.

1366.

In the eighth year of Abbot Wignand, but the year of the Lord’s nativity 1356, between the bishop and the citizens [unclear].

Bohemond, archbishop, dies.

Cuno, archbishop of Trier, was buried in the greater church of Trier. After him Cuno himself of Falkenstein, lord of Minzenberg, born of a mother who was the daughter of the count of Saarwerden, while Bohemond was still alive, as we have said, was ordained archbishop and presided very usefully for twenty-one years.

Boppard and Wesel are pledged.

This Archbishop Cuno, for the services rendered in many ways to Emperor Charles IV, obtained Boppard and Wesel, with half of Sterrenberg, which Baldwin, the former archbishop, had obtained in pledge from his brother Emperor Henry on account of the expenses of the empire incurred in Italy, by a more artful pledging, for the sum of [unclear] of eternal goodness, indeed a very great one, so that the amount of the later pledge was greater than that of the earlier. For Cuno was a very prudent man, whom nature had made for the rule even of many churches, nor was there readily found anyone like him.

The quarrel of the counts of Eberstein and [Wertheim?].

[unclear], and the counts of Eberstein, which soon turned into great loss for both parties.

The Monastery of Hirsau

grew up. Therefore, when the man of Württemberg was one day in the natural bath which we commonly call Wildbad, the count of Eberstein came secretly with an army and encircled the place with a siege, hoping that he would capture the count inside. But vain confidence deceived him. For, led by a certain peasant by night through the woods to safer places, he escaped his hands without injury; and very serious wars, burnings, and plunderings followed between them. For almost all the nobles, conspiring with the aforesaid count of Eberstein against the man of Württemberg, except only the citizens in Esslingen, who sided with Count Eberhard, took up arms and stirred up battles.

In the same year also Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, weighed down by very great burdens of debt, and also not moderately disabled by paralysis, feeling that on this account he was less equal to the government of the pontificate, with the consent of his chapter took as coadjutor Cuno, the above-mentioned archbishop of Trier, to whom, with Pope Urban V approving, he committed the whole administration of the church in spiritual and temporal matters. Archbishop Engelbert, however, after this provision had been completed, withdrew to the tranquillity of private life, retaining certain revenues for the use of his life; he did not long survive.

1368.

In the tenth year of Abbot Wignand, and in the year of the Lord one thousand three hundred sixty-eight, Count Eberhard of Württemberg died, leaving two sons, namely Ulrich and Eberhard, who afterwards waged many battles against him [unclear].

In the same year, on the twenty-first day of the month of August, Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, died; after his death the archiepiscopate was vacant for two years. For Cuno, archbishop of Trier, although he was postulated by the chapter, did not wish to be archbishop; but by order of Pope Urban, under the name of administrator, he governed that church together with his own Trier church quite strenuously and usefully. In the aforementioned year, in Lent, a comet appeared from heaven.

In these times also Cuno, the often-mentioned archbishop of Trier, built quite handsomely the castle Engers with its fortification beside the Rhine, between Koblenz and Andernach, and wished it to be called, from his own name, Cunenergers, although few attach his name to it.

1369.

In the eleventh year of Abbot Wignand, and in the year of the Lord’s Nativity 1369, around the feast of Easter, Emperor Charles IV, after a very great army of his men had been assembled, entered Lombardy to fight against the Milanese; ranging about here and there until the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, he could not defeat those who were in fortifications. For he wished to reduce the lordship of Milan to the empire by arms, and to avenge the wrongs of Pope Urban V, which he had once received from the Visconti, when he was still in minor orders: they had forced him to eat the apostolic letters brought against them. But when plague had violently invaded the army, after receiving a great sum of money as a sign of the superiority of the empire, he returned to his own lands, not without great displeasure on the pope’s part.

In this same year the citizens of Cologne, having attempted to infringe the privileges and liberties of the clergy, were subjected to an ecclesiastical interdict for two years; the clergy, leaving the city by order of Cuno, administrator of the church of Cologne, remained outside for eighteen months.

In the same year also Gottfried, count of Arnsberg, with the consent of his wife, handed over his county of Arnsberg, with all its appurtenances, castles, villages, and revenues, to the church of Cologne to be possessed forever, just as it is also possessed today by the archbishop.

1370.

In the twelfth year of Abbot Wignand, and in the year of the Lord one thousand three hundred seventy, a great battle took place on the vigil of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle between Wenceslaus, duke of Brabant and Luxembourg, brother of Emperor Charles, and William, duke of Jülich, near Baesweiler; more than eight thousand men were slain on both sides. The duke of Jülich himself emerged as victor and led away Duke Wenceslaus captive with many other nobles; at length, after eleven months, out of fear of the emperor, he released him freely without exaction. But from the others he extorted an almost boundless amount of money for their liberation.

LECTO-

Chronicle of Trithemius

Here happily begins the letter of Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, to the chronicle of that same monastery of his.

Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, of the order of the divine father Benedict, to dear posterity: to fear God, and never to depart from the path of the regular life.

Letter to posterity.

I had often resolved with myself to write the origin, foundation, and progress of this our monastery of Sponheim, together with the successions of its abbots; but, always hindered by various occupations of the world, I have not until now been able to satisfy my desire. For it seemed to me that it would be worthwhile if I brought to the knowledge of posterity those things which, over a long time, with great labor, I was able to gather from various monuments of the ancients, lest through oblivion they should wholly perish from the memory of mortals. Many abbots and monks in various monasteries did this before us: for the common advantage of those then present and afterward of those to come, they wrote in order of time the histories of their monasteries and the names and successions of their abbots. Provoked by their example, I have taken care, with studious reflection, to arrange into one orderly book, according to the sequence of the years of the Lord, whatever I could find anywhere concerning this present monastery of Sponheim. Indeed, neither diligence was lacking in my labors, nor did continual solicitude ever abandon our inquiry. For almost fifteen years, at certain intervals, I labored much before I was able to bring the series of the abbots’ successions into one order. For the negligence of those who preceded us in time in this present monastery of Sponheim doubled my labor, since they committed nothing, or little, to writing that would serve my purpose; even that very material which they had received from others as committed to writing seemed almost wholly consumed by decay and age. Yet I did what I could; I have brought together a history, though not altogether such as I wished. For beginning from the first foundation of the present monastery, I arranged the narrative of the histories that occurred according to the years of the Lord’s nativity, and in agreement with these I placed in order the names and successions of the abbots from the first down to me, who am the twenty-fifth. I have [unclear] integrity. Whoever reads these things after my death, say, I pray, with faithful mind: God have mercy on the soul of Trithemius, who compiled these things.

And at the same time I ask the reader not to condemn anything of what we have written before he has diligently examined it, or has found a manifest error. For it is a detestable race of men that gnaws with impious tooth at the slips of men, which they can neither imitate nor improve, and tears apart with presumptuous rashness what they are unable rightly to discern. Rather, if anywhere you find a manifest error, be present as a benevolent corrector, because I gladly admit those who correct with sincere charity. But enough now about these matters. Moreover, there is a reason why I am moved to set down in order all my lucubrations which I have published during the twenty-three years that I have been abbot of this present monastery of Sponheim: that posterity may know that I always wished well, although, hindered by the insolence of Nayaths, I could not at all accomplish the good that I wished.

Reason for undertaking the work.

First I published a large work, On Vices and Virtues, in 2 books. Likewise, On the Temptations of Monks, 1 book. On the Rule of St. Benedict, 1 book. Exhortations to Monks, 2 books. On the Brevity and Misery of the Present Life, 1 book. On the Visitation of Cloistered Persons, 1 book. On the Manner of Celebrating a Provincial Chapter, 1 book. Also the Statutes of the Provincial Chapter, 1 book. Also the Statutes of the Annual Chapter, 1 book. The Chronicle of the Monastery of Hirsau I indeed began here, but at last completed at Würzburg, a city of the Franks: a large work, divided into two volumes. Likewise, the Chronicle of the Dukes of Bavaria, to Philip, Count Palatine of the Rhine and Duke of Bavaria, 1 book. Also the Chronicle of this monastery of Sponheim, to which I have prefixed this Letter, 1 book. On the Ruin of Our Order [unclear], 1 book. On the Praise of Manual Scribes, 1 book. Praises of the Order of Carmelites, 2 books. Praises of St. Anne, 1 book. On the Institution of the Priestly Life, 1 book. On Ecclesiastical Writers, 1 book. On the Illustrious Writers of Germany, 1 book.

Sponheim.

On the Illustrious Men of Our Order, 4 books. On the Ecclesiastical Computus, 1 book. On the Threefold Region of Cloistered Persons, 3 books. On the Spiritual Exercise of Monks, 1 book. A Breviary of the Same, 1 book. Questions on the Gospel of John, 1 book. Questions on the Psalter, 1 book. On Continence and Virginity, 1 book. On Widows, 1 book. On the Crosses Appearing on Men’s Garments, 1 book. Four books of letters to the archbishop of Mainz. Many and various sermons, with certain addresses in chapters, and other things. With these matters set forth, reader, farewell. On the last day of October, in the year 1506.

The Chronicle of This Monastery of Sponheim, from the Beginning of Its Foundation, Briefly Comprising the Successions of All the Abbots, Begins Happily.

[unclear]

In the year from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 1043, the illustrious Count Eberhard founded the church in Sponheim. It was called in ancient times “of the field”; he founded it in the fifth year of Emperor Henry, the third of this name, in the time of Pope Benedict IX, when the holy church of Mainz was governed by Bardo, the venerable bishop, a man in all respects most holy, who also consecrated that same church in honor of the most blessed Mary, Mother of God and Virgin, on the eighth day before the Kalends of July, in the year of the Lord 1056.

Count Eberhard, for the remedy of his soul, conferred on that same church no few goods, from the proceeds of which those who served the altar in that church might live. First, the tithe of the village of Sponheim, with the household and demesne land in fields, vineyards, gardens, meadows, pastures, woods, cultivated land, uncultivated land, and land to be cultivated, roads and trackless ways. Also in Pedersheim, two manses. In Rudesheim near Kreuznach, three manses of demesne land. In the same place, four and a quarter manses, which tenants possessed. In Hagenheim, two manses and two iugera of vineyards. In Basenheim, a manse and six iugera. In Dromersheim, half a manse and four vineyards. In Mannendal, a manse. In Bockenau, two manses. In Auen, four and a quarter manses. In Moncecha, a plot with buildings and twelve iugera of vineyards. In Wernigsbach, two manses. In Escelbrun, eight maldra of wheat and sixteen of rye, from the manse called Eberhard’s.

These and certain other things the aforesaid count conferred on the church founded by him, and he installed in it certain clerics who were to read masses. But he reserved to himself and his heirs the right of instituting clerics to benefices in that church. Saint Bardo, the aforesaid archbishop, also confirmed this solemnly made donation. And so for almost seventy years the church of Sponheim stood before it was raised into a monastery. There were four altars in it, which, according to custom, were conferred on successive priests by the elder count of Sponheim.

How and When the Church of Sponheim Was Raised into a Monastery by Stephen, Count of Sponheim, and His Son Megenhard.

In the year of the Lord 1101, in the ninth indiction, when Emperor Henry IV held the Roman Empire and Ruthard, the venerable archbishop, governed the church of Mainz, Stephen, the illustrious count of Sponheim, forewarned by divine inspiration, took care to raise into a monastery his church on the Montis Campi, founded long before by his ancestors, as we have said. He was a good man and feared God; for God’s honor he bestowed many benefactions on the ministers of the church and on the poor. In the year noted above he began to build places and dwellings for monks, suitable according to the rule of Saint Benedict. But, almost hindered by various occupations intervening, he did not continue the work begun. Therefore, when at last he saw that he was already on the point of dying, he called to him his son Megenhard, heir of his paternal estate, and entrusted to him the task of completing the building begun for the monastery; and so he rested in the Lord on the fifth day before the Kalends of March, in the year of the Lord 1118.

But Megenhard, the renowned count, after his father’s death, vigorously took up the work begun long before and completed it in a few years. In the middle of the church, beneath the tower, he established a choir for the monks, which

Chronicle of Trithemius

...he beautifully adorned it with stone paneling, with images of the twelve Apostles and Prophets, as is still seen. To this holy work Mechthildis, his wife, a most devout woman, contributed many benefactions with great eagerness; and she did not cease to press the count himself, her husband, with continual prayers, admonishing and beseeching him that he would deign to bring the work begun to completion as quickly as possible. For that most religious woman feared that delay, which is customarily harmful and dangerous to all good works, might by some occasion change her husband’s holy purpose. Count Rodolphus also, Megenhard’s brother, together with his wife Richardis, expended no small costs for the completion of the work.

Concerning the consecration of the church and of this monastery of Sponheim, by the venerable prelate of Worms, Boggo, vice-archbishop for Adelbert.

Count Rudolphus had begun at the consecration.

When, therefore, the building that had been begun was at last completed, that is, the church formed in the shape of a cross, with the cloister and the necessary houses, the refectory and dormitory adjoining the cloister on the western side, the magnificent Count Megenhard, before he handed over the monastery for monks to inhabit, wished the church, which he had reformed in many respects, to be consecrated anew, as is customary. Therefore, after the clerics had been removed and provided for elsewhere, he approached Adelbert, archbishop of Mainz, concerning the consecration of the church, and also revealed to him the desire of his heart concerning the introduction of monks to Sponheim. That most reverend prelate greatly commended the count’s good purpose; and because he could not come in person to the consecration, as was requested, he designated in his place the venerable prelate of the church of Worms, Boggo, who at that time had for many years been expelled from his see, and whom he kept with himself honorably.

Therefore in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1114, on the Sunday Quasimodogeniti, Buggo, bishop of Worms, consecrated it.

Bishop Buggo in [unclear].

They consecrate this place of Worms.

Eugenius XII. Therefore in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1178, in the second indiction, under Emperor Henry V, Count Megenhard, the renowned founder of this place, handed over this monastery itself, with the church and all their appurtenances, to the order of our most holy father Benedict for perpetual possession, and gave it to monks to inhabit. The first monks, moreover, who from this point first began to inhabit this place, twelve in number, came from the monasteries of Saint Alban and Saint James near Mainz, by order of Archbishop Adelbert, at the urging of Count Megenhard, in the year noted above, on the Wednesday after Passion Sunday. Of these, eight were priests and four were conversi, distinguished and notable men, some of whom, before entering religion, had formerly served as soldiers in the world. These are their names: Bertholdus, priest; Diemus, priest; Adelbero, priest; Anshelmus, priest; Ergenbaldus, priest; Herbordus, priest; Sifridus also, priest; Benno, conversus; Lupoldus, conversus; Hartungus, conversus; and Emicho, conversus. These twelve brothers were taken partly from the monastery of Saint Alban, properly at Mainz, as we have said, and partly from the monastery of Saint James in the same place. When they came to the present place, they were honorably received by Count Megenhard and his wife, and they began to inhabit the monastery solemnly handed over to them. Therefore, after possession had been obtained in the name of God, the aforesaid monks unanimously elected for themselves as abbot and pastor, according to the monastic rule, Bernhelmus, a monk of the aforesaid monastery of Saint Alban, of whom we shall speak later. Bertholdus, a venerable old man, was appointed claustral prior, and for thirteen years he vigorously presided over the office of prior in this place. Furthermore, Adelbero was made cellarer of the monastery and presided for many years; since he was a good and prudent man, he did many good things for this monastery.

The first monks from [unclear].

Names of the twelve monks.

Concerning the first twelve monks who received this place and first began to inhabit it, of whom eight were priests and four conversi.

Of the first abbot.

Of the monk Bernhildus.

Sponheim.

On the solemn donation by which Count Megenhard handed over the church and monastery of the order, in the presence of Adelbert, archbishop of Mainz.

After these things the illustrious Count Megenhard, so that what he had done for the place might gain firmness by authority, went to Adelbert, archbishop of Mainz, together with his brother Count Rudolph; and before him, in the church of Mainz, with many persons present, he resigned this church, before the altar of St Martin, with every right and jurisdiction which he had had over it, into the hands of that archbishop, under this condition, namely, that monks should serve almighty God in it for all the days of the world, under an abbot and under the Rule of the holy father Benedict, as is clear in the letters of confirmation of the same archbishop, which he issued concerning this matter, and which read as follows.

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Adelbert, by the mercy of God archbishop of this holy church of Mainz and legate of the apostolic see, wish it to be known to all the faithful, both of future and of the present age, how Lord Megenhard of Sponheim and his wife Machthild, Count Rudolph and his wife [Regnat?], moved by the impulse of divine inspiration, came of their own accord to the altar of St Martin, and, for their own safety and that of their people, and in hope of eternal recompense, conferred forever upon the church of Mainz, with pious devotion, the church in Sponheim with all the property and jurisdiction which they had possessed over it by hereditary right up to that day: under this condition, namely, that monks should be established there according to the Rule of St Benedict, by whom continual praises to God and supplications for them should be frequently made in the same church. These, moreover, are the benefices and estates belonging to the aforesaid church: the tithe of the same village, with the household and demesne land, in fields, vineyards, gardens, meadows, pastures, and woods. In Petersheim, two hides; in Rudersheim, three hides; in Auen, four and a fourth part. In [Montzechaarea], with buildings, and twelve iugera of vineyards. In Wergesbach, two hides. In Eselbrunnen, seven malters of wheat and sixteen of rye from the hide which is called Eberhardt. These, moreover, are the things which the aforesaid Megenhard handed over for himself and for the same church as a benefice: nine hides in Hussen and in Stirscheit, with the demesne land and wood which he had possessed there. In Dalen, eleven hides, in fields, plots, vineyards, meadows, and woods. The aforesaid Lady Riggart also added to the aforesaid goods a meadow and a garden suited for planting vegetables, with two fields adjoining the same meadow. And when these things had been done by the above-named men without any contradiction, we confirmed it by the obligation of our ban. Moreover, we endowed the aforesaid church with the same liberty, honor, and [unclear] which the other abbeys and monasteries in our episcopate enjoy: namely, that it should look only to the bishop; and that, when the brothers serving God there are bereft of their spiritual father, they should choose another from among themselves, if only they find one suitable. But if they do not have among themselves a person suitable for that office, they shall have the liberty of choosing another of their own life and institution, from whatever congregation it may happen, yet within our diocese. Furthermore, at the request of the lords already named above, we have forever remitted the payment of the same church which pertained to us; and we have decreed that the parish priest should look to the abbot, in this manner, namely, that he should be invested by him with the benefices of the church, but with the gift of the altar by the lesser provost. This also was decreed or approved on both sides, that the elder of that kin should be advocate of the same church; but if he, forgetful of his name and office, [unclear] the church or those possessions by which [unclear]

[unclear] abbot of St James, Adelhum abbot of St Disibod, Henry provost of St Victor, Cuno dean of the cathedral. Thurimbert the master, Anshelm the provost, Hartmann the provost, Henry, provost of Riganus, Arnold the provost, and very many others from the clergy. Of laymen, moreover: Arnold, prefect of the city; Count Goswin; and his son Gerard; and his brother Emicho; Arnold and his brother Kuperius of Lurenburg; Count Frederick; Bertolf; and his brother Sigefrid; Henry of Katzenelnbogen; Rorich and his brother Gerlach; Ulrich; Fulcold; and very many others of the free men. Of the ministeriales, moreover: Embricho the vicedominus; Ernest the schultheiss; Folbert and Embricho of Bingen; Gerard; Embricho the count; and many others. The donation was received through the hands of the advocate Count Gozwin. In the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1134, in the second indiction, in the reign of Emperor Henry, the fourth of this name, Arnold being prefect of the city, Ernest schultheiss. Given by the hand of Godescalc the chaplain, on the seventh ides of June.

Therefore, after this solemn donation had been made, as was set forth above, in the church of Mainz by Count Megenhard, and after the monastery had been emancipated with all property, right, and jurisdiction, and endowed with pure liberty, that is, with the liberty which the other abbeys of our order in the diocese of Mainz enjoy, he [unclear] the aforesaid advocacy with all gentleness and goodness

Of Sponheim.

of Count Megenhard. The aforesaid village of Dalen, moreover, was situated not far from the monastery, between east and north, on a plain at the foot of the mountain which in the vernacular is called [Gauwefberg?]. At that time the parish church was very ancient, and existed long before Sponheim and Bockenau were established. In it there was at that time a parish church, which had collapsed from excessive age; therefore Count Megenhard restored it anew, and had it consecrated by the aforesaid Bishop Bruno, who had then been driven from his church by the emperor’s violence. He wished it to be a chapel, and transferred the parish to that place where it now is, around the monastery, with the consent of the often-mentioned Archbishop Adelbert. Furthermore, he gave the chapel in Dalen, together with the village, plots, vineyards, meadows, fields, and other possessions, to Abbot Bernhelm and his monastery in perpetuity; he assigned the collation of the parish church to the abbot.

In the same year, also, on the same day, Bishop Bruno consecrated the altar before the choir of this monastery church, in honor of the holy and only cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, at the request of Abbot Bernhelm.

In this same year also Abbot Bernhelm transferred his sister Mechtild, enclosed for the love of God at Saint Alban’s, with the consent of Archbishop Adelbert and of Volbert, abbot of the same place, from there and placed her in the new cell which he had founded for her around the monastery, on the slope of the mountain toward the west, a place suitable for enclosure, which place down to the present is called Clusa. She was a most devout virgin nun, who by her example stirred many to fear and love Christ; concerning her more is to be said in its proper place, [unclear].

She also brought with her another woman, named Sophia, a virgin of holy conduct, who herself remained enclosed here with her for many years, serving the Lord, and inhabited the place even after her death.

In these times also the count of Lurenburg founded a monastery of our order within the bounds of the diocese of Trier, which is called Schönau. Over it he first set Hildelin, an abbot of most religious conduct; afterward there succeeded him Egebert, most learned in both divine and secular writings, brother of Saint Elizabeth, nun and mistress of the monastery of Schönau, which the aforesaid Abbot Hildelin built for Christ’s virgins near his aforesaid monastery in the fields toward the south. Adelbert, archbishop of Mainz, confirmed the foundation of this monastery when it was offered to him, as is clear from his letters, which follow and are as follows:

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Adelbert, archbishop of the see of Mainz, legate of the apostolic see, make known to all the faithful in Christ, both future and present, how our kinsman of Lurenburg delivered over to blessed Martin the monastery of Schönau, founded on his own estate and assigned to monastic life under the appointed abbot Hildelein, for the remedy of his soul and of the souls of his parents, with everything belonging to it: households, churches, fields, vineyards, cultivated and uncultivated lands, woods, meadows, pastures, mills, fisheries, waters and watercourses, roads, approaches and exits of the church. He assigned it to the church of Mainz as a perpetual possession, and took care that it should pass to the knowledge of later generations also by this present privilege of ours. He obtained that this abbey should remain free from every service and released from it. When the abbot of the place has died, let the brothers of the same [canon?] freely elect the one whom they find suitable among themselves. But if, which God forbid, no suitable person is found in that college, let them have the power to pass over into another monastery which is known to agree with their religious discipline. The one elected shall be invested by us or by our successors and consecrated by his own archbishop. Each year on the feast of blessed Martin he shall present a clean corporal upon that altar, as a memorial and proof that his [unclear] is from the patrimony of blessed Martin. It also pleased the abbot and brothers that they should celebrate the day of our ordination while we lived, and after our death should perform the anniversary, both ours and that of our successor archbishops, with solemn obsequies. The count himself received the advocacy from our hand on this condition: that whoever, as his successor, shall hold the estate of Mullen with its ministerials and household, and shall be lord in the castle of Lurenburg, shall be the hereditary lawful advocate of the same monastery, yet so that he himself shall not have the power of appointing a second or third advocate after him. And so that this whole act of conveyance may remain firm and unshaken for all, we have written out the page of this present chirograph concerning it, and have secured it with the impression of our seal, by the authority of almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and of blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, and by our own authority forbidding, under perpetual anathema, that anyone should presume to come against it, seek to undermine it, destroy it, or impair it in any way. But if anyone does this, let him know that he is reserved for the dread judgment of the Holy Spirit, and that at the last examination he will have his portion with the Devil, author of all iniquity. We also record the witnesses of this matter, whose

Chronicle of Trithemius

... consented, demanding nothing at all and imposing a burden in no respect, and wished the place and its inhabitants to enjoy perpetual peace and freedom, burdened by no service to anyone. And lest perhaps in future any one of his heirs, who bore the name of advocate, should bring any trouble upon the monastery's possessions or persons, he took care to make provision by letters, which, at the request of Bernhelmus, the first abbot, he issued in the following form of words:

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Megenhardus, by the grace of God count of Sponheim, wish it to be known to all the faithful of Christ, both present and future, that when our father, Count Stephanus of Sponheim, had determined to raise his church, set on Monte Campi beside the village of Sponheim, into a monastery, and, overtaken by death with the work unfinished, had entrusted it to me to complete, I, with the consent to this of Mechildis my wife and of my brother Count Rodolphus, for the remedy of my soul completed the work begun by my father, placed there monks according to the rule of St. Benedict, provided for their sustenance from my patrimony, and freely handed over that place with all its goods forever into the hands of my lord Adelbertus, archbishop of Mainz, legate of the apostolic see, at the altar of St. Martin.

As advocate of the same monastery, however, as long as I live, I have wished no one other than myself to be such. But after my death, the eldest of my sons who shall be lord in Creutzenacht shall hold the advocacy of the aforesaid monastery. If he, forgetting the name of his office, should wish to attack, trouble, or disperse the goods of the monastery or the persons for whom he ought to have been guardian and defender, the abbot with the brothers shall bring complaint against him to the examination of the archbishop of Mainz, who has authority to correct and amend him. But if, after a third warning by the archbishop, he has not amended, making satisfaction for the damage and injuries done to the monastery, the same archbishop shall have power, with the consent and will of the abbot and brothers, to remove him and give them another advocate, whom they themselves shall have chosen. And he shall do this as often as it has seemed necessary to the abbot and brothers, always appointing such a man as is more suitable in power, kindness, and fitness for protecting them.

Let the advocate beware that he ever burden the church in its goods or household; nor shall he demand any ferms, exactions, or precariae, but shall preserve them wholly free. He shall not sit at a public plea within the boundaries of the monastery unless he has been invited by the abbot. But when he comes invited, let him be served in such a way as is fitting for his honor, [unclear], lest by the size of any retinue or retinue of gold and sum the brothers themselves who serve God be saddened. Therefore let him act in all things so piously, kindly, and moderately, showing himself in all things toward the household and the goods of the monastery such that he may be worthy of his name, and, for the office faithfully fulfilled on account of God, may receive from him the reward of eternal life.

That all these things may remain ratified and unshaken for all time, I have caused this charter to be written concerning them, and have strengthened it by the impression of my seal. Witnesses of this my will were present: lord Adelbertus of Mainz, Bruno bishop of Strasbourg, Bernhelmus abbot of the aforesaid monastery, the whole congregation; Adelinus abbot of Disibodenberg, Hermannus provost of Schwabenheim, Goswinus of Lurburck, Count Dudo, Ernestus vice-lord, Adelbertus Warmundus the schultheiss; Henricus, Vdalricus of Stein, peers, and others.

These things were enacted in the year of the Lord's incarnation 1105, in the third indiction, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of September.

Finally, for the greater security of the goods of this place, the aforesaid man approached Henry V, king of the Romans, and obtained confirmation of the aforesaid matters as follows:

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. Henry, by favor of divine clemency emperor augustus of the Romans: we wish it to be known to all the faithful of Christ who are ours, both future and present, in what manner Megenhardus, count of Sponheim, with the assent and cooperation of Mechildis his wife, moved by heavenly inspiration, for the salvation and welfare of himself and his own, founded a monastery in his county in honor of Saint Mary ever virgin and of Saint Martin the bishop, which he lawfully endowed from his patrimony, establishing in it religious men who, under the rule of St. Benedict and an abbot, would praise almighty God continually in times present and future and pour out devout prayers for him and for his forebears.

He also caused to be written down and strengthened with his seal the right of advocacy, by which he wished them after his death to be free from every service, exaction, precaria, and any other burdens and grievances, and handed it over to the abbot and brothers of the same monastery, which is also called Sponheim. All these things Adelbertus, archbishop of Mainz, in whose parish that monastery was built, confirmed by his ban. Thereupon the aforesaid Count Megenhardus, for an increase of greater stability, requested from us that so holy and pious a work be confirmed by our imperial authority, lest any malice of later men [unclear] by right of imperial [unclear] might be able to alter them, once confirmed by imperial majesty. And because divine compassion has advanced us to the throne of the kingdom so that by royal provision we may care for the churches and monasteries established in our kingdom, and protect their rights and possessions from every injury, and [unclear] the same church or monastery in Sponheim, with all the goods, possessions there, and properties, under the guardianship and protection of the royal defense of our Roman empire forever...

Sponheimense.

In this same year Abbot Bernhelm sent Anshelm, a monk, who after Berthold later became prior, to Rome to the apostolic see, to obtain from Pope Honorius a privilege of apostolic protection for this monastery of Sponheim. On returning, he obtained the privilege from the pope himself, a copy of which has been placed above. Anselm of Bickelheim-[unclear].

1128.

In the year 1128, the fifth year of Abbot Bernhelm's prelacy, after he had most prudently ordered everything that seemed needful for the peace of the brothers, he devoted himself wholly to inward things, and more frequently gave his attention to quiet and to the reading of the Scriptures. Knowing, however, that the requests of many could not easily be disregarded, after taking counsel with his brothers he obtained confraternity with many monasteries round about. And first, indeed, he entered into spiritual association with the brothers of the monastery of St. Disibod, who were nearer neighbors. Its tenor follows, and is as follows. Bernhelm with many monasteries [unclear]. Fraternity with the brothers of St. Disibod.

This is the fraternity of association and fellowship between the brothers of St. Disibod and of Sponheim, a definite declaration and firm confirmation: that, when the brief announcing some deceased brother has arrived on either side, thirty vigils with the same number of Masses are to be performed in the convent; the third, seventh, and [thirtieth?] day is to be solemnly celebrated, namely with three lights kindled before the altar of the Mother, while all the bells ring together. At Masses for the dead, within thirty days, the tract De profundis is to be sung. After Matins the psalm Verba mea is to be recited through the same thirty days, with the other customary things. The commendation after chapter is to be regularly observed for the same time. [Each?] of the priests is to sing ten Masses; the literate are to recite three psalters; those who do not know this are to repeat 450 Our Fathers. The names of deceased brothers are to be written here and there in the Rule; anniversary days with vigil and Mass [unclear]. Brothers arriving on either side go to chapter, and do not leave it except with permission. [Unclear] suffrages [unclear].

This grace of fraternal association is granted in all respects to the brothers of St. James and of St. Alban at Mainz, because these two cloisters are known to have sprung from the root of their religious life. These were the suffrages which were performed here for [them]. The custom shown to the Bearded Brothers is excepted, whose life among them is not [unclear].

[At St. Maximin?] there also; at Seligenstadt; on Mount St. John in the Rheingau; at Hasungen; at Gerode; of the nuns on Mount St. Rupert; of the nuns of St. Peter near Kreuznach; and of many others. As soon as the death of anyone here or in other places in the fraternity had been announced to the confederates, immediately seven offices of the dead were performed for him, with vigils and Masses; besides this, each priest did not delay to say one Mass, those below priestly rank fifty psalms, and the illiterate the Lord's Prayer as many times. There was very great charity among them; this, shame to say, afterwards miserably grew cold and never sought to rise again. Copy of the letter of foundation.

1130.

In the year 1130, which was the sixth of Abbot Bernhelm, Count Megenhard of Sponheim, our founder, offered in perpetuity to the Church of Mainz the canonical monastery founded in Schabenheim, into the hands of Adalbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz. The same pontiff confirmed this donation, as follows. Foundation of the monastery of the Regulars in Schabenheim. The Regulars in Schabenheim. Privilege of the parish church.

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Adalbert, by the mercy of God archbishop of Mainz and legate of the apostolic see, make known to all the faithful of Christ, future as well as present, how Count Megenhard of Sponheim, for the remedy of his own soul [and] of his wife Mechthild, [unclear] that which by hereditary right had come to the same Mechthild, his wife, from her ancestors, with the churches in the village called Schabenheim, with all tithes, the ninth part of the demesnes, dependents, villages, fields, vineyards, woods, meadows, cultivated and uncultivated lands, also coloni with certain manses, with every right, [unclear] to the brothers, on this condition: that there, from all the aforesaid goods, we should establish brothers living according to the rule of St. Augustine, lest, cooling from the rigor of the rule, they should ever transgress their institution. If a father of the monastery is to be appointed for the brothers, let him be only the one whom, by common counsel and assent, at the dictation of the Spirit, [unclear]; it shall be permitted to them, in the name of the Lord, to assume a person of the same profession and purpose, whomever they find more suitable. The parish priest also is appointed by the brothers with their father from their college, so that, every disturbance being removed, it may persevere in secure liberty in the praises of God. With the same liberty also which the other congregations of our episcopate enjoy, we have endowed the aforesaid monastery church, so that [unclear]. With which the other congregations of our episcopate enjoy, we have endowed the aforesaid monastery church, so that [unclear]. [The text repeats in corrupt form:] with which the other congregations of our episcopate enjoy, we have endowed the aforesaid monastery church [unclear].

Sponheim.

we receive under perpetual [protection], strictly forbidding, both for those present and those to come, under penalty of the crime of lese-majesty against the emperor, that anyone inflict any molestation, injury, or damage upon the said abbey of Sponheim, which we wish to enjoy every freedom that the other abbeys in our realm are known to enjoy, in goods, persons, household, property, donations already made, or those duly to be made in the future. Moreover, the advocate who shall hold office at the time, if he rashly transgresses the law established for him by the often-named count Megenhard, after being admonished up to a third time by the archbishop of Mainz, when the abbot has made complaint against him, if he does not amend, shall be deprived of such honor; and another, who may be useful to the church, shall be substituted in his place by the counsel and assent of the brethren of the abbey. And so that this charter may remain forever unshaken, and no one’s rashness may presume to weaken it, we have strengthened it by imperial authority with our ban, and, marked by our own hand, have secured it with the impression of our seal. Given on the sixth day before the Kalends of March, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1125, in the third indiction, in the twenty-sixth year of the ordination of lord Henry V, king of the Romans, the thirtieth of his reign, and the fifteenth of his empire. Done at Mainz. In the name of the Lord. Amen.

Abbot Bernhelm also, in the third year of his institution, obtained from the apostolic see confirmation of all the foregoing, together with certain other privileges. Since the sequence of the order requires it, we shall insert here a copy of their rescript.

Copy of the confirmation of Honorius II, pope.

Honorius, bishop, servant of God, to his beloved son Bernhelm, abbot of the monastery of St. Martin in Sponheim, of the order of Saint Benedict, in the diocese of Mainz, and to his successors to be regularly instituted forever. It is fitting to grant ready assent to religious desires. And therefore, beloved son, assenting to the just petitions of you and your brethren, we have taken under the guardianship and protection of the apostolic see the aforesaid monastery of Sponheim, over which, by God’s authority, you preside, and have fortified it by the page of the present writing, decreeing and ordaining that the regular life now newly instituted in that place shall be inviolably preserved in future times according to the rule of Saint Benedict. Nor let anyone have the faculty, after making profession among you, to pass over to another place, under pretext of a greater or lesser religious observance, without the abbot’s permission. But if anyone at any future time departs contrary to this our prohibition, no abbot or anyone else shall dare to retain him. Whenever, with the abbot absent, there must be discussion among the brethren of that place concerning a successor, no one shall be intruded there by any cunning of surreption, or by the violence of any power, whether ecclesiastical or temporal, except the one whom the brethren by common consent, or the part of sounder counsel, shall judge should be elected, according to the fear of God and the rule of blessed Benedict, from the same community or from another, if, which God forbid, no suitable person is found among them. Moreover, the consecration of altars, chrism, holy oil, the blessing of abbots, and the ordination of monks are to be received from the diocesan archbishop of that same parish, if indeed he has the grace and communion of the apostolic see, and if he is willing to provide them graciously and without any depravity. Otherwise it shall be lawful for you and your successors to approach whatever catholic bishop you wish, and from him to receive consecrations and sacraments.

The pope took the monastery under the protection of the apostolic see.

That the monks should not depart.

That no one should intrude an abbot not canonically elected.

We judge also that burial in this place shall be entirely free, so that no one may oppose the devotion and will of those who have desired to be buried there, unless perhaps they have been excommunicated. We also confirm by apostolic authority all the possessions that you hold under the title below, and that you shall acquire in the future by offering or devotion, decreeing that it shall be lawful for no human being at all rashly to disturb the aforesaid monastery; and if he does not quickly make suitable satisfaction, let him lack the dignity of his power and honor, and let him know that he stands guilty in the divine judgment for the iniquity he has perpetrated; let him be estranged from the most sacred body and blood of our Lord God and Redeemer Jesus Christ, and at the last examination be subject to strict vengeance. But to all who preserve what is just for the same place, let there be the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that here they may receive the fruit of good action, and before the strict Judge find the rewards of eternal peace. Amen. Given by the hand of the deacon of the holy apostolic see, on the tenth day before the Kalends of April, in the fifth indiction, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1127, in the fourth year of our pontificate.

The pope confirms all the possessions of this church.

The goods of this church [unclear].

When the foundation and institution of the present monastery had been sufficiently confirmed both by the apostolic see and by imperial authority, the monks who had come from Mainz began to inhabit the place and to arrange dwellings necessary for themselves according to the rule. Mechthild, the wife of the founder Megenhard, a woman most devoted to Christ, furnished the monks with everything necessary for life and showed herself a most faithful co-worker in completing the buildings of the monastery. But now, as we are about to proceed to what follows, let us take our beginning from the first abbot.

The place is inhabited by monks.

Countess Mechthild.

... have authority to preach, baptize, and bury; and that it be subject to the archbishop alone, answer to him in all things, and remain free from our service as well as from that of the archdeacon. Among the rest we thought this also should be added: that for as long as the same Count Megenhard lives, he himself shall hold its advocacy over them; and when he has died, if by chance his inheritance has been divided between two heirs, the one who possesses those estates belonging to the castle, namely Dille, not by usurpation but by hereditary right, being instituted by us or by any of our successors, shall be their advocate without any opposition. Therefore, establishing the tenor of this page, we have marked it with the impression of our seal, commanding and forbidding all Christians under perpetual anathema that anyone presume to come against it, assail it, or destroy it; but let its authority remain firm and unshaken for all, by the authority of almighty God and of blessed Peter, prince of the apostles. These things were done in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1130, in the eighth indiction, while Lord Lothar, glorious king of the Romans, the second of that name, was reigning, in the fifth year of his reign.

At the same time also the provostship of Mount St. John the Baptist in the Rheingau, of the order of our holy father Benedict, which Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz, had built a little earlier and decreed to be subject to the abbot of the monastery of St. Alban the Martyr outside Mainz, was raised to an abbey by his successor Adalbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz, as is clear in the letters drawn up concerning it, as follows:

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Adalbert, by the grace of God archbishop of Mainz and legate of the apostolic see, wish it to be known to all the faithful of Christ, both future and present, that Lord Ruthard of blessed memory, our predecessor, handed over to the church of St. Alban a certain mountain in the Rheingau, which is called Bischoffsberg, by his own hand, for this reason: that by the aid of the faithful dwelling round about, the discipline of monastic life might be established there. And when part of a monastery had been constructed in that same place, and our aforesaid predecessor had been summoned to consecrate the altar, wishing to share in the labor of those who had put their hand to cultivating that same place, he assigned as a dowry, upon the holy relics, a certain part of the surrounding wood, as far as the hollow called Hunenklingen, and so from there as far as the place called Kalenberg; on the side of the burial-ground, [unclear], and on the other three sides as far as [unclear] places. In addition he added the rent of half a mansus in Winkel, which belonged to episcopal right; this Ruthard, son of Regefo, and a certain Rabodo of Damburg, enclosed there, conferred on the same monastery for the remedy of their souls. It was also established by the aforesaid archbishop that every year, at the nativity of St. John the Baptist, a fair should be held there by merchants both of Mainz and of the province, and he handed over to the brothers of the same place every profit that could come from it to the bishop.

Furthermore, Count Richolf in the Rheingau, his wife Clanckmodis, and their children, Ludovicus, by common consent solemnly gave to St. John, in whose honor the principal altar of the aforesaid monastery was dedicated, without any opposition, the goods described below: namely, the court which lies nearest opposite the mountain, with the small estate belonging to it, that is, vineyards and trees, a mill, a wine-cellar, meadows, and gardens. Likewise one vineyard near Winkel, which is called Exconis; another in the field; a third near the court; a fourth on Culersberg; a fifth on the eastern side of the same mountain; a sixth at the foot of the mountain, beside the watercourse; four portions of arable land. They also offered their son and daughter in the same place to serve God and St. John; these aforesaid goods would have come to them by hereditary right if they had remained in the world.

In our times, therefore, when the resources of the same church were increasing by the working of divine mercy, and it, being sufficient for itself, sought its own pastor, it seemed right to us that we should change its condition for the better and take action to obtain liberty for it. Therefore, having summoned to us Henry, provost of the greater church, and very many other religious and wise persons, we approached the lord abbot of St. Alban, and by the assent and will of all his brothers obtained that the aforementioned church of St. John, free from its former subjection, should henceforth retain free judgment in electing for itself, and should freely present to us or to our successors the man canonically elected, to receive the staff from the hand of the bishop and to be consecrated. Therefore, after this concession had been obtained from the aforesaid Abbot Wernher and his brotherhood, and after we had released the aforementioned church from their hand and power by the counsel and approval of the abbots, archdeacons, and our other persons, we gave certain goods in Lorch for the use of the aforesaid brothers [unclear]; also a part of the tithe in Burnheim, possessed by the same brothers already for many years, we gave absolutely and without opposition to the abbot and brothers of St. Alban as a just and lawful compensation. In addition, for the daughter of Count Richolf, enclosed beside the monastery of St. Alban, we established that each year during her life a cartload of wine and a mark of silver should be given from Culersberg, and after her death the same benefaction should revert to the church of St. John.

We also granted, at the request of those brothers, that whoever of the faithful should wish to be baptized or buried there may find baptism and burial there in peace, all opposition of his own parish priest ceasing. Furthermore, the tenants of the aforesaid brothers living on the same mountain under its command we endowed with this liberty...

242. CHRONICLE OF TRITHEMIUS. ON BERNHELM, THE FIRST ABBOT OF THIS MONASTERY; WHO PRESIDED 26 years, 9 months, [and] 17 days; AND ON THE DEEDS OF THAT TIME.

In the year, therefore, of the Lord's nativity 1124, in the second Roman indiction, the eighth day of the month of June, Bernhelm, monk of St Alban's near Mainz, sent hither with others, was constituted the first abbot of this monastery, as much by the election of the brothers as by the command of Adalbert, archbishop of Mainz, by whom, ordained, he presided 26 years, 9 months, 17 days. He was ordained at Mainz in the monastery of St Alban, four abbots standing by him—namely [those] of St Alban, St James, St Disibod, and St Ferrutius in Bleidenstadt—with many others, as much of the clergy as of the people, in the aforesaid year, on the nativity of St John the Baptist. This our first abbot Bernhelm was sprung from the county of Sponheim, begotten of honest parents, his father by name Eberhard having strenuously served Stephen, count of Sponheim, for several years. His mother, by name Hiltrudis, was a woman devoted to Christ; whose dwelling was in the village of Sponheim, under the castle. Bernhelm, therefore, a boy prompt and docile in talent, was sent to the schools to be imbued with letters, and, having obtained good teachers, was not only well instructed in the science of the Scriptures, but adorned also with the best morals. In each he greatly advanced, and with time turned out renowned in virtues, and at the same time in erudition: so amiable, and never grievous to anyone even slightly. Whence, his merits advancing, on account of [his] all-round knowledge of the Scriptures, he was made Master of the schools in the same monastery, and at length, made presbyter, was constituted [such]; and he embraced that office of teaching, no less by writings than by daily lessons, magnificently for ten years. He wrote, first of all, On the instruction of boys, 1 book; also Introductions into the seven liberal arts, 2 books; Against a certain Sophist, 1 book; Against the simoniacs, 3 books; on Ecclesiastes of Solomon he published a most beautiful work, [—] book[s]; Against the Jews, 1 book; and some others, which negligence has brought into oblivion.

In this same year Berthold the monk is constituted here the first Prior, a learned and most religious man, who published Commentaries on the Gospel of Mark, 2 books; On the Song of Songs, 2 books; On the humility of monks, 1 book; many sermons and homilies. He presided in the Priorate 13 years, and did many good [things].

In the same year Adelbero was constituted chief Cellarer—a monk, once one of the first sent hither, a good man and of religious conversation, sagacious and much experienced in ordering and disposing temporal matters, who for several years strenuously governed the office committed to him. And straightway the fame of the good and religious conversation of the brothers began to spread round about, and little by little to come to the notice of all the neighbors. Whence, since the new plantation did not yet seem sufficiently abundantly provided for the sustenance of the monks, many, both noble and ignoble, on account of the opinion of [their] good fame and the holy conversation of the brothers serving God, began to donate many alms and benefits.

In this same year a monastery of our order was founded at Ballenstedt, by Otto, count of the same place, in Saxony, and dowered honorably enough by him. [Margin: The monastery of Ballenstedt is founded; today Rudenzhow.]

Bruno, archbishop of Trier, also died, who founded a monastery of our order at Odenheim in the diocese of Speyer, which he dowered with many estates and possessions.

A hail of great mass, too, fell the 9th [day before] the Kalends of August. And the 3rd [day before] the Ides of August there was an eclipse.

[1125.] In the year 1125, the second of abbot Bernhelm, the 13th [day before] the Kalends of September, the church of the village of Dalen was consecrated, in honor of St George the martyr, by Bruno, bishop of Strasbourg, at the request of Adalbert the arch[bishop]…

Chronicle of Trithemius

a nun most devoted to Christ. But Saint Jutta, daughter of Count Stephen, was mistress of the virgins of Christ on the aforesaid Mount St. Disibod; under her their number was greatly increased, and many nobles round about offered their daughters, under her governance, to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. All these served under the Rule of our holy father Benedict and under obedience to the abbot, shut away separately in a narrow and well-walled enclosure; no man except the abbot had access to them.

For this custom was then very celebrated in almost all our monasteries and those of regulars: that the nearer the nuns were to men, the more easily, by their vigilance, they might be protected from the snares of the ancient enemy. So it was in the aforesaid monastery of St. Disibod; so in the monastery of St. John in the Rheingau; so in Schönau; so at St. Alban’s; so at St. James’s; so in Hirsau under Abbot St. William; likewise in Frankenthal. Were there not around the monastery of Limburg three convents of our order established for nuns, namely Seebach, Hausen, and Schönfeld, of which the first still flourishes, suitable for holy virgins, while the other two are desolate?

And at the monastery of St. Martin of Trier, beside the walls, above the bank of the Moselle, toward the north, there was the convent of St. Symphorian, in which many most holy nuns of our order were renowned; today no trace of it appears except a single column alone, by which the church was once supported. And Bernhelm, the first abbot of this place mentioned above, built a small convent at the foot of the sloping mountain on the western side of this monastery, as we have also said before; in it he enclosed his sister Mechthild, who had first been enclosed at St. Alban’s for love of the heavenly life, together with another woman named Sophia. And in the same reclusory there were, for many years, several holy and most devout virgins succeeding one another, whose names we do not doubt are written in heaven.

But afterward, when nuns, because of the closeness of the places, began to be a snare and a scandal to men, and when on both sides they walked not according to the spirit, as before, but according to the flesh, we see that almost all the convents, when the nuns failed or were even expelled, were totally destroyed through neglect or some other occasion. For today among us, apart from the name of the place, which is called Clausa from the enclosure of the virgins who once dwelt there, no trace of the convent or structure is seen. But let us return to the history.

Therefore the holy virgin of Christ of whom we have spoken, Jutta, was renowned in this life for many miracles: among other things she changed water into wine, and several times crossed the flowing waves of the river Glan with dry foot. Hence, not without a great reputation for sanctity, she passed from this world to heaven; her life and most holy conduct have been written down with sufficient diligence. After her death the holy virgin Hildegard was appointed mistress of the sisters, under Cuno, abbot of the aforesaid convent. After a few years had passed, with the whole congregation of sisters, by permission of the abbot and forewarned by divine revelation, she passed over to Bingen, and there she remains today; on the mountain of St. Rupert the Confessor she built for herself and her sisters from the alms of the faithful.

1137.

In the year 1137, in the thirteenth year of Abbot Bernhelm, Berthold, prior of this monastery, died on the twelfth day before the Kalends of July, a man in every respect most religious, and a distinguished cultivator and lover of the divine Scriptures, to whom nothing was ever sweeter than either to write books or to read them. He was so diligent in divine worship that he was always the first in choir and the last to go out after all the others. No one ever saw him idle, no one sad or lax; for in due time he did some good thing: he either read, or wrote, or certainly devoted himself to prayer. He was so frequent in prayer that you would have thought he could think of nothing other than prayer; and again so fervent in the reading of the Scriptures and in manual work that he seemed to love nothing less than prayer.

Anshelm succeeded him in the priorship, formerly a monk of St. James of Mainz, who had been sent here among the first twelve: a good, gentle, sweet, and mild man, born of a military family in Bickelnheim. He presided in the office of prior for forty-three years under three abbots, Bernhelm, Crafto, and Adelger. Under his direction regular discipline advanced greatly, both by the merit of virtues and by the number of persons. Faithfully following also in the footsteps of his predecessor, he enlarged the library of this convent not a little during the time of his office. For around these times the monks of this convent and of St. Disibod had a great zeal for the Scriptures, and with all eagerness wrote books of sacred reading.

In this year Adelbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz, died on the ninth day before the Kalends of July and was buried in the monastery of Eberbach, which he himself had founded. Adelbert the younger, his nephew, provost of Erfurt, succeeded him and presided for four years; few memorable deeds of his are read, because of the brevity of his pontificate. These

Many nuns on Mount St. Disibod.

The ancient [unclear] nuns and pride [unclear] nuns were. Examples.

Why reclusories of nuns were abolished; from this there are [unclear] near the monastery of Sponheim.

The reason why reclusory monasteries are beside monasteries of men.

Whence Clausa Vinea is so called.

Many miracles.

The river Glan.

St. Hildegard is made mistress of the sisters.

Prior Berthold dies.

Anshelm becomes second prior.

Adelbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz, dies.

Adelbert the elder succeeds.

244 Chronicle of Trithemius ... are the names: Henry, provost of the greater church and of St Victor, and many others. Done in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1130, in the eighth indiction, in the reign of the emperor Lothar. Given by the hand of Henry, notary and provost in Mainz.

The Abbey of Schönau was a provostship in Liburna.

And note that the aforesaid monastery had formerly been a provostship, built in that place which is called Lipron, where now there is a parish church with a little village, at a distance of half a mile; and it was subject by right to the monastery and abbot of St Saviour in Schaffhausen, in the diocese of Constance.

1126.

In the year 1126, Abbot Bernhelm began to dig and construct the well of this monastery, which still today remains sound, and completed it in a short time. For previously there was no water here in the monastery, but it was brought, not without labor, from the foot of the mountain, where the larger pond now is. He also completed various other buildings, which Count Megenhard had not yet wholly finished.

In this year Henry, the fourth emperor but the fifth king, died without children at Traiectum and was buried at Speyer; Lothar II, duke of Saxony, succeeded him by election of the princes.

1127.

In the year 1127, a certain nobleman of Sponheim, a kinsman of Abbot Bernhelm, together with his wife, named Judith, for the remedy of his soul, gave to this same [unclear] all his patrimony which he had in Bockenau in Gensingen, namely the church with tithes and all its appurtenances, serfs, fields, vineyard, woods, cultivated and uncultivated lands, pastures, meadows, mills, fisheries, waters and watercourses, to the altar of St Martin in this monastery at Sponheim, before many witnesses, as is clear in the letter of Lord Adalbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz, who confirmed the same donation, as follows:

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. I, Adalbert, by the grace of God archbishop of Mainz and legate of the apostolic see, make known to the faithful of Christ’s Church, both future and [present?], that a certain nobleman named Udo, [unclear], and his wife Judith, while they still enjoyed the full powers of body and mind, for the remedy of his soul and those of his parents, delegated all their patrimony in Bockenau in Gensingen, the church with tithes and all its appurtenances, serfs, fields, vineyard, woods, cultivated lands, meadows, pastures, mills, fisheries, waters and watercourses, to the altar of blessed Martin of the monastery of Sponheim, to the abbot and brothers living there under the monastic rule, without any opposition, through the hands of the advocate, Count Megenhard of the castle of Sponheim, [unclear]. It also pleased the two aforesaid persons, namely Udo and his wife, since among the serfs they had some of higher and some of lower condition, that, insofar as nature, their own industry, and uprightness had raised them up, they should appoint them ministeriales for the abbot and brothers, and should grant no advocate any right over them; rather, among the better and foremost of the ministers of the other abbots of our episcopate, they should obtain equality in rank with full justice. The rest of the household, however, should remain under fiscal justice, namely so that it should pay each year to the altar of the aforesaid monastery a census of [nine?] coins. In order that this conveyance may remain firm and unshaken, we have caused this charter to be written, marked with the impression of our seal, and strengthened it with the bond of anathema: so that if anyone by perverse contrivance, which God forbid, should presume to [unclear] or annul this same conveyance, he shall lie under our ban, shall be [unclear] by the testimony of the truth itself, and shall know that he has incurred the offense of almighty God and St Martin. The witnesses of this matter are Abbot Folbert of St Alban’s, Werimbold, abbot of St James’s, Adellun, abbot of St [Disibod?], Bernhelm, abbot of the aforementioned monastery, the whole congregation, Richard, archdeacon of the house of blessed Martin, and many others.

This was done on the eighth day before the Kalends of January, in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1127, in the fifth indiction, in the reign of Lothar, august king of the Romans, in the second year of his reign.

After this solemn donation had been made before many witnesses, Abbot Bernhelm peacefully obtained possession of the goods offered in Bockenau and Gensingen; from these, after 138 years, Peter, abbot of this place, conferred the church in Gensingen with the tithes in perpetuity upon the canons of the greater church of Mainz, as an increase of revenues, services, and all dues arising from this donation of Udo. But another estate, which is called the abbot’s, after 205 years William, abbot of Bickelheim, from his own patrimony handed over to blessed Martin and his brothers in the present monastery; concerning this also we shall speak below in its own time.

This

Chronicle of Trithemius

of the holy places at Jerusalem; and many other relics were brought to this monastery from the regions overseas at the same time by the aforesaid knight Hildebert.

Henry of Ulmen, a knight born in the diocese of Trier, likewise, when Constantinople had been captured at the same time, carried away, among other relics of the saints, a large piece of the Holy Cross. This he divided into three parts: one he gave to the monastery of Saint Matthias near Trier; another to a certain convent of nuns of the order of Saint Augustine, which is called Stuba, in the same diocese of Trier; and the third to the monastery of Saint Pantaleon in Cologne, together with the head of the same holy martyr. The remaining relics he distributed to Laach and to other churches.

1151.

Udo, a nobleman of Sponheim, who twenty-four years earlier had made to this monastery that solemn donation concerning the estates of Bugenavy and Gentzigen, in the presence of Adelbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz, and many others, after the death of his wife Judith came to conversion in his old age; and in this year, under lord Bernhelm, he was made a monk in this our monastery. After living for three years in great devotion, he at last, under Craffto the First, on the sixth day before the Ides of June, rested in the Lord, a gentle and most devout man.

In this year Abbot Bernhelm, weighed down by old age and labor, began to be more infirm than usual. When he perceived that the day of death was drawing near him, having received the ecclesiastical sacraments with the greatest devotion, and having most prudently ordered the affairs of the monastery, not without the sadness of the brethren, whose number had now risen beyond twenty, he passed to the Lord on the sixth day before the Kalends of April in the aforesaid year, in the twenty-seventh year of his pastoral office, not yet completed, and in the seventy-third year of his age. He was buried with great honor and with many tears of the brethren in the middle of the choir, a man worthy of eternal memory, beloved by God and men; he instructed the flock committed to him most excellently in all religion and holiness by word and example, and converted many from iniquity to the path of justice and uprightness of life.

Concerning Craffto the First, the second abbot of this monastery, who presided happily for 24 years, two months, and five days.

In the year of the Lord noted above, 1151, in the fourteenth indiction, after lord Bernhelm, the first abbot of this monastery, had died, as has been said, and had been buried, on the same day, namely the sixth day before the Kalends of April, the brethren, assembling together, unanimously, with absolutely no one dissenting, elected as abbot Lord Craffto, a monk of this monastery, of whom we spoke above, son of Megenhard, count of Spanheim. He was still new in the order, but mature, religious, and prudent; he did many good things for this monastery, and was venerable no less for humility than for nobility of blood. Though elected, he consented unwillingly, preferring for the love of God to dwell humbly among the monks rather than to be imperiled by the honors of this world. Yet, overcome by the prayers and tears of the brethren, he could not resist longer, but, weeping and declaring himself unworthy, gave his consent. Afterward, on the Nones of June, which was the day of Saint Boniface the martyr, he was consecrated by Henry, archbishop of Mainz, with great solemnity and honor in the greater church of Mainz, with abbots, clergy, and many of the number of the nobles standing by. He was indeed a man of great prudence, competently learned, who understood very well those things that pertained to his station. He was fully grounded in the fear of the Lord; in his conduct with the brethren he was mature, not turbulent, and easily drew to himself the love of all good men. For he was gentle, mild, and humble; he knew how to offend or harm no one, but to benefit all. Having been ordained abbot, he took care with all zeal to show himself a worthy and useful shepherd to the brethren committed to him, and he always went before them in all religion and humility by word and example. He presided over this monastery usefully and energetically for 23 years, two months, and five days, as we shall say in order.

1152.

In this year Adelbero, archbishop of Trier, died; Hillin, dean of the greater church, succeeded him for eighteen years. From this archbishop Hillin, Craffto, the second abbot of this monastery, of whom we have spoken, obtained by many prayers the head of Saint Irmina, virgin, daughter formerly of Dagobert, king of the Franks. She was the first abbess of the monastery in the Horrea at Trier, which she herself, with Saint Willibrord the bishop assisting, had founded anew from the foundations; her feast is observed on the vigil of the Lord’s Nativity. This most sacred head, from the archbishop himself and the whole congregation of the aforesaid place, both in consideration of his prayers, and

Sponheimense.

...let them render service. Likewise we have excluded all advocates from the aforesaid place, and have left it to be protected and defended under the patronage of the archbishop alone. After all these things had been observed in due order, we solemnly consecrated and appointed Lord Eigelward as abbot over the same place, granting and confirming that whenever a father of the monastery is to be ordained for the same brothers, only the man whom they shall have unanimously chosen by common counsel and consent, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, shall be invested by the archbishop. And so that the sequence of this matter might remain stable and unshaken, we have signed this page with the impression of our image. But if anyone shall attempt to break what has been so lawfully done, we strike him with the sword of anathema until he comes to his senses. The witnesses are Wernbold, abbot of St. James, Henry of the greater [church?], Cuno the custodian and dean, and very many others. These things were done in this year from the Incarnation of the Lord 1130, in the eighth indiction, while Lothar, most glorious king of the Romans, was reigning, in the fourth year of his reign.

On the western side of the aforesaid church of St. John a reclusory was built, in which virgins wishing to serve Christ, almighty God, in purity of mind and body were received under obedience to the abbot and under the rule of our holy father Benedict. Day and night they devoted themselves to prayer and contemplation, and the abbot of the place provided them with the necessities of food and clothing. There also the daughter of the aforesaid Richolf, count of the Rheingau, as is noted in the archbishop’s privilege, was enclosed with the other virgins. But after many years, the holy nuns and virgins succeeding them in order were transferred from the mountain into the valley, for the quiet both of themselves and of the brothers; a monastery with the necessary dwellings had first been built for them, which is called Clusa down to the present day, because virgins were enclosed there.

Around these times also the monastery of our order called Groinavy, within the borders of the diocese of Trier, not far from Schonaw, about which we have already spoken above, was founded by the count of Lurenburg. In it the head of St. Sebastian the martyr is shown, which is said to have been brought there by the count.

1133.

In the year 1132, the ninth of Bernhelm, the monastery of the Cistercian order in the Rheingau, called Eberbach, almost two miles distant from Mainz, was built by Adelbert the elder, archbishop of Mainz.

In these same times Abbot Bernhelm, led by singular foresight, acquired a house and courtyard in Mainz for the use of this monastery, so that, if necessity should perhaps arise, we might use it for the preservation of the goods.

In the year 1135 Abbot Bernhelm obtained by his prayers from Count Megenhard the stream flowing around the castle of Sponheim, and the whole right of fishing, shared with him and his heirs, from that castle downward as far as the middle of the road toward Wimesheim, so that none of the ministerials living around it or of any others whatever, except only the domestic ministerials of the count and of the abbot, ought to fish in it. From the castle upward the fishing right is the count’s, and then to the beginning of the wood, where the boundary of those belonging to the castle extends. In these times the monastery of regular canons at Frankenthal [unclear] as far as Buggenau further on, and thence subsequently as far as the new church, today Naunkirch. The fishing belongs to the abbot by the gift of the aforesaid Udo. The monastery of Frankenthal is founded.

He appointed a mistress, and both were renowned for miracles. In the year 1136 Lutta, a most chaste virgin, daughter of Stephen, count of Sponheim, and sister of Count Megenhard, our founder, rested in the Lord on the second day before the Kalends of January. She was buried in the monastery of St. Disibod, beside the great altar toward the south, where for love of the heavenly kingdom she had been enclosed with certain other virgins for twenty-four years in a strict, although [unclear], service to the Lord. In 1112, in the fifth indiction, with three other virgins, Hildegard of Bickelnheim, who after her death went to Bingen and there founded a monastery on Mount St. Rupert, as will be said in its proper place; another Lutta, a certain noble virgin; and another of the same name, equally [unclear]...

Sponheimense.

Lobenfeld is founded. In these times the monastery of nuns at Lobenfeld, of our order, in the diocese of Worms, in the district called Kraichgau, about two miles from Heidelberg, was founded under Buggo, the venerable bishop of Worms.

At the same time the count of Leiningen founded the monastery of St Peter of Dumeta, commonly Hugen, in the same diocese of Worms. The aforesaid Bishop Buggo consecrated its church and established there the canon brothers under the rule of blessed Augustine, setting over them Hartung, a very venerable man, as their first father and provost. This consecration was performed in the year of the Lord’s incarnation MCLII, on the feast of St Peter which is called “in Chains.”

In this very year Mainz was burned together with the great monastery; Speyer also and Goslar, on one and the same day, for the greater part perished by fire.

The emperor Lothar also died in Bavaria on the day before the Nones of December. This emperor Lothar founded a monastery of our order in Saxony, which is called Lutera Regalis or Königslutter, where, after the nuns had been transferred to another place, he established an abbot and monks; and when he died he was buried there. Conrad III succeeded him and ruled for fourteen years.

In this year, on the night of Good Friday, the body of St Disibod, under Abbot Cuno, was translated with the greatest devotion from the old monastery, where it had once been placed in the altar by Archbishop Willigis, to the new monastery which Archbishop Ruthard and afterwards Adalbert the Elder had built on the mountain where it now stands; and it was honorably laid behind the high altar in a new marble sarcophagus. Abbot Bernhelm was present at this translation with the whole community of this monastery, and obtained the shoulder blade of the same holy pontiff.

MCL.

In the year MCXL Abbot Bernhelm traveled to Rome with Adalbert the Younger, archbishop of Mainz, and Count Gottfried of Sponheim, son of Megenhard, and through the entreaties of the aforesaid archbishop obtained from Pope Innocent many precious relics. Among them was one tooth of the holy apostle Paul; likewise, from the head of St Hippolytus the martyr; also from the hair of the holy apostle Peter; from the wood of the Holy Cross; from the shirt of St Benedict our father and abbot; from the cross of St Andrew the apostle; of Mary Magdalene and Mary of Egypt, together with many others.

In this year Embricho, bishop of Würzburg, founded in the suburb of the same city the monastery of St James the Apostle for the reception of Scots of our order; and he named and appointed as first abbot Macarius, a holy man, a Scot by nation. Among the other miracles of his holiness, as the same bishop declares in the charter of foundation, since out of love for the heavenly kingdom he abstained from wine and had nothing else on the table to drink, he changed the wine set before him into water in the presence of many, and drank it.

In this year St Otto, bishop of Bamberg, formerly a monk of our order, died on the day before the Kalends of October and was buried there in the church of the Mount of Monks, where he had been a monk before his episcopate. He built the monastery of [Aura?], of our order, in the diocese of Würzburg, in which he appointed as first abbot Egard, a religious and most learned man, who composed many little works of fine reading; and he lies buried in the middle of the same church, not without a reputation for holiness. He also founded anew some other monasteries, and magnificently restored several that had collapsed through excessive age, whose names [unclear]. [Unclear] of the martyr was consecrated, and was quite magnificently endowed by him.

The monastery of Schönau is founded. In these times also Buggo, bishop of Worms, founded not far from Heidelberg a monastery of the Cistercian order, which is called Schönau, and obtained a community from Clairvaux from St Bernard.

MCXLI.

In the year MCXLI [unclear], bishop of Mainz, died on the twelfth day before the Kalends of August; Marolf, provost of Aschaffenburg, succeeded him and presided for one year and two months.

Marolf, bishop of Mainz.

Two bodies of saints are brought here.

MCXLIII.

In the year MCXLIII Abbot Bernhelm, through the intervention of Count Megenhard, obtained from Arnold, archbishop of Cologne, two bodies from the company of the eleven thousand virgins and martyrs for the monastery. Receiving them with great honor, he brought them here to the monastery and placed them in two gilded wooden reliquaries; their heads, however, had been broken, but the individual parts were arranged with their own body.

Chronicle of Trithemius

In the same year [Marcelsus?], archbishop of Mainz, died on the Ides of July; Henry, provost of the greater church, succeeded him and presided for ten years and eight months.

In the same year Adelbero, archbishop of Trier, expelled Gerard, abbot, and all the monks of St Maximin because of their disorderly life, and introduced other monks, who would live according to the Rule of St Benedict. Over them he appointed as abbot Siger, a religious and learned man. There are those who say that he did this not out of love for regular discipline, but because of his own greed: for it is agreed that he violently plundered much from the monastery of St Matthias for his own use, and obtained the abbey of St Maximin itself from the hand of the emperor; he drove out Abbot Gerard, who for a long time remained in exile on Mount St Disibod and here with Lord Bernhelm and our brethren. After he had thus been driven out, the brethren of St Maximin called the count of Namur, now Luxembourg, to their aid against the bishop, after selling jewels and ornaments, with whose price they hired him. But the archbishop besieged his castle of Rudolsberg while he himself was inside; he fled secretly and left the castle to the bishop. After the fortress had been taken, with many captives, the bishop returned; he [unclear] Manderscheid, Colubria, and thirty fortified castles of the counts, and forced the count himself to come into his favor, whereupon the brethren, deprived of all aid, were expelled by him.

1148.

In the year 1147, the twenty-fourth of Bernhelm our abbot, the holy virgin Hildegard, mistress of the brides of Christ on Mount St Disibod, having been appointed after the death of blessed Jutta, as we have said, was divinely admonished and passed over to Bingen with eighteen holy virgins. She built a monastery on the mountain across the river Nahe, near the tomb of St Rupert, duke and confessor, and brought that place, with all its goods and possessions, partly by purchase from the hand of the count of Hildenheim, dwelling in the parish of Trier, partly by exchange, and partly by donation of the count of Sponheim and other faithful persons, into the right of ownership; and, with the intervention of an apostolic privilege, she commended it for all time to the protection of the church of Mainz. This most holy virgin was born in our county of Sponheim, in the village called Bickelnheim, begotten of her father Hildebert, a most noble knight of Count Stephen, and of her mother Mechthild, likewise a most noble and honorable woman. When she was about eight years old, she was handed over by her parents to be instructed in the fear of the Lord under the teaching of blessed Jutta on Mount St Disibod. After St Jutta died, Hildegard herself, more perfect than all, was appointed mistress of the sisters by unanimous vote; and then, inspired by the divine Spirit, she was compelled to write certain wondrous things. These were brought for examination to the supreme pontiff Eugenius, then at Trier with eighteen cardinals, by Henry, bishop of Mainz, and St Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux; they were read publicly before all and confirmed by that supreme pontiff himself. But since many nobles round about were entrusting their daughters to her instruction, the place became too narrow for them to dwell in; with the permission both of the supreme pontiff and of her abbot, she passed over to Mount St Rupert, as we have said, with eighteen sacred nuns. Among them was Hiltrud, daughter of Count Megenhard, a virgin of most holy life, very close to blessed Hildegard; on account of regard for her, her father the count bestowed many benefactions on that place, and we shall speak more fully of his place.

In this same year Adelbero, archbishop of Trier, called Pope Eugenius to Trier; and for many months he kept and maintained him, with eighteen cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and [unclear], together with all their household, most abundantly at his own expense.

In this year a great gathering of Christians from all Europe went overseas to recover the Lord’s sepulcher and the Holy Land. Among them were Conrad, king of the Romans, Louis, king of France, with many dukes, princes, bishops, abbots, monks, clerics, nobles, and commoners; yet they made little progress toward their chief purpose.

In the year 1149, the twenty-fifth of Bernhelm our abbot, Craftho, son of Count Megenhard of Sponheim, our founder, inflamed by the divine Spirit, despising for love of Christ all the pomp of the world and the broad possessions of riches, with his father’s consent became a monk under Abbot Bernhelm in this present monastery of ours at Sponheim. This happened as follows. A few years earlier he had taken Clementia, daughter of Adolf, count of Altena, a most beautiful and most prudent virgin, as his betrothed and future wife, and he loved her with exceeding love. Since she had a vow of virginity, at length by many prayers

Sponheim.

[unclear] obtained from him permission to serve Christ in perpetual virginity, the parents of both being unaware. Finally the young man disclosed to his father the maiden’s vow and his own, and humbly begged him not to oppose it; and since he was a good man and most devout in the religion of Christ, he readily gave consent to his son’s prayers. And so he handed over his son’s betrothed, the aforesaid maiden Clementia, to serve Christ most devoutly, in the monastery of blessed Hirmina in the city of Trier, which had once been built by Dagobert, king of the Franks, and was called the Granary of Dagobert, commonly Oeren. In it she served the Lord for many years until the end of her life, in great devotion, holiness, and purity of mind and body. Craffto, moreover, the betrothed of the holy maiden, having been converted by her to the love and vow of perpetual chastity, became a monk in the present monastery, as we have said.

1150.

In these days, when St. Hildegard, the most devout handmaid of Christ, was dwelling on Mount St. Rupert near Bingen with her holy virgins, the necessary dwellings and convent having been built, as we have said, it happened that St. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, while travelling down the river Rhine from Frankfurt to Cologne, visited in person her whom he knew by reputation and writings. When he had come to her, after the customary prayers and the courtesies of greeting, he himself ordered the volumes that she had written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to be brought forth. After examining them carefully, and admiring them beyond what can be said, he is reported to have said to those standing around: “These writings were not devised by human means, but divinely inspired through the Holy Spirit; nor can any [mortal?] man understand them unless he has been inwardly reformed in his soul to the likeness of God.”

St. Bernard visits St. Hildegard.

St. Bernard commends the writings of Hildegard.

To this the provost of the virgins, a monk sufficiently learned and of most devout way of life, replied: “Reverend father, what you have said is indeed true; but many people, not only secular laymen, but also religious and learned men, torment the soul of the handmaid of Christ with daily disparagements, asserting that these things are not divinely inspired, but are either women’s dreams and phantasms of a disordered brain, or deceptions sent in by demons.” To him the man of God said: “We do not wonder, dearest brother, if those sleeping in sins think divine revelations to be dreams, knowing that what the Apostle said is true: ‘The animal man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is examined spiritually.’ For to all who lie as if asleep in sins of pride, greed, and lust, divine admonitions are accustomed to seem dreams, because if they were awake in the fear of the Lord, they would without doubt recognize the signs of divine revelations as true. But those who say that these things are sent in by demons do not know the hidden and mystical signs of divine inspirations. They are to be judged like those who, puffed up, said that our Lord and Savior Christ cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub.” He also said to St. Hildegard: “And you, dearest daughter, do not fear the reproaches of ignorant people, since you have God as protector; for they will perish like stubble, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. We also, for the honor of almighty God, will take care that these writings of yours be read by our lord the pope, just as also those that you sent to Trier to be approved.” Holy Hildegard then gave the man of God, at his request, a small portion of the relics of St. Rupert, duke of the people of Bingen and confessor. Then, bidding one another farewell, St. Bernard continued the journey he had begun, shining everywhere with miracles.

St. [Rupert?] is transferred [unclear] Sponheim.

In this same year Abbot Bernhelm, through the intercession of Count Megenhard the founder, obtained from Henry, archbishop of Mainz, and St. Hildegard the right leg of blessed Rupert, the aforesaid confessor and duke, complete from the knee down to the foot or ankle, with skin, flesh, and bones; and he brought it with great reverence and honor to this monastery of his at Sponheim.

Finally, about these times, after Constantinople had been captured by the Latins, Hildebert, nephew of our lord abbot Bernhelm, a very brave knight who had crossed the sea with other Christians, returning through Greece, brought back many relics of saints, both from Jerusalem and from Byzantium, almost all of which he bestowed on this monastery. For he brought these, received from the church of St. Basil: of St. Lawrence the martyr; of Sts. Mark and Marcellinus, martyrs; three small pieces of the Innocents; of St. Basil; of St. John Chrysostom; and many others. But those that he carried from the Holy Land are these: of the Lord’s sepulcher; of the stone on which the [Lord?] stood when he ascended into heaven; of the stone on which the angel stood when he announced the Incarnation to Mary; of the Lord’s cradle; of the door through which the Lord entered, though it was closed, after the resurrection; of the oil of St. Catherine; of St. Stephen the protomartyr; also of the Mount of Olives; of the sepulcher of holy Mary ever virgin; of the stone of Calvary on which the Lord was crucified; of the Lord’s rock; of the stone of Golgotha that was stained with the Lord’s blood; of the Lord’s table; of the Lord’s bed; of the place of the Lord’s passion; also a mixture of all

Sponheimense.

which, obtained for love of the holy virgin Clementia, formerly his betrothed, who was serving the Lord in the same convent, he received with great honor and reverence, and brought here to his monastery, the whole congregation going out beyond the gate to meet it with praises and hymns; which, intact with skin, flesh, and hair, we venerate down to the present day.

In this same year King Conrad died; Frederick, the first of this name, succeeded him and ruled for 38 years.

1153.

An Almeinda is established for the poor.

Abbot Craffto, for the use of all poor persons arriving from anywhere, especially of those who serve the count and the monastery with their conveyances, obtained from his father Count Megenhard the Almeinda which is next to the vegetable garden, which Countess Richart had once bestowed on the monastery at its first foundation, toward the east and on the right side of the road to Mannede, with every right of ownership. He wished it to be confirmed forever with this limitation: namely, that every right and ownership of it should belong forever to the monastery, but that the usufruct should be common both to the monastery and to the household of the villages of Sponheim in Dalen, and to all poor persons arriving with beasts of burden and wishing to remain there as shepherds, unless the count with the abbot should wish to revoke it.

In this year Henry, archbishop of Mainz, by command of Pope Eugenius, was deposed by two cardinals, Gregory and Bernard. Wasted away by disease, he died in the same year on the kalends of September. Arnold, provost of Aachen, chancellor of Emperor Frederick, promoted and assisted by his aid, succeeded him.

1154.

In the third year of Craffto, Machthildis, a consecrated virgin, died; she had once been the sister of Abbot Bernhelm and was enclosed here beside our monastery at the beginning of its foundation, as was said above in its place. She died in her enclosure on the fourth day before the kalends of March. At her passing, angelic harmonies of praise were heard, and certain visions were said to have appeared. She was buried in the choir of the brothers before the steps of the presbytery, not without a reputation for sanctity. She left after her in the same cell five sisters, virgins consecrated and devoted to Christ, whose names are these: Sophia, who had come with her from Saint Alban, and who died in the same year on the day before the kalends of May; Gerlindis, Demodis, Luigardis, and Gertrudis, who served the Lord in the holy purpose of virginity until the end of life. In the course of time some others were joined to them to serve the Lord, but the names of few have remained among us. For after about seventy years the sisters failed in the same place; the enclosure was left desolate in the course of time, the buildings were ruined and utterly destroyed. At length, after many years, Abbot Dieterus had the stones carried away, the place cleared, and a vineyard planted there, which had continued there down to the present.

1155.

In the fourth year of Abbot Craffto, his father Megenhard, count of Spanheim, founder of this monastery, died on the day before the kalends of March: a man magnificent in every respect, father of the poor. For his soul Craffto caused many good works to be done. Finally, with the whole congregation of this monastery consenting and approving, he decreed that his anniversary day should be observed every year with vigils and masses, on which every priest should read one mass; non-priests should read fifty psalms, and those who did not know them, as many Our Fathers and Hail Marys. On that day twelve poor persons were to be fed in memory of the twelve apostles of Christ. Count Gotfridus, son of Megenhard, having obtained the county of Sponheim after his father’s death, governed it quite vigorously. At the urging of Lord Abbot Craffto, his brother, he [unclear] the castle called Coppenstein, with the forest and adjacent hamlets, to this monastery forever as the portion of a lawful inheritance [unclear]. About 170 years later, under Willicho the first abbot, a certain exchange was made by Count Johann [unclear], his brother Simon of Birgberg, Count Heinrich of Katzenelnbogen, Count Conrad of Sponheim, and others, for the little castle of Coppenstein with its appurtenances. This Count Hermann Palatine gave the church in Lainstein, with the third part of the tithes, of no small usefulness, to the archiepiscopal mensa of Trier, and bestowed many benefactions on the same church. For he was a man magnificent and glorious in every respect.

Chronicle of Trithemius. 1156.

In the fifth year of Abbot Craffto, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of November, the hospital of the poor, with its attached chapel, into which the right of the parish church had long before been transferred from Dalen, was consumed by fire and wholly perished. Therefore the parish church was again transferred to that place adjoining the monastery, where even today it is seen, separated from all human dwellings, so that it cannot easily perish by fire. For the first parish church was in Dalen from the time of St. Boniface, archbishop of Mainz, for almost 278 years. And then, under the elder Archbishop Adelbert, at the instance of Count Megenhard, the right of the parishioners was transferred into the chapel of the hospital, which had been situated toward the south near the monastery. Finally, when in the aforesaid year of Craffto that church with the hospital had been burned, a new church began to be built on the slope of the mountain beside the monastery, into which the entire right of the mother church was transferred. But the hospital was not rebuilt, both because of the monastery and because Count Gottfried seemed at that time to care little about the support of the poor. The graves also of the dead, with their bones for the greater part, were first transferred from Dalen to the hospital, and then to the new cemetery; although in both places many remained which at that time were not found. For often meanwhile, both in Dalen and in the place of the hospital, bones of the dead are found in digging and ploughing.

In this year Hermann, count palatine of the Rhine, etc., died.

1160.

In this year, which was the ninth of Abbot Craffto, on the third day before the Nones of November, in the [unclear] indiction, the parish church at the foot of the mountain around the monastery, newly built, of which we have already spoken, was consecrated by Bishop Henry, vicar of Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, in honor of the holy and undivided Trinity, the Holy Cross, and St. Giles, abbot and confessor. He enclosed in the altar relics of St. Vitus, of St. Maurice, of the holy Moors, of St. Alexandra the martyr, of St. Egricius, archbishop of Trier, of St. Boniface the bishop, of St. Emerentiana the virgin, of St. Irmina the virgin, and of the eleven thousand virgins. But the baptistery had from the beginning been placed in the church of the monastery, and for that reason another was not built in the parish church, because the one that existed before could suffice for so large a parish family.

1163.

At this time, for nine continuous years, the bodies of the holy eleven thousand virgins and of the other saints who suffered with them were found in the suburb of the city of Cologne and raised from the earth; some of these were found even without names. From them St. Elisabeth, a nun and mistress in Schönau, learned, by angelic revelation, the names, merits, and ranks of many, and wrote to Gerlacus, abbot of the monastery of Deutz, of our order.

1168.

In the thirteenth year of Craffto, abbot of this monastery, St. Elisabeth, a virgin nun of our order and mistress in Schönau, passed from this world to the Lord Jesus, whom she had always loved with a pure heart, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of July, in the thirty-sixth year of her age, and in the [unclear] of the visitation of the heavenly light, in holy revelations, on Friday at the ninth hour in the morning. This holy virgin, in the twenty-third year of her age, began to be consoled by angelic visitation and address, and thereafter had many revelations from God, which she arranged in part in the German tongue. But her brother, a monk in Schönau and afterward abbot, reduced all the writings and revelations of his holy sister into the more ornate style and into the form in which they are now read. These two precious lights of the world were at one and the same time: Hildegard at Bingen, on the mount of St. Rupert, and Elisabeth in Schönau; both, often visited by divine revelations, brought many secrets, according to the will of God, to the knowledge of men.

1167.

Craffto the abbot, in his sixteenth year, obtained from Pope Alexander III, through the mediation of a certain Cardinal Benedict, a large particle of the wood of the Lord’s Cross, which he adorned for this monastery with gold and gems. Finally, he adorned our church quite well with jewels, crosses, relics, and ornaments, all of which, however, failed with time, except for a precious mitre, which, although under many abbots it was often pawned, nevertheless in time, God willing, was brought back to the monastery. This mitre Craffto himself, in the first year of his promotion, caused to be made of pure silver, gilded on top, throughout with pearls and precious stones, many of which have been removed, with the help and, for a great part, at the expense of his mother.

1168.

260 Chronicle of Trithemius

for years, on account of his most fervent zeal for regular discipline, he was appointed prior under Abbot Baldemar; by word and example he showed himself steadfast to all, and preserved inviolate the integrity of the monastic life. All the time in which he was prior, namely for thirteen years, he spent either in the Scriptures as much as he could, or in prayers and the worship of divine praise. He always fled idleness with the greatest care, knowing what is written: “For in desires is every [unclear],” etc. Therefore he was accustomed to occupy himself usefully at all times, lest through idleness an entrance should lie open to vices. He was, however, as we have said, very learned in the writings of both branches of knowledge; always aided by his natural ability, with continual practice he became more learned every day, and by his own example and instruction he also stirred the brothers who seemed more fit for learning to love and study letters. When he had been ordained abbot, since he was now compelled to have regard for temporal as well as spiritual affairs, he showed himself so diligent and attentive in both that one would have sworn nature had fitted him for either.

In this same year in which Abbot Rupert was elected, serious disputes arose between the bishop of Worms and his citizens over various matters and ecclesiastical liberties. Emicho, count of Leiningen, Werner of Bolanden, with their followers, involved themselves in these; the count of Sponheim lent them his aid.

A.D. 1200.

Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, entered Hungary to restore peace between the two brothers Emeric and Andrew, who were contending for the kingdom. When agreement had been made between them and he was preparing to return, in the regions of Austria, in the territory of Passau, he paid the debt of the flesh. After his funeral rites had been celebrated, Wolfger, bishop of that place, honorably conveyed his body to Mainz and had it buried there.

Meanwhile a serious dispute arose in Mainz. Some elected Lupold, bishop of Worms, as archbishop; others preferred Siegfried, provost of the greater church. Leaving the city, they came to Bingen, and there confirmed the election which they had begun concerning Provost Siegfried. Hearing this, Lupold came with a strong hand, with the favor of King Philip, and drove Siegfried and his electors out of Bingen. But Siegfried, seeing that his men were making less progress, betook himself with his followers to King Otto. He was kindly received by him, and received the regalia from him. Relying on his authority, he returned to Bingen with the forces of an army; Lupold barely escaped by flight, and he captured many from his side along with the town. And so Siegfried, confirmed in the see of Mainz, presided as archbishop for almost fifteen years. This Archbishop Siegfried, in the first year of his pontificate, ordained our Abbot Rupert, of whom we are speaking, at Mainz in the church of Saint Alban, on the third Ides of November, which was the day of Saint Martin, our patron. Elsewhere I found that he received the gift of benediction from Guido, cardinal of Palestrina, legate of the apostolic see, at Saint Pantaleon in Cologne; I believe this to be truer, especially since Siegfried did not yet have the pallium.

In this same year many princes, bishops, and abbots, with an infinite multitude, signed with the cross, set out for the Holy Land in the service of the Lord’s Sepulchre. Among them was Berthold, count of Neuenburg in Breisgau, who, having received money, handed over his county to the church of Strasbourg as a perpetual possession, with all its appurtenances. He himself, with his son, set out for Jerusalem, and there persevered in the service of the Lord’s Sepulchre until death. Stirred by his example, many noble and powerful men, selling their estates, dedicated themselves with their wives and children to the perpetual service of the Holy Sepulchre. Lutold, bishop of Basel, likewise set out.

A.D. 1202.

Adelbert, count of Sponheim, set out for the Holy Land with many others, and for two years served Christ there as a soldier. In the same year Baldwin, count of Flanders, made his way to Jerusalem with great equipment. Rupert also, abbot of the monastery, since he was a wise and most prudent man, was appointed governor of the county of Sponheim by Count Adelbert, along with certain others, and governed the province quite prudently until his return.

Abbot Rupert made Peter, a monk of Bingen, whom three years before he had ordained prior in his place, after he had been deposed, I do not know for what reason, provost of the nuns on Mount Saint Rupert, at the request of Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, of the mistress, and of the whole convent of that monastery. In his place he appointed as prior the sixth in order from the beginning of the foundation, an old monk named Erenfrid, a venerable man, who

Sponheim.

1168.

In the seventeenth year of Abbot Craffto, Arnold, archbishop of Mainz, was cruelly killed by his own citizens in the monastery of St James near Mainz, on the day of St John the Baptist, namely [the eighth day before the Kalends?] of July. The leaders of this conspiracy from the clergy were Gotfridus, abbot of St James and provost of St Peter, with many others. When the slaughter had been carried out, Abbot Gotfridus, with the rest of the accomplices of his impiety, immediately withdrew into the city. They compelled the clergy and elected Rodolph, son of Conrad, duke of Zähringen, as archbishop. When he wished to appease the emperor with gifts, he stripped the church of all its adornment; but the emperor despised both him and his gifts.

But Conrad, count palatine of the Rhine, the emperor’s brother by one parent, drove out Rodolph and raised a certain Christian to the archbishopric; he nevertheless did not on that occasion attain the bishopric. For the emperor, rejecting both of them, raised Conrad, brother of Otto, count palatine of Wittelsbach, to the archbishopric. After two years he also expelled him, as will be said there, and caused Christian to be ordained in his place.

Moreover, after Arnold had been killed, as has been said, in the monastery of St James, that place itself was destroyed, all the dwellings of the monks were overturned, the monks were put to flight, and the abbot was banished from the country. And so for twelve years no divine offices were celebrated there. The monks who had been put to flight betook themselves to various monasteries; of these, four were sustained here for a long time out of fraternal charity, six in the monastery of St Disibod, and others were received in other places. The wall of the city of Mainz also, by command of the emperor, was destroyed all around, so that Mainz stood without a wall for thirty-six years. But all the citizens who had consented to the death of the archbishop, except the poor and beggars, fled before the emperor’s return from Italy.

1170.

In the nineteenth year of Abbot Craffto, Conrad, archbishop of Mainz, bound himself by oath to Pope Alexander. Wherefore the emperor, angered, expelled him from the archbishopric and from the country, and compelled him to flee to the pope; the pope gave him the bishopric of Sabina. Hence, for as long as he afterwards lived, he styled himself archbishop of Mainz and bishop of Sabina. After he had been expelled, the emperor raised Christian, who had been elected before him, as we have said, to the archbishopric. He presided for thirteen years. When he died, Conrad returned to the church of Mainz, as we shall say below in its place.

1183.

In his twenty-second year, Lord Abbot Craffto covered the head of St Irmina the virgin, which at the beginning of his promotion he had obtained from Hillin, archbishop of Trier, with a beautiful silver reliquary, and adorned it all around with precious stones, for the adornment of the church. But after many years, when the condition of temporal affairs had collapsed greatly through the bad governance of the abbots and the wicked life of the monks, under Craffto the second of this name the silver head itself was sold, and a copper one, which is seen today, was substituted.

1175.

Craffto, the second abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, son of Count Megenhard and our founder, died this year on the fifth day before the Kalends of June, and was buried in the same tomb with Bernhelm, his predecessor, in the middle of the choir: a man in every respect religious and most holy, who did many good things for this monastery and acquired many possessions for the support of the brothers. On his tomb verses are seen carved, which, with the names of both men set before them, sound thus in prose:

Illustrious abbots, to whom it has fallen to be entombed here, Both dear to God, I am now in equal peace.

Anselm the prior is believed to have made these little verses, because he was a studious and learned man. Abbot Craffto died, released by the disease of dysentery, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and in the twenty-fourth year and second month of his abbacy.

Concerning Adelger, the third abbot of this monastery, who presided for six years, one month, and three days; and concerning his deeds and other matters occurring in the present work.

When the most reverend abbot Lord Craffto had died and, not without many tears of the brothers, had been given ecclesiastical burial in the middle of the choir, as we have said, the same brothers assembled in the chapter place on the fourth day before the Kalends of June for the election of a known pastor. Having invoked the gift of the Holy Spirit and held much deliberation among themselves beforehand, at length they unanimously elected Adelger, a venerable monk, custodian of our church, a mature man and so [unclear]

Arnold the archbishop is killed. Rodolph the archbishop is driven out. Christian is [unclear] archbishop [unclear]. Conrad becomes archbishop. The monastery of St James is destroyed. Mainz [unclear] is destroyed. Archbishop Conrad is expelled. Christian becomes archbishop. Irmina’s head is covered in a silver shrine. Abbot Craffto dies.

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most skilled in spiritual as well as in temporal matters; he was solemnly ordained by Christian, archbishop of Mainz. He presided over this monastery with sufficient foresight for 6 years, 1 month, and 3 days.

This Adelger was born of his father Theodo and his mother Amalberga, citizens of Mainz, honorable and devoted to Christ. In his boyhood he was entrusted by those parents to letters in the city of Mainz. Through the diligence of his teachers, as he grew older, he made no small progress in writings, especially secular ones, and surpassed many of his contemporaries in conduct and knowledge. Then, when he was twenty years old, out of love of wisdom he betook himself to the University of Paris, then the most famous in the whole world, and, remaining there for seven years, made magnificent progress in every branch of knowledge, both divine and human. When the seven years had passed he returned to Mainz; because of the reputation of his learning he was appointed scholasticus there, where he received many talented young men as pupils. At length, however, after his parents had already died, seeing that many were going to perdition by the broken paths of vices, he abandoned the world with its vanities for the love of God, and coming here under Abbot Craffto he was made a monk. His way of life among the brothers was beyond reproach, humble and quiet, burdensome to no one, never troublesome to anyone. Finally, when he was appointed abbot, he took care with every effort and solicitude to show himself a useful shepherd to the brothers, and to instruct them in living well no less by example than by speech. For under his rule monastic discipline flourished here in praiseworthy fashion.

MCLXXVI.

In the year 1176, Abbot Adelger built the sacristy beside the high altar on the left, for greater convenience. It had previously been beside the northern apse, where the chapter room now is, placed between the refectory and the church.

In this same year died Clementia, a virgin nun in [Horreo Treverensi?], on 21 March, formerly the betrothed of Lord Craffto, count and second abbot of this monastery, daughter of the count of Hochenberg. This most devout virgin was a most fervent lover of Christ; intent day and night on prayer and contemplation, she desired nothing more than to please God in all things. Finally she departed, not without a great reputation for sanctity, in the forty-eighth year of her age, the twenty-seventh of her conversion to our order, in the ninth indiction. Buried in the church of St. Irmina.

MCLXXVII.

In the year 1177, Adelbero, the first cellarer of this community, formerly a monk of St. Alban’s at Mainz, who had been sent here with the first monks, died in this same year on 11 November, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. He held the office of cellarer vigorously for almost fifty-three years, and with great diligence and charity always applied the necessary care to domestic affairs.

Saint Hiltrudis also, a virgin and nun at Bingen, daughter of Count Megenhard of Sponheim, sister of our above-mentioned second abbot Craffto, in this same year on 17 November rested in the Lord; blessed Hildegard, her teacher, bore witness to her sanctity.

MCLXXVIII.

In the third year of his rule, Abbot Adelger sent Erenfrid, his monk, to Rome for the dispatching of certain business of this monastery. Returning from there, among other relics he brought back a notable particle of St. John the Baptist, which was received with great reverence and honor. This same Abbot Adelger, for the adornment of the church and reverence for the relics, had small reliquaries made: some of white ivory, others of wood overlaid with gilded bronze plates, which he filled and adorned with diverse relics of saints. Among the many volumes of sacred reading that he acquired for the use and benefit of the brothers, he also had the New and Old Testament copied in a beautiful script, in three large volumes, by the hand of Godefrid, a monk of this community, who was an excellent scribe and a most vigilant restorer of books of sacred scripture. In this same year the monastery of St. James on the fair mountain near Mainz, which some years before had been destroyed on account of the killing of Archbishop Arnold, began to be rebuilt, with the permission of Emperor Frederick I and the assistance of Archbishop Christian. Archbishop Liutpold of Mainz founded this community in the year of the Lord 1053.

MCLXXIX.

Anselm of Bickelnheim, kinsman of St. Hildegard, the second prior of this monastery, died on 21 December, in the forty-third year of his priorate. He was among the first twelve sent here from the monastery of St. James, as was said above. For he was a good man and a notable lover of regular discipline. At his death he left after him in this community twenty monks well instructed. He increased the library to no small degree and trained very many excellent scribes. After his departure Adelger appointed as third prior one named Eberold, a sufficiently learned monk, who

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Sponheim.

who held the office of prior for six years, and afterwards, under Abbot Baldemar, was deposed, having no other cause for his deposition except that he seemed too lax in monastic observance and, though more often admonished, scorned to amend; this cause was approved by all as more than sufficient.

In this year St. Hildegard, virgin of Christ, a nun of our order, foundress and mistress of the monastery of St. Rupert near Bingen, died on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of October, in the eighty-second year of her age, in the thirteenth indiction. She was buried with great honor before the high altar of the aforesaid church, with many honorable persons and the whole congregation standing by. This holy virgin was deemed worthy to be visited by divine revelations from her youth; from these, by divine command, she wrote down many things for the use of posterity. But since she was ignorant of the Latin tongue and had learned nothing from any human being except simple psalmody, taught by the inward instruction of the Holy Spirit she perfectly understood every writing, arrangement, or construction of speech. Her revelations, moreover, and heavenly visions she set forth partly in the German tongue; these Gotfridus, monk of St. Disibod, her chaplain and confessor, made into [unclear] Latin, reducing them into that order and form in which they are read today. Among her other volumes, however, there is a great volume in that same place which contains her letters to various persons, homilies, lives of saints, and other things which, taught by God, she published; the nuns of that place falsely assert that she wrote it with her own hand, since she was ignorant of the Latin tongue and, because of frequent illnesses, wholly indisposed in her damp head for writing. For none of those things which are displayed there today should be believed to have been written by her own hand, since indeed she did not know how to write; but the aforesaid monk either wrote everything or caused it to be written.

MCLXXXI.

In this year Adelgerus, the third abbot of this monastery, died on the sixth day before the Nones of July, about the twelfth hour in the middle of the night. He was buried in the brothers’ choir before the steps of the presbytery. Under this abbot’s rule regular discipline was quite good in the present place, with the greatest charity among the brothers and religious devotion; and when this reputation was laudably spread round about, it earned great reverence from the faithful peoples. Hence very many, conferring generous alms on this place, commended themselves to the prayers of the brothers; and not only those living nearby strove by their benefactions to relieve the brothers’ poverty, but also men from distant places, stirred by devotion to the brothers, sent their alms here. Among many we shall set down at least one, so that the truth of what has been said may be proved. For thus, among other things, the brothers wrote to a certain man who gave his goods generously to this monastery: Wernerus of blessed memory, pastor of St. Columba in Cologne, gave ten marks for the purchase of a vineyard in Monaecha, so that annually the abbot in Sponheim would pay one cartload of wine to his relative Wilhelm. After the departure of his uncle, however, Wilhelm offered the above-mentioned vineyard of the town, after receiving full fraternity, for the use of the brothers, so that in the granary of his Lord, having full charity in bread, wine, and lean fish, they may rejoice in the Lord, giving thanks to him for this benefaction. And so that this may always be held valid, it was confirmed by the attestation of the present page under the abbot’s anathema: that if anyone should wish to annul this, or should annul it, he be blotted out from the book of the living and not be written with the just, unless through repentance and satisfaction he should regain his senses. The other donations of the faithful made to this monastery under Abbot Adelgerus, since they were numerous, we have not wished to recount in this place, in order to remove tedium.

Concerning Baldemar, the fourth abbot of this place, who presided for 17 years, 2 months, and 17 days; concerning his deeds with regard to the present monastery.

After Adelgerus, the third abbot of this monastery, had died and been buried, as we have said, two of the brothers were not present; when their arrival had been awaited, and they had then appeared on the third day, that is, on the third day before the Nones of July, Prior Eberoldus, together with the conventual brothers, began to have discussion concerning the election of a new abbot. After many [unclear], at length they [unclear] gave their consent. He, ordained by Christianus, archbishop of Mainz, presided over this monastery for seventeen years, twelve months, and 17 days, a man sufficiently religious, experienced in both [unclear] of cloistered persons. He was born from the county of Sponheim, in the town of Kreuznach, of parents honored according to the world. Coming to the monastery under Abbot Craffto, he was made a monk when he was eighteen years old, a youth of good character and already, at the beginnings of literary instruction, not moderately learned. He had a sister here in the enclosure, shut up with other sacred virgins for the love of Christ, who of conversion

that woman was a very great occasion for his entering religion; her name was Udegeba, a nun very devout and of holy conduct, who converted him by her most sweet admonitions.

After he was made abbot, overcome by the prayers and love of his sister, he enlarged the enclosure, which was too cramped, and gathered in it sisters serving Christ, up to the number of twelve; all of them lived in common from the portion of their paternal inheritances and from the labor of their hands, without burden to this monastery.

1183.

Christian, archbishop of Mainz, died; Conrad was restored, whom the emperor Frederick had expelled because of his adherence to the Apostolic See, and he presided for 17 years. He wrote the title thus: “Conrad, by the grace of God bishop of Sabina, archbishop of the holy see of Mainz: After divine clemency restored us, after our long exile, to the governance of the Church of Mainz, by the office enjoined on us by God, by which we were and are bound universally to provide for our [unclear] church, graciously to reform all things which pertain to the state of rectitude and the vigor of justice ...” He retained this title together with the bishopric of Sabina, which Pope Alexander had conferred on him when he had fled, as was said above, as long as he lived.

In this year, on 20 July, a great fire broke out in the town of Kreuznach, by which many houses were burned and great damage was inflicted.

1184.

In this year Abbot Baldemar built the great house on the eastern side, which is now the lower refectory, with the brothers’ dormitory above, for the reception of guests, away from the abbatial house, in which he constructed various chambers in the manner of the ancients; all of these were afterward changed into another form.

In this same year Lugardis, a virgin nun enclosed here, very devout, daughter of the late Eberhard, knight of Sobernheim, died on 25 October and was buried in the cloister of this monastery. It was said of her that she had often had visions and angelic revelations.

1187.

In this year Eberold, the third prior of this monastery, was deposed by Abbot Baldemar, because he seemed too lax in the observance of regular discipline. Rupert succeeded him in the priorship as the fourth, a very venerable monk, a lover, cultivator, and strenuous preserver of regular observance, who after Baldemar’s death was later elected abbot in his place. He was by nation a Thuringian, sprung from honorable parents, very learned in both divine and human writings; of him we shall speak in his own place. He greatly enlarged the library according to his abilities, and wrote and caused to be written many volumes.

1188.

Abbot Baldemar built and completed the wall around this monastery, which Abbot Craffto had begun long before but, being overtaken by death, had not completed, because not everything necessary could be accomplished at the beginning.

In this same year the virgin Hildegund died on 20 April in the monastery of Schönau, of the Cistercian order, in the diocese [unclear]; she had been received there among the novices, concealing her name and calling herself Joseph. Caesarius, monk of Heisterbach, wrote her history in the first distinction of his Dialogues.

1189.

In this year Ida, countess of Sponheim, became a nun in the monastery of St. Rupert at Bingen, brought to this by a wondrous vision given to her from heaven; there, living in holy conduct and very severe penitence, she was an example to all of chastity and holiness. Her sister was that most holy virgin Margaret of Hohenfels, prioress for many years in the same monastery, who is said to have shone with miracles in her lifetime; the feast of her commemoration is celebrated on 29 October.

1190.

In this year, on the vigil of St. John the Baptist, there was a great general eclipse.

1192.

Abbot Baldemar, in the twelfth year of his rule, had a certain dispute with the villagers of Sponheim over pastures and woods, which nevertheless was settled by Count Gerlach and other good friends with the consent of the parties.

In this same year Albert, afterward called the Great, was born in Lauingen in Swabia. Also in this year Rupert, prior of this place, saw a wondrous vision, both of the punishments of hell and also of the joys of Paradise; when he revealed it rather imprudently, he was gravely [struck] by paralysis

Sponheim.

having been gravely struck, he was ill for almost the space of a year.

1195.

In this year Abbot Baldemar purchased the village which is called Argenschwang, with all its jurisdiction, justice, and property, for twenty marks of silver from the count of Sponheim, whose advocacy he gave in fief to Erinfrid of Sponheim, knight.

Also in this same year Conrad, count palatine of the Rhine, duke in Heidelberg, [unclear] of the diocese of Worms, changed [unclear] of the monks of our order in Nuwenburg, appointing as the first abbess Cunegund, a very religious virgin, with Sigenhard, abbot of the monastery of Lorsch, agreeing to everything; to him that provostry of Nuwenburg belonged by full right, without any intermediary. [unclear] Six nuns will die.

1197.

In this year Udegeba, sister of Abbot Baldemar, a nun enclosed here among us, died on the fourth Ides of July, a virgin of holy conduct, who for many years served almighty God in great devotion. Five other sisters died successively not long after her; these are their names: Sister Walpurgis, on the eighth Kalends of August; Gertrude, on the third Ides of August; Adelheid, on the thirteenth Kalends of September; Lucardis, on the seventh Kalends of September; Otilia, on the sixteenth Kalends of December, at night around the eleventh hour, who was the daughter of Henry, knight of Kreuznach, a most beautiful virgin, renowned no less for her conduct than for her blood, who shone with many virtues. There remained, however, six or seven in number, who also died successively within a short time; nor were as many gathered again in their place as before, but far fewer.

1198.

In this year the little village called Bockenau was set on fire on the fifteenth Kalends of January by a certain fugitive peasant, and was entirely consumed by fire. He himself, however, was afterwards apprehended and was judicially burned for so heinous a deed.

In the same year Drutwin, Schultheiss in the village of Sponheim, was captured by Count Gerlach and beheaded on the day before the Kalends of June for the crime of homicide.

1199.

Baldemar, the fourth abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, died in this year on the tenth Kalends of July, and was buried in the cloister before the door of the church, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, not yet completed. He was a good and religious man, who profitably governed this monastery both in spiritual and in temporal matters, and did many good things. Rupert, prior of this place, succeeded him in the abbacy.

Concerning Rupert, the fifth abbot of this monastery, who presided for fourteen years and two months; concerning deeds relating to the present monastery.

In the year of the Lord's incarnation 1199, in the second indiction, two days after the death of Lord Abbot Baldemar, that is, on the eighth Kalends of July, the brothers came together to hold the election of a new pastor. Having invoked, according to custom, the grace of the Holy Spirit, they unanimously set over themselves as the fifth abbot of the place Lord Rupert, the fourth prior of this place, a learned man, very religious, no less prudent in counsel than mature in action. After his long and humble excuse of himself, he presided vigorously for thirteen years and three months. He was ordained abbot in the following year by Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, in the church of Saint Alban, because Archbishop Conrad, returning from Jerusalem, had remained for some time in Italy because of the dissension between Philip and Otto, who were contending over the empire. Afterwards, having returned to Mainz, he died in the following year, as we shall say. This Abbot Rupert was by origin from the province of the Thuringians, of honorable parents of moderate fortune; having been given over to letters from infancy, so to speak, he advanced with age in every branch of knowledge, both secular and divine, and became most learned. And first indeed in his own country he received the rudiments of youthful studies; then he went to Gaul, and returning from there after some years, at the admonition of a fellow-countryman of his, he was detained here and became a monk under the venerable Abbot Adelger, when he was about twenty-four years old. But after he assumed the habit of holy conduct, he was so devoutly, so religiously and blamelessly planted in the midst of the brothers' life that he seemed to be the master of all in regular observance. Hence after some

Sponheimense.

... who vigorously held the office of prior for five years and maintained good discipline.

In the same year Conrad, bishop of Würzburg, chancellor of the imperial court, when he was rather steadfastly reproving the vices of the wicked, was cruelly killed by Bodo and Henry, knights of Rabensburg, and by their assailants Herald and Conrad, in the city of Würzburg, in the public street, on the fourth Nones of December. Henry, called Käse, succeeded him, because he held cheese among his delicacies. The murderers, going to Rome, received a very severe penance from Pope Innocent III, which is contained in the bull of the same pope.

1203.

Adelbert, count of Sponheim, returned from the parts beyond the sea and brought to us relics of many saints; and he gave many gifts to Abbot Rupert, whom meanwhile he had appointed as steward. Through his munificence he gave in perpetual right and ownership to this monastery the little village of Auwen, not far from Monzingen, with its household, land, jurisdiction, justice, pastures, woods, waters, fisheries, hunts, and all its revenues or appurtenances, together with the Schultheiss, the scabini, and the leading men.

1206.

In this year, on the day before the Kalends of March, at the tenth hour of the day, there was a quite dreadful eclipse of the sun. For several testified that they had then seen a human head in the sun. Many other signs also appeared at this time in the sun, the stars, and the air. Abbot Rupert, considering that a great danger of souls was arising for the monks, [unclear] that no sister thereafter should be received into the enclosure beside this present monastery of ours, lest by any occasion they become a ruin of souls for posterity; and so none was received thereafter. For at that time there were still six in the enclosure. Two of them died after some years, and the four remaining transferred to Mount Saint Rupert under Abbot Iwan, as we shall say below in its proper place, when we come to the eleventh year of Abbot Iwan.

1208.

Erenfrid, the sixth prior of this monastery, died in this year on the day of Saint Andrew the Apostle, a good man and a special lover of regular discipline, who most zealously bestowed admonitions of salvation on his brothers by word and example. After him Iwan, a monk of this monastery, [unclear].

... bestowed admonitions of salvation on his brothers most zealously. After him Iwan, a monk [unclear] that by no occasion they become a ruin of souls for posterity; and so none was received thereafter. For there were at that time still six in the enclosure; after some years [some] died, and the four remaining transferred to Mount Saint Rupert under Abbot Iwan, as we shall say below in its proper time, when we come to the eleventh year of Abbot Iwan.

In this year Philip, king of the Romans, was killed at Bamberg by Otto, count palatine of Wittelsbach. Otto, duke [unclear] of Brunswick, succeeded him immediately in the empire by election of the princes, and reigned for a few years, namely three. Dispensation of the table allowances of Saint Rupert.

In this year Philip, king of the Romans, was killed at Bamberg. Otto, duke [unclear], succeeded immediately by election of the princes as king in the empire, and reigned for a few years, namely three. At length, after agreement had been made between them by Rupert, our abbot, and also by the abbot of Disibodenberg, at the order of Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, both withdrew, and a third was substituted in their place. Frederick [unclear]. Gertrude, daughter of Emelrich, knight of Mainz, but the other was Beatrix, daughter of the count of Hohenfels. At length, after agreement had been made between them by Rupert our abbot, [unclear].

At the same time Hermann, landgrave of Thuringia, arranged for the son of the former King Frederick to be elected king of the Romans against Otto; and many evils followed: persecutions, burnings, and wars, which lasted until Otto’s death. Emperor Otto is excommunicated.

1211.

In this year Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, by the command and authority of Pope Innocent III, everywhere throughout all Germany denounced Emperor Otto as excommunicated. Hence Henry, count palatine of the Rhine, the emperor’s brother, was moved, and with the duke of Brabant, the count in Sponheim, and the other nobles of Lotharingia and of these regions, he devastated the whole bishopric of Mainz around the feast of Saint Michael with fire and plunder, leaving nothing untouched except cities and castles, but destroying everything. In this year, on the fourth Kalends of March, a great miracle occurred in the village which [is called] Vallis [unclear].

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Chronicle of Trithemius

A dead man came back to life and preached many things.

[unclear], commonly called Mannendal, situated not far from here, is so named. In it there was a certain good and respectable man, named Adelbert, who had a wife and children, whom he supported by the labor of his hands. When he was sixty-two years old, he fell into very acute fevers; as they gradually increased slightly, he seemed to be near death. Therefore, after confession and fortified with the ecclesiastical sacraments, he came to his end, and on the aforesaid day, when the sun was already setting, he departed from human affairs. Thus dead, he lay silent the whole night, while his friends around the lifeless body performed the funeral rites with tears, according to custom. But when morning had come, and the sun was now rising, when everything that seemed necessary for burial had been prepared and he was just about to be buried, suddenly, in the presence of all who were there, he sat up alive; and when they all fled from him, he himself also rose from the place where he had been lying and, going at a rapid run to the church, remained fixed in prayer until the ninth hour of the day, nor would he give any answer to those who questioned him.

But when at last he had raised himself from prayer, looking around he saw the crowd standing by, wondering and asking what was happening concerning him. “God has done this well. O folly of men! O impiety! How hidden are the things that await them after this life!” Meanwhile the parish priest of that church, named Udo, who was archpriest, a learned and religious man and one who feared God, came up and said: “What is it, Adelbert? Were you dead at the end?” “I was dead,” he said; “by the mercy of God I am alive, as I was before; but hereafter I must live otherwise than I did before.” The priest said to him: “Did you see anything of the future life?” “I saw,” he said, “many dreadful things.” And when he was asked to tell what he had seen, he answered: “A law has been imposed on me, without which I can neither say nor do anything.”

But when he had been brought back into the priest’s house, he said to him: “Lord pastor, I have been ordered to disclose to you and tell you everything that I saw and heard. I cannot tell all the people, lest the secret mighty works of God come into derision among those who think according to the flesh.” Therefore the pastor sent a messenger here to the monastery and made everything known to Rupert, our abbot, asking him to deign to come without delay to Mandal and hear the mighty works of God. Taking with him John the prior, he hastened there; and a few of the villagers having been summoned, as many as the pastor there judged suitable, they sat in the presence of the man who had been dead, to hear what he would say.

Opening his mouth, he said: “When I was being pressed toward death by a very grave illness, and was lying thus, with all my senses darkened, it seemed to me as if there occurred a very great earthquake, in which heaven and earth clashed violently together. Suddenly my soul, made outside the body as if from darkness into light, in a way I do not know, could see the whole world all together at one time with the greatest clarity. O good God, how far removed is the opinion of mortals from the truth of that life which follows after the present one. My soul, then placed outside the body, was so bright that it beheld so clearly all things that are in the world: all provinces, cities, castles, villages, peoples, men, kingdoms, lands, mountains, hills, waters without matter, indeed the whole sum of the entire universe; and it understood all things properly and distinctly, all together at one time, so that I seemed never to have understood anything in this world so well.

“And what I am about to say is marvelous above all things. For although I knew that I had neither body nor eyes, nevertheless I saw everything that is in the whole world. I cannot now sufficiently wonder at my own ignorance, by which I no longer understand what I then understood. For the soul is a spirit; all things were done with me in the spirit. Now I cannot understand any of those things otherwise than if they had been shown to me through the senses.”

At this point Abbot Rupert, interrupting his words, said: “We understand that what he says is true, and there is no need to linger here longer, since it is established by reason and faith that none of the things which separated substances either [unclear] or suffer can come to our understanding without the service or comparison of the senses. But go on to say what you began to say.”

He therefore continued, saying: “When I stood thus within myself in the greatest wonder, I suddenly saw, as if from the right and the left, innumerable spirits coming toward me with force. Those who came from the right were good spirits, but those from the left were evil and perverse. The good angels, taking me up, suddenly lifted me upward into the air, as if in a moment, in the blink of an eye. It seemed to me that the whole air was filled with demons, who, like sparks flying thickly in the manner of snow, filled everything. Around me, wherever I looked, there was a dreadful fire and flame, which seemed to torture me so much that no suffering of this world ever seemed more grievous to me. Moreover, those malignant spirits, striving to snatch me away while the angels defended me, set before me the very grievous [unclear] of my sins.

“Therefore I was led to the judgment of almighty God, which I cannot remember without horror. What I saw and heard I cannot tell, nor can any mortal who has not seen those things believe it. There all my sins were bare, manifest, and open to all spirits, both evil and good, whatever I had committed in all my life, even in the smallest thought or deed; and for these they accused me most severely. But the very sins that I committed suddenly came back to my memory; I do not know how. Indeed, they themselves accused me so gravely that the accusation of the demons seemed lighter. It is not possible for me to say how heavily there are weighed and punished the things which I did not think were sins. I will say one thing about myself, by which the rest may be estimated. It happened twenty years ago, as I was going to Kreuznach, that I met a poor man asking, a half-beggar, who, when he had asked me the way, I do not know to what place, I said: ‘This is the direct road to the place—’

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Sponheimense.

“...with whom you are going. That man, proceeding [unclear], through ignorance turned aside from the right way onto another road, and wandered for several hours in the wood. How gravely I was accused and afflicted because I had not warned him of this, even though he had not asked me at all, I could not express if I had a hundred tongues.

The demons also charged me with another matter, much more serious: once, when in tithing the crops in my field, as is customary, I had not observed the due order, I had kept back for myself one sheaf owed to the church, putting in its place another which seemed to be somewhat more useful to me. I had confessed that guilt of mine to my priest and been absolved by him, and believed that I was now wholly secure. But alas, how wretchedly my confidence deceived me. For because I had not restored the loss inflicted on the church, which was scarcely four denarii, even though absolved, a sentence of eternal damnation was already about to be pronounced against me, had not the most blessed Mother of God and St. Maximinus, together with the holy angels, interceded for the mercy of the Judge.

Nevertheless I was tortured in the unspeakable burning of flames, while demons rushed upon me with what seemed like sheaves of fragments and mocked me with laughter. It seemed to me that I was tortured in that most penal fire for more than four hundred years, and that all the sheaves of the whole world were thrown upon me; although I later learned that I had scarcely been placed in that torture for the space of one hour.

Then, freed by the mercy of God, I was led by an angel to the places of punishments, where I saw torments so horrible, so monstrous and fearful, that no mortal understanding can grasp them and no tongue of anyone in the world can utter them. No comparison can be made between the punishments of this world and those punishments of eternal damnation which I saw in the underworld. So great a multitude of souls also descended into hell during that interval in which I was out of the body, that previously I would not have believed so many people could have died in a hundred years. There were bishops, abbots, priests, monks, nuns, together with innumerable Christians of both sexes, as many as I would have believed were living in the whole world. Moreover the multitude of unbelieving heathens was infinite; like snow from heaven, so they fell into hell.

O how great is the misery of unhappy souls, how pitiable their groaning and outcry, who never cease from wailing, always crying out: ‘Woe, woe is me; why was I born upon the earth, to come into this place of eternal damnation?’ Meanwhile I saw the soul of a certain bishop dragged by demons into hell, with such exultation on their part that it is difficult to say; and she cried out miserably, wailing without end. So great a multitude of demons had poured around that wretched soul that we would never have believed there were so many demons. Fraudulent tithing, the withholding of rents of churches and monasteries, is punished with penalties: they should rather pay a double tithe than subtract from the ministers of the church the value of one denarius.

I saw monks and nuns there enduring horrible punishments, which it is not possible for me to express, because of even slight disobedience, or displeasure or murmuring against their superiors. Of the innumerable multitude of bishops and prelates of the church who were there, some were more tormented because they had no certainty of their liberation. He said that a greater multitude of simple peasants are damned because they commit fraud against one another, especially against the ministers of the church, in tithes, in crops, in pastures, in fields, and in other things; they do not restore what they have inflicted in great measure, and few of them truly and purely confess their sins with true contrition and a firm purpose of amendment. But he asserted that this is a grave sin of subjects: rashly to judge and rebuke the deeds of prelates or ministers of the church, or to speak against those whom God himself will judge.

But it seemed to me, he said, that in the middle of the earth there was a great and very deep well, full of animals foaming with flames and reaching upward as far as the clouds; led to it by the angel, I was ordered to look inside. O good God, how great a horror seized me; if I live a thousand years, I shall never be able to forget it. When I had looked inside, if I had as many tongues as there are drops of water in the great sea, I could not describe the least punishment of those who were being tormented there. For I saw infinite souls of men being horribly tortured there, and innumerable demons mixed among them, tearing them most cruelly. Nothing was heard there but lamentation and ‘Woe’ without interruption, with such blasphemy against God and against every creature that I cannot remember it without horror. So great was the tumult there, so great the crash, so great the tempest, that if a thousand worlds were struck together at once, they could by no means make so horrible a din. I recognized many there whom they had known together long before, who cried out that they were damned forever. For the well was...

Concerning fraudulent tithes.

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Chronicle of Trithemius

That place, as I had learned from the Angel, was a place of hell: whoever once descends into it will by no means come out for ever.

After this the Angel again led me around through all the places of punishments, in which souls were being tormented, as he said, for their purification. Their multitude was countless, and they were being punished in different places by various kinds of torments, according to the nature of their offenses for which they had not made satisfaction in life. O what misery, what calamity of unhappy souls, whom I saw there suffering the bitterest punishments even for faults which in this life they had neglected to confess and wash away with tears as very slight.

Afterward I came to a certain very deep valley, as it seemed to me, in which there was a certain great and very foul-smelling river. There was a slender bridge, slippery and exceedingly narrow, over the river, stretched from one very high mountain to another at such a height that four towers of the castle in Kreuznach could not, if set beneath it, have touched that bridge. It was so narrow that it could scarcely take two feet, and from either side toward the middle it rose gradually, so that one could climb it only with the greatest difficulty. I saw many souls wishing to cross over this bridge; some of them fell into that dreadful river at the very beginning, others about the middle, and others about the end. It was full of dragons and very great serpents, which stretched their heads upward as if to devour those who fell; and it was a pitiable sight.

Those who fell into the river were submerged: some up to the neck, others up to the knees, and others otherwise, either wholly or in part, according to their deserts. By swimming and repeatedly sinking, they labored with the greatest urgency to reach the bank of the river; some reached it sooner, others later. But as soon as they had reached the bank, far more beautiful than they had been before, they were received by the holy Angels with the greatest rejoicing and were led into the palace of the heavenly kingdom. I saw certain people there, laden with gold or silver, or burdened with any other loads of cares for temporal things, wishing to cross; they fell at the very beginning, and after many labors could scarcely at last reach the bank. For the more often anyone fell from the bridge, the longer he remained in the river. There was no possibility of going back, but only of going forward; all were being driven to plunge into the depth. Some, after being tossed about in that river for many years, labored almost to the failure of their strength.

Meanwhile I saw one naked but very beautiful soul come to the bridge and cross with such speed and assurance that it did not tremble even slightly at anything. I asked the Angel what that soul was, and he said to me: “This is the soul of Theodebert the monk, who, because he possessed nothing besides God, therefore walks securely. For when he was a canon of the church of Mainz, wealthy, young, and powerful, he despised everything for the love of God and became a monk in the monastery of St. Ferrutius, which is called Blidenstadt, where until death he served the Lord in all purity and simplicity of mind and tranquillity of heart. And because for God’s sake he despised everything, God granted him this privilege, that in securely crossing the bridge he should not fall. With the same assurance all those crossed who serve God in a monastery in the true observance of the rule, without occupation in worldly affairs.”

Many other things also I saw and heard there, which I cannot tell on this occasion. Then the Angel took my hand and led me to the places of the blessed spirits, who were exulting in such happiness and joy that no mind can grasp these joys and no human tongue express them. What I saw and heard there I cannot tell; nor, if I went on telling it, would you grasp it. There I saw several whom I had formerly known in the flesh. Among them was my lord Hildebert, formerly pastor in Sponheim and afterward a monk there, who had upon his breast a golden star shining like the sun, because of the light of knowledge and doctrine by which he had recalled many in this life, by teaching and admonishing, to the practice of justice.

What very sweet songs I heard there, what beautiful and delightful things I saw, which have been prepared for those who truly love God, which no one understands unless he receives them. Through all the choirs of Angels I was led in some manner I do not know, and I saw secrets which I neither ought nor can tell. And when I had come to those first, most splendid blessed spirits, they invited me to remain with them. The Angel of the Lord answered them: “He must return to the body. If he has washed away past evils through penitence, if he has guarded himself from sinning thereafter, if he has devoted his zeal to works of justice, he will come to us happier.” [unclear] “preach to those who fear God; and what he has forbidden, you shall cover for ever with silent [unclear].”

When these things had been said, I was immediately led back to my body and ordered to enter. O good God! How [unclear] I dare say: all things that are done or suffered there are spiritual, and greater and more sublime than all mortal things by as much as the spirit is more subtle than the body. But to me, as I was taught in writing by the Angel, they were shown in the likeness of sensible and material things known to me, because I was to return to the body.

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Sponheim. 265

I had returned; nor could I, now in the flesh, either have retained those things spiritually as they are or revealed them to you, if I had seen them without an aid introducing a likeness of sense. For it is impossible that mortal man should see those things as they are. Yet now I do not understand in the body the things which, placed outside the body, I rightly understood; rather, I am as one cast after a great light into the densest darkness of ignorance. He said many other terrible things about the punishments of hell and purgatory, and likewise about the joys of the kingdom of heaven, all of which it would be too lengthy to write. At the command of the angel he also disclosed to certain men the hidden sins of some, so that they might do penance, and he foretold some future events which afterwards came to pass. These things which we have noted down Udo the archpriest, pastor in Mandal, wrote for the knowledge of posterity. Moreover Adelbert himself, who had been dead and came back to life, undertook so arduous a course of penance that there was no doubt that he had seen greater torments than he described. For he took up a solitary life in a wood not far from Dalen, where he built a small hut of wood and clay, in which until his death he served the Lord in great abstinence for the seven years by which he survived.

1213.

In this year, on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of September, Rupert, the fifth abbot of the monastery, died; he was buried before the steps of the presbytery in the choir. He was in every respect a magnificent man, who vigorously maintained the observance of regular discipline both in himself and in others, and converted many to righteousness by word and example. For, as we said above, he was most learned both in the divine scriptures and in secular letters, an outstanding preacher of the divine word, and no less suited to the governance of temporal affairs than of spiritual ones, and most prudent in everything that had to be done. His brothers, who were bound to him by the greatest love, did not bury him without many tears. For he did many good things for this monastery: he enlarged its revenues and acquired various possessions, and, what is greater than all, he preserved inviolate to his death the holiness of the spiritual life.

In this same year St. Mary of Oignies, in the parish of Liège, died, a most holy woman in life and conduct, who shone with many miracles in her lifetime. Her deeds were written in a lucid style by James of Vitry, afterwards bishop of Acre, and lastly cardinal-bishop of Tusculum of the holy Roman Church, who had preached the cross against the infidels in the diocese of Liège.

Concerning Ivan, sixth abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, who presided for forty years and three months, and concerning the various deeds of that time.

When the venerable abbot Rupert had died, as we have said, and been buried, the brothers of this monastery of Sponheim, coming together in one place in the year of the Lord 1213, in the first indiction, on the fifteenth day before the Kalends of September, unanimously elected as abbot Ivan, the seventh prior of this place, a man sufficiently fit for the governance of souls. He presided in the abbacy for thirty-nine years and three months, and in the same year was ordained by lord Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, cardinal and legate of the holy Roman Church, at Mainz in the monastery of St. James on the feast of St. Michael the Archangel. This Ivan was the son of Gotfrid, knight of Sponheim, who in his youth, under abbot Adelger, had been handed over by his parents in this monastery to serve almighty God, when he was ten or eleven years old, namely in the last year of abbot Adelger. As his years increased, wisdom and knowledge of the scriptures increased in him, in which he made such progress that he far surpassed almost all his contemporaries. At length under abbot Rupert he was made prior, and he served in that office for almost five years. When Rupert died, as has been said, he succeeded him in the abbacy; and he was a man sufficiently skilled in handling both spiritual and temporal matters, whose reputation for wisdom was widely spread here and there in the province. After himself he appointed as eighth prior a certain monk named John, who presided in the priorate for only three years, and was deposed for some reason I do not know, as we shall say in its place.

1214.

In his first year abbot Ivan obtained a privilege from lord Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz and legate of the apostolic see, that he might bless vestments and ecclesiastical ornaments for the use of the monastery and of the churches subject to it.

In the same year Marquard, brother of John, count of Sponheim, entered the religious life. He brought many gifts to this monastery, and lived peacefully among the brothers, humbly and religiously, without complaint; but he was lame in both feet, so that he could walk only with difficulty, and for that reason he was not of much use to the world, and therefore he became a monk.

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Chronicle of Trithemius

In this same year Brother Conrad of Marburg, of the Order of Preachers, began to preach in Germany by apostolic authority; he continued for nineteen years, and caused many, indeed almost countless, persons to be burned as heretics, and he himself was at last killed.

1215. In this year, which was the second year of lord Iuanus the abbot, many princes, meeting at Aachen, anointed Frederick, king of Sicily, grandson of the emperor Frederick I, as king of the Romans, through Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz and legate of the apostolic see, and placed him on the royal seat, Emperor Otto having been abandoned and left almost by everyone. When the consecration had been completed, John Scholasticus of Xanten at once preached the cross there for the relief of the Holy Land. Hence there were soon signed with the cross Frederick the king himself, Sifrid archbishop of Mainz and legate, also the bishops of Liege, Bamberg, Poitiers, and Strasbourg, likewise the duke of Moravia, the duke of Brabant, Henry duke of Limburg, the duke of [Ancei?], the count palatine of Tubingen, the margrave of Baden, the count of Los, the count of Julich, the count of Sayn, the count of [Monte?], also John count of Sponheim, and many other nobles, clerics and laymen; and a great army of horsemen and foot-soldiers was signed. In the same year, on the fifth day before the Kalends of September, around the first hour of the day, there was an earthquake.

1216. In this year Iuanus the abbot, with lord John count of Sponheim and many other pilgrims signed with the cross, crossed the sea and went to the Holy Land. At the same time William count of Holland and George count of Wied also went with them, with a great crowd of those signed with the cross. Andrew king of Hungary also, and Leopold duke of Austria, with bishops and counts and a numerous multitude of those signed with the cross, crossed the sea at the same time and set out for the aid of the Holy Land. Moreover Iuanus committed the governance of the monastery to Riginfrid the prior, whom in the preceding year he had substituted after John had been deposed. He was a prudent and noble man, and administered the office of the priorship vigorously for twenty-two years, and maintained good discipline.

1217. In this year Iuanus the abbot and John count of Sponheim returned from the regions overseas and entered the monastery on the eighth day before the Kalends of April. Lord Iuanus the abbot brought back with him many small portions of relics of the saints, and especially from those places which the Lord Jesus sanctified by his bodily presence, stones and pieces of rock cut out; all these holy things he enclosed in a fabricated [unclear].

In these times the monastery of nuns of the Cistercian order in the valley of Saint Catherine, virgin and martyr, near Mandal, was built and endowed through the munificence of Udo, pastor in Mandal and archpriest, and of his associates; he, warned by the vision of the aforesaid deceased [unclear], gave to that place everything he was able to have. A copy of this foundation follows, and is as follows.

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. Amen. Sifrid, by the grace of God archbishop of the see of Mainz: by the tenor of the present document let it be known to all the faithful of Christ that the beloved sons Gosfrid, provost of Creutzenacht, Udo archpriest of Mannendal, Frederick dean of Hilbersheim, and their fellow brethren, having in their hearts zeal for God, brought their properties together into one, and from them founded the church of Saint Catherine of the Cistercian order. Therefore, arranging that these goods be stripped of every burden of administrators and of service by any [unclear] whatsoever, the advocates, if they held any right in them, renounced their right. Since, however, we are bound to strengthen this donation of property by our authority, so that it may be lawful for those dwelling there justly and lawfully to possess both this property and the things belonging to it, we confirm it by the authority with which we are invested, and we decree that the order of monastic religion, according to the rule of the blessed father Benedict and the institution of the Cistercian brethren, shall always be observed inviolably by those dwelling there. We also firmly decree and establish this for them: that what is known to have been granted by lord Pope Alexander to all of their religious profession, and by several pontiffs of the Roman see, namely that from newly broken lands, enclosed places brought under cultivation by their own labor and at their own expense, and also from gardens and from the nourishment of their animals, they shall pay no tithes to anyone; but they shall enjoy this indulgence granted to them. We have also ordained that the aforesaid overseers of the monastery, in selling or buying the goods of the church, or in admitting sisters or lay converts, shall do nothing without the consent of the abbess and convent; and that whatever is brought or sent to the aforesaid church from remote or neighboring parts shall be kept in a place appointed for this, under the custody of the abbess, the provost, and the servants. The household utensils with their appurtenances, namely wool and dairy produce, shall be kept under the custody of the ladies. The abbess and convent shall arrange nothing in the aforesaid matters without the counsel of the provost; the provost, however, shall dispose of nothing without them. But when the abbess or the provost dies, by no cunning of stealth or by violence shall an abbess

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Sponheimense.

No abbess or provost shall be appointed except the woman or man whom the convent by common consent, or the sounder part of the council, according to the fear of God and the Rule of blessed Benedict, shall have elected. We also decree that an abbot shall be chosen by the same convent only from their order, for preserving the rigor of the order, or for deciding questions for which the convent shall seem to him insufficient; and he, according to the mandate of our institution, ought not to oppose the election made of him. The lay brothers shall promise obedience to the provost, and the sisters to the abbess, and shall render it according to the Rule of blessed Benedict without murmuring. We likewise command that lay brothers departing from the aforesaid place without due permission shall not be received in any places.

Whoever therefore, with any rash boldness, which God forbid, shall presume to act against this page of our constitution, and shall endeavor to break or disturb the ordinance noted above, secured and confirmed by the impression of our seal, let them recognize that they will incur, unless they make answer, the indignation of almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, condemned by him with anathema, by the authority of lord Pope Honorius and our own. These things were done in the year of the Lord’s Incarnation 1219, in the eighth indiction, when lord Honorius III presided over the apostolic see, and lord Frederick II, most glorious king of the Romans, ever Augustus, and king of Sicily, was reigning; under these witnesses: Henry, major provost; Poppo, dean; Gotfrid, custodian; Christian, cantor; Henry, provost of Burg; Albert of Cogelenberg; Frederick of Firnenberg, canons of the major church of Mainz; Luano of Sponheim; Hartvernus of Mount St. Disibod, abbots; Henry, provost of Struvabenheim; Philip of Oterburg, abbots; Mechthild, son of the count of Sponheim, with his brothers; Godebold of Wierbach and Micho his brother; Wulfram of Stein; Marquard and Barthold of Strumberg, knights; and very many others, both clerics and laymen, worthy of trust; also Diepold of Eberbach, Eastachius of Hennenrode, Philip of Oterburg, abbots; Mechthild, abbess of the same place, in the 121st year from the beginning of the Cistercian order, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of June, in the twentieth year from the beginning of the house in the valley, was absolved from excommunication and interdict.

In the same year also King Frederick, having held an assembly at Frankfurt, set out for Rome, and was invested as emperor by Pope Honorius III.

1231.

In this year Count Silvester Conrad, commonly Wiligraf of Dhaun, was excommunicated by Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, and his land was placed under interdict, on account of the advocacy in Heimbach, which he had violently invaded against the will of Henry, major provost, and the canons of the church of Mainz. At last, agreement having been made between them, and one hundred marks having been received from the canon, the count resigned the advocacy of the church, and was absolved from the sentence of excommunication and interdict.

In the same year Worms was burned on the day of St. Margaret the Virgin, and many houses by a certain knight of Beckelnheim, who was called Henry Spon, which Crafftobas III afterward alienated from the monastery, redeemable by the procurator for Rhenish florins, as will be said in its place.

In the same year Abbot John, in the eighth year of his rule, bought a manor for twenty-five marks of silver from [unclear]; especially around the market and in the adjoining streets they were burned. In those days Bishop Henry, son of the count of Saarbruecken, was there. In the same year also the Friars Minor entered Worms and built a monastery.

1232.

In this year, which was the ninth of Abbot John, Conrad, bishop of Speyer, hearing that the nuns of our order in the monastery called Haulen near the monastery of Limburg in his diocese had slipped too far from the path of regular discipline, and had failed no less in temporal and necessary goods than in spiritual conduct, to such an extent that they were compelled to relieve their poverty by shameful traffic, decreed with the consent of Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, that henceforth no one should be admitted to the order there; and he incorporated that monastery, with all its revenues, into the monastery of Limburg, so that, when all the nuns of that place had died, the abbot of Limburg should have divine services celebrated there by his monks.

1234.

In the eleventh year of John there were still only four nuns, sisters, in our enclosure. Our nuns [unclear] passed over to the monastery of St. Rupert. All the others having died in the course of time, and no one being admitted any longer, according to what Abbot Rupert had decreed almost eighteen years before, as was said above. Hence, with the license and authority of John the abbot, the four who remained were transferred to the monastery of St. Rupert near Bingen, with all their possessions, and there were received into the convent. Their names are these: Agatha, Radegundis, Helwigis, and Margaret. And thus the place of our nuns—

Witnesses to the confirmation.

Conrad Wiligraf excommunicated.

Frederick is made emperor.

Henry Spen sells the custody of the abbey of Nosterbach.

Worms is burned under Bishop Henry.

The Minorites are established at Worms.

The nuns in Hausen came to an end.

The monastery of Hausen is incorporated into Limburg.

Our nuns [unclear] passed over to the monastery of St. Rupert.

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Chronicle of Trithemius

began to lie vacant, and remains vacant down to the present day, containing nothing of its former dwelling or building except only the name by which it is called Clausa, as it was in antiquity. Hence the nuns of the aforesaid monastery of St. Rupert, made bolder by such a contrivance or occasion, obtained from Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, that their aforesaid monastery should be entrusted for all future times to the abbot of this monastery, as it had been entrusted from the beginning of the foundation of the abbey of St. Disibod. But because religious discipline had grown exceedingly lukewarm in that monastery of Disibod, they could easily obtain from the archbishop what they asked for the salvation of souls. For in this our monastery at that time there was still a praiseworthy observance of discipline. Therefore lord Sifrid, the archbishop, entrusted the aforesaid monastery of the nuns of the monastery of St. Rupert to Iuano, abbot of this monastery of Sponheim; and it remained so entrusted for many years, until at last regular discipline in both places almost wholly perished, and the nuns, seeking liberty, paid no attention thereafter.

1225.

Sifrid the archbishop dies, etc. [unclear] Sifrid [unclear]. Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, is killed by his nephew.

Sifrid the third succeeded and presided for twenty-four years, a man of great deeds and of such authority and constancy that he fearlessly excommunicated and opposed Emperor Frederick, by command of the lord pope.

In the same year, on the eighth ides of November, Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, when on the previous day he had dedicated a church in a certain village, was cruelly killed as the day was already drawing toward evening by Frederick, count of Eisenberg, his brother's son, pierced through with thirty-seven wounds or blows because of [unclear]. Buried in the church of Cologne, he began to shine with countless miracles. But Frederick the count, the impious parricide, with his accomplices numbering twenty-five, soon betook himself to the castle of Eisenberg; but, not trusting the fortification, he fled from there and, lying hidden as an exile for a whole year, excommunicated by Conrad, bishop of Porto and legate of the apostolic see, at last, when the year had passed, was found and captured by a certain knight. He was sold for one hundred and two thousand marks to Henry, the archbishop who had succeeded Engelbert; bound, he was led outside the walls of Cologne on the eighteenth calends of December and broken on the wheel, while his mother stood by beneath the wheel, crying: “Alas for me, these are my entrails to be devoured by crows, just as I saw in a dream when I was still carrying you, my son, in the womb.”

But when Frederick had thus been broken on the wheel, the signs at Engelbert's tomb soon ceased to occur.

1226.

John, a monk of this monastery, who had been prior before Reginfrid, a shrewd, religious, and very devout man, after the death of Peter, provost of St. Rupert's at Bingen, was appointed provost there by Abbot Iuano. He always kept the observance of regular discipline inviolate, both in himself and in others, to the utmost of his ability.

In these times Henry, bishop of Worms, son of the count of Saarbrücken, founded a monastery of nuns at Kirschgarten, outside the walls of the city of Worms, and placed there nuns of the Cistercian order, who inhabited that place for almost [unclear] years under the same religious rule, until the times of Bishop Frederick, who in the year 1443, after the nuns had been expelled, introduced reformed canons regular of good observance. The aforesaid Bishop Henry was in dispute with the citizens of Worms over ecclesiastical liberty. When they would not obey his command, he placed them under interdict. When he made no progress by this, he ordered all the clergy to depart except the parish priests, to whom the care of souls had been entrusted; nevertheless they did not dare to give the body of Christ to the sick unless they promised that they would obey the bishop if they recovered, nor were the bodies of the dead permitted to be buried in holy places. And when these things had lasted for the space of a year, certain of the citizens, affected by weariness of them, turned to the bishop's side and stirred up partisanship in the city. Hence the council, compelled by necessity lest it suffer worse things, entered into peace and concord with the bishop, and they were absolved.

1227.

In this year, which was the fourteenth of Abbot Iuano, Marquard, a monk of this monastery, son of the count of Sponheim, died in the thirteenth year of his conversion, a good man of singular devotion.

In the same year Pope Gregory IX excommunicated Frederick the second, emperor, because, contrary to his promise, he neglected to cross over for the recovery of the Holy Land; and the whole army gathered for this expedition from various parts of Europe was dispersed, whence many evils followed.

Also in the same year, on the third ides of September, Louis the Pious, the fifth landgrave of the Thuringians, the first margrave of Meissen, husband of St. Elizabeth, died in Sicily, in a certain city called Otranto. His bones were brought back to Thuringia and buried in the monastery of Reinhardsbrunn of our order.

1228.

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Sponheim.

1228.

In this year Ottokar and Wenceslaus, illustrious kings of the Bohemians, gave such a privilege to the church of Mainz: that the archbishop of Mainz, and no one else, must anoint and crown as kings both them and their successors, as is clear in these letters:

In the name of the Lord, Amen. Ottokar and Wenceslaus, illustrious kings, to all the faithful of Christ who shall look upon the present writing, perpetual salvation. We acknowledge and publicly declare that we and all our successors are bound forever to receive royal consecration and the placing of the diadem from the archbishop of the most holy see of Mainz, the metropolitan of our land. But if that archbishop, when requested, should withdraw himself by impulse of his own mind, let him commit his office for carrying this out to another bishop whom we or our successors shall request. And so that this may remain valid and unshaken, we have confirmed this page, with the consent of the venerable bishops of Prague and Olomouc, by the attachment of our seals. Given at Prague in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1228, in the first indiction.

In the same year the emperor Frederick crossed the sea, recovered Jerusalem, together with part of the Holy Land, and made truces there with the Saracens for a fixed time.

1219.

In the sixteenth year of Abbot John, the village called Wimesheim was burned by an accidental fire, almost wholly consumed, and in that fire three infant boys perished by a like misfortune, namely on 21 August; many were impoverished even to beggary.

In the same year the emperor Frederick returned from the lands beyond the sea and, finding his land in Italy harried by troubles through the pope, gravely avenged all the injuries he had suffered.

1230.

In this year a grave controversy and dissension arose among the citizens and the council of the town of Bingen, which went so far that two members of the council were publicly slain in the marketplace through a sedition of the common people; some were wounded; the rest, scarcely escaping by flight, took care to save themselves. But not long afterward a severe vengeance followed against the authors of the sedition. For some were beheaded, others mutilated in their limbs, and the rest, proscribed beyond the borders of the fatherland, endured perpetual exile.

Also in the same year the emperor was absolved by the pope, through the mediation of Leopold, duke of Austria, who, after a treaty of peace had been completed between the pope and the emperor at San Germano in Campania, died; his entrails and flesh were buried in the chapter house of the monastery of our most holy father Benedict on Monte Cassino, while his bones were carried back to Austria.

Also in the same year dissension arose between the archbishop of Cologne and the duke of Limburg over the advocacy of the monastery of Siegburg of our order, in the same said diocese of Cologne.

1231.

In the eighteenth year of our abbot John, Saint Elizabeth died, daughter of the former king of Hungary, widow left by Louis the Pious, fifth landgrave of Thuringia, a woman of many virtues and of most holy conduct, buried at Marburg, which is a town of Hesse; she at once began to shine with countless miracles.

In the same year, in the month of July, in the city of Worms, a fire that arose by chance in the house of Herbord the knight consumed a great part of the city together with the church of Saint Paul.

Also in the same year Louis, duke of Bavaria, when he had gone to the Holy Land with a great army, was killed on his return at Kelheim with a knife by a certain Saracen, a messenger of the Old Man of the Mountains, in the presence of his household, the emperor Frederick having procured this crime, as was afterward confessed. The Saracen himself, however, was immediately cut to pieces by the duke’s attendants. The duke’s body, attended with great honor, was buried in the monastery of Scheyern in Bavaria. His son Otto succeeded him in the duchy; he took as wife Gertrude, the only daughter of Henry, count palatine of the Rhine, who dwelt at Heidelberg, with whom he obtained that whole dominion; thus the duchy of Bavaria and the county palatine were joined into one. That Otto begot from Gertrude, his aforesaid wife, two sons, Henry and Louis, of whom we shall speak in their proper place.

This duke Otto gave the town of Braubach, with the adjacent castle and all its appurtenances, in fief to the count of Katzenelnbogen; the landgrave of Hesse possesses it today, none of those counts now living.

In the same year Ulrich, abbot of Limburg of our order, in the diocese of Speyer, with the consent of his convent, gave to the chapter of the church of Mainz the pastoral church in Heldenberg, with its tithes and revenues, for the increase of the prebends of the church of Mainz, as is clear from their letters, as follows.

The kings of Bohemia must be anointed and crowned by the archbishop of Mainz alone.

Copy of the privilege.

Jerusalem is recovered.

Wenceslaus [unclear].

The emperor Frederick [unclear].

Sedition at Bingen.

The emperor is absolved.

Leopold of Austria dies in the diocese [unclear].

Dissension between the archbishop of Cologne and the duke of Limburg.

Saint Elizabeth dies.

Fire at Worms.

Louis, duke of Bavaria, is killed.

Otto, duke of Bavaria, marries Gertrude the Palatine.

Bavaria and the Palatinate of the Rhine are joined.

Braubach a fief.

The parish in Heldenberg is given to the chapter of Mainz.

The kings of Bohemia must be anointed and crowned by the archbishop of Mainz alone.

Copy of the privilege.

Jerusalem is recovered.

[unclear]

The emperor Frederick [unclear]

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Chronicle of Trithemius

Copy of the donation.

In the name of the Lord, Amen. Ulrich the prior, with the whole convent of Limburg, sends greeting in the Savior of all to all who shall see this writing. Lest those things which are done in time should slip away and perish with time, salutary provision has been made for human frailty that all acts be strengthened by the testimony of writing. Therefore we wish it to be made known to all the faithful of the present age and the future that, after mature deliberation had first been held, by unanimous common consent, freely and absolutely, we have handed over to the greater church of Mainz, to be possessed perpetually, the church in Heldenberg, the right of patronage of which is known to belong to us; namely on this condition, that when the pastor who now is there shall resign or die, whomsoever the chapter of Mainz shall choose for the governance of the said church, he shall be presented, with letters of that chapter, to the abbot, or to the prior if there is no abbot; and he, as a sign of recognition of the benefice received from the church of Limburg, shall request from him a [unclear], and shall obtain it without any difficulty; namely so that the same cleric shall be presented with letters of the abbot or prior to the archdeacon, that he may receive from him the care of souls. The same shall be observed in the case of others substituted thereafter. But if either the abbot or the prior, which however be far from the case, should wish on some pretext to refuse, no prejudice shall thereby be generated either to the person substituted or to the chapter of Mainz itself. And so, after a suitable and sufficient stipend has been assigned to that priest, from which he may now be able to answer to the diocesan as well as to the archdeacon of the place concerning their rights, and nevertheless the parish priest himself be suitably maintained, whatever remains from the revenues which the pastors hitherto have been accustomed only to receive, shall go to the improvement of the prebends of the chapter of Mainz, saving in all things the right of the church of Limburg. Furthermore, so that provision might be salutarily made by a firmer bond of charity for the entry of the church of Mainz into the church of Limburg, it has been decreed that, whenever one of our brothers, having entered the way of all flesh, is announced to the church of Mainz, the memory of the deceased shall be performed in vigils and obsequies as for one of themselves. And we likewise, in the customary manner, shall offer prayers and hosts for their deceased brothers. But this must not be passed over: that in all affairs of our church the church of Mainz shall faithfully, as in its own affairs, bring aid and counsel, as often as it can and ought, amicably and kindly. These things were enacted in the year of grace 1231, in the month of October, in the fourth indiction.

Conrad, bishop of the church of Speyer, also together with his chapter gave consent to the aforesaid donation of the abbot of Limburg, at the instance of the provost, the dean, and the whole chapter of Mainz, declaring that it had been made not to the loss of the monastery of Limburg, but rather to its advantage and honor, as appears in the letters made thereupon by him, which we have judged it superfluous to insert into this history of ours. Lord Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, also confirmed by letters that same donation made to his chapter.

1232.

Abbot John, in the nineteenth year of his rule, had a grave dissension and dispute with the villagers of the village of Sponheim, on account of the woods, pastures, and common land beside the vegetable garden of Lady Richardis, countess of Sponheim, which she had donated to this monastery at its first foundation. Hence, after many contentions, an agreement was at last made between them by Lord John, count of Sponheim, in this manner: first, the woods of the forest were divided and distinguished by signs set between them, so that the abbot separately and also the villagers separately should henceforth possess their woods in peace, and neither party should henceforth presume in any way to inflict damage on the other in the woods or elsewhere, or to hinder the other. The pastures, however, throughout the whole march must be common both to the abbot and to the villagers, except for certain districts of the abbot in which the villagers are to have no power of pasturing. The common land must be common, and remain common in every form for the monastery, the villagers, those of Dal, and the other poor of the [unclear], just as nearly eighty years before it is known to have been established by Count Megenhard and by his son Craftho, the second abbot of this monastery; nor shall anyone be allowed to sell anything from it, neither from its land, since it belongs to the monastery, nor from the usufruct, which the count, the abbot, and the county granted to the poor villagers.

In this year Conrad, landgrave of the Thuringians, waging unjust war on account of a certain [unclear] against Lord Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, caused him much damage. For he took the town of Fritzlar and almost destroyed it utterly, along with certain others. At last agreement was made between them in this manner, as follows:

In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity. Concerning the destruction of Fritzlar, Witzenhausen, the towns, and the other damages which Lord Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, and Lord Conrad the Younger, landgrave, felt on both sides when they had war between them, such a settlement intervened: the old settlement, as it was ordained by Lord Siegfried, formerly archbishop, and Lord Ludwig, of pious memory, formerly landgrave, shall be kept unshaken in every way forever. Likewise the archbishop granted the town in Wolfheim as a fief to the aforementioned Conrad the landgrave, and grants it to his legitimate heirs, even to daughters, if there are no sons to succeed after his death by hereditary right. And if the same Conrad should ask in his lifetime that he grant the same town to his brother or to his brother’s son, this shall in no way be denied him.

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Sponheim.

This agreement contains many other articles also concerning the law of the parties alleged, which there is no need to insert now. At this agreement, made between the aforesaid lords Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, and Conrad the Landgrave, there was present Master Conrad of Marburg, of the Order of Preachers, a man of great learning and authority in the Sacred Scriptures, who had been appointed general inquisitor of heretical depravity by the holy Apostolic See. In this same year, on the third day before the Nones of May, he caused four heretics in the city of Erfurt, condemned to the fire, to be burned. Many, almost innumerable, throughout nearly all Germany, who had long lain hidden as heretics, after being brought to light and examined, he condemned, and handed over to the secular court to be burned.

There are those who say that he was too ready and prompt in condemning simple people, to such an extent that he caused many innocent persons to be killed; for as soon as anyone had been denounced before him, without the cause of the denunciation or the merits of the accuser having been examined, he would pronounce sentence, crying: “Take away, take away the impious heretic, to be burned with fire.” Hence in the following year, which was that of the Lord’s incarnation 1233, it happened that the Count of Sayn was falsely accused before him of heresy. For his excuse or purgation Henry, son of the emperor Frederick II, held an assembly of many princes, bishops, and abbots at Mainz; all of them, with one voice, bore united testimony to the count’s Catholic faith, since, a few years before, not without great loss of his men and goods, he had crossed the sea in aid of the Lord’s sepulchre. He had always honored the Church of God and its ministers. Finally the count himself, standing before all, with tears publicly proclaimed his innocence, gravely injured in so unjust a manner.

For this reason brother Conrad became hateful to all, noble and ignoble alike, since on account of true and fabricated heresies he had caused many nobles and commoners, clerics, monks, nuns, enclosed women, townsmen, and peasants, in various provinces of Germany, to be condemned by an excessively hasty sentence, if it is right to say so, to the punishment of fire, and cruelly killed. For on the same day on which anyone was accused, whether justly or unjustly, with no refuge afforded him by any appeal, any defense or excuse, or even, what was impious, any recantation, he was condemned and thrown into cruel flames, so much so that he seemed to rejoice more in the multitude of the condemned than of the innocent. Therefore, seeing that he could not prevail against the Count of Sayn, confounded and exposed to the hatred of many, he resolved to go from Mainz toward Marburg, and [unclear] safe-conduct both from the king and from the archbishop [unclear].

In the same year the Sultan of Babylon sent to the emperor a tent, constructed with wondrous skill, in which images of the Sun and Moon, moved artificially, [showed] their course with certain proper and due [unclear]. He was killed by certain nobles; and when he had sought pardon and mercy with tears and sighs, he was not heard. He was buried beside St. Elizabeth.

In the same year also the emperor Frederick II took away from the same monastery the principality of a monastery of our order not far from Heidelberg, which is called Lorsch, with all its honor, vassals, ministeriales, [unclear], towns, revenues, rights, and appurtenances, which the abbot of that same monastery had always possessed up to this time, and gave it to Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, and to his church, as is clear from the letters that follow:

“In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity: Frederick II, by divine favoring clemency Emperor of the Romans, ever Augustus, king of Jerusalem and Sicily. The dignity of the Roman prince is exalted, and the narrow bounds of the empire are adorned, when he restores and preserves by suitable provision the principalities in which the empire, established in its dignity, flourishes, and chooses and appoints over them for their restoration and preservation those persons who, both by the prerogative of the souls committed to them and by the merit of their own dignities, are judged sufficient and acceptable for this. We wish it to be known to all the faithful of the empire, both present and future, that we, considering the weak condition of the church of Lorsch, falling in the course of time from the honor and name of a principality, so that it seems to fail no less the empire than itself; considering moreover that through our beloved prince Sifrid, venerable archbishop of Mainz, whose favor and services daily rendered to the empire present themselves to our sight with much gratitude, not through the same see of Mainz, always effective in obedience to the empire and to our honors, the service owed to the empire by that principality, which because of the weakness of that same church has hitherto been withdrawn from us, can be rendered in full: with our beloved son Henry, illustrious king of the Romans, ever Augustus, standing near us and wishing to provide for these matters, together with the deliberation and counsel of the princes, from our inborn prudence, by the grace of majesty, [we grant] that same principality of the church of Lorsch, with all honor, vassals, ministeriales,”

The Chronicle of Trithemius

... those marked [with the cross], who for their transgressions and for withholding tithes had been excommunicated for many years, had shown themselves contemptuous of the ecclesiastical keys; and, often fighting with bishops, counts, and other nobles, they were frequently victors and rarely defeated. But when an army of crusaders came against them, they were defeated, and more than two thousand were killed; the rest fled to the neighboring Frisians.

The Count of Holland is killed. Worms is burned. Henry, bishop of Worms, is dead; Landolf succeeded him. Nonnenmünster is reformed. King Henry opposes his father Frederick and comes to a bad end.

In the same year the Count of Holland was killed in a certain tournament at Corbie in the diocese of Amiens. Also in the same year, on the night of 10 Kalends of July, the city of Worms was set on fire, and a great part of it was burned, not without very great loss to many. In the same year Henry of Saarbrücken, bishop [unclear], died. He expelled the nuns of our order from the monastery in the suburb of the city of Worms, which in the common tongue is called Nonnenmünster, because of their disorderly life, and introduced nuns of the Cistercian order there, who inhabit that place down to the present. Also in the same year King Henry held an assembly of certain princes at Boppard, where he received counsel from certain wicked men that he should oppose his father Frederick, and this he did. For from that time he began to solicit everyone he could, by threats, entreaty, and payment, to stand with him against his father; and he found not a few.

MCCXXXV. In the twenty-second year of Abbot John, Emperor Frederick, returning from Italy into Germany with many treasures, held a council at Worms on 6 Nones of July, where he received his son Henry back into favor. But when Henry did not keep his promises and occupied the castle of Trifels against his will, he was seized by order of his father and first [kept] in a certain very strong house [unclear] because of their disorderly life expelled, and they introduced nuns of the Cistercian order there, which he did. Then at last, after being sent to Alzey and finally to Sicily, he was held prisoner until death, and in the fifth year of his exile and captivity he died there in custody.

In this year, which was the twenty-third of Abbot John, in the village of Gebrad a male child was born with two heads, very monstrous; he lived six months and nine days. His two heads were joined opposite each other at the back, but there was one body, two confused bellies, and lower down they were wonderfully reduced into one; two feet.

In the same year Saint Elizabeth of Marburg was canonized by Pope Gregory. Emperor Frederick was present at Marburg with an innumerable multitude of people when her most holy body was raised from the tomb; he himself was the first to lift the stone from her sarcophagus, and he gave a golden crown to her holy head. Present there were the apostolic commissioners: Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz; Theodoric, archbishop of Trier; and the bishop of Hildesheim, with many other bishops and princes. There are those who write that more than twelve hundred thousand people assembled there at that time. These things were done in the ninth year from the death of Saint Elizabeth, on the day of Philip and James, where among other signs oil flowed from her sacred body.

MCCXXXVII. In the twenty-fourth year of Abbot John, the grange of our monastery situated on the mountain near Dalen, which was called Gauwershausen, with all the surrounding buildings, [unclear] or six, was burned, and afterward was not restored. For on that very mountain, which is called Mount Gauia, commonly Gauwersberg, there was once a small village, which gradually declined and in this year was entirely consumed and so desolated that today no trace of it appears in the place.

In the same year Conrad of Than, bishop of Speyer, died; Conrad of Eberstein succeeded him on the feast of Saint Agnes the Virgin, and he presided for eight years.

MCCXXXIX. In this year, which was the twenty-fifth of Abbot John, Reginfrid, the ninth prior of this monastery, died on the day of Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr, a good and upright man; after him no one like him in zeal and fervor for regular observance and the keeping of monastic discipline arose in this monastery for many years. When he had died, Abbot John, with the counsel of his brethren, appointed as the tenth prior of this place John, a venerable old man, who held his office for only one year and six days, and died. In the same year the greater church of Mainz was consecrated by Siegfried the archbishop. MCCXL.

272 The Chronicle of Trithemius

with its castles, towns, revenues, rights, and appurtenances, as it is known to belong to us and the Empire, we have, by imperial authority, given and granted in perpetuity to the same church of Mainz, to the said archbishop of Mainz and to his successors; and we have solemnly invested our named prince, the venerable archbishop of Mainz, in the presence of the princes, so that the same church of Mainz, the same archbishop of Mainz, and his successors may henceforth hold and possess that principality, and may foster and preserve it for our honor and that of the Empire, saving the right which shall be owed from it to the Empire. By the authority of the present privilege we command that no prince, duke, margrave, count, sheriff, advocate, ministerial, no person high or low, ecclesiastical or secular, shall presume with rash daring to go against the page of this present gift and grant of ours. Whoever presumes to do this, know that, besides our indignation, to which he shall know himself subject, he will pay, in punishment of his rashness, one hundred pounds of pure gold, of which one half shall be paid to our court and the rest to the party that has suffered injury.

Therefore, for the stable memory and firmness of this gift and grant of ours, we have caused the present privilege to be made, impressed below with the golden seal of our majesty [unclear]. The witnesses of this matter are B., patriarch of Aquileia, and others. The sign of the lord Frederick II, by the grace of God most unconquered emperor of the Romans, ever august, king of Jerusalem and Sicily. I, Sifridus, bishop of Regensburg, chancellor of the imperial court, in place of the aforesaid Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, archchancellor in Germany, have reviewed it. These things were enacted in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 1232, in the month of April, in the fifth indiction, while our lord Frederick II, by the grace of God most unconquered emperor of the Romans, ever august, most glorious king of Jerusalem and Sicily, was ruling, in the twelfth year of his empire, the seventh of his kingdom of Jerusalem, and the thirty-fourth of his kingdom of Sicily, happily. Amen. Given at Aquileia.

This donation or alienation of the principality from the monastery of Lorsch, then still of our order, made by the emperor Frederick, King Henry his son confirmed thus:

Henry, king of the Romans, by the grace of God ever august, to all the faithful of the empire who shall see this page, his grace and every good. It redounds to royal munificence unto glory if [unclear] with worthy honors, if with increased augmentations of property [unclear] the attendants at its side and those privy to its secrets. For from this devotion springs up in subjects, and the number is increased among the devoted, while munificence multiplies by example whatever it could have [unclear] through grace. Hence it is that we wish it to be known to all our faithful, present as well as future, that, when our beloved Sifridus, archbishop of Mainz, appeared in our presence, he earnestly petitioned our highness that the gift and grant of the principality of the church of Lorsch, with every honor, vassals, ministerials, castles, towns, [unclear], made to him and to the church of Mainz by our lord emperor Frederick, ever august, king of Jerusalem and Sicily, with us present and consenting, we ought to hold and preserve as renewed inviolably. We therefore, considering the gracious services which the said church of Mainz is known to have rendered to us and to our forebears, and also considering that the services owed to the Empire, which through the weakness of the aforesaid monastery have hitherto been withheld from it, can suitably be rendered by the said archbishop and his successors, holding the aforesaid grant and gift ratified as made with our assent, have decreed by the edict of the present royal page that no person, high or low, ecclesiastical or secular, shall presume with rash daring to oppose it. But if anyone attempts this, besides the indignation which he thereby incurs, let him know that he will pay fifty pounds of gold, of which we wish one half to be assigned to our court and the other to the party that has suffered injury. The witnesses of this confirmation of ours are B., patriarch of Aquileia. Given at [Chindacum?], in the year of the Lord 1232, on the fifth day before the Kalends of May, in the fifth indiction.

When this imperial gift, together with the royal confirmation, of the principality of the aforesaid monastery of Lorsch had been received, Sifridus, archbishop of Mainz, in order to establish that same principality for himself and his successors with perpetual firmness, induced the monks of that monastery by crafty persuasion, making great promises, to direct letters to the supreme pontiff Gregory IX and to request that their monastery be united with the church of Mainz. Therefore the monks, having no suspicion of their own expulsion, and firmly hoping that they, together with their monastery, would very soon be restored by the archbishop to their former state, wrote thus:

To the most holy father and lord in Christ, lord Gregory, supreme pontiff of the sacrosanct Church, the dean with the devout college of brethren, though small, of the ministerials of the church of Lorsch: continual prayers to Christ, with filial subjection. We have thought it right to report to the grace of your apostolate that, since, at the mandated examination of judges delegated by the Apostolic See, lord Conrad, formerly our abbot, was by sentence deposed on account of the wasting of our property and the other enormities which he had committed, we, perceiving that the reformation of our said church could not consist in anything else, as indeed it cannot, [unclear] our aforesaid judges concerning beneficed counsel and consent

Chronicle of Trithemius

... obtained Landshut together with Lower Bavaria. This Louis, Count Palatine, first took as wife Mary, daughter of the Duke of Brabant; having suspected her of adultery, he later had her beheaded at Werde in Swabia, and had no children by her. In satisfaction for this crime he afterwards founded the monastery of Fürstenfeld, in which he too was buried, as we shall say later in its proper place.

In the same year Conrad, bishop of Speyer, died. Henry, count of Leiningen, chancellor of the imperial court, succeeded him on the Friday before the feast of All Saints and presided for twenty-seven years. This Henry, elected and not yet confirmed, together with his brother, the count of Leiningen, invaded and took by armed force a certain castle in [unclear], called Starckenberg, in the diocese of Worms, which belonged to the principality of the monastery of Lorsch. Therefore the archbishop of Mainz, angered, obtained from the pope judges who would compel them to restitution.

1246.

In the thirty-third year of John our abbot, Henry the Landgrave, elected king of the Romans by the princes after Frederick had been deposed, as was said a little above, fought with Conrad, the emperor's son, near Frankfurt, defeated him, and compelled him to flee into Italy.

In the same year Landolf, bishop of Worms, died, and was buried in the monastery of Nonnenmünster, which he had taken away from our order. Cuno, dean of Mainz, succeeded him; when he died within three weeks, Richard of Trier was substituted and presided for about [unclear] years.

In this year, which was the thirty-fourth of John the abbot, Louis, Count Palatine of the Rhine, duke of Bavaria, of whom mention was made above, for the defense of Bavaria against the bishop of Augsburg [unclear] a castle which he had taken away from our order [unclear]. Cuno, dean of Mainz, succeeded him; when he died within three weeks, Richard of Trier was substituted and presided for thirty years.

1247.

In the same year the magistracy of Kreuznach was in great dissension with the citizens, because certain liberties and privileges of the city were not being observed for the poor, as it seemed to many at that time; but afterwards concord was made among them.

1248.

This year, which was the thirty-fifth of John the abbot, Conrad, bishop of Cologne, a wealthy and high-spirited man, began to build that great and distinguished church of Cologne, laying the first stone on the vigil of blessed Mary ever virgin. Although that work daily increases through the labor of craftsmen, and has thus now been continued without interruption for 453 years, nevertheless scarcely half of the planned building is now seen to have been completed.

The same Conrad the archbishop built anew from the foundations the church of St. Clement, pope and martyr, which had collapsed and which St. Cunibert, archbishop of Cologne, had once founded. Having lost its former name of Clement, it is today called by the name of St. Cunibert. He built many other things and conferred much upon the Church.

In the same year a very great famine oppressed all Germany and killed many.

1249.

In the thirty-seventh year of John the abbot, Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, died on the seventh Ides of March; Christian, the second of this name, succeeded him, and presided over the church of Mainz for eleven years, a good man indeed and a lover of the clergy.

In the same year Henry, Landgrave of Thuringia, died; a few years earlier he had been elected king of the Romans, although not all the princes consented to him, nor did he attain the imperial crown. When he died, William, duke or count of Holland, was elected king of the Romans, while Emperor Frederick was still alive with his son Conrad; but he did not attain the crown of the Empire, nor did he live long. Nevertheless he had fairly great obedience, both here and in the lower regions.

1250.

This year, which was the thirty-seventh of John the abbot, Emperor Frederick II died at Tarentum, in the fifty-eighth year of his age.

In the same year Hermann, bishop of Würzburg, died; Iring of Reinstein succeeded him.

In the same year also the winter was extremely harsh and very long-lasting, with snow and ice exceedingly abundant; when these at last melted together into one, a very great flooding of waters followed, so great that it overthrew many buildings round about.

1350

Sponheimense.

... with the consent of the princes who were then governing the Empire, we sought from the church of Mainz that same church of ours as one, especially since our church, without the help of the church of Mainz, which until now has fostered us, could not in any way rise again; since also the said church has reformed our church in many respects, prudently redeeming the castle of that church from the hand of stronger men, in which castle a large part of our church consists; furthermore, by its power it has recovered many other possessions of the same church of ours. Since therefore, pious and merciful father, it is manifest that this was done by the deliberation and providence of prudent men, prostrate at the feet of your holiness we humbly and earnestly beseech you that, regarding our necessity [unclear], and holding our deed and our union with the church of Mainz as valid, you would deign to confirm it by the authority and mercy of the Apostolic See, etc.

When Pope Gregory had received these letters, he wrote back to Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, for this cause as follows.

Copy of the papal letters to the archbishop of Mainz. The first bull.

Gregory, servant of the servants of God, to the venerable brother, the archbishop of Mainz, greeting and apostolic blessing. From the representations made to us by our beloved sons, the dean and convent of the church and monastery of Lorsch, it has become known that, when the abbot of Werden [unclear] and his colleague, performing the office of visitation for the same monastery by apostolic mandate, had removed its abbot from its governance, they committed to you, in whose diocese it lies, the charge, defense, and reform of it, since it had fallen so far in spiritual and temporal matters that it was believed it could scarcely rise again except through your help. You, indeed, have devoted such solicitude to its reform that, besides other gracious advantages which it received through your diligence, you bought back a certain castle for no small sum of money. Therefore, commending your prudence in this matter to the Lord, by apostolic writings we command your steadfastness that, watching over the charge, defense, and reform of it committed to you, as you have laudably begun, you so cherish, maintain, and defend it that its disturbed condition may be brought back to its due established state, so that you may deserve to receive recompense from the Lord and to be commended by us. Given at Perugia, May 4, in the sixth year of our pontificate.

When these apostolic letters had been received, Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, not only subjected the principality of the monastery of Lorsch, its lordships, castles, towns, vassals, and dependents to his church of Mainz with authority, but also labored to reform the life of the monks of that monastery to the observance of regular discipline. But when the monks perceived that they had lost all liberty for themselves, and that the monastery itself had been left with all honor as lord not to them but to the church, understanding the mystery too late, they grieved not a little, acknowledging that they had been outmaneuvered, and with the help of certain nobles began to oppose the archbishop's commands. Seeing this, the aforesaid archbishop Sifrid obtained from the supreme pontiff that the office of visitation and inquiry be carried out again through the bishop of Hildesheim, who, after the visitation had been made, informed the Roman pontiff that in the monks of that monastery, who [unclear] by thing or by power repeatedly of friends; for this reason he had labored with every effort that, after the monks had been expelled, men of another profession, who would not care for lordships or principality, should be put in their place.

He therefore pursued by such means as he could before the Apostolic See that the monks of Saint Benedict be expelled and that Cistercians, whose order and power do not permit them to have principality or temporal lordships, be introduced in their place, [unclear] of the said monastery as though unjustly taken away or by right assigned to him in future. Whence, after two years, the pope wrote thus to the same archbishop of Mainz.

Gregory, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the venerable brother, the archbishop of Mainz, greeting and apostolic blessing. The vineyard of the monastery of Lorsch, from which you expected that it would produce grapes, is said to have brought forth wild grapes in the midst, while that monastery itself, in which Mary's office was accustomed to flourish in the beauty of contemplation, and in the abundance of temporal things the solicitude of Martha's office was vigorous, through the malice of its inhabitants, as our venerable brother the bishop of Hildesheim, to whose prudence we committed inquiry concerning this matter, reported, we have learned to have collapsed so far that, Jezebel succeeding in the place of Mary, and prodigality succeeding in the place of Martha, it is even said to have withered in its leaves, so that it seeks and expects nothing else than that the roots of the foolish fig tree, which uselessly occupy the ground, be hidden. Indeed, just as by the skill of an experienced physician wounds which do not feel the medicine of poultices are judged to be cut away, [unclear] they wrapped up the substance of the monastery, dissipating it with the prodigal son, so that, with [unclear] horns put in, it is said, after long expectation, to have withered not only in fruits but also in leaves: because there is no further hope that, with Jezebel and prodigality succeeding in the place of Martha, it may be reformed in its order, it seeks and expects nothing else than that the roots of the foolish fig tree, which uselessly occupy the ground, be hidden. Indeed, just as by the skill of an experienced physician wounds which do not feel the medicine of poultices are judged to be cut away, so that, when the rottenness has been excluded, wine and oil may be poured in and the wounds at last healed, [unclear] lest they be disappointed of their preconceived hope that the field of the inhabitants may be relieved, according to the counsel of the aforesaid bishop, which became known to us by his letters, you, who are the diocesan of the place, [unclear] decree and it is expedient, especially since the time of harvest is approaching...

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[Chronicle of Trithemius]

[unclear], to pull up, with the hoes of correction, the tares of the monks existing in the same place, and to gather the wheat into the barns. Let your fraternity therefore have compassion, since we too have compassion, on the monastery thus collapsed; and, going to it in person, plant in it the Cistercian order, utterly bereft of virtues as it is, so that the order, changed from black into white, may be purged of vices and increased in virtues; and thus, as at the wedding [unclear], water was changed into wine by the working of the supreme craftsman, it may bring forth the flower of honor and propriety, and will not lack the fruit of good work. From this the hope of the faithful may revive; and by watering [the planting] of so great a name and religion, newly planted, [unclear] will foster the little plant more devotedly and willingly with the sweetness of his dew. But if you find any of the monks whom love of the Cistercian order enkindles, you may be able to retain them there, provided that no sinister opinion about them easily arises among good and serious men. The others you shall dispose through the various places of their order in your diocese so cautiously that a diseased sheep may not stain the flock, but rather the lost one may be led back to the sheepfolds; taking more careful provision that the possessions and goods which that same monastery is known once to have had shall not in any way be excluded from the new plantation.

When therefore these letters of the supreme pontiff had been received, Sifrid, archbishop, expelled all the monks of Saint Benedict from the aforesaid monastery of Lorsch against their will, and introduced a convent with an abbot of the Cistercian order, according to the apostolic mandate. This deed greatly displeased the nobles round about, although they entirely [unclear] to withstand so great an authority. The Cistercian monks who had been introduced, as the archbishop handed over the possessions of the monastery that had been left, took possession of them, except for vassals, ministerials, castles, towns, estates, which pertained to the honor of the principality, and turned their fruits to their own use, from which they might live. Meanwhile the former monks, grieving heavily that they had been expelled and that professors of another order had been placed in their monastery, resolved that so great an injury was by no means to be endured without vengeance. Gathering therefore on a certain night, with the aid of certain of their friends, they violently entered their monastery of Lorsch with force; attacking the abbot with the lay brothers and the whole household, they threw them out, captured some and compelled them to swear off the place, wounded others by beating them, and drove them all together from the monastery. The expelled monks of the order brought their complaint to the archbishop of Mainz, declaring that they could not remain amid such dangers. Meanwhile the former monks, possessing the monastery which they had recovered, consulted among their friends about what seemed more useful to them.

But not after much time, when they heard that the archbishop was coming with force, they abandoned the place, not without booty, and withdrew to safer places; [unclear] what he wished to do, [unclear]. Those who had been expelled were, at the persuasion of the bishop, encouraged to return to the monastery of the Lorsch religion, and they continued the manner of living they had begun. And behold, not after much time, when the Cistercians established at Lorsch now believed that they were secure, the old monks, entering the monastery by night with their friends and with force, attacked them, struck them, beat them, and expelled them again, protesting that they would kill them all if they returned again to the monastery of Lorsch. Therefore from that day the Cistercians could no longer be induced to return to Lorsch to remain there.

The monastery therefore remained vacant for some time, since neither these nor those saw that they could safely stay in it. At length Sifrid the archbishop reported the matter for examination to the apostolic see, over which Pope Innocent IV then presided, from whom he received such a reply by letters concerning the ordering of the monastery of Lorsch itself, as follows:

Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his venerable brother Sifrid, archbishop of Mainz, greeting and apostolic blessing. Since, as you have taken care to set forth to us, Gregory, pope of most happy memory, our predecessor, having understood that a monastery of the order of Saint Benedict, of the diocese of Mainz, had been diminished not a little in spiritual and temporal matters by the wickedness of those dwelling in it, had given command to you by his letters that, with the monks utterly removed from it, you should reform it from the Cistercian order, you, as a diligent executor of his commands, introduced into it a Cistercian convent. But certain sons of perdition, who, given over to a reprobate mind, persecute the sons of God the more fiercely the more they are held unlike them in their deeds, cast the aforesaid Cistercians out of the said monastery once and a second time by violence; as a result of which, in that very monastery, not without injury to Jesus Christ, given over almost wholly to desolation, the divine voice of praise does not resound in it. But because it is known to pertain to our solicitude that, in churches whose desolation the savagery of the perverse has procured, we come to their aid with swift remedy lest they perish altogether, we grant to you, by the authority of the present letters, free faculty to establish in that same monastery a convent of regulars, or even secular canons, according as your providence shall know to be more expedient for the place and the country, assigning to them the revenues of the former convent. You shall compel gainsayers by ecclesiastical censure, with appeal set aside.

Given at Lyon, [unclear] November May, in the second year of our pontificate.

Fortified by the authority of these letters, the archbishop of Mainz [introduced?] the Premonstratensians [unclear]

The monks of Saint Benedict are expelled from Lorsch. The Cistercians are introduced.

[unclear]

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Sponheim.

[He] took Premonstratensians from the monastery of All Saints, of the diocese of Strasbourg, and established a convent in the aforesaid monastery, setting over them not an abbot but a provost, and after him he appointed a prior, according to the custom of that order. He confirmed by his letters this establishment of the Premonstratensian order in the often-mentioned monastery of Lorsch; their date is the year of the Lord 1248, the sixth ides of January, in the eighteenth year of his pontificate. Since these are too lengthy and do not serve our purpose, we have reasonably omitted a copy of [unclear]. But the Premonstratensians introduced into Lorsch, at the archbishop’s instance, renounced every right of lordship over the said monastery, as is clear in these letters:

“To all the faithful of Christ, present as well as future: the provost and convent of the monastery of Lorsch, of the Premonstratensian order, in the diocese of Mainz, offer devout prayers in Christ. Since the venerable father lord Siegfried, archbishop of the see of Mainz, by the counsel and consent of the chapter of Mainz, has established us by apostolic authority in the monastery of Lorsch, revenues suitable and honorable having been assigned to us, with which we are also content, namely all the revenues of the former convent and of its offices; by reason of this establishment, and also because our place lies in the diocese of Mainz, we subject ourselves and our place, and acknowledge them subject, to the church of Mainz, to the said lord archbishop and to all his successors, according as is contained in the privilege of our establishment.

“Moreover, since imperial and likewise royal authority, by the counsel and assent of the princes, has seen fit, for certain and legitimate causes, [unclear] the lordship of the church of Lorsch, with every honor, vassals, ministerials, castles, towns, revenues, rights, and its appurtenances, to the church of Mainz, as we have perceived to be contained in the imperial and royal privileges: we acknowledge that the church of Mainz, lord Siegfried the archbishop, and his successors possess a firm and stable right in that lordship itself and in its civil appurtenances; and concerning these matters we shall never raise, nor shall any of our successors raise, any question whatsoever. But if by our establishment, by reason of the monastery of Lorsch, any right had been acquired for us or our successors in that lordship itself, or in the aforesaid goods and rights pertaining to the abbey, we have renounced it, and we give and grant that same thing to the church of Mainz and to the archbishops who shall be in office from time to time, to be possessed by them; since we are wholly unable to restore and maintain the same lordship in its rights and honor, and the statutes of our order forbid us to possess such things. In memory of this act and for its perpetual validity, we have caused the present letters to be written and to be strengthened by the protection of the seals of the churches of St. Peter and St. Stephen of Mainz, and of our own church of All Saints in the diocese of Strasbourg. Done at Mainz in the year of the Lord 1247.”

And so that noble abbey, once famous and most powerful, of the monastery of Lorsch, was taken away from our sacred order, given into the hands of others, and its lordship was, less justly, as it seemed to many, made subject to the church of Mainz; although prudent and religious men of our order, noble and powerful, could certainly have been found who would have reformed that monastery in both estates. Duke Tassilo of Bavaria built this monastery in the time of Emperor Charlemagne, about the year of the Lord [unclear], and endowed it magnificently; in it he later became a monk, and with Theodo his son ended his life in great religion.

Now, after we have described the lamentable ruin of the monastery of Lorsch:

1233.

In the aforesaid year, which was the twentieth of John our abbot, a concord was made at Frankfurt between the bishop of Worms and the citizens on the third kalends of March, through Siegfried archbishop of Mainz, Conrad bishop of Speyer, and the margrave of Baden. In the same year many fires occurred in various places.

In this same year brother Conrad of Marburg, as we have already said above under the preceding year, was slain by the knights of those of Dornbach near Marburg.

1324.

In this year, which was the twenty-first of John the abbot, our village in Dalen, on the fifteenth kalends of March, was burned by an accidental fire at night, and remained utterly desolate down to the present day. For the demesne lands were transferred here to the village next to the monastery, so that today no trace of the former village in Dalen appears. The church also, long ago built in honor of St. Gregory, perished in the same fire, and lay desolate for almost sixty-two years, so that trees grew in it, until the time of Abbot John, when it was restored anew by Hadwig the widow, as we shall say below in its place. And thus the village around the monastery grew and was enlarged by a multitude of people and houses.

In the same year Pope Gregory IX had the cross preached against the Stedinger peoples, situated on the border of Frisia and Saxony, surrounded by inaccessible marshes and rivers—

The provost and convent of Lorsch.

The provostship and convent of Lorsch acknowledges itself to be subject to the church of Mainz, and they renounce the lordship.

[Unclear] foundations of Lorsch.

Concord between the bishop and the citizens of Worms.

Many fires.

Brother Conrad of Marburg is killed.

Dalen is burned and laid waste.

The cross

Sponheim.

1240. This year, which was the twenty-seventh of our Abbot Johannes, Johannes X, prior of this monastery, died on the vigil of St Andrew the Apostle, burdened by old age and an abscess. After him Sifridus, a monk born in Trier, was appointed eleventh prior; he presided in his office for four years and was deposed.

Johannes, tenth prior, dies. Sifridus, eleventh prior.

1241. In the twenty-eighth year of Abbot Johannes, David, pastor of the church in Roxheim, was most cruelly killed by peasants in Sommerloch near Waldenhausen, because he defended the rights and liberty of his church. Therefore, excommunicated by Sifridus, archbishop of Mainz, and [unclear] cursed, they paid very heavy penalties for their impiety. For all who polluted their consciences with the contagion of this crime, some in pilgrimage, others escaping by flight, perished from this life in beggary and great want.

The pastor in Roxheim is killed.

[Unclear marginal note concerning Kreuznach and the count of Sayn?]

1242. In the twenty-eighth year. In the twenty-ninth year, Johannes, provost of the nuns [unclear], died. In the same year Conrad, bishop of Speyer, together with his chapter, sold to the count of Sayn all the right of ownership and the possessions that he himself and the canons of the church of Speyer had in Kreuznach, for 1,100 marks of pure silver; with this money they bought properties more suitable for themselves.

Johannes, provost of St Rupert, dies; [Roricus?] succeeds. Worms is burned.

In the same year Johannes, provost of the convent of St Rupert near Bingen, a monk of this monastery and formerly prior in the order, a good and upright man, died. After him Abbot Johannes appointed as provost of the said monastery the monk [Roticus?]; how long he presided I have not found.

In the same year, on [unclear] April at the hour of vespers, the city of Worms was consumed by fire over more than half its extent, and more than 300 people perished in that fire; this loss was wholly irrecoverable.

1243. Frederick II, emperor, long since excommunicated, was deposed from the empire at the council of Lyon by Pope Innocent IV, but he did not care. The pope commanded the princes to elect another emperor against Frederick. And so at length Henry, landgrave of Hesse, son of St Elizabeth, was elected; near Frankfurt he had a battle with King Conrad, son of Emperor Frederick, and defeated him. Holding the name of king for almost five years, he accomplished nothing worthy of memory, and died not long afterward.

This year Pope Innocent granted to the dean of the greater church the use of the mitre or infula on the chief festivals, as appears in the bull that follows:

Innocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to his beloved son, the dean of Mainz, our chaplain, greeting and apostolic blessing. You have deserved our [favor] and that of the Apostolic See [unclear] by the purity of fidelity, [unclear], always watching for this, driving all fear from yourself, that under the experience of grievous labors [you might] enlarge the honor of the same see. Therefore, so that from merits of this kind joy may be produced for your heart and an example of devotion for others, by the authority of these presents we grant to you and your successors that in the church of Mainz, on the chief solemnities, in the celebration of divine services, you may forever use the mitre, which the provost and cantor of the same church are said to use. Let no man, therefore, be permitted to infringe this page of our concession. Given at Lyon, on the fourth day before the Nones of August, in the third year of our pontificate.

And these three, the provost, dean, and cantor of the aforesaid church of Mainz, by force of the granted privilege, use the infula on the highest feasts down to the present.

1245. This year, which was the thirty-second of Abbot Johannes, Sifridus, eleventh prior of this monastery of Sponheim, was deposed. I could not find the cause of his deposition. When he had been deposed, [unclear]. At length, on account of Emperor Frederick and his son Conrad, he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent and began to persecute the clergy. Therefore, when on the vigil of St Andrew he had been joyful with his wife and household, he died suddenly that very night. He left two sons, Ludwig and Henry, who for ten years held their father's principality jointly. But afterward, in the year of the Lord 1256, when they were at odds with one another, they divided the lands and patrimony. Ludwig, who was the elder by birth, received the Palatinate, with certain other things in Upper Bavaria, for his portion; and Henry [unclear].

Otto, count palatine, dies. Sifridus, prior, is deposed. Petrus, prior, is elected.

When he had died, [unclear] succeeded in his place.

In the same year, on the night of St Andrew the Apostle, Otto, count palatine of the Rhine, [of] the dukes of Bavaria, died. At the beginning of his rule he was a pious, just, and vigorous prince.

Sifridus, eleventh prior of this monastery, was deposed. I could not find the cause of his deposition. When he had been deposed, [unclear]. At length, on account of Emperor Frederick and his son Conrad, he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent and began to persecute the clergy. Therefore, when on the vigil of St Andrew he had been joyful with his wife and household, he died suddenly that very night. He left two sons, Ludwig and Henry, who for ten years held their father's principality jointly. But afterward, in the year of the Lord 1256, when they were at odds with one another, they divided the lands and patrimony. Ludwig, who was the elder by birth, received the Palatinate, with certain other things in Upper Bavaria, for his portion; and Henry [unclear].

Otto, count palatine, dies.

When he had died, [unclear] succeeded in his place.

In the same year, on the night of St Andrew the Apostle, Otto, count palatine of the Rhine, [of] the dukes of Bavaria, died. At the beginning of his rule he was a pious, just, and vigorous prince.

Sifridus, eleventh prior of this monastery, was deposed. I could not find the cause of his deposition. When he had been deposed, [unclear]. At length, on account of Emperor Frederick and his son Conrad, he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent and began to persecute the clergy. Therefore, when on the vigil of St Andrew he had been joyful with his wife and household, he died suddenly that very night. He left two sons, Ludwig and Henry, who for ten years jointly [held] their father's principality.

Sponheim.

1251.

In the thirty-eighth year of his rule, Iuanus, abbot of this monastery, began to rebuild the church of St. Gregory the martyr; and, sending his prior with certain brothers to Hugh, Cardinal Priest of St. Sabina, legate of the Apostolic See, who was then staying at Bingen, he obtained from him indulgences of this kind.

“To all Christ’s faithful established throughout Germany, to whom these letters shall come, brother Hugh, by divine mercy Cardinal Priest of the title of St. Sabina, legate of the Apostolic See, greeting in the Lord. Since, as the Apostle says, we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to receive according as we have done in the body, whether good or evil, it is fitting for us [unclear] eternal life. Therefore, since [unclear] and with a view to eternal things to sow on earth what, when the Lord gives it back, with multiplied fruit we ought to gather in heaven, holding firm hope and confidence, because he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows in blessings shall also from blessings reap eternal life. Therefore, since, as the beloved sons, the prior and convent of the monastery of St. Martin in Sponheim, of the Order of St. Benedict, in the diocese of Mainz, have taken care to inform us, the same chaplains have begun to rebuild their chapel of St. George in Dalheim, consumed by excessive age, at great expense; and since their own resources are not sufficient for this, we admonish and exhort all you Christ’s faithful in the Lord, and enjoin upon you for the remission of your sins, that from the goods conferred upon you by God you bestow upon them pious alms and kindly aids of charity, so that through your assistance the said work may be brought to completion, and you, through this and through other good deeds which, by the Lord’s inspiration, you shall have done, may be able to come to eternal joys. We, trusting in the mercy of almighty God and in the authority of his blessed apostles Peter and Paul, mercifully remit forty days of the penance enjoined upon all truly penitent and confessed persons who shall have stretched out to them a helping hand for this purpose; which [unclear] through questors we more strictly forbid, decreeing that, if otherwise done, they shall lack force. Given at Bingen, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of August, in the ninth year of the pontificate of the lord pope Innocent IV.”

And so the church of St. George, the rebuilding of which was begun in this year, was not completed. For only the choir, where the altar is, was roofed; the remaining part of the church remained unfinished until the time of Abbot Johannes, as was said above under the twenty-first year of Iuanus.

In the same year also Christian, archbishop of Mainz, died; Gerard succeeded him [unclear] years [unclear]. In the same year Abbot Iuanus began to be sick unto death.

1252.

In this year, which was the thirty-ninth and last of Abbot Iuanus, there died the most devout virgin of Christ, Jutta, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of April; she had formerly been the maidservant of blessed Elizabeth, landgravine of the Thuringians, of whom mention was made above. This holy virgin was renowned for many signs and miracles both in life and after death, and while her lady was still living she was always the most faithful witness and helper of all her virtues; and she strove in all things to imitate her most holy manner of life, in which she prevailed so greatly, and was a singular advocate of the poor.

In the same year Iuanus, the sixth abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, weighed down by old age and long illness, closed his last day, and died on the fourth day before the Kalends of December. He was buried in the cloister of the monastery with his brothers. Under his rule, in the last years, the observance of regular discipline began to fail.

On Johannes, the seventh abbot of this monastery, who presided for 12 years, 4 months, and 21 days, and on the deeds of that time around this place.

When Iuanus, the fifth abbot of this monastery, had died and been buried, after mature deliberation among themselves the brothers came together as one in spirit and intention to set a new pastor over themselves. Having invoked the aid of the Holy Spirit, in the aforesaid year of the Lord’s incarnation 1253, in the tenth indiction, on the vigil of St. Andrew the Apostle, that is, on the third day before the Kalends of December, they unanimously elected as abbot Johannes, a monk and cantor of this monastery, who presided for 12 years, 4 months, and 21 days. He was a good and simple man, son of the same nobleman of Schönberg, who in his boyhood, under Abbot [Opre Cantoso?], came to religious life through the urging and offering of his parents, and for a long time held the office of cantor. When he was ordained abbot, he found that the observance of regular discipline was gradually failing, but he could not bring it back to its former fervor because of the malice of the time and the conduct of wicked men. And so, in succession from his time down to the most recent reform, which is called Bursfeld from the place where it began, the observance of monastic purity in this monastery, growing lukewarm and failing, was less cared for through [unclear] years, although in the meantime reform was attempted several times, but it did not attain a stable effect. For the monks began to have private property, and little by little always to fall into worse condition, until they wholly failed.

The church of St. George is restored.

Indulgence for the church of St. George.

Christian, archbishop of Mainz, dies; his tutor Gerard succeeds.

Jutta, maidservant and follower of St. Elizabeth, dies.

Abbot Iuanus dies.

The discipline of observance fails.

Johannes von Schönberg, abbot.

Discipline collapses.

...that we may show reverence to [Martin], our patron, the parish church in Gensingen, in the diocese of Mainz, with the right of patronage and all its appurtenances and revenues, which the pastor of that church has hitherto been accustomed to receive, with the consent of the venerable father, our lord Werner, archbishop of Mainz, and of our whole convent, we grant to you, to be held in perpetuity, so that, as soon as it shall happen to become vacant, you may freely and perpetually apply its revenues to your common uses. Yet there is to be left from the revenues of the same church a definite and suitable portion, from which the person who is to serve God perpetually in that church of Gensingen, and who is to be appointed by you, may be able to be honorably supported. In easy remembrance and perpetual confirmation of this, we give you the present letters, strengthened by the protection of our seal and that of our convent. Done in the year of the Lord 1265, on the seventh ides of July.

Confirming this donation, Archbishop Werner delivered the following letters.

Werner, by the grace of God archbishop of the holy see of Mainz, archchancellor through Germany of the Holy Roman Empire, to his beloved in Christ, the provost, dean, and the whole chapter of Mainz, greeting in the Lord. It is fitting that we meet the just desires of petitioners with gracious consent, diligently pursue the same, and, so far as ability suffices, commit them to effect. Therefore, inclined by your prayers, we, holding as very welcome and valid the donation of the church in Gensingen which, for the increase of your prebends, the beloved in Christ, the abbot and convent of the monastery in Sponheim of our diocese, freely and kindly made to you, as is contained in their writing drawn up concerning it, confirm it by the testimony of the present writing. Let no man, therefore, be permitted to infringe this page of our confirmation, or with rash daring to oppose it. But if anyone shall presume to attempt this, let him know that he has incurred the indignation of almighty God and of blessed Martin, and the sentence of our excommunication. Given at Mainz in the year of the Lord 1265, on the tenth kalends of October.

In recompense for the aforesaid donation, the aforementioned Archbishop Werner, with the consent of his chapter, incorporated the parish church in Sponheim, with all its revenues, into the monastery, as is clear from the letters that follow.

Werner, by the grace of God archbishop of the holy see of Mainz, archchancellor through Germany of the Holy Roman Empire, to his beloved in Christ, Peter, elected abbot of the whole monastery in Sponheim of our diocese, greeting in the Lord. We, considering with fatherly affection that your church, on account of the manifold burdens of exactions and through various unfortunate events, has been so diminished in many things that you labor under no small poverty, in order that, so far as we can, we may somewhat relieve your need for our salvation, grant to you the parish church in Sponheim with its attached chapels, to be held by you in full right forever, [unclear] when it shall happen to become vacant, freely and perpetually applying its revenues to your common uses, provided that you present to the archdeacon of the place a faithful and perpetual vicar for that church, to whom you shall assign from the revenues of that church a definite and suitable portion from which he may be able to be honorably supported; and we also freely impart our consent, and that of our archdeacon, to you concerning a donation of this kind. Let no man at all, therefore, be permitted to infringe this page of our donation, or with rash daring to oppose it. But if anyone shall presume to attempt this, let him know that he has incurred the indignation of almighty God and of Saint Martin.

For the greater confirmation and evidence of this, we have caused this present writing of ours to be strengthened for you by the protection of our own seal, that of the provost, dean, and chapter, and also of you, the elected abbot. Done in the year of the Lord 1265, on the seventh ides of July.

Thus, in order that the church of the village of Sponheim might be incorporated into the monastery, Abbot Peter gave the church in Gensingen with all its appurtenances to the church of Mainz.

In the same year the citizens of Würzburg, because of the many and various injuries which they had inflicted upon Iring, their bishop, and upon the clergy, were condemned to pay him two thousand two hundred marks, and, after the silver had been paid, were compelled to return to his obedience.

1266.

In this year the provost, dean, and chapter of the major [church] bought from Philip the elder of Falkenstein and from his two sons, Philip and Werner, [unclear] which they had held by feudal right from the church of Mainz, with Archbishop Werner consenting, as is clear from the letters of purchase drawn up concerning it, whose date is in the year of the Lord 1261, on the third ides of February.

In the same year Iring, bishop of Würzburg, died; Berthold of Sternberg succeeded him and presided for eighteen years.

1267.

In these times the monastery of the Friars Preachers in the city of Speyer began to be founded under Bishop Henry, with his consent and that of the whole chapter. In the same

280 Chronicle of Trithemius

[1253?].

John the abbot, in the first year of his rule, continued for some time the work begun on the church of St. George the martyr in Dalen, which nevertheless he afterwards left unfinished.

In the same year there was a great and powerful wind in these regions, which overthrew many trees and buildings in various places.

1254.

Conrad the king, son of Emperor Frederick II, died. After his death his son Conrad, whom the Lombards called Conradin, wishing to succeed to the kingdom of Apulia as the legitimate heir, was repelled by the contrivance of the pope, and Charles, count of Anjou, was introduced by deceit. Hence Conradin, having set out for Apulia with a very great army, in the first encounter Charles, with papal aid, was defeated. After the victory, while our men were intent on plunder and spoils, he, having recovered his strength, rushed upon them, conquered the conquerors, killed many, captured others, and put others to flight. There Conradin was captured with many nobles and was beheaded; in him the line of Frederick II and of the duchy of the Swabians failed. Conradin was a youth most beautiful of all, who, by the counsel of the pope, through envy of the German name and especially of his grandfather Frederick, our emperor, was killed with many counts and nobles.

In the same year Godescalcus, abbot of St. James at Mainz, with the consent of his convent and of Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, conferred upon the chapter and canons of the greater church of Mainz, for the augmentation of their prebends, the parish church in Schornsheim with its tithes, revenues, and all its appurtenances, as is clear in these letters:

To the honorable men and beloved in Christ, the provost, dean, and whole chapter of Mainz, Godescalcus, by the grace of God abbot, and the whole convent of the monastery of St. James at Mainz, offer the gift of prayers and a will ready for services. When we bring to mind with due meditation how liberal, how magnificent, in the time of her abundance, the church of Mainz has been toward us and other churches, which, brought forth from her inward parts, through her have been planted and founded in the great abundance of other goods, we can scarcely think of anything by which we may be able to render to her the return that is owed. Yet so that, for the relief of the poverty of our mother, in which the general disturbance of the land has involved us by occasion of the business of the church, our scant means may offer at least some small thing, and so that the filial fervor of devotion and the effect of due compassion in us may shine more clearly: behold, the parish church in Schornsheim of your diocese, whose collation pertains to us, with the right of patronage and all revenues, we give to you and your successors, by concordant will and liberal spirit, to be possessed forever, for the augmentation of your prebends. Thus, as soon as it shall happen to fall vacant, you may apply it to your common uses. In memory of this deed and for everlasting and perpetual firmness, we give you the present letters, strengthened by the protection of our seals. Done in the year of the Lord 1254, on the day of blessed Barnabas the apostle. Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, confirmed this donation by letters in the same year, on the vigil of St. James the Apostle.

In like manner also, in the same year, Otto, abbot, and the convent of St. Disibod, of the order of St. Benedict, in the diocese of Mainz, conferred the church in Osternach upon the canons and chapter of the greater church of Mainz; and he gave letters concerning this matter of the following kind:

To the reverend and beloved in Christ, the provost, dean, and whole chapter of Mainz, Otto, abbot, and the convent of St. Disibod, of the order of St. Benedict, in the diocese of Mainz, with the affection of filial devotion, offer a will ready for services. Since the distinguished beauty of the honor of your church, our mother, shines forth famously, and the wondrous splendor of the work of excellent dignity [unclear], and we, considering in some measure the poverty of the ministers, as we are bound by the compassion of filial devotion, have resolved to redeem the deformity of this sort of defect, and at least to redeem the ministry of one minister set before your choir: behold, the parish church in Osternach, of your diocese, whose collation pertains to us, with the right of patronage and all its appurtenances which the pastor has hitherto been accustomed to receive, saving the other things which our church has and has had in that same village, with unanimous consent we freely so give and [unclear], so that when it shall first happen to fall vacant, all the revenues of it which, beyond the suitable prebend of the perpetual vicar of that church to be instituted henceforth by you, shall be able to remain, may be wholly converted to the prebend of a perpetual vicar in your church, who is to serve in the name of our church. Thus I, Otto, and my successors, the abbots, may always freely confer that vicarage upon an honorable person and a priest useful to the choir, who, like the other vicars of your church, shall be bound to due service in the choir and obedience to the dean. In memory of this deed and for perpetual firmness, we have caused the present letters to be strengthened by our seals. Done in the year of the Lord 1254. Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, confirmed this donation in the same year, on the Kalends of January, by his letters, in the third year of his pontificate, which he delivered to the chapter of Mainz.

In the same year there occurred at Cologne a certain deed of Albert the Great, of the order of preachers,

[unclear], to whom Sifridus of Westerburg, an excessively warlike man, succeeded, and from Pope Gregory X received confirmation with the honor of the archiepiscopal pallium.

1273.

In this year, which was the ninth of Peter our abbot, the princes of the Roman Empire, assembled at Frankfurt, after many deliberations at last unanimously elected as king of the Romans Rudolf, count of Habsburg, then absent and besieging Basel with a great army. When he heard that he had been elected king of the Romans, he at once raised the siege and came to Frankfurt; then, proceeding to Aachen, he received the office of consecration according to custom. There the princes, having sworn obedience, received their feudal holdings from his hand, and they stood firmly by him against all the adversaries of the empire. Therefore in a short time he recovered many things that had been alienated from the empire, and restored peace in the land. He reigned eighteen years and ten months. He had as wife Helizabeth, daughter of Burchard, count of Haerloch, who bore him three sons: Albert, duke of Austria, who afterward was emperor of the Romans, from whom all the dukes of Austria who are today, or have existed in the meantime, were begotten; Hartmann, who was drowned in the Rhine; and Rudolf, duke of Swabia, who took as wife the daughter of Ottocar, king of Bohemia. Of his daughters, the first married Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia; the second, named Machtildis, married Louis, count palatine of the Rhine, as we shall say; the third married Albert, duke of Saxony; the fourth married Charles, prince of Apulia.

In the same year Louis, count of Montfort, the count of Helfenstein, the count of Duckenberg, Count Eberhard of Wurttemberg, with eleven others, conspiring against King Rudolf, sought with all their might either to capture or to kill him. When this became known to him, he brought forth a great army against them, defeated them, and compelled them to obedience to him and to the empire forever. He restored secure peace throughout all the surrounding land, from Italy as far as England.

In the same year Peter, abbot of this monastery, seeing that that division of revenues and proceeds made three years earlier between himself and the convent was the beginning of every future imputation and no small detriment to his authority, grieved vehemently over it. Though all resisted, except Ottuvinus the prior, he publicly revoked it. The monks, angered by this and as if turned to madness, resisted with all their strength; and, after forming a conspiracy among themselves, they resolved rather to kill the abbot than to resign the portion of property once granted to them. When this became known to the abbot, giving place to wrath, he withdrew to Kreuznach and stayed there for more than the space of a year, until at last, when the stronger leader of the faction had died, the matter was composed and settled through the count of Sponheim, the lord.

1275.

In the eleventh year of Peter our abbot, Rudolf, king of the Romans, moved an army into Bohemia against King Ottocar, who, after the death of the legitimate heir, had unjustly occupied Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Moravia against the jurisdiction of the empire. After an engagement was fought, he defeated and subdued him, and imposed upon him agreements of submission. But when Ottocar afterward scorned to keep what he had promised, Rudolf returned again into Bohemia, overcame the perjured king a second time, killed him, and subjected the kingdom of Bohemia to himself. Furthermore he gave the duchy of Austria to his son Albert, count of Habsburg, from whom Maximilian, today king of the Romans, descends in a direct line of generation continued as follows. Rudolf, king of the Romans from being count of Habsburg, begot Albert, duke of Austria. Albert begot Albert the younger by Helizabeth, daughter of the count or duke of Carinthia, Meynhard. Albert, moreover, begot Lupold, duke of Austria, by Johanna, daughter of the count of Pyrreth. Lupold then begot Ernest the duke, and Ernest begot Frederick the third, emperor, by Simburga, daughter of Duke Alexius of Ancazon in Poland. Frederick the emperor begot King Maximilian. Maximilian begot Philip, duke of Austria, Burgundy, and Brabant, and Maria, queen of Spain, concerning whom it will be said in their place.

1276.

In the twelfth year of Peter our abbot, concord between him and his convent through Simon

Sponheim ... of the Preachers, which John de Beka, clerk, recounts in his Chronicles on the deeds of the bishops of Utrecht and of the counts of Holland, speaking thus: As the Epiphany of the Lord approached, King William went to Cologne, so that there he might solemnly offer the sacrifice of praise in honor of the three Magi. In those days the lord Albert, later bishop of Regensburg, of the Order of Preachers, was regent and lecturer there: great in necromancy, greater in philosophy, but greatest in theology. He humbly asked the king to deign to dine with him on the solemn day. The king, hoping to see some prodigious sign, agreed to his request.

When, therefore, the solemn masses were finished, the king hastened to the convent of the Preachers. Albert received him gladly and led him out of the house into a certain garden adjoining the monastery, where he found servants of wondrous beauty, who had prepared everything necessary for a banquet. In those days it was a very harsh winter, and the whole surface of the earth was covered with snow. Therefore all those who were with the king began to murmur against the master, because in such dreadful cold he had ordered his guests to dine outside the house, without a fire, in the garden.

But after Albert had sat down at table together with the king, each person being placed according to his rank, while they were waiting for the meal to be brought in, behold, suddenly all that immense mass of snow and ice vanished in a moment, and summer heat, with the rays of the sun shining forth, grew hot. The earth at once brought forth grass, and flowers of wondrous beauty appeared both on the trees and in the grass itself. A wondrous thing: each and every tree of that same garden put forth leaves and flowers, and at once produced early fruit. The flowering vine gave off the scent of sweetness and in that instant brought forth fresh grapes in great abundance before all. A multitude also of birds of various kinds was seen, which, applauding one another and chattering with varied song close by, made them joyful, so that it seemed one should think not January but rather the season of May or June was present. For the long severity of wintry cold vanished completely, and the fierce heat of summer warmth grew so strong that some of those reclining at table were forced, because of the excessive heat, to take off the clothes in which they were dressed, and many prepared shade for themselves by various devices.

The servants, however, were very beautiful young men, lively and indeed handsome, unknown to all those dining there, who brought in food and drink in very great variety and most abundant supply, whence this was done [unclear], with the greatest decorum and discipline of manners. All marveled with great joy, seeing such great marvels as they had not seen before. At last, when the banquet was completed, the whole crowd of servants suddenly disappeared, the singing of the birds fell wholly silent, the greenness of the trees and grasses suddenly [unclear], and the returning abundance of snow again covered the face of the earth. Immediately such cold grew dreadful that all who had earlier put off their double garments, sweating because of the excessive heat, now, touched by excessive cold, took up their clothes again and hastened as quickly as possible to return to the fire.

When these things had been done, Albert obtained from the king a place for his brothers in the city of Utrecht for building a monastery, with freedom and many gifts of gold and silver. The aforesaid John wrote these things in the aforementioned Chronicles of the Utrechters; whether they are true or false, it is not our purpose to wish to judge in this place.

In the same year, in the month of February, the men of Worms bound themselves for all future time by a very firm perpetual treaty with the men of Mainz, who for many former years had long practiced hostilities and enmities against one another. In these times also Count Emicho of Leiningen was laboring wholly in secret to capture and carry off Richard, bishop of Worms, who nevertheless [unclear] aid [unclear] and the count, with a discord conceived long before, for many days. Great tumult was in the kingdom in these times, and various dissensions, because not all wished to accept William as king of the Romans.

In the same year the castle called Richenstein, beside the Rhine, not far from Bingen, was captured. At the same time also, when King William was staying in the lower regions, Mainz and the other cities of those parts which had adhered to him had no defender against their adversaries. Therefore, when the procurators of the cities of Worms, Boppard, Wesel, Bingen, Oppenheim, Friedberg, Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Fritzlar, and certain others met at Mainz on the day of Saint Margaret, virgin and martyr, they entered into a treaty, peace, and concord in the year noted above, and they laid aside every toll which they had about the Rhine for the preservation of the good of peace, although most of them were entangled in heavy debts on account of the wars and many hardships which they had suffered in the time of the schism after the deposition of Emperor Frederick II.

1255. In this year, which was the third of Abbot John, when King William was in Worms, his wife the queen on a certain day in the month of December resolved to go with an honorable retinue to the castle which is called Trifels. Perceiving this, a certain knight, Hermann of Rieperg, captured the queen herself on the road, and the count of Waldeck with her, and [unclear] despoiled ...

The magical miracle of Albert the Great.

The queen and the count of Waldeck are captured.

with all her jewels, led her captive to Rieperg; after he had held her for some time, he allowed her to depart.

In the same year Hermann, abbot in Bleidenstadt of our order, with the consent of his convent, handed over to the canons of the greater church of Mainz, for the increase of their prebends, the parish church in Kemde, with all its revenues and appurtenances, under the witness of letters secured with his seal and that of the aforesaid convent. I think it superfluous to insert them here, because they were written in the same form as the letter of the abbot of Saint Disibod concerning the donation of the church in Osternach, which we placed above. Henry also, abbot of Fulda, with the consent of his convent, in the same year conferred on the church of Mainz, for the increase of the prebends, the church in Berstatt, with all its rents, revenues, and appurtenances, as is clear in the letters written on the matter, dated at Fulda on the Nones of June, that is, on the vigil of Saint Boniface, in the year 1255.

Starkardus also, abbot of Seligenstadt of our order, together with his convent, handed over to the same canons of Mainz the parish church in Nuhem, with all its revenues and profits, reserving to himself and his successors forever the right of conferring one vicarage, to be established from these revenues in the greater church of Mainz. Done on the sixth day before the Kalends of May, in the year of the Lord 1255.

1256.

Gerard, bishop of Mainz, together with the canons of his chapter, greatly troubling our abbot John and the convent of this monastery, pressed them with pleas and threats for the church in Gentzingen, which they desired by every means for the increase of their prebends. But Abbot John would not consent, and with steadfast mind despised both their threats and their pleas. But after his death, at last Abbot Peter gave the church itself to them when they asked for it, as we shall say below in its place.

In the same year William, when he was preparing to go to Rome for the crown of the empire, and had first wished to subdue the rebellious Frisians, led an army against them on the fifth day before the Kalends of January. Going ahead of the army over the ice, to reconnoiter an entrance and passable road against his adversaries, he was sitting on his horse; behold, the ice broke, and in a marshy ford the horse itself was gradually submerged with the king. The king, having none of his servants with him, was almost suffocated. Seeing this, the Frisians who were hiding in the reeds ran together and, not knowing that he was the king, killed him before the army arrived.

1257.

In this year, which was the fifth of our Abbot John, the princes of the empire assembled to establish a new king, lest, if they delayed longer, they should lose the right of election. But being at variance among themselves, Conrad of Cologne, Gerard bishop of Mainz, and Louis count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria elected Richard, count of Cornwall, brother of the king of England, as king of the Romans. But Arnold, archbishop of Trier, with those adhering to him, elected Alfonso king of Castile as king of the Romans and sent solemn envoys to him, promising counsel and aid. But King Alfonso [unclear], promising that he would follow with an army; but, content with his own kingdom, because he was a philosopher and a very great astronomer, he did not come, nor did he involve himself in any respect in the kingdom of the Romans, except for the title alone, which, apart from the honor of those who had elected him, he retained for a time in his letters. Further, Richard, the aforesaid count of Cornwall, summoned from England by Conrad archbishop of Cologne, assumed the title and government of the empire of the Romans, and, with great rejoicing of his men, was consecrated king by the same archbishop in the church of the blessed Mary ever virgin at Aachen. Afterwards, by the favor and votes of his princes, he was received as true king of the Romans by the people of Cologne, Boppard, Wesel, Mainz, Frankfurt, and many other cities. Going on farther, he received all into his dominion and spent much money to obtain obedience. And when he had come as far as Basel, and the money too lavishly spent was now failing, the princes, withdrawing from him, left him alone and abandoned, tacitly making clear that they had followed plunder, not the man. Therefore, seeing himself deprived of the princes’ aid and unable to make any further progress, he entrusted the kingdom of the Wetterau to Philip of Falkenstein, whose sister he had taken as wife because of her great beauty; Alsace to Werner, bishop of Strasbourg; and Boppard and Wesel with their appurtenances to Philip of Hochenfels. Then, taking his wife, he returned to England. For he had bought the kingdom with money; when that failed, he could no longer reign. For at the time when the election was pressing, Gerard archiepi-

Sponheimense.

The archbishop of Mainz was being held captive by the duke of Brunswick; Richard himself redeemed him for eight thousand marks, on this condition: that he might deserve to obtain his vote in the election. And this was done. For, released from custody, the same aforesaid archbishop betook himself from Marburg to Frankfurt and elected Richard king of the Romans.

The archbishop of Mainz taken captive.

In the year written above, on the sixth day before the Ides of November, Richard, bishop of Worms, died. Conrad of Durkheim, dean of Mainz, succeeded him and presided only about twenty weeks; and he had discord with the citizens.

Richard, bishop of Worms, dies.

Eberhard, bishop of Worms.

In the same year Louis, count palatine of the Rhine, son of Otto duke of Bavaria, having his wife Maria under suspicion of adultery, as we said above, caused her, while she was staying at Werde in Swabia, to be beheaded on the eighteenth day before the Kalends of February. By her he had no heir. This deed seemed excessively cruel to all good men, and was condemned by many, together with the man who commanded and ordered it to be done.

MCCLVIII.

In this year Johannes, abbot of this monastery, removed Petrus the prior and appointed him cellarer of the monastery, because he seemed more fit for governing temporal affairs than spiritual ones. For he was a man, as he himself used to say, born for earthly things; impatient of rest, he was always eager for outward labors. Of him there will be more to say below, where, after the death of Johannes our abbot, he will be recorded as having been substituted in his place. After Petrus, moreover, Nicolaus was appointed prior of this monastery by abbot Johannes, the thirteenth according to the order; he had once been provost of the nuns on Mount Saint Rupert near Bingen. He was a good man, quite zealous for the observance of regular discipline, though he could not restore it to its former fervor. He presided in the office of prior for six years; he died.

In the same year the church of St. Catherine in Oppenheim was erected as a parish church by Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, as appears in the letters that follow.

Gerard, by the grace of God archbishop of the holy see of Mainz, archchancellor of the sacred empire throughout Germany. Since, at the command of our most serene lord, the illustrious king of the Romans, through the older and better inhabitants, the true ancient boundaries having been revealed, which divided the diocese of Mainz from that of Worms, although through negligence they had in part been [unclear], it has been clearly declared that the known city in Oppenheim is established in our diocese; and the people of the same city, numerous and [unclear] in authority, have earnestly represented, with the Lord increasing it, that it ought, indeed that it is expedient for the salvation of souls, to be governed by the rule of a single and proper rector. We, with the counsel and consent of our chapter and of the provost of St. Victor, archdeacon of the place, choose, make, and create the church of St. Catherine, founded in that city, as a parish church, and distinguish it by the use, right, and honor of a parish church; granting to it that it may have the use of its own baptistery for baptizing its little children, and also a special cemetery for the convenience of burial. They shall also have and appoint special [curates?], who shall promote and dispose those things that pertain to spiritual right. In testimony of this deed and for due firmness, we have caused the present writing to be fortified with our seal, that of our chapter, and that of the aforesaid provost of St. Victor. Given at Mainz, on the fifth day before the Nones of July, in the year of the Lord MCCLVIII.

In the same year the canons of the greater church of Metz sold all their goods in Odernheim, where St. Rufus, formerly bishop of Metz, remains buried down to the present day, to the canons of the greater church for 1040 pounds of Metz money, as appears from the letters made and sealed concerning this, whose date is in the year of the Lord MCCLVIII, on the Kalends of June.

MCCLIX.

In the sixth year of Johannes our abbot, the monks of our order from the monastery of St. Disibod near Sobernheim, after the death of Otto their abbot, were removed and expelled through Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, and the canons of the greater church of Mainz, as founders of the same place; and that monastery was given to the Cistercian order, as it remains to the present day. Therefore monks and lay brothers coming from Otterberg in the diocese of Worms first began to inhabit that place, appointing for themselves as the first abbot of their order one named Johannes, who bound his monastery to the church of Mainz, as it were in gratitude for the benefit received, in perpetuity, for one hundred malters of rye each year, as appears in the copy that follows:

Copy of the obligation.

To the reverend and beloved in Christ, Wernher the provost, Johannes the dean, and the whole chapter of Mainz, brother Johannes called abbot of the convent of the monastery of St. Disibod, of the Cistercian order, [offers] prayers in the Lord [unclear]. Since you, together with the venerable lord our father Gerard, archbishop of Mainz,

284 Chronicle of Trithemius

[the monastery] of St. Disibod, then of the order of St. Benedict, founded by the church of Mainz, for certain reasons you have said is to be given to us and through us to our order. Lest we should seem ungrateful for so great a grace bestowed upon us through your kindness, [preserving?] the everlasting memory of that immense gift, we freely and steadfastly promise your whole body, and we wish ourselves and our successors to be bound, that for the use of two vicarages newly established in your church we shall give you from the revenues of our monastery, every year in perpetuity, fifty malters each of rye, of the Mainz measure, to be delivered at Mainz in every eventuality at our expense and risk; namely, that for one vicarage in the present month we shall give fifty malters of rye, and thereafter in the next following month, and thenceforth, for each vicarage’s lifetime, every year in perpetuity, we shall give one hundred malters of dry rye without chaff, of the aforesaid measure, to be delivered at Mainz, as has been said, at our risk and expense, between the two feasts, namely the Assumption of Mary and her Nativity. Adding that, as soon as we shall have any plough-teams furnished with beasts of burden, without any deceit or fraud we wish to be bound in perpetuity to bring your wine, which shall have grown for you in Monzingen each year at vintage time, whenever we are requested, to your cellar at Mainz in our wagons and at our expense; provided, however, that if the occurrence of some misfortune should befall, we shall be wholly excused. And for the due firmness of these things we grant the present writing, strengthened by the protection of the seals of the lords abbots in Eberbach and Otterberg, with the consent and knowledge of their convents and of our monastery. Done at Mainz in the year of the Lord 1259, on the day before the Nones of March.

You see how the canons of the greater church of Mainz, in order to make their prebends fatter, sold into annual servitude to the Cistercians, for one hundred malters of rye, a monastery that previously had been free and of our order, to no small loss, injury, and disgrace of our order, unmindful of the benefice received four years earlier from Otto, abbot of the same monastery, the last of our order, who had handed over to them the parish church in Odernheim with notable liberty, to be possessed forever with all its revenues.

In the same year Albertus Magnus, provincial of the Order of Preachers, by the provision of Pope Alexander IV, was made bishop of Regensburg in Bavaria. 1260.

Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, died. Werner of Falkenstein, provost of the greater church, succeeding him, presided for twenty-three years and six months. He governed his church excellently and wonderfully enlarged it in revenues and ornaments.

In the same year Louis, count palatine of the Rhine, of whom we spoke above, who had killed Maria, daughter of the duke of Bavaria, his wife, took another wife, Anna by name, daughter of Conrad, duke of Poland. By her he begot a daughter named Agnes, and a son Louis, an excellent man, concerning whom there will be occasion to speak later in his proper place.

In the same year also Jacob of Lapide and Simon of Guntheim, knights, waging serious hostilities against the Worms people, [took] many of the citizens captive; but afterward peace was made between them, and the captives were released upon payment of money. 1261.

In this year, which was the ninth of John our abbot, there was a very great flood of waters in these regions. The Rhine rose to such a degree that it overturned many houses and buildings; even people living around the Rhine, struck with excessive terror, abandoned their homes, and many fled to the protection of the mountains. In these times there was very great dissension between Engelbert the archbishop and the citizens of Cologne, which endured for many years, not without damage to both parties. 1262.

In the tenth year of John, abbot of this monastery, a certain man came from the lower parts to these lands. He was called Master Theodo, a magician and wondrous conjurer, who performed many incredible marvels. For in the town of Kreuznach, publicly in the marketplace before all the people, he cut off the head of his servant, and after the space of half an hour restored it to the body lying there. He seemed to walk with dogs in the air, as if going hunting, ascending and descending, and shouting in the highest places as if from afar. They thought he had devoured an armed man. He also devoured wagons loaded with wood or hay together with the horses, as those who did not know the method thought. He did other astonishing things too, which I have considered superfluous to write in this place.

In the same year Werner, archbishop of Mainz, excommunicated Philip of Hohenfels and placed his land under interdict because of the excessive and indiscriminate exactions which

Of Sponheim.

... he was making in the goods of the clergy of the city of Mainz situated in his domain, and a grave disturbance arose among them.

285.

1263.

In this year, on the day after the Epiphany of the Lord, in the time of Richard, king of the Romans, an agreement was made on Mount St. James between the aforesaid Philip of Hohenfels and the prelates of the church of Mainz, and was confirmed under penalties of proscription and other terrible censures, as is clear in the letters concerning it, which we have omitted because of their excessive length.

In these times also there was a long and very serious dissension between the archbishop and the citizens of Cologne, the former wishing to draw the liberties of the citizens to himself, while the latter fought most vigorously for liberty. At last the citizens, capturing their archbishop Engelbert and Theoderic of Falckenburg, his brother, compelled them to make peace.

1264.

Nicholas, the thirteenth prior of this monastery, died this year on the Kalends of January, a good man and a lover of regular discipline. After him a certain monk, named Otwinus, a wise and very notable man, was appointed the fourteenth prior. He presided in the office of prior for twelve years, and would gladly have reformed the collapsed monastic discipline, but because of the malice of the times he was able to make little progress.

In the same year the Hermit Friars of the order of St. Augustine, entering Worms, began to build a monastery, and, having completed it, they inhabit it down to this day.

The Augustinians of Worms.

John, the seventh abbot, dies.

... concerning the deeds of that time.

... the eighth abbot, buried in the middle of the choir, before the steps of the presbytery.

Concerning Peter, the eighth abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, who presided for twenty-five years and three months, and concerning the various deeds of that time.

After Abbot John had died and been buried, when the brethren of this monastery who were then present had assembled to elect a new pastor for the widowed church, a grave disturbance followed. For two men were elected through dissension. Peter, who was cellarer, concerning whom we spoke above, had one part of the convent for himself; and William, a monk who held the office of cantor, obtained the other part of the electors for himself.

And when a serious contention arose between the parties of this one monastery, and each party tried to defend its own elected man, Peter, who was a crafty man, using the former authority of his office, [unclear], surrounded by a band of his household supporters, powerfully invaded the abbacy and [unclear] himself in all things. Yet afterward he resigned the whole case into the hands of Werner, archbishop of Mainz. This contention lasted for the space of a year, not without damage to the temporal goods of the monastery and great danger to souls. Count Simon at first indeed supported the party of William and implored [unclear]. But at last Werner, archbishop of Mainz, summoned both elected men to him, and, carefully examining the manner and form of the election, and likewise the zeal of the electors, repudiated William and confirmed Peter as abbot of this monastery.

After he had devoted himself for some time to letters, he came to the monastery and under Abbot John became a monk; by him afterward he was appointed prior, as we have said, and then cellarer, and finally abbot.

The church in Gentzingen is alienated.

This Peter, in the first year of his confirmation, immediately gave the parish church in Gentzingen in the district of the Nahegau, which from the donation of the late noble man Udo our monastery had possessed peacefully for 138 years, to the chapter of the greater church of Mainz with all its appurtenances, as is clear in these letters:

Copy of the donation.

To the reverend and beloved in Christ, the provost and dean, and the whole chapter of the church of Mainz, Peter, by the grace of God elected and confirmed as abbot of the monastery of Sponheim, sends greeting and, with obedience, devoted prayers in Christ. Since through the aid of our assistance, by which we are bound worthily and reverently to be present to our mother, the slenderness of your prebends may be relieved in some measure, and through you also to blessed Mar-

Of Sponheim.

In the same year a very great sedition arose among the citizens of Cologne. For when the rulers of the city had imposed burdensome extraordinary exactions on the community, the community itself rose up against the consulate, and, attacking one another in arms and war within the city itself, they fought; many on both sides were slain and killed.

The Cologne sedition.

[unclear].

1268.

In this year, which was the fourth of Peter our abbot, William, who, as we said above, had in the dissension been elected against Peter as abbot of this monastery by one part of the convent, but had been rejected by Werner, archbishop of Mainz, as having fewer and weaker votes in the election, after he had long troubled the monastery and the abbot, was seized by that same archbishop of Mainz while running about here and there, and was committed to prison, not to come out until his death. And that very disturbance ceased, which he had carried on against Peter for three years, with certain of the brethren adhering to him, though secretly, because of fear of the bishop.

William the pseudo-abbot is captured.

1269.

In this year a grave discord arose between Bishop Berthold and the counts of Henneberg, Castell, and Hohenlohe; at length, coming together for battle near the town in Franconia which is called Kitzingen, they fought fiercely. Many on both sides were slain, wounded, and captured.

The Bishop of Würzburg is at odds with certain counts.

In the same year the proscribed fugitives from the city of Cologne, having made a hidden passage underground and wishing to occupy and seize Cologne, inflicted many evils on the citizens; and, fighting against one another, they mutually caused themselves irrecoverable losses.

The Cologne sedition.

1270.

In this year, the sixth of Peter our abbot, since regular observance, alas, had too greatly [unclear], the monks now openly [unclear] proprietors [unclear]. Many on both sides were slain, wounded, and captured. The rest, for almost 130 years, had previously flourished in the present monastery in a sufficiently praiseworthy manner. Therefore the convent divided the total of its revenues into prebends, adding to these a certain common distribution, which they call “presences,” in the manner of secular canons, to the grave detriment of the present monastery and danger of souls.

The monks of this monastery withdraw from regular observance.

In the same year John, abbot, and the convent of the monastery of St. [unclear] at Nida, of our order, in the diocese of Cologne, sold to the chapters of Mainz, of the greater church and of Blessed Mary the Virgin at the Steps, the villages Drechtingshausen, upper and lower Heimbach, and Weiler, with their boundaries, and part of the castle of Reichenstein, with the people, land, property, lordship, buildings, vineyards, possessions, cultivated and uncultivated lands, jurisdiction, and actions of every kind, with all rights, appurtenances, and revenues in the aforesaid villages, in the castle of Reichenstein itself, and in all the adjoining bounds, for 1,423 marks of Cologne denarii, as appears in the letters drawn up concerning this sale, whose date is the aforesaid year, the eighth day before the Kalends of October.

Concerning the sale of Drechtingshausen.

Today Drockshaufen.

Also in the same year Gottfried, lord of Eppenstein, and his son Gottfried sold the village called Flersheim, with fields, vineyards, courts, meadows, pastures, waters, mills, woods, cultivated and uncultivated lands, with the people dwelling there or wishing to return who had transferred themselves to other places and had an inheritance there, with the knights, the boys of the knights from Johann Venator excepted, for 1,500 marks, drawing up letters concerning it, whose date is as follows: Done in the year of the Lord 1370, on the third feria after Dominica Indica.

Flersheim is sold and the church [unclear].

[unclear] our court in Weiller [unclear].

[unclear] they resigned to the monastery, which, having been distributed to the villagers in small portions, were leased for an annual rent.

1271.

In the seventh year of his rule Peter, abbot of this monastery, bought back the goods in Praumweil for 200 marks; from them he made a court and leased it to farmers for an annual rent.

The Bishop of Speyer dies.

In the same year Engelbert, archbishop of Cologne, died in the church of Buden [unclear].

In the same year Henry, bishop of Speyer, died; Frederick of Bolanden, his sister’s son, succeeding him on the fourth Nones of March, presided for almost thirty years.

The Bishop of Speyer dies.

Sponheim.

... was made with Count Simon, after the death of Siger the monk, who was the chief and head of the whole disturbance; namely, that the division of revenues once made between abbot and convent, as we have said before, should henceforth remain, and that the monks should be bound each year to render an account to the abbot of receipts and expenses. The abbot himself also, lest he be able to alienate anything without consulting his convent, is in every way similarly bound to render an account to the convent each year; and neither the abbot without the consent of the convent, nor the convent without the consent of the abbot, shall presume to sell or alter anything.

In the same year noted above, Ortwin, the fourteenth prior of this monastery, died. Prior Ortwin dies. This division of revenues between abbot and convent was greatly displeasing to him, and with all his strength he labored to prevent it from being made, or to revoke it once made; but he was able to accomplish little, although he brought upon himself the hatred of all the brothers. After him Megenhard, a monk, son of John, knight of Weinsheim, was appointed fifteenth prior; he presided in that office for eighteen years. Megenhard, prior [unclear].

1277.

In the thirteenth year of our abbot Peter, Count Simon of Sponheim, our advocate, died. Count Simon of Sponheim dies. He left two sons, John and Henry, about whom we shall speak more fully in the following year.

In the same year Hermann, son of King Rudolf, was drowned in the Rhine and buried at Basel, not without many tears from his mother.

1278.

In the fourteenth year of our abbot Peter, John and Henry, counts of Sponheim, brothers, sons of Count Simon, of whom we spoke above, had a serious quarrel with each other. Discord among the brothers, counts of Sponheim. John was the elder by birth, to whom his father had left the county of Sponheim to govern, a spirited and steadfast man; since he yielded to his brother Henry in nothing, he made him his enemy and adversary. And so Count Henry, brother of John, betook himself to Werner, archbishop of Mainz, and entrusted himself to his protection; he received a fief of twenty marks of Aachen denarii for annual service, but the castle called Böckelheim, with the adjacent castle-villages there, with revenues of eighty marks, to the grave loss of the county, he sold to the aforesaid archbishop for 1,300 marks of Aachen denarii, as is clear from the letters of sale which he delivered to the archbishop, whose tenor follows.

I, Henry, a noble man, son of the late Count Simon of Sponheim, by the tenor of the present document publicly acknowledge and wish it to come to the knowledge of all, that I have sold my castle of Böckelheim, together with the castle-villages now held there in fief, with the castle-fief there, and revenues of eighty marks, with the consent of Cunegund, my wife, to whom the same castle had been assigned as a marriage-gift, by joint hand, to my lord Werner, archbishop of the church of Mainz, to be possessed in perpetuity as property, for [unclear] marks of Aachen denarii, to be paid at fixed terms, with sureties appointed for me for the same, as is more fully contained in the letters of the same lord archbishop drawn up concerning this matter; promising [unclear] the archbishop of the aforesaid church concerning the castle and its goods for the space of one year and one day, as shall be just and customary, [unclear]. And because the aforesaid lord archbishop has acquired for me, for 400 marks of the aforesaid money, in [unclear] of his castle-fief of the church of Mainz, at Olm or Bingen, the choice having been given to me of selecting a residence in one of these places, I declare and protest that I am bound, after those two hundred marks have been paid to me, to convert them into goods situated at Olm or Bingen, from which they will be able to have revenues of twenty marks annually, or to show to the same lord archbishop, from my goods which I possess by right of ownership, revenues of twenty marks, receiving them from him in the name of the church of Mainz as a castle-fief, to be held. Furthermore, if it happens that the aforesaid lord archbishop has war on my account with Count John of Sponheim, my brother, and [unclear] has stood by him in pursuit of my right, I will accept absolutely no settlement from that count without the knowledge and consent of the same lord archbishop. And he likewise promised me that he would do this. In testimony and firmer assurance of this, I have caused the present letters to be written and fortified by the protection of my seal. I also, Cunegund, wife of the aforesaid nobleman, lacking a seal of my own, in testimony and evidence of my consent, have asked that these letters be sealed with the seal of Lucardis my mother. Given and enacted at Mainz in the year of the Lord 1278, on the eighth day before the Kalends of August.

Count John, gravely offended, conceived a hostile mind against his brother and the archbishop; and since he could not obtain from the prelate Werner, either by prayers or threats, the aforesaid castle of Böckelheim, a portion of his paternal inheritance, he resolved to attack the matter by arms. Thus, having become the public foe and enemy of the archbishop, he inflicted much damage on the church of Mainz, by himself and through his men.

1279.

In the fifteenth year of our abbot Peter, a fierce war between Werner, archbishop of Mainz...

Chronicle of Trithemius

to us, over all our goods situated within the bounds of the village of Welgesheim; she freely conferred them upon our chapel of St. George in Dalen, and, in view of pious devotion, assigned them in the name of a dowry. We, in consideration of her kindness, grant to the same Hedwig and to her heirs, by hereditary right forever, the right of patronage, that is, presentation to that same chapel, in this manner: that the aforesaid lady Hedwig, lord Wilderic her son, or the senior heir of the same Wilderic who shall exist at the time, shall confer the said chapel upon, or present to it, one monk-priest chosen in our convent; and he, with the permission of his abbot granted, shall receive the said revenues, [unclear] the chapel and divine services. Given in the year of the Lord 1296. But after 175 years the heir of the aforesaid Hedwig resigned the right of patronage into the hands of Johann of Kulenhausen, abbot, in favor of the new reform, as we shall say in its place.

In the same year Manigold, bishop of Würzburg, died. Andreas, born of Gundelfingen, succeeded him and presided for 22 years; he had many disputes with his citizens, from whom he received and endured many injuries.

1297.

Adolf, king of the Romans, puffed up with excessive pride, stirred up many conflicts and wars throughout every land, disturbing the peace. For at his command Hermann, count of Geroldseck, and a certain other count, appointed provincial prefects in Alsace, were most troublesome to Conrad of Lichtenberg, bishop of Strasbourg, and to all the inhabitants of Alsace, and inflicted many losses. Provoked at last by such injuries, the aforesaid bishop, and also the citizens of Strasbourg, the counts of Lichtenberg, the counts of Zweibrücken, the count of Holloch, together with many other princes, counts, cities, and nobles, unanimously conspired against King Adolf, incited by the excessive insolence of him and his men; nor did they desist from the purpose they had begun until, after many princes had been brought to the same opinion, they finally cast him out of the kingdom, as we shall say in the following year.

1298.

Sifrid, archbishop of Cologne, died and was buried in the church of Bonn. Wichbold, dean of the greater church there, succeeded him. Bohemund, archbishop of Trier, because of his old age, soon took him as coadjutor; this same Bohemund did not live long.

In the same year, when King Adolf was excessively weakening the Empire, nourishing discords and wars, burdening the people with unusual taxes, and despising the princes, Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, together with certain other princes, summoned from Austria to Mainz the duke, son of the late Rudolf, king of the Romans, promising that, once Adolf had been removed, he should be elected king of the Romans. When he had heard this, he came to the Rhine with many princes and a very great army, having on his side Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, Wichbold, archbishop of Cologne, Bohemund, archbishop of Trier, Conrad, bishop of Strasbourg, and also the bishop of Constance, the counts of Lichtenberg, Ochsenstein, Freiburg, Holloch, Zweibrücken, the landgrave of Alsace, and many other princes from Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Carinthia, and various other provinces. The bishop of Strasbourg brought to Albert's aid against Adolf 80 armed horsemen and footmen. The people of Strasbourg, moreover, sent in his aid four thousand armed men, both horse and foot, who received him at Freiburg with great honor. Hearing this, King Adolf gathered a great army and besieged Rubiacum, but withdrew with the matter unfinished; going to Speyer, he waited to see what the princes gathered at Mainz would decide to do against him.

Meanwhile Albert came to Mainz with very great power, with no one resisting him, and found the leading princes of the Empire assembled. There, therefore, on the vigil of St. John the Baptist, the princes deposed Adolf from the kingdom on account of his grave offenses and unanimously elected Albert king of the Romans, promising obedience, fidelity, and assistance against all adversaries. When this had been done, Albert, the new king, went out from Mainz and with his victorious army came to the town called Alzey, three miles from Worms toward Kreuznach; there, with his princes, having pitched their tents, he settled, and he laid waste the whole town except for the castle attached to it. Adolf, however, having gathered a great army of warriors from the cities sworn to him, Speyer, Worms, Oppenheim, and Frankfurt, together with his princes, Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, his son-in-law, and also the count of Eisenberg and many others, withdrew to Oppenheim and for ten days awaited the aid of the friends to whom he had written. But when ten days had passed, before the aid of his friends

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[unclear] of Mainz and John, count of Sponheim, near Gentzingen, not far from Sprenglingen, took place on account of the castle of Beckelnheim, which Henry, brother of John, count of Sponheim, had sold, as we have said, to the same archbishop without his brother’s consent; on both sides many were killed, wounded, and captured. Among others there was a certain butcher of Creutzennacht, called Michael Mort, a very brave and exceedingly bold man, who fought so strongly on the side of the count, his lord, against the adversaries that, like another Maccabee, he deserved for himself an enduring name of praise among posterity. For, standing in the midst of the enemy, brandishing his sword on the right and on the left, he attacked them so strongly that he alone killed more than twenty and made a way for himself through their midst with the sword-point. At length, overcome by the multitude of enemies and wounded in the feet, he fell to the ground; then, immediately recovering his strength and standing on his knees, since he could not rise, defending himself strongly and brandishing his sword fearlessly around him, he struck down five more and wounded several of those standing around. Finally, however, having no helper, since his own men had begun in part to flee, he died gloriously. In memory of such courage, a stone was set up in that same place with his image carved on it, and is seen there down to the present day. Moreover, although the battle was fought for a long time with uncertain fortune, nevertheless the victory at last fell to the archbishop. There, on the side of Count John, the count of the Rhine, the count of Veringen, with many other nobles, were captured by the same archbishop; and John himself, count of Sponheim, fleeing with the help of a horse, barely escaped. He was lame in one foot, and when he was fighting bravely with his own hand, surrounded by the enemy, he was seized. Seeing this, the aforesaid Michael Mort, with the other butchers of Creutzennacht, boldly, as we have said, rushed upon the enemy and freed his lord by his own blood. For so great a benefit the count afterward rewarded the butchers in Creutzennacht with a special privilege of his own. Having won this victory, the archbishop plundered all the count’s villages round about and burned many of them. His knights too, thirsting for plunder, spared neither monasteries nor churches. For, entering the nearby monastery called Schwabenheim, they plundered it, and, robbing the courts and buildings around it, set them on fire and inflicted many losses on the brethren.

In the same year Werner, the aforesaid archbishop, took the castle called Rheinberg and destroyed it utterly, because of the robberies and depredations that were being committed from it.

In the same year also Henry, count of Veldentz, entered into a perpetual alliance with Werner, archbishop of Mainz, as is clear from the letter that follows, whose tenor is as follows:

I, Henry, count of Veldentz, make known to all that, in regard to the fidelity which I owe to the church of Mainz, of which I am steward and vassal, and from which I hold ample fiefs, desiring to remain forever in devotion and service to the same church, I promise in good faith, for myself and my heirs who ought to succeed me in the county of Veldentz, that I and my aforesaid heirs will give aid to lord Werner, archbishop, and to the churches of Mainz, against all who injure them, and will assist them perpetually. The archbishop himself promised to do the same in turn for me and my heirs, as is more fully contained in his open letters. In testimony of this matter and for its perpetual validity, I have caused my seal to be appended to the present letters. Given and enacted in the year of the Lord 1330, on the calends of September.

In the sixteenth year of Peter our abbot, Albertus Magnus, formerly bishop of Regensburg, died, a man most learned in every respect [unclear], both in the church of the saints and in secular [unclear]. William, count of Jülich, having secretly entered the city of Aachen with 468 armed men, with the purpose and intention of taking the city, was killed by the citizens together with his first-born son and all his armed men. In vengeance for this deed afterward, when negotiations for an agreement were held, the people of Aachen were compelled to resign to the count of Jülich for all time the right of appointing the provost in the church of Aachen, together with the receipt of the third part of all offerings accruing in the church of the blessed Mary ever virgin there.

1271.

In the seventeenth year of Peter our abbot, Rudolf, king of the Romans, after matters had gone prosperously in Austria and Bohemia, held a solemn assembly first at Nuremberg and afterward at Frankfurt. All the castles in which robbers and plunderers of the royal road kept themselves were destroyed. Afterward he moved an army against the count of Burgundy, and first surrounded the city of Besançon in order to obtain it. The count, advancing against him with a great army, was defeated and swore submission to the king. Returning from Burgundy, the king [unclear] Columbariam, Thuregium, Beronam, and Ha-

Chronicle of Trithemius

and with the intention of setting a new abbot over themselves; and, the grace of the Holy Spirit having been invoked, as is customary, they unanimously elected as shepherd of their souls a venerable old man named Dietlib, a monk of this convent. Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, confirmed him and had him blessed by his vicar-general in pontificals. Dietlib, ordained abbot, governed this monastery for ten years and six months.

He was a native of the city of Trier, born of honorable parents; having been set to letters in childhood, he advanced not a little in learning as he grew older. When he had become more mature, with progress in his studies, at the age of twenty he was received into the chancery of Henry, bishop of Trier, in which he distinguished himself wisely for some years, and gained by experience much wisdom in conducting curial business. After this, John, Count of Sponheim, having tested the man’s prudence, took him as his chancellor and chief secretary of his affairs, and relied greatly on his counsels as those of a prudent and experienced man. Finally, when he was held by a very severe illness of fevers, he vowed a vow of religion to the Lord; he recovered, and so became a monk under John the Second. When John died three years later, he succeeded in his place by the election of the brothers.

He was a good and pious man, very experienced in business; understanding very well that private property was not permitted to monks, he at once, at the beginning of his rule, cut out this vice by the roots, so that, communal fellowship having been restored, the religion of this monastery seemed in no small part to have been brought back to its former state, although not all other things were reformed to regular purity, because at that time things which we weigh were held in less esteem.

1391. Dietlib the abbot, in the first year of his rule, deposed John, the sixteenth prior of this monastery of Sponheim, because he seemed to be somewhat opposed to the holy reform and to the renunciation of private property. John, deposed from the priorship, bore it patiently; not long surviving, he rested in the Lord in the same year. After him Dietlib the abbot appointed as the seventeenth prior Albert, a monk of holy conduct, whose father was John, knight of Bleinich, and whose mother was Elizabeth, daughter of Henry, knight of Sponheim.

This Albert, who [unclear], was a man sufficiently learned, sufficiently inward in morals and conduct, most devout in prayer and compunction, who never consented to the pursuits of the wicked but always strongly opposed them, although he benefited others little. Once appointed prior, he took care with all zeal always to obey the commands of the rule and of the abbot, to cut out the vice of private property by the roots, and, as far as he could, he constrained the monks by word and example to the observance of the rule. Among others he had as a notable imitator his sister’s son Henry, who later succeeded him in the priorship. He himself presided in the priorship for four years.

In the same year Bohemund, archbishop of Trier, died on the fourth ides of November and was buried in the monastery of Henrad, of the Cistercian order. This Bohemund built from the foundations a new castle at Neumagen near Trittenheim. After him Diether of Nassau, brother of King Adolf, neither elected nor postulated, was substituted, ordained, and sent to Trier as archbishop by Pope Boniface VIII, out of hatred for King Albert; he presided for nearly eight years. He was of the order of Friars Preachers. On all the days of his pontificate he opposed Albert, king of the Romans, but, being far inferior in strength, he could do nothing against him. He did not rule usefully; therefore he stirred up the hatred of all against the people of Trier.

In the same year, on the vigil of Saint James the Apostle, Emicho, bishop of Worms, died and was buried in his greater church of Worms, in the monastic habit, as they say. Eberwin of Cronenberg succeeded him in the episcopate and presided for three years and nine months; at the urging of his citizens he consented that [unclear] from the community should be admitted to the council of the senate. In his time the monastery of nuns of the order of the Friars Preachers was founded at Liebenau outside the walls of Worms, not far from Neuhausen toward the south, by a certain citizen of Worms called Jacob Engelman; he himself confirmed the deed.

1392. In this year, which was the second of Abbot Dietlib, Willichco, brother of the wife of Count Henry of Sponheim, came to the religious life, a noble man, wise and very religious. Hearing the good reputation of Abbot Dietlib, namely that he had taken care to reform this monastery so diligently, he became a monk under him and at length succeeded him in the abbacy; concerning him it will be said below in its place.

In the same year, when Pope Boniface VIII had instituted the jubilee at Rome, an infinite multitude

Sponheim.

And he took the rebellious cities of Hagenau, the authors of the rebellion being partly killed and partly proscribed; and all the land was quiet before him in good peace.

In the same year King Rudolf, established at Mainz in the month of December with many princes, made peace between Werner, archbishop of Mainz, with Count Heinrich of Sponheim on the one side, and Johann, count of Sponheim, Heinrich’s brother, with Heinrich his son and those adhering to him on the other side, concerning all wars and battles and damages had by reason of the castle of Böckelheim, as is clear from the letters of settlement that follow:

The war between the count of Sponheim and the archbishop of Mainz, which they had waged on account of the castle of Böckelheim, is settled.

Letters of settlement.

Rudolf, by the grace of God king of the Romans, ever Augustus, we make known to all and each who shall read these letters or hear them read, that we have wholly, perfectly, and perpetually concluded, reconciled, and pacified all discord, suit, and contention which existed between our beloved princes, Werner, archbishop of Mainz, his church, Heinrich, brother of the count of Sponheim, with all their friends and helpers, parties on the other side, concerning all deeds committed and perpetrated during that whole time in which discord began and endured between them, in this manner.

First, the aforesaid Count Johann, with his wife and his brother Eberhard, for himself and all his heirs, renounced forever before us the castle of Böckelheim, [unclear] with its men and goods, which the aforesaid archbishop had bought, as is contained in the letters of division made between Count Johann and Heinrich his brother; and under my judgment, under which the said goods are known to stand, he must do each and every thing which the order of law requires with warranty. Count Heinrich ought to be content there with his third part, just as he has held it up to now, and the archbishop, together with the church of Mainz, shall remain in quiet possession of the two parts which Heinrich, brother of Count Johann, sold to him, without molestation from any of them. All captives, after making the oath of peace as is customary, have been set free. Johann and Heinrich, counts of Sponheim, swore upon the holy Gospel of God that they would firmly observe all the aforesaid things. But if the aforesaid counts presume to violate this our concord and peaceful settlement to the injury of the archbishop and the church of Mainz, then we, together with the cities of the realm, Frankfurt, Friedberg, Wetzlar, Gelnhausen, Oppenheim, Wesel, and Boppard, and he with us, will give aid and assistance against them to the often-mentioned archbishop and his church. Frederick, count of Leiningen, nor his son, nor Eberhard, count of Katzenelnbogen, nor Emicho, count of Leiningen, nor any of them, must give aid against these things to the aforesaid counts Johann and Heinrich against the archbishop and the church of Mainz. We have made this settlement of concord and peace with the consent and good will of the aforesaid archbishop of Mainz and of the counts Johann and Heinrich of Sponheim, and at their instance we have caused our royal seal, together with their seals and those of Frederick, count of Leiningen, and Eberhard, count of Katzenelnbogen, to be appended to these letters. Done at Mainz in the year of the Lord 1281, on the feast of St. Lucy.

Captives released.

1282.

In the eighteenth year of our abbot Peter, Johann, count of Sponheim, who in the preceding year, as we have said, had fought against Werner, archbishop of Mainz, at Gensingen, now entered into a perpetual treaty with him and promised assistance against all who should injure him, except Gottfried, count of Sayn, Heinrich, count of Starkenburg, Eberhard, count of Katzenelnbogen, who was the brother of his wife, Emicho and Frederick the younger, counts of Leiningen, as well as the count of Zweibrücken and the landgrave of Hesse, with whom he had previously been allied, as is clear from the letters drawn up concerning this, given at Mainz in the year of the Lord 1281, on the third day before the Nones of May; because they are both too lengthy and contribute nothing to our purpose, we have deliberately passed them over.

A treaty between Count Johann of Sponheim and the archbishop.

In the same year Rudolf took and destroyed the robbers’ castles Reichenstein and Schöneck.

Two castles destroyed.

In the same year, on the Monday after the feast of holy Easter, the citizens of Mainz killed all the Jews who were in the city of Mainz because of a certain enormous crime, and usurped all their goods for themselves. A similar blow followed against almost all the other Jews throughout all Germany.

Slaughter of the Jews.

That year was so temperate that around the feast of the martyrs Marcellinus and Peter, that is, 2 June, the vineyards generally everywhere in these lands had flowering clusters.

The year temperate.

1283.

In the nineteenth year of our abbot Peter, on the day of St. Potentiana the virgin, the counts of Henneberg led an army against Berthold, bishop of Würzburg, burned the town called Schwarzbach, and plundered the monasteries of our order there outside the walls.

War at Schwarzbach.

In the same year Pope Martin IV sent a legate from his side into Germany, the bishop of Tusculum, who, coming to Würzburg in the presence of King Rudolf and many [unclear].

Apostolic legation.

Chronicle of Trithemius

[he] held a solemn council of princes, bishops, abbots, prelates, and nobles. There, among other things, the pope began most urgently to demand a tenth penny from the clergy, and the king from the whole people of the kingdom, with many princes giving their consent. But Sifrid, bishop of Cologne, and Henry, bishop of Trier, most steadfastly opposed and contradicted this unusual and excessively burdensome exaction, and made the efforts of both come to nothing.

1284.

In the twentieth year of Peter our abbot, on the second day of the month of April, Wernher, archbishop of Mainz, died, and was buried in the church of Mainz. The see of Mainz was vacant for three years, two men having been elected in dissension, namely Peter, canon of Basel, provost of the greater church, who had once been physician to Rudolf, king of the Romans, and Gerard of Eppstein, archdeacon of Trier. After they had contended for the bishopric at the apostolic see for three years, at last Pope Honorius IV, setting both aside, raised Henry of the Order of Minors, bishop of Basel, to be archbishop of Mainz. But the aforesaid Peter the physician he appointed in place of the said Henry as bishop of the church of Basel.

In the same year Berthold, bishop of Wurzburg, died. Mangold of Neuenburg succeeded him and presided for twelve years; he was the forty-third in the order of the bishops of Wurzburg.

1285.

In the twenty-first year of Peter our abbot, the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Steps in Mainz was burned. In the same year the canons of the church of Wurzburg, together with all the clergy, were violently expelled by the citizens on the sixth ides of January, and were stripped of all their goods.

In these times there came a certain unknown man, very like Emperor Frederick, who said that he was Emperor Frederick; and first indeed in Meissen, then in Wetzlar and in other [unclear], at last, after Pope Honorius IV had set both aside, Henry of the Order of Minors, bishop of Basel, was raised to be archbishop of Mainz. But the aforesaid Peter the physician he appointed in place of the said Henry as bishop of the church of Basel.

In the same year Louis, Count Palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, died, and was buried in the monastery of Furstenfeld, which he had founded [unclear]; he left two sons, Rudolf the count palatine, and Louis, afterwards emperor of the Romans. Rudolf, the firstborn, begot Rudolf, Rupert, and Adolf, of whom mention will be made in their place.

1286.

In the twenty-second year of Peter our abbot, Pope Honorius IV, as we said above, after Peter and Gerard had been contending at the apostolic see over the archbishopric of Mainz, set them aside, and ordained Henry, bishop of Basel, of the Order of Minors, as archbishop of Mainz. He presided for one year, eleven months, and five days. But Peter the provost was made bishop of Basel, and that long-lasting and destructive dissension for the church came to an end.

1287.

In the twenty-third year of Peter our abbot, the Jews secretly seized a certain boy named Wernher, born in a little village called Wamraidt, without his parents’ knowledge, and took him with them to Wesel. On the thirteenth calends of May, piercing him with needles in order to draw blood, they cruelly killed him after many torments. His body, placed in a certain chapel situated on the mountain in the town of Bacharach, is shown to the present day incorrupt and whole in memory of his martyrdom; it is said that immediately at the beginning of his burial it shone with many miracles.

In the same year Frederick, bishop of Worms, died in the sixth year of his pontificate. Simon of Schoneck succeeded him in the bishopric and presided for four years. This Bishop Simon, in the first year of his episcopate, consecrated the church and monastery of nuns of the Order of Preachers near Worms, called Hochheim, then newly built by Rudolf the knight.

1288.

In the twenty-fourth year of Peter our abbot, William the monk died; having been elected in dissension against Peter, and because of the many evils he had done, he had been captured by Wernher, bishop of Mainz, and imprisoned for nearly twenty years, as has been said.

In the same year, on the fifteenth calends of April, brother Henry, archbishop of Mainz, died and was buried in the greater church at Mainz. After his death two men were again elected in dissension, namely Gerard of Eppstein, canon of Mainz and archdeacon of Trier, who had been elected before with Peter, as we said, after the death of Wernher; and Emmerich of Schoneck, scholasticus of Mainz. But while these things were being done at Mainz, Pope Honorius having died, the apostolic see [unclear].

Sponheimense.

The Apostolic See was vacant for ten months, so that the matter of this election could not easily be settled either in those parts or at Rome. Meanwhile Henry, archbishop of Trier, died, and the aforesaid Gerard, against Bohemond, was also postulated as archbishop by one party of the canons of Trier. At length, when he had gone to Rome with a double election, he was ordained archbishop of Mainz by Pope Nicholas IV, and Bohemond, succeeding Henry, presided as archbishop of Trier for sixteen years: a magnanimous and most prudent man, since he vigorously accomplished many things for the advantage and benefit of his church.

In the same year the duke of Limburg died, and [there was a dispute with?] Reinald, count of Guelders, over that same duchy of Limburg, which each of them labored exceedingly to claim for himself by hereditary right, as the nearer legitimate heir. At last it came to war, and the duke of Brabant had with him his brother Godfrey, Adolf count of Berg, Henry count of Windeck, Walram count of Julich, his brother Gerard, Eberhard count of the Mark with his brother, also the bishop of Liege, the count of Looz, the citizens of Cologne, and many other noble and very brave men. With Reinald, count of Guelders, were Siegfried archbishop of Cologne, Henry count of Luxembourg and his brother Walram, John lord in Limburg, Henry count of Westerburg, likewise the count of Falkenburg, and several others. When battle was joined, the duke of Brabant obtained the victory, captured the count of Guelders, and secured many castles and lordships for his release. Siegfried archbishop of Cologne was also captured, in the custody of the count of Berg. Since he did not wish to redeem himself with money, he was detained for seven years, until at last, compelled by necessity, he redeemed himself from captivity at a great price.

1289.

In the twenty-fifth year of our abbot Peter, King Rudolf again moved an army into Burgundy. First he captured the city of Payerne, enclosed by a siege. Then he powerfully subjected to his power the count of Burgundy himself, also the count of Montbeliard and the count of Savoy, and made them obedient to him in all things.

In the same year there died Emicho count of Leiningen, Diether son of Eberhard count of Katzenelnbogen, Walther count of Geroldseck, Gerlach the elder lord of Limburg, the count of Uechingen, and the count of Reineck by the Black Forest; at one and the same time they all perished miserably together.

In the same year also Siegfried archbishop of Cologne, as we have said, was held in the chains of Adolf count of Berg, and for seven years was treated quite miserably.

1290.

In this year Peter, the eighth abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, after he had presided for twenty-five years and four months, died on the sixth day before the Nones of May, at an advanced age, being more than sixty-eight years old, and was buried in the cloister of the monastery before the entrance to the church. He was a very active man, but less concerned with inward spiritual matters. He was the first to allow the monks of this monastery portions of revenues, although later he wished to revoke this, but did not succeed. When he was about to die, however, after making a most devout confession, he said that he feared the future judgment of God for nothing more than that, by his agency, the greatest occasion for private property seemed to have been left to the monks of this monastery. Nevertheless, as much as lay in him, even when already placed at the point of death, he revoked with constant perseverance all that had been done concerning the division of revenues, contrary to the Rule of our Holy Father Benedict; but he accomplished nothing. For the monks, having once obtained permission for private possessions, so to speak, paid no heed to the words of a dying man.

In these times a great dissension arose for a slight cause between John count of Sponheim and Henry count of Veldenz.

For the count of Sponheim had caused a certain man from the county of Veldenz to be hanged, who had stolen a considerable sum of money in the town of Kreuznach and, carrying it away secretly, had hidden it in a small village of the aforesaid count of Veldenz. When the money was disclosed by torture, the count of Sponheim wished it to be returned to the man from whom it had been taken; on the contrary, the count of Veldenz asserted that it belonged to his jurisdiction and was in no way to be returned to anyone, because it had been found in his domain. And so, when dissension arose, they were close to attacking each other in war, had not Gerard archbishop of Mainz intervened and restored peace, adjudging that the money ought to be restored to the injured party.

The Roman See is vacant.

The bishop of Trier dies.

Gerard becomes archbishop of Mainz; Bohemond, of Trier.

The duke of Limburg without children.

War over the duchy of Limburg.

The duke of Brabant with his allies.

The count of Guelders and his allies.

The duke of Brabant gains the victory.

The count of Guelders captive.

The king’s second expedition into Burgundy.

Death of the [unclear] counts.

The archbishop of Cologne [unclear].

Peter, abbot of Sponheim, dies.

What sort of man Peter was.

He renewed private property.

Dissension between the count of Sponheim and [the count] of Veldenz. Money that had been taken away ought to be restored to him from whom it was taken, not to the magistrate of the place where it was found or taken.

Chronicle of Trithemius concerning John the Second, ninth abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, who presided for seven years and eleven months, and concerning various events of this time.

After the death of lord Peter, the eighth abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, in the aforesaid year, which was the year 1300 of the Lord’s Nativity, the brothers, left without a shepherd, came together on 3 May with the intention of appointing a shepherd over themselves. After much counsel had first been taken and mature deliberation held, they unanimously elected as abbot John, a monk and cellarer of this monastery. Not long afterward Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, confirmed him when he was presented to him, and in the same year, on the Sunday after the feast of St Urban the Pope, had him ordained at Mainz by Peter, bishop of Suden, his vicar-general in pontificals. John, elected, confirmed, and ordained as abbot, presided over this monastery, as is customary, for seven years and eleven months. He came from Sobernheim, born of honorable parents of middling fortune; when he was still a boy in his twelfth year he was handed over to the monastery by his own parents. He conducted himself fairly well before the brothers according to the customs of that time; he was appointed cellarer by Abbot Peter, and succeeded him, as we have said, in the governance. According to his capacity he ruled temporal affairs fairly well.

1291.

In the first year of his rule Abbot John renewed our inner church with four altars, and had it consecrated anew by Peter of Suden, as we have said, vicar-general in pontificals of Archbishop Gerard, as is clear from his letters.

Copy.

Our church was dedicated anew.

To all who shall see these presents, Peter, by divine mercy bishop of Suden, vicar of the reverend father and lord Gerard, by the grace of God archbishop of Mainz, greeting in the Lord. Since in the year of the Lord 1291, on 8 April, we [unclear] the church of the monastery of Sponheim, of the Order of St Benedict, with four altars for divine worship to be performed perpetually. We granted to all the faithful of Christ one year, [unclear] coming to the altars, forty days, [unclear] in each of the altars, at the time of the dedication, namely on the Sunday nearest after the Nativity of blessed Mary ever Virgin, through all the following octaves, to endure forever; adding also, by special grace, to all benefactors of the aforesaid monastery, after the manner of the venerable father lord Hugh, cardinal and legate of the Apostolic See, an indulgence of forty days, likewise to endure. Given, etc.

But here it must be noted that for reasonable causes the day of the aforesaid dedication of this church, with its indulgences, after forty-six years, at the instance of Abbot Wilhelm, was transferred by Albert, bishop of [unclear], vicar of Henry, bishop of Mainz, to the Sunday nearest after the feast of St Martin.

In the same year King Rudolf of the Romans, holding an assembly of princes at Frankfurt, labored with many entreaties and promises to induce the princes to elect his son Albert, duke of Austria, as king of the Romans. The princes entirely refused to do this, saying that they already had a king, and that the kingdom could not support two, since the commonwealth seemed already sufficiently burdened by one.

1292.

In the second year of our Abbot John, on the octave of the Division of the Apostles, Rudolf, count of Habsburg, king of the Romans, died. He was honorably buried in the church of Speyer with his predecessors, kings and emperors. The empire was vacant for one year. In the same year Gerard, bishop of Mainz, held a synod in Aschaffenburg, with his suffragan bishops present: those of Eichstätt, Speyer, Augsburg, Würzburg, Bamberg, and Hildesheim, and many abbots, prelates, and clerics of the province of Mainz. When the council had been dissolved and each man was arranging to return to his own place, Frederick of Bolanden, bishop of Speyer, was captured on the road near the Main, at the village called Kelsterbach, by Gerard, son of Count Eberhard of Katzenelnbogen, provost of the church of Utrecht, and was taken into a fortification; but at last, after an agreement intervened, he was released.

In the same year the princes assembled at Frankfurt around the feast of Philip [and James?] for the election of a new king of the Romans. After many negotiations had first been held, Adolf, count of Nassau, was elected king of the Romans. He ruled for six years, and was deposed by the princes of the empire, as we shall say later. From these things it is concluded that King Rudolf died not in this year but in the preceding year; otherwise the empire would not have been vacant for one year, as the more important chronographers report.

1293.

Sponheim.

1293.

In this year the city of Worms, burning by accidental fire, was for the most part consumed. In the same year, on the day of St. Othmar the abbot, Simon, bishop of Worms, died and was buried in the monastery of Schönau. After his death Gerhard, son of the Hirsute Count, was elected; he died before his confirmation. After him Eberhard of Strahlenberg was again elected; he presided over the church of Worms scarcely ten months. When he too had died, Emicho of Badenberg, provost of the major church, succeeded in the episcopate, elected unanimously on the day after St. Thomas the Apostle, and he presided for four years and one month. This Emicho, while he was still provost of the church of Worms, founded a chapel in the suburb of the city in honor of the most blessed virgin Mary, mother of God. In it he established twelve prebendary priests, who were to discharge the hours there in honor of God and the Virgin. Afterwards, when he was made bishop, he confirmed what he had previously done, and joined greater benefices to those already granted. From the first foundation of this same chapel, many miracles and signs are reported to have been performed there by the merits of blessed Mary ever virgin, so that down to the present day there has been a great concourse of faithful peoples to that same church; through their alms and offerings it grew, in the course of time, into the form in which it is now seen.

1294.

In the fourth year of our abbot John, Megenhard, prior of this monastery of Sponheim, the fifteenth in the order of priors from the beginning of its foundation, died in the eighteenth year of his priorate and was buried in the cloister of the monastery with his brothers. In the priorate he was succeeded as sixteenth by John, a monk of this convent, originally from Weinsheim, and he presided in it for nearly five years.

In these times a great quarrel arose between Philip, king of France, and Edward, king of England, which proceeded to a most savage war. The aforesaid king of England hired Adolf, king of the Romans, as an ally for one hundred thousand marks of silver; but Adolf, having received the money which he ought to have divided with the princes of the Empire, kept it alone against their will, and provoked them to the greatest indignation, so that none of them agreed to go with him to the aid promised by him to the king of England. Therefore king Adolf, confounded, was never able to come to the king of the English with the princes, as he had promised, nor alone with his own men at the proper time; and it was a very great disgrace both to that king of the Romans Adolf and to the whole Empire to have received so much money and disgracefully withheld the aid promised for it.

1295.

In the fifth year of our abbot, Albert, duke of Austria, son of the late king Rudolf, rose up strongly against Adolf, king of the Romans, and inflicted many losses on him. When Adolf had tried to depose him from his duchy, he could not, because Albert, favored by many princes and helped, defended himself stoutly.

In the same year Siegfried, archbishop of Cologne, after seven years of his captivity, had at last been released for a high price; [unclear] had detained [unclear], cast into prison and captive, until death, and did not wish to release him for any price, but repeatedly reproaching him said: “Now I shall teach you how you ought to hold an archbishop captive.” And when the count promised that he would return everything that he had extorted from him and would add much greater things if he were released, the archbishop answered: “Saint Peter, even without those things which you promise, can [unclear] his servants; therefore I pay no heed to your promises. You will die a captive.” And this was done. In the same year John, duke of Brabant, died in Hastelitz.

1296.

In the sixth year of our abbot, when the church of the holy martyr George in Dalen, formerly burned down and afterwards begun to be rebuilt, stood unfinished, a certain religious matron Hedwig, wife of the late Hermann, knight of Sponheim, forewarned by divine inspiration, completed it at her own expense and costs, and gave to the same monastery in perpetual possession her court in Winckelsheim with fields, house-sites, meadows, and all its revenues. In gratitude for this benefaction, Abbot John conferred on her and her heirs the right of patronage of the same chapel, yet on the condition that she must confer it on no one other than the senior monk of this monastery, as appears in the letters:

“In the name of the Lord. Amen. We, John by the grace of God abbot, John prior, and the whole convent of the monastery in Sponheim, of the Order of Saint Benedict, in the diocese of Mainz, send greeting to all forever. Since Lady Hedwig, widow of Lord Hermann, of happy memory, knight of Sponheim, has bought and acquired thirty maldra of rye, by the Bingen measure, in perpetual annual revenues for [unclear]

The fire of Worms.

Three bishops of Worms died in one year.

Emicho, bishop of Worms.

The church of blessed Mary at Worms.

Megenhard the prior dies.

John succeeded.

Adolf the emperor, as a mercenary, promises service but does not perform it for the aforesaid king of England.

Albert the Austrian rises up against Adolf.

The count of Berg is captured by the archbishop of Cologne and dies in prison.

The duke of Brabant dies.

The church of St. George at Dalen.

Winckelsheim, today Welgesheim.

Copy.

SPONHEIM. 297.

…[before] the aids of [his] friends had come, too inconsiderately and precipitately, unequal in strength, [Adolf] advanced to battle against Albert, between the village which is called Göllheim and the nuns' monastery named Rosenthal; there it was once sharply fought, and many fell on either side. King Adolf fought most bravely with his own hand, and, when victory now seemed to be approaching him, his [men] began to flee, and he himself was killed in the same place, and his son captured. There fell also in the same battle lord Otto of Oxenstein, the first captain in duke Albert's army; likewise the count of Eisenberg, supreme standard-bearer in king Adolf's army, and a most brave soldier, was killed. Counts, soldiers, and nobles also, more than sixty notable [men], fell in the same place. But the body of the slain king Adolf was buried in the aforesaid monastery of Rosenthal, until the times of Henry, king of Luxembourg, who ordered his bones to be entombed in the tombs of the kings in the church of Speyer. There are [those] who write that all those who conspired against king Adolf perished by an evil death. For they report that Albert himself, the usurper of the kingdom, was slain by his brother's son; the count of Holloch killed; Otto of Oxenstein (as we said) fell in war; the archbishop of Mainz, sitting on his chair, died unexpectedly; the count of Zweibrücken drowned in the water or bank called Blies; Conrad, bishop of Strasbourg, before Freiburg, slain by a sword by a certain peasant; the count of Leiningen made insane and frenzied; and almost all, by a similar kind of death, emigrated from this world. Albert, therefore, escaping victor, with his princes sets out for the city of Aachen, and there is consecrated king of the Romans by Wichbold, archbishop of Cologne. He reigned 10 years. He had as wife Elizabeth, daughter of Meinhard, count of Carinthia, who bore him 5 daughters and 6 sons; of whom these are the names. The first-born was Rudolf, king of Bohemia, who died in the year of the Lord [MCCCCLXX, as printed—recte c. 1307], buried at Prague. The second was Frederick, duke of Austria, who afterward was elected against Louis the Bavarian, the emperor; of whom it will be said in [its] place. The third was Leopold, duke of Austria, Styria, and Carinthia, who died in the year of the Lord [MCCXXXVI, as printed—recte 1326], buried in the monastery of Königsfeld. The fourth was Henry the duke, who died in the year of the Lord [MCCCCLIIII, as printed], leaving [his] wife Elizabeth, daughter of the count of Virneburg. The fifth was Albert the duke, who founded a monastery at Gaming, from whom the line of Maximilian, king of the Romans, descends. The sixth was Otto, duke of Austria, who had as wife a daughter of the duke of Bavaria, by name Elizabeth, and died in the year of the Lord 1344. But of the daughters, the first, by name Agnes, married Andrew, king of Hungary; he being dead without children, she again married the duke of Breslau. The second was Elizabeth, who married Frederick, duke of Lorraine, and bore him Rudolf, who [succeeded his] father. The third was Anna, who married Hermann of Brandenburg. The fourth was Catherine, betrothed to Henry of Luxembourg, the seventh king of the Romans; he being dead before the marriage, she was given to Rupert, king of Apulia, duke of Calabria, and died in the year of the Lord 1434 [as printed]. The fifth daughter, by name Jutta, married Udalric, count of Oettingen, and died in the year of the Lord 1424 [as printed].

In these times the citizens of Cologne, on account of suits and contentions which they had had with Sifrid, archbishop of Cologne, were under excommunication for 7 years, as many months, and nine days, and interdicted, so that through all that time the celebration of the divine [office] among them was suspended. Sifrid the archbishop being dead, Wichbold did not restrain the presumed license of the monks departing far from the integrity of regular observance, but permitted the division of revenues with pernicious private property, as he found [it].

ON DIETLIB, THE 10TH ABBOT OF THIS MONASTERY OF SPONHEIM; who presided 10 years and 6 months; and on the various deeds in these regions.

In the aforesaid year, John, abbot of this monastery, being dead and buried (as we said), the brothers assembled at the chapter-place the 4th [day before] the Kalends of April, in mind…

Chronicle of Trithemius

which Johannes Trithemius, his successor, enlarged, and made into a fitting dwelling, raised to the form in which it is now seen.

1312.

In this year Peter, archbishop of Mainz, around the feast of All Saints came to the castle of Beckelnheim and stayed there for six days. Willicho, abbot of this monastery, approached him and, among other things, obtained confirmation of the indulgences granted by thirteen bishops at Rome at the time of the first Jubilee, as is clear in the letters, whose transcript we have placed above in its proper place.

In the same year Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, who at Rome [unclear], with his brother Henry VII, emperor of the Romans, fighting and doing battle in his own person, had accomplished many distinguished deeds, for the expenses incurred [unclear]; Boppard and Wesel were then pledged to the church of Trier.

Copy of the donation.

In the fourth year of Willicho, abbot of this monastery, the altar of Saints Nicholas and Catherine in our monastery of Sponheim was founded and endowed by Stephan, provost of the canons in Ravengiersburg, as appears in the letters given concerning this matter, reading as follows:

In the name of the Lord. Since every professor of the faith bearing the Christian name ought effectively to attend to those things that concern the praise and honor of God and increase the salvation of souls, we, Stephan, by the grace of God provost of the church of Ravengiersburg of the regular canons, in the diocese of Mainz, establish and ordain in the monastery of Sponheim, of the Order of Saint Benedict, with the consent and free will of lord Willicho and the whole convent there, one mass to be celebrated every day in perpetuity upon the altar of blessed Nicholas and blessed Catherine by a secular priest, unless he is prevented by lawful causes. In this mass the priest shall hold remembrance and make memorials of our father Emelric, formerly a knight, of our mother Petrissa, and also of our brothers Lambert and Arnold, called Kindelen, formerly knights, and Emelric, formerly an esquire.

To this altar and to the priest serving it we freely give and assign our court at Roxheim, with all the goods and appurtenances of the same, so that the priest may enjoy the court, goods, and all appurtenances quietly and peacefully; we also assign to him in perpetuity one cartload of wine in the village of [Mandel?]. Careful provision has above all been made that through the said priest no prejudice be done to the pleban of the parish church in offerings or in any other dues. The same priest must also be present daily at high mass and vespers. If he transgresses disgracefully, he is to be corrected by the abbot who shall be in office at the time, with [unclear] reserved to the heirs.

We have reserved to ourselves the collation of the altar during our lifetime. After our death, however, Arnold called Kindelin, Emelric his brother, the daughter of our aforesaid brother, Arnold son of Bigela, our kinsman, and their nearer heirs, successively and in alternate turns, shall present. Yet we establish this: that after our death the first collation belongs to the aforesaid brothers Kindelin and Emelric. And so that each and all of the aforesaid things may be preserved with due force, we have had the present letters strengthened by the seal of the lords judges of Mainz, and by the seal of the lord abbot and the aforesaid convent, together with our seal. We also, the judges, at the petition of the aforesaid lord provost, have thought fit to append our seal to the present letters. These things were done in the year of the Lord 1313, on the third day before the Kalends of April.

The heirs gave the right of patronage to the abbot of this place.

The heirs of the aforesaid founders, namely Wilhelm of Lebenstein, Simon Booss of Waldeck, and Hartmann of [Halberg?], knights, together with the consent of their wives, transferred in perpetuity to Johannes Trithemius, abbot of the monastery, for themselves and all their heirs, the collation of this altar of Saint Nicholas, in the year of the Lord 1490, as we shall say below in its proper place.

Death of Emperor Henry in Italy.

Henry VII, emperor of the Romans, in the aforesaid year still being in Italy, at the city of Pisa, having gathered new forces and made agreements with the Genoese and with Frederick, king of Sicily, strove to go against Robert, king of Apulia. He died by poison, through the deceit and treachery, as they say, of Bernard, his confessor, of the Order of Preachers, who had poisoned him on the day of the Assumption of blessed Mary ever virgin in the Host, while he trusted in good faith. And a great persecution against the Preachers followed, although the same Bernard, before the king of Bohemia, son of that emperor, likewise

Sponheim.

... a multitude from all Germany made its way to Rome for indulgences; among them was Dietlibus, abbot of this monastery, who, having set out for Rome with the above-mentioned count and many others, brought back to us, among other spiritual benefits, the following letters of indulgences.

“To all sons of holy mother Church to whom the present letters shall come: We, by divine mercy, Basilius of Jerusalem, Ramitus of Cagliari, Adevulphus of Cosenza, archbishops; Thomas of [Etesia?], Bonifacius of Taranto, Adam of Martirano, Nicolaus of [Neccastro?], Bernhardus of [Pace?], Benedictus of [Tracouar?], Nicolaus of Tortiboli, brother Antonius of [Thunad?], Angelicus of Fiesole, brother Jacobus of Chalcedon, bishops: greeting and sincere charity in the Lord. We do not in the least doubt that the joys bestowed through the merits of the saints belong to Christ’s faithful who earn their patronage by worthy services of devotion, and who also venerate in them him whose glory and recompense of rewards he himself is. Therefore, wishing to give the faithful occasion to obtain the aforesaid things, to all who are truly penitent and confessed, who shall come to the monastery of Sponheim, of the Order of St. Benedict, in the diocese of Mainz, on whatever days and at whatever hours, for the sake of devotion and prayer, intending to implore from the Lord the pardon of their sins; or who shall extend helping hands for the fabric, lights, vestments, ornaments, or any other necessities of that monastery; or who, laboring at the point of death, shall bequeath, give, or send anything of their means to the aforesaid monastery; or also who shall reverently hear the masses or sermons of the monks of that monastery, as often, wherever, and whenever it shall happen that they hear them or any one of them celebrating divine service or preaching the word of God; or who shall make acceptable offerings to them or to any of them: for each occasion on which they shall do the foregoing, or any of the foregoing, trusting in the mercy of almighty God and in the authority of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, each of us mercifully relaxes in the Lord forty days from the penances enjoined upon them, provided only that the will of the diocesan bishop shall accede to this.”

“In witness whereof seals have been appended to the presents. Given at the Lateran, in the year of the Lord 1300, in the sixth year of the pontificate of the lord Pope Boniface VIII.”

These indulgences, then, Abbot Dietlibus brought with him from Rome, obtained by the labors and expenses of a certain familiar of his, Johannes de Soetern, who was procurator of this monastery, appointed by him, and whom, when he was about to set out for Rome, he had taken with him. But the consent of the diocesan bishop, of which mention is made in the letters, first acceded after twelve years, through Petrus, archbishop of Mainz, as is clear in the charter which he affixed to the letters themselves, secured with his seal; its tenor is as follows:

Another copy of the indulgences.

“We, Petrus, by the grace of God [of the holy and Mainzer see?], archchancellor of the Empire throughout Germany, holding as ratified and pleasing the indulgences of the venerable fathers, archbishops and bishops, contained in the letters to which this our charity is affixed, just as they were given, [unclear], each of them forty days, as is clear in the letters which follow; we confirm them for you after the year, so that they are not drawn by us into public questing. Given in the castle of Böckelheim, in the year of the Lord 1312, on the third day before the Nones of November.”

Of the above-mentioned thirteen bishops, three at the same time gave indulgences to this monastery, to the parish church, and to the chapel of St. Pancras the martyr in the castle of Sponheim. “To all sons of holy mother Church to whom the present letters shall come: We, by divine mercy, Basilius, archbishop of Jerusalem, Ramitus, archbishop of Cagliari, and Nicolaus of Tortiboli, gave them, each of them forty days, as is clear in the letters which follow: We, Petrus, by the grace of God archbishop of the holy and Mainzer see, archchancellor of the Empire throughout Germany, holding as ratified and pleasing the indulgences of the venerable fathers, archbishops, contained in the letters to which this our charity is affixed, just as given in the letters, as is clear in the letters which follow: We, Petrus, by the grace of God archchancellor of the holy and Mainzer see of the Empire throughout Germany, holding as ratified and pleasing the indulgences of the venerable fathers, archbishops, contained in the letters to which this our charity is affixed, just as given in the letters, as is clear in the letters which follow:”

“To all sons of holy mother Church to whom the present letters shall come: We, by divine mercy, Basilius, archbishop of Jerusalem, Ramitus, archbishop of Cagliari, and Nicolaus, bishop of Tortiboli, eternal greeting in the Lord. The splendor of the Father’s glory, which illumines the world with its ineffable brightness, then especially pursues with gracious favor the pious vows of the faithful, who hope in the most merciful goodness of his majesty, when their devoted humility is aided by the merits and prayers of the saints. Therefore, wishing that the church of the saints Martin, Giles, Pancras, and Benedict of Sponheim, of the Order of St. Benedict, in the diocese of Mainz, be frequented with fitting honors and be continually venerated by the people of Christ, to all who are truly penitent and confessed, who [unclear] to the said churches [unclear] by the merits of the aforesaid saints or trusting in their authority, each of us, sealed, mercifully relaxes in the Lord forty days from the penances there enjoined, provided only that the will and consent of the diocesan bishop shall accede to this. In witness whereof we have set our seals to the present writing. Given at Rome, in the year of the Lord 1300.” Its tenor is as follows:

Consent.

To these indulgences the lord Gerardus, archbishop of Mainz, at the request of Heinrich, count of Sponheim, above-mentioned, gave consent and confirmed them by the oracle of his living voice.

Copy of the letters of the twelve bishops.

Abbot Dietlibus brings letters of indulgences from Rome.

Copy of the letters of the thirteen bishops.

Johannes de Soetern.

Consent of the archbishop of Mainz.

Pontificate of the lord Pope Boniface VIII.

[Source page illegible in the scan; the page image is the authoritative witness.]

Chronicle of Trithemius. 1400.

Our Clausa is made a vineyard.

Dietlib, abbot, in the third year of his rule, utterly desolated and destroyed the enclosure of the sisters beside the monastery on the western side, built from the beginning of the foundation of this place by the first abbot and at this time collapsed through excessive age; and he had the stones carried away and planted a vineyard in the same place. And thus thereafter nothing remained down to the present day except the name of the place, the Inclusory. For it is still called Clausa from the enclosure of the sisters who once dwelt there, and, apart from the name, it shows no trace of its former condition, as is seen.

1401.

In the fourth year of Dietlib our abbot, on the fifth day before the Kalends [unclear], Frederick, bishop of Speyer, died. Sibodo was bishop of Speyer. Heinrich of Wernberg was archbishop of Cologne. After the death of Wichbold, archbishop of Cologne, Heinrich of Virneburg, the second of this name, succeeded and presided for twenty-six years, a man more inclined to war than to peace, since during all the days of his pontificate he had disputes with the city of Cologne, counts, princes, nobles, and neighbors, and taxed his clergy and religious with very heavy exactions beyond what was customary and due.

In the same year also Gerard, archbishop of Mainz, Diether, archbishop of Trier, Heinrich, archbishop of Cologne, and Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, conspiring together, made peace and a perpetual treaty among themselves, which greatly displeased Albert, king of the Romans. Therefore, coming unexpectedly with a great army, he first invaded the land of the aforesaid count palatine; after it had been miserably devastated, he compelled him to surrender. Then, moving his army against the archbishop of Mainz, among other damages and fires inflicted on the region, he besieged the town of Bingen, which belonged to the jurisdiction of the church of Mainz. The nuns of the monastery of St. Rupert, very near the aforesaid town on the other side of the river Nahe, having heard of the king’s arrival, all fled and withdrew to [lbingen], taking with them privileges, relics, and whatever they could carry off in the shortness of the time. Therefore, when King Albert came to the town of Bingen, he stationed war engines and part of the army in the aforesaid monastery of St. Rupert, and made a stable for horses out of the house of those serving God, and began to attack the town vigorously, which also, after a few days had passed, he received into his power. But when the aforesaid archbishop saw that he could in no way resist the king’s power, he sought pardon from him and obtained favor, after resigning into the hand and power of the king himself the towns of Lahnstein and Bingen, with the castles Klopp, Ehrenfels, and Scharfenstein, together with the other conditions.

Meanwhile, while the archbishop, being with the king in that same town of Bingen, was negotiating the conditions of peace, and all who had had residence in the monastery of St. Rupert beyond the Nahe, now that the town had been captured, had betaken themselves into it, leaving the monastery abandoned, empty, and stripped of all things, two wicked men, who out of want were following the king’s army, entered the aforesaid monastery of St. Rupert with the mind and intention of carrying away anything they might find. But after they had examined all the places and corners of the monastery most diligently, they found nothing; for everything had previously been carried off by those who had occupied the place during the days of the siege. Therefore, going out from the cloister, they searched the church, to see if by chance they might find something left in it. Now at that time in that church, before the entrance of the choir, which was in the lower parts above the ground, not raised up as it is now, toward the south, there was in the cloister an altar consecrated in honor of St. Catherine, virgin and martyr; above it, in an arched recess in the wall, an image of the most blessed mother of God and virgin Mary was painted quite fittingly, having a crown on her head, in which there were four crystal stones, artfully fixed into the wall and the crown, and a fifth on the breast of the image itself. When, therefore, those thieves found nothing in the church, one of them, so that he should not go away altogether empty, climbed onto the aforesaid altar and began to dig those crystals out of the Virgin’s crown. The other, rebuking him, said: “What are you doing, wretched man? Stop despoiling the mother of mercy; through her, if salvation ought to come to us, and not through another grace, we shall be able to find it.”

But that sacrilegious and impious man, scorning his rebuke, after he had dug the four crystals out of the crown, also began to dig the fifth out of the breast of the holy Virgin. A wondrous thing happened: as soon as that impious man presumed to violate the sacred breast, the image began to sweat all over. Seeing this, the sacrilegious man shuddered somewhat, but, hardened in wickedness, did not cease from the crime he had begun. Therefore he tore the stone out of the sacred breast of the image; when it had been torn away, immediately blood mixed with milk burst forth from the very wound in great quantity. Seeing this, that unhappy man shuddered all over, and, leaping down from the altar, gathered dust in the church and [unclear] the wound of the image, lest blood should flow—

Sponheimense.

[unclear] blood with milk, he began to obstruct it. But the more he tried to obstruct the wounded breast of the holy Virgin, with so much greater abundance did milk with blood flow out. When he had seen this, that impious man hastily went out of the church and, running to the river Nahe as if driven mad, threw himself in and drowned. But his companion immediately fled; later, however, he returned and related the course of the matter to the mistress and the nuns of the said monastery. Then a certain priest arrived, who had celebrated there that same day; seeing a miracle of such novelty, he spread out the corporal before the image and collected the milk flowing with blood. This blood with milk, preserved in a glass vessel, we have seen in the aforesaid monastery down to the present day; at the petition of the abbess we even transferred it with our own hands from an old broken vessel into a new glass. When the miracle was at once made public, King Albert, who was still in the town of Bingen, came with the other princes to the monastery of St Rupert; seeing so dreadful a deed, he was astonished, and for the restoration of the monastery he bestowed many gifts in honor of the Blessed Virgin. In memory of this miracle a chapel was built there in honor of the Mother of God, in which the image, often renewed in the meantime, is seen above the altar.

When matters had been settled with the archbishop of Mainz, the king, advancing further against the archbishop of Trier and the archbishop of Cologne, subjected both to himself and compelled them to seek favor, not without their very serious losses.

1303.

In the fifth year of Dietlib, our abbot, Albert, the seventeenth prior of this monastery, died on the seventh Ides of May, a man of many virtues, who showed the greatest diligence for the restoration of regular observance and restored no small part. After him Abbot Dietlib chose as the eighteenth prior of this monastery Henry, a monk, the son of the sister of the aforesaid Albert, young indeed in years, but in character and wisdom an old man. He presided in the priorship of this monastery for twenty-nine years; of him we shall speak later in his place after Wilhelm. During the whole time in which he was prior there was a sufficiently good reform, although for many years it did not attain the first institution which had existed at the time of the foundation.

1305.

The bishop of Mainz, whom Peter, born of Treviri, succeeded, presided for sixteen years, a shrewd and industrious man, who issued many constitutions and ruled the church of Mainz quite magnificently.

In the same year, on the fourth Kalends of May, Eberwin, bishop of Worms, died. Emerich of Cronenberg succeeded him and presided for ten years, a peaceful and devout man, whom both people and clergy venerated with wonderful affection; when he was sent by the apostolic pope as bishop, they willingly received him.

1405.

In the seventh year of Dietlib, our abbot, on the feast of the commemoration of St Paul the Apostle, King Albert, being at Speyer, celebrated the obsequies of the king of Bohemia with great pomp in the greater church. While the bells were being rung, the great bell fell; and, breaking two vaults, it fell to the ground and was divided into three parts.

At these times the citizens of Koblenz contumaciously rose up against Diether, archbishop of Trier, their lord, forgetful of the fidelity of their oaths. Therefore the archbishop, moved to anger, summoned to his aid many princes and nobles, whom he hired for large sums of money, and encircled Koblenz with a siege. When it was at last taken at the dedication, he constrained the citizens to obedience. For this victory he spent incredible sums of money; hence he pledged almost all the revenues and proceeds of the church, and stirred up hatred against himself among both clergy and laity, especially the nobles of the province of Trier.

1306.

In the ninth year of Dietlib, our abbot, on the day of the Blessed Virgin Mary, otherwise the Purification, when the ice broke up, very great losses were inflicted on the cities and villages around the Rhine and the Main. The bridge at Frankfurt was broken, and many nearby houses were submerged in various places. At Cologne also two towers near the Rhine, shaken by that tempest, fell; many persons of both sexes and of every age were drowned in the Rhine in various places.

At the same time all the Jews were expelled from the kingdom of the Franks, their goods having been confiscated.

In the same year also the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, with the aid of the [Trojans?], [took] the island of Rhodes, with five other adjacent islands, from the hand of the Turks, with

they obtained very great power; fighting against those same Turks for four continuous years, until, as has been said, in the year prescribed they were victorious.

1307.

In the ninth year of Abbot Dietlib, the clergy of the Church of Trier, on account of the squandering of the goods and revenues of the church, and various other acts contrary to equity, had Diether, their archbishop, summoned to Rome for examination before the Apostolic Pontiff. But before the appointed date arrived, in the same year, on the twenty-third day of the month of November, he ended his last day; he was buried among his Preachers in the city of Trier. Baldwin, son of the count of Luxembourg, brother of Henry the Seventh, emperor, then in the twenty-third year of his age, succeeded him, Pope Clement V dispensing with him concerning his minority. He presided for forty-six years, one month, and eighteen days: a man in every respect magnificent, who also governed his church with sufficient foresight and usefulness, restoring peace, paying debts, and restoring alienated property.

In the same year Pope Clement V, in the Council of Vienne, annulled and destroyed the order of the Templars, which had lasted almost 184 years from its foundation. It was charged against them that in their profession they denied Christ; whether this was true or false is not for us to judge.

1308.

In the tenth year of Abbot Dietlib, Albert, king of the Romans, because he seemed excessively avaricious, and because he held the duchy of Swabia, belonging to his brother Rudolf, in the name of guardianship, which he ought not undeservedly to have resigned to John, the son of that same brother, now grown up, and although often appealed to by him paid no attention, was slain by the sword near Schaffhausen; after a year he was buried in the church of Speyer.

In the same year the princes, assembling at Rhens on the twenty-seventh day of the month of November, unanimously elected as king of the Romans Henry, count of Luxembourg, brother of Baldwin, archbishop of Trier. Conducting him to Aachen with great solemnity, they had him consecrated king, and he reigned for five years. He had as wife Margaret, daughter of the duke of Brabant.

In these times Peter, archbishop of Mainz, began to build anew and endow a monastery of the Carthusians outside the walls of Mainz.

In the same year, on the sixth ides of November, there died at Cologne John Scotus, doctor of sacred theology, of Paris, of the Order of Minors; he was buried there in his own convent.

1309.

Dietlib, the tenth abbot of this monastery, died on the day of Michael the Archangel, and was buried before the steps of the presbytery, not without many tears of the brethren. For he was a good man, a lover of his brethren, who presided well over the monastery both in spiritual and in temporal matters; because, although he took away the private allowance which his predecessors had granted to the monks, he suitably enlarged the substance of temporal goods. In business he was provident, of perceptive intelligence; his counsel was sometimes used in difficult cases even by the count of Sponheim and neighboring nobles. But although there is no doubt that his deeds, performed praiseworthily, were many, we could not know them all, both because of the negligence of the ancients and because of the distance of time.

Concerning Wilicho the First, eleventh abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, who presided for twenty-seven years, five months, and four days.

Accordingly, when Dietlib, the tenth abbot of this monastery, had died and been buried on the third day before the kalends of October, in the year previously noted, 1309, in the seventh indiction, the abbacy of this community was vacant. After the grace of the Holy Spirit had been invoked according to custom, they unanimously elected as abbot Wilicho, son of the noble man the count of Westerburg, brother of the countess of Sponheim, a very devout religious man, a conventual monk of this monastery, who almost eight years before, under Dietlib, as we said above, had entered the order. Confirmed and ordained by Peter, archbishop of Mainz, he presided over this monastery with sufficient energy for twenty-seven years, five months, and four days, and did much good for this monastery, both in buildings and in increasing revenues. Having been committed to letters in boyhood, as he advanced in age he made sufficient progress in learning and turned out to be a learned and likewise devout man. But when he had reached manhood

Sponheim.

...he had arrived, he was girded with the military belt; and after he had for some time led his life in arms and affairs of war, it happened that he fell ill even to the point of death. Given up by the physicians, he turned himself to God, having made a vow of religion on the counsel of his sister, and, to the astonishment of all, miraculously recovered from his illness. Nevertheless, remaining for two years in secular life, he arranged his affairs according to the condition of his purpose, and distributed in alms for the poor a large part of the substance belonging to him. At the urging of the aforesaid sister of his, who venerated Abbot Dietlib and the present monastery with wondrous affection, he came without delay to conversion. Finally, he conferred and gave no small gifts to this monastery.

1310. In this year Henry, king of the Romans, held an assembly of the princes at Speyer, where Elizabeth, daughter of Wenceslaus, the late king of Bohemia, appeared in person, asking King Henry to grant her paternal kingdom to her as a fief. But King Henry, after first taking the mature counsel of his princes, considering that the said daughter of Bohemia was the sole heir of the kingdom, joined her in marriage to his son John, count of Luxembourg, and by imperial authority raised him to be king of Bohemia. Therefore, when the wedding had been celebrated there, he soon sent him into Bohemia, attaching to him Peter, archbishop of Mainz, formerly his physician, with a mighty army. And when John, the new king, came into Bohemia with the queen and the aforesaid archbishop, he soon subjected the whole kingdom of Bohemia to himself and powerfully received it into his dominion. He was crowned by the same Peter, archbishop of Mainz, to whom by ancient right it belonged to anoint and crown the kings of Bohemia, as we have shown far above. And when the coronation had been solemnly performed, at which more than three hundred thousand horsemen and warriors are reported to have been present, the king gave to the aforementioned archbishop of Mainz a golden seat beautifully adorned with gems. The archbishop, taking it with him to Mainz, bestowed it on Saint Martin; it is kept in the greater church down to the present day, and is called by the people the seat of Saint Martin.

In the same year King Henry, with his brother Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, Leopold, duke of Austria, and many other princes, dukes, counts, and nobles, set out with a great army into Italy to receive the crown of the empire. On the way he took by force and destroyed many cities resisting him and in rebellion. And when he came to Rome, he was crowned emperor at Saint John Lateran by cardinals ordained and sent for this by the pope, on the holy day of Pentecost. Fighting with the king of Apulia near the bridge of the Tiber, he defeated the Romans, who were denying him entrance into the city, and killed many of them. And after he had been crowned emperor, he created Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine, and many other princes and nobles knights in the aforesaid church of Saint John. While the emperor was in Italy for two years, his second army, which he had left in Germany specially appointed for this, advanced in battle against the counts of Württemberg, rebels against the empire; from eighty very strongly fortified castles and towns which they held, they vigorously captured seventy-two by arms. For when King Henry was going into Italy, he prepared three armies: the first, gathered from Franks and Bavarians, he sent into Bohemia with his son and with Peter, archbishop of Mainz, as we have already said above; the second against the aforesaid counts of Württemberg; the third he led with him into Italy. The people of Brescia, whom he powerfully defeated by arms, he compelled to obedience to the empire; the Lombards, all the people of Pavia, Turin, Asti, Verona, Piacenza, Genoa, Pisa, Siena, Florence, many inhabitants of other cities, and all who resisted him, he defeated in armed expedition and brought under his power. This emperor Henry was a wise, just, gracious man, vigorous in arms, a most upright worshipper and lover of the Catholic faith, powerful in counsel and spirit, a lover and defender of the clergy; no one like him arose in the meantime.

1311. In this year Willicho, abbot of this monastery, built anew the house of the principal gate of the monastery on the southern side. But after almost 156 years, Johannes of Culenhusen, the first abbot in the reform called Bursfeld, had that gate closed and built a new gate of the monastery on the eastern side. The house of the old gate, constructed by Willicho, he changed for himself into an abbatial dwelling.

Assembly of the princes at Speyer.

John, count of Luxembourg, becomes king of Bohemia.

The golden seat of Saint Martin at Mainz.

King Henry [unclear] the Württembergers.

The war of the empire against the Württembergers.

The house of the abbot’s gate is built.

[unclear]. In this year Henry, king of Germany, who held the aforesaid kingdom, [unclear] with the Danes and the one ruling in Denmark, because [unclear] of the Danes recently from him, ruling [unclear] kingdom of the Danes [unclear] gave, which [unclear] ought [unclear] had given, [unclear].

Sponheim.

...he held that [he?] should be removed from the faithful of the Church. Among the other princes he had with him Reynald, first duke of Guelders, William, count of Holland, his father-in-law, Theodoric, count of Cleves, William, count of Jülich, Theodoric, count of Berg, and many others, all of whom came to his aid at great expense and with a great army.

At the same time, after Matteo Visconti of Milan had died, the emperor Louis, in Italy, as we have said, enfeoffed his son Galeazzo, who was very hostile to Pope John, with the same duchy. This displeased the supreme pontiff more than was fitting, and he said that Louis had not been permitted to do anything in the name of emperor unless he had first been crowned emperor by the Roman pontiff, and that even after coronation he had no right at all in Italy; rather, Italy, indeed the whole world, was subject to the Roman pontiff in spiritual and temporal matters. Since the emperor despised this vanity of the pontiff, at the insistence of Leopold, duke of Austria, the pope, having used counsel not very prudently, excommunicated the emperor himself, and declared that all who called him emperor were excommunicated and that their lands were placed under interdict; and a grave scandal followed in the Church.

In the year noted above Gottfried, bishop of Würzburg, died. Wolfram von Grumbach succeeded him and presided for six years, and compelled the citizens to be subject to his rule.

In the same year also Matthias, archbishop of Mainz, held a synod of abbots and prelates and established many things necessary for ecclesiastical utility.

1328.

In the nineteenth year of Wilicho our abbot, on the fourth day before the Ides of September, Matthias, archbishop of Mainz, of the Order of Saint Benedict, died, and he is buried in the church of Mainz. After his death the archbishop of Trier governed the church of Mainz in the name of administrator for almost three years. In these times there was great dissension between the clergy and the citizens of Mainz: the former were contending for liberty, while the citizens were striving to violate everything. And this was perhaps the first reason why the clergy took Baldwin as administrator, whom everyone knew to be a prudent and magnanimous man, through whose strength the pride of the people of Mainz could easily be subdued. Therefore, after he had been made administrator, to repress their rashness he built from the foundations a castle at Eltville near the Rhine, which Heinrich von Virneburg, who later succeeded Matthias, completed.

Meanwhile, while Baldwin had undertaken this administration, at the request of the canons and clergy of Mainz, Pope John XXII sent the aforesaid Heinrich von Virneburg, consecrated as archbishop of Mainz, with mandates to the clergy and citizens that they should receive him without contradiction as their pontiff. But the canons of the aforesaid church of Mainz, alleging defects and many crimes against the aforesaid Heinrich, appealed against him to the apostolic see, committing for a second time the castles, cities, and fortifications, together with the whole diocese, to the aforesaid Baldwin, archbishop of Trier. But after many disputes and lawsuits had taken place before the supreme pontiff between Heinrich and the aforesaid chapter, at last the pope sent two legates to Mainz, instructing the aforesaid Archbishop Baldwin to hand over the administration, with all the castles and fortifications, into their hands, and commanding the canons, clergy, and people, under sentence of excommunication, to receive Heinrich, destined for them as archbishop. Therefore the legates, together with the often-mentioned Archbishop Baldwin, placed the aforesaid Heinrich in the archiepiscopal see with the favor of the citizens.

Meanwhile, while these disputes were being carried on between the church of Mainz and Heinrich von Virneburg, the citizens of Mainz, fearing a siege by Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, took counsel and on a certain day went out armed and miserably destroyed the monasteries of Saint Alban the martyr, Saint James the apostle on the fair mountain, and Saint Victor, together with the castle at Weisenau, as is clearer than daylight especially in the church of Saint Alban, which shows the traces of the destruction down to the present day. For this rashness, when they were later summoned to the imperial chamber by the prelates of the said monasteries, the citizens of Mainz were condemned in a large sum of money. From that time until the destruction of the city, with God avenging the wrong done to the saints, fortune was always adverse to the people of Mainz.

In the same year, on the fourth weekday before the feast of Saint George the martyr, Emicho von Leiningen, bishop of Speyer, died. He was succeeded by Berthold von Bucheck, of the Order of the Teutonic Brethren, and he presided scarcely one year; afterward he was transferred to the church of Strasbourg by Pope John XXII, as we shall say in the account of the following year.

The Visconti of Milan is appointed by the emperor.

Behold the arrogance of the pope.

Wolfram becomes bishop of Würzburg.

A synod is held at Mainz.

Matthias, archbishop of Mainz, dies.

Baldwin becomes administrator of the church of Mainz.

A castle is built between [Alfiel?].

Dispute between Heinrich and the chapter of Mainz.

The pope destined Heinrich as archbishop.

The monasteries of Saint Alban, James, and Victor are destroyed.

Berthold von Bucheck becomes bishop of Speyer.

Sponheimense.

similarly also to the archbishops and bishops of Trier, Milan, Genoa, Lucca, and Strasbourg, he said that he had perished through another’s plots; nevertheless Henry, count of Flanders, and the other steadfast nobles confirmed that he was guilty, and that the emperor had been slain in the Host, as we have said, from his hand; and the Roman Empire was vacant for almost a year.

In these times, after the death of Emperor Henry, a great dearth and plague occurred, and many perished.

1314.

In the fifth year of Willicho our abbot, on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of November, the princes of the Empire assembled at Frankfurt to elect a new emperor; and, when the votes were divided in different directions, Peter, bishop of Mainz, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, John, king of Bohemia, and [Volmarus?], margrave of Brandenburg, elected Louis, count palatine of the Rhine and duke of Bavaria, as king of the Romans. Against him Rudolf, count palatine of the Rhine, brother of that same Louis, Henry, archbishop of Cologne, and the duke of Saxony elected Frederick, duke of Austria, son of Albert, formerly king of the Romans, as king. But Louis obtained the kingdom and the Empire, and, after defeating Frederick in battle, took him captive. And he compelled his brother Rudolf, count palatine, who sided with Frederick, despoiled of his duchy and every possession, to flee to England, where he remained until death. Yet he restored the principality to his sons.

In the same year, on the fourth day before the Ides of February, Emerich, bishop of Worms, died; Henry, son of count Silvester of Dune, provost of the greater church of Worms, succeeded him, and presided vigorously for almost five years.

Also in the same year, on the day before the Ides of January, Sibodo of Lichtenberg, bishop of Speyer, died; Emich of Leiningen succeeded him, and presided for fourteen years.

1315.

In the sixth year of Willicho our abbot, there was a great famine throughout all Germany and Italy, in which many thousands of people perished from want; and it lasted almost two years, and a great plague followed.

In the same year a battle took place between Louis, king of the Romans, and Frederick, duke of Austria, his adversary, near Speyer; in it Leopold, Frederick’s brother, consumed many villages round about by fire. There was, as we have said, a great famine, and Baldwin, bishop of Trier, a wealthy and most provident man, supplied abundantly to the king and his army whatever had been necessary. Victory fell to Louis, who compelled Frederick with all his men to flee; nevertheless he did not afterward acquiesce.

1316.

In his seventh year, Willicho, abbot of this monastery of Sponheim, around the feast of Pentecost, was appointed by Pope John XXII, together with the other prelates of the church of Mainz, as commissioner concerning the inquiry into the life of Hildegard of holy memory, formerly mistress of the virgins of Christ on the mount of Saint Rupert of blessed memory at Bingen. A commission for this matter had also previously been made by Pope Clement V, who gave his consent to her canonization. But when the inquiry had been made and communicated by letters to the aforesaid supreme pontiff John XXII, she had been canonized; and I do not know by what intervening occasion it was neglected.

In the same year King Louis, Baldwin, archbishop of Trier, and certain others summoned to his aid, besieged the fortifications of Wiesbaden and Scharfenstein against Frederick. When they saw that they could accomplish little, the matter unfinished and the siege lifted, each returned to his own affairs.

Also in the same year King Louis confirmed peace with all the princes and cities of the Empire; Henry, archbishop of Cologne, and the other men who were on the side of Frederick, duke of Austria, paid no heed to it.

1318.

In the ninth year of Willicho our abbot, Andrew, bishop of Würzburg, dies; to him

[Source page illegible in the scan; the page image is the authoritative witness.]

Sponheim.

...proscribed, some mutilated in their limbs, so that they might carry about before those who saw them the perpetual disgrace of their impiety.

1322.

In the thirteenth year of Wilicho our abbot, a certain brother named Walter was burned at Cologne, the father and prince of heretics; he had long lain hidden in secret and infected many simple people with his errors. When he was put to torture, he could not be induced to reveal the sharers in his error.

In the same year Isabella, daughter of Philip IV, king of the French, wife of Edward, king of the English, seized that king, her husband, because of the devastation which he had wrought in the kingdom with his servants, and committed him to custody, in which he remained until death; nor by any threats or prayers could he get out.

1323.

In this year, which was the fourteenth of Wilicho our abbot, Frederick, duke of Austria, having gathered a great army of more than six thousand armed men from Hungary and Turkey, came against Louis the Bavarian, king of the Romans. Louis met him with a great military force, and, when battle had been joined between Mühldorf and Oettingen in Bavaria, Louis proved victor. Duke Frederick, captured by John, king of Bohemia, was presented to Louis on condition that he not be killed; Louis committed him to custody in a certain castle not far from Nuremberg. After some time, while Frederick remained thus in custody, a certain magician came to his brother, Duke Leopold, who was staying in Austria, promising that by his art he would snatch Duke Frederick the captive from custody and bring him back safely to Austria in one hour. The duke believed the master of the art, and promised that he would give whatever he asked if he matched his words with deeds. So both enter a circle, on a night appointed in advance. The master summons a spirit accustomed to come at his conjurations. It came in the form of a pilgrim man and received the command to take the duke out of custody and bring him back without delay to Austria. The spirit answered: “Your commands, good master, I will gladly obey, and I will free that captive duke and bring him back to you safe and unharmed, provided only that he does not refuse to come with me.” Immediately the spirit flew away and, in the same form, came by night to the captive duke, who was eating, saying: “Leopold your brother has sent me here to lead you out of the prison-house. Rise, then, quickly; mount this horse. I will lead you safe and unharmed to your brother.” The duke said to him, “Who are you?” The spirit answered: “Do not concern yourself who I am, but mount the horse, if you desire to be freed from this custody.” At once horror seized the duke and all who were with him; and when the sign of the cross had been made, the spirit vanished and returned empty-handed to the master. After this Duke Leopold harassed King Louis with iron and fire for so long that at last, when princes intervened and he was moved to mercy, he released the captive, after receiving from him a pledge that he would no further involve himself with the royal title. Thus Louis reigned, from the beginning of his election until his death, for almost thirty-three years; Frederick thereafter did not involve himself with the title of the kingdom of the Romans. This Louis was the fourth of that name. He had as wife Margaret, daughter of William, count of Hainaut, by whom he had six sons: namely Louis, margrave of Brandenburg; Stephen, duke of Bavaria in Landshut; Albert, duke of Bavaria in Straubing; William, duke of Holland, Zeeland, and Frisia in Breda; Louis, who was called the Roman because he had been born at Rome; and Otto of Brandenburg. And so through this empress Margaret the counties of Holland, Zeeland, Frisia, and Hainaut came to the dukes of Bavaria and counts palatine. For in the year 1345, as we shall say below, after her brother William had been killed by the Frisians, the empress, by decree of the princes, went down to Holland with a most splendid retinue, received homage from the vassals of the land and an oath of fidelity from the inhabitants, enlarged liberties and privileges for all, and made truces with the people of Utrecht. When these things had been done, she handed the county over to her son and returned to Bavaria. William, the father of this empress Margaret, the aforesaid count of Holland, died in the year of the Lord 1436; William his son, brother of the empress, succeeding him, was later killed by the Frisians, as we have said.

1324.