Otto of St. Blasien

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Otto von St. Blasien was a medieval Benedictine monk and chronicler of the late 12th / early 13th century.

Nothing is known about his life. The occasional equation with Abbot Otto of the Benedictine monastery of St. Blasien (elected in 1222, died in 1223) remains speculation.

Otto is assigned the so-called Chronicle of St. Blasien . This writing, written in Latin, is a continuation of the Historia de duabus civitatibus by Otto von Freising (but skips Book 8 of the work) and describes the events from 1146 to 1209, the year of Otto IV's coronation as emperor . The author, who probably had a good education, favors neither Staufers nor Guelphs , but is loyal to the respective ruler.

The author used Otto von Freising and his successor Rahewin as a source until 1160 , but the works used afterwards cannot be identified with certainty. However, the chronicler apparently relied on good sources, which reveals, for example, his description of the events in southern Germany and the Italian trains. Overall, the chronicle provides important information on the history of the empire in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, but the work was hardly ever used by later historians.

expenditure

  • Adolf Hofmeister (ed.): Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi 47: Ottonis de Sancto Blasio Chronica Appendix: Ex Chronica universali Turicensi excerpta. Hanover 1912 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )
  • Franz-Josef Schmale (Hrsg.): The chronicle of Otto of St. Blasien and the Marbacher annals , (selected sources on the German history of the Middle Ages, vol. 18a). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1998, ISBN 3-534-01419-7 (Latin text with German translation).

literature

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personal data
SURNAME Otto of St. Blasien
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Otto de Sancto Blasio; Ottone di San Biagio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Benedictine monk and chronicler
DATE OF BIRTH 12th Century
DATE OF DEATH after 1209