Astronomus

Astronomus (first half of the 9th century AD) is the emergency name for a biographer of Louis the Pious who was not clearly identified .

Life

The "Astr o nomus" (to be emphasized on the second syllable, Latin for "astronomer") was a Frankish nobleman, probably a canon (or monk) and a high-ranking member of the court orchestra of Louis the Pious. According to his own information, the astronomus had been at Ludwig's court since 814 and was considered the expert responsible for astronomy there when the comet Halley appeared in 837; the name of the anonymous goes back to this astronomical knowledge. He also had good medical and legal knowledge and a corresponding literary education.

Identification attempts

Overall, there were several suggestions for identifying the anonymous author (but an agreement has not yet been reached):

• Following a manuscript that has not survived today , Pierre Delalande designated a Luitolf as the author in 1666, but who does not meet with Ludwig the Pious among the members of the court orchestra;
• In 1729 Johann Georg von Eckart thought of Hirminmaris, who was a notary in the office of Ludwig the Pious from 816–839;
• In 1907 Bernhard von Simson proposed Gerold, archdeacon and later monk in Corvey;
• In 1940, Max Buchner brought Hilduin the Younger († 860), Hilduin's nephew of Saint-Denis as well as Chancellor Pippins II and Archkapellan Charles the Bald into play. Ernst Tremp assumed that the evidence would have condensed in his favor.
• Matthias M. Tischler recently suggested that Astronomus should identify with Bishop Jonas von Orléans († 843). As arguments, he cited on the one hand that the essential points that could be deduced from the Ludwigsvita of Astronomus about its author apply to Jonas von Orléans; on the other hand it is striking that both the tradition of the Reichsannalen used by the astronomus , version C, as well as the earliest reception of the astronomus himself in the Fleury monastery near Orléans can be grasped.

plant

The astronomus wrote the only complete biography of Ludwig the Pious, the Vita Hludowici (lat. "The life of Ludwig"). The time of writing was probably the winter of 840/841 AD.

The astronomy used the following sources :

• for the youth of Louis the Pious a relatio Adhemari , ie the (now lost) report of a monk named Adhemar;
• Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni ;
• the Reichsannalen (Annales regni Francorum, Version C) for the period from 814 to 829.

The astronomy laid out his work in the manner of the annals in a chronologically progressing manner , but was sometimes mistaken in the chronological order of the events. In contrast to Einhard, who in his Vita of Charlemagne particularly emphasized the ability to act as a rulership virtue, the astronomy emphasized the inner qualities of Ludwig the pious. For this he uses the indirect characterization model adopted from hagiography ; ie the characteristics of Louis the Pious are not explicitly named, but are revealed to the reader from the description of his behavior.

The reception of the Astronomus concentrated on the West Franconian-French Empire, while the biography of Ludwig Thegan was mainly received in the East Franconian-German Empire.

Remarks

1. ^ Lit .: Tremp, 1991, p. 148
2. ^ Lit .: Tischler, 2001, p. 1109 f.

Editions and translations

• Vita Hludowici imperatoris . Latin / German. In: Ernst Tremp (ed.): Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi 64: Thegan, Die Taten Kaiser Ludwigs (Gesta Hludowici imperatoris). Astronomus, Das Leben Kaiser Ludwigs (Vita Hludowici imperatoris). Hanover 1995 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version ).
• Reinhold Rau (translator): The life of Emperor Ludwig from the so-called Astronomus [Anonymi vita Hludowici imperatoris]. In: Reinhold Rau (Hrsg.): Sources on the Carolingian history of the empire. = Fontes ad historiam regni Francorum aevi Karolini illustrandam. Volume 1: Die Reichsannalen, Einhard life of Charlemagne, two "lives" of Ludwig, Nithard stories , ( Selected sources on German history in the Middle Ages. Freiherr-vom-Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe. Vol. 5), ISSN  0067-0650 ). Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1955, pp. 257-381 (reprint, ibid 1974).

literature

• Franz Brunhölzl : History of the Latin Literature of the Middle Ages. Volume 1: From Cassiodorus to the end of the Carolingian renewal. Fink, Munich 1975, ISBN 3-7705-1113-1 , pp. 395-396.
• Max Buchner : Date of origin and author of the “Vita Hludowici” of the “Astronomus”. In: Historical yearbook . Vol. 60, 1940, ISSN  0018-2621 , pp. 14-45.
• Matthias M. Tischler: Einhart's “ Vita Karoli ”. Studies on the origin, tradition and reception , ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Schriften. Vol. 48), 2 volumes, Hahn, Hannover 2001, ISBN 3-7752-5448-X (also: Heidelberg, University, dissertation, 1998: Einhardus redivivus. ).
• Ernst Tremp : The tradition of the "Vita Hludowici imperatoris des Astronomus" , ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Studies and Texts. Vol. 1), Hahn, Hannover 1991, ISBN 3-7752-5400-5 .
• Ernst Tremp: Astronomus. In: Wolfgang Stammler, Karl Langosch , Kurt Ruh (Hrsg.): The German literature of the Middle Ages. Author Lexicon . Volume 11. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2004, Col. 168-172.
• Wattenbach - Levison : Germany's historical sources in the Middle Ages. Prehistoric times and Carolingians. Volume 3: Heinz Löwe : The Carolingians from the death of Charlemagne to the Treaty of Verdun. Böhlaus successor, Weimar 1957, pp. 335–338.

Web links

• Literature by and about Astronomus in the catalog of the German National Library