Encomium Emmae Reginae

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Encomium Emmae Reginae

The Encomium Emmae Reginae , also known as Emma's eulogy , is a text from the first half of the 11th century. It was commissioned by Emma of Normandy by a monk from the Abbey of Saint-Bertin in St. Omer . The Encomium Emmae Reginae is the oldest known history of Denmark.

Tradition situation

The surviving handwriting BL Add MS 33241 has only one illustration. This shows Emma receiving a monk's writing. Her two sons can be seen on her left: Hardiknut, the son from her second marriage to Canute the Great , and the later English King Edward the Confessor from his marriage to Æthelred . The manuscript is now in the British Library .

Until 2008 it was assumed that only one manuscript from the 11th century has survived to this day. This manuscript is believed to be either the writing sent to Queen Emma or at least a faithful copy of the manuscript. One sheet was lost in modern times, but the text has been preserved in copies from the 16th century. In 2008 another copy was found in the library of the Earl of Devon, contained in the so-called Courtenay Compendium, compiled in the second half of the 14th century. This version was probably made in 1043, is somewhat more detailed and also describes the rise of Eduard the Confessor . The Courtenay Compendium has been in the possession of the Royal Library in Copenhagen since 2011 .

Digitization and editions

  • The oldest manuscript can be viewed as a digital copy at British Library: Add MS 33241 .
  • Georg Heinrich Pertz (Ed.): “Cnutonis regis Gesta sive Encomium Emmae reginae auctore monacho sancti Bertini”, in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica : Scriptores , Volume 19, Hannover 1866, pp. 509-525 (available online from the dMGH ).
  • Alistair Campbell (Ed.): Encomium Emmae Reginae (Camden Third Series, Volume 72), London 1949. Reprinted with a supplementary introduction by Simon Keynes, Cambridge 1998.

supporting documents

literature

  • Elizabeth M. Tyler: "Talking about History in Eleventh-Century England: The Encomium Emmae Reginae and the Court of Harthacnut", in: Early Medieval Europe , Volume 13/4 (2005), pp. 359-383.
  • Egon Wamers (Ed.): The Last Vikings - The Bayeux Tapestry and Archeology. Archaeological Museum Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main 2009, ISBN 978-3-88270-506-5 .

Single receipts

  1. ^ Sotheby's auction lot for the newly discovered manuscript . Retrieved November 28, 2008.
  2. ↑ Courtenay-håndskriftet (article in Danish) . Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  3. ↑ Encomium Emmæ. Unique manuscript secured for the Royal Library in Copenhagen . Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  4. ^ Courtenaycompendiet, England, 1300-tallet (description of the Courtenay compendium in Danish) . Retrieved March 3, 2019.