Gesta sanctorum patrum Fontanellensium

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The Gesta sanctorum patrum Fontanellensium or Gesta abbatum Fontenellensium is a historical work, which can be assigned to the genus Gesta , about the abbots of St. Wandrille and was also created there in the first half of the 9th century .

meaning

The Gesta abbatum Fontenellensium is an important source for the history of the Franconian monastery, as it not only provides the history of the abbots but also provides insights into the social and economic life of a Franconian monastery. In addition, it is the earliest evidence of monastic historiography in the Latin West.

Structure of the text

The text deals with the history of the abbey in the chronological order of the abbots; starting with Wandregisel , the founder of the monastery, to Ansegis , whose death message forms the last lines of the text. Noticeable are the larger gaps in this construction, which are caused by the omission of certain abbots. For example, the abbots Lantbert , Ansbert and Einhard are not mentioned, although they played a very important role in the history of the monastery and even their own saints' vitae were written about them in St. Wandrille. One possible interpretation for this is that, precisely because other material was already available about them in St. Wandrille, they no longer need to be mentioned in the Gesta abbatum (Ferdinand Lot). Other theories suggest that the text itself was never actually finished and therefore the chapters on some abbots are missing (Jean Laport), or that these gaps are the result of later revisions ( Bruno Krusch ).

Dating

The exact dating of the text is controversial, as the oldest surviving manuscript dates from the 11th century and therefore does not allow any palaeographic conclusions to be drawn about the period of origin. A clear indication is the date of death of Ansegis 833 mentioned in the text itself. Consequently, the text can only have ended after this date; maybe not until the 840s. However, when work on the text started cannot be conclusively answered. More recent considerations assume an emergence over a longer period of time, which may even begin in the reign of Einhard (817–823), but at the latest in the first years under Ansegis (823–833) (Ian Wood).

literature

  • Fernand Lohier, Jean Laporte: Gesta sanctorum patrum Fontanellensium . Société d'Histoire de Normandie, Rouen-Paris 1936.
  • Pascal Paradié (ed.): Chronique Des Abbés de Fontenelle (Saint-Wandrille). Societé d'Édition "Les Belles Lettres", Paris 1999, ISBN 2-251-34051-3 , ( Les Classiques De L'Histoire de France au Moyen Age 40).
  • Wilhelm Levison : To the Gesta abbatum Fontenellensium . In: Revue bénédictine 46, 1934, ISSN  0035-0893 , pp. 241-264.
  • Ferdinand Lot : Études critiques sur l'abbaye de Saint-Wandrille . Honoré Champion, Paris 1913, ( Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Études. Sciences Historiques et Philologiques 204, ISSN  0761-148X ).
  • Samuel Löwenfeld : on the criticism of the Gesta abbatum Fontenellensium . In: Research on German History 26, 1886, ISSN  0178-9368 , pp. 193-215.
  • Ian Wood: Saint-Wandrille and its Hagiography . In: Ian Wood, GA Loud (Ed.): Church and Chronicle in the Middle Ages. Essays Presented to John Taylor . Hambledon Press, London et al. 1991, ISBN 1-85285-046-9 , pp. 1-14.

Remarks

  1. ^ Wilhelm Levison: On the Gesta abbatum Fontenellensium , in: Revue bénédictine, Vol. 46 (1934); P. 242ff.