Istoria Veneticorum

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Istoria Veneticorum of the chronicler Johannes Diaconus is one of the oldest historical sources in Venice . It goes back to 1008.

Completed by Johannes Diaconus

The work has survived in the manuscripts without the common title and the name of the author. It appears as Chronicon Venetum or Chronica Veneta because it tells the story of Venice up to 1008. Since the author describes the Doge Pietro II Orseolo particularly precisely, it is assumed that he was active in his area. Johannes Diaconus also knew Otto III. personally and appears many times as an envoy. He organized the secret meeting between Otto and Pietro in Venice and he received numerous orders for legation trips from both rulers. On November 16, 1002, Henry II referred to him as Capellanus the Doge. The fact that he is well informed and his proximity to the Doge and the Emperor make his authorship of the Chronicle so likely that this assumption has gained general approval.

Chronicle themes

The chronicle begins with general information about Veneto and then the Lombards . It reports on the end of the Ostrogoth Empire and the Eastern Roman general Narses , the incursion of the Longobards (568) and the founding of Venice. The author drew some of his insights from the Chronicon Altinate , the Chronica de singulis patriarchis Nove Aquileie , the Longobard story of Paul the deacon . This is followed by an enumeration of the islands in the lagoon of Venice , a history of Eastern Rome and Italy, with fragments from the Chronicon Gradense and the Chronica de singulis patriarchis Nove Aquileie woven in. The death of Pope Gelasius I at the pestis inguinaria leads to Gregory II , a section that in turn consists of Paulus Deacon and the Viten Bonifatius III. and Boniface IV is fed. The following report is almost completely borrowed from Beda Venerabilis and Paulus Diaconus. There are also letters (p. 85 a letter from Emperors Philippicus and Anastasios II to Pope Constantine I , p. 95 f. A letter from Gregory II or III to Patriarch Antoninus von Grado , quoted verbatim, p. 96 f . one of the same Pope to the Serenus of Aquileia ).

With the assumption of office of Doge Mauricius , the narrative becomes broader, but still refers to Venice. So Charlemagne is only mentioned, the Patriarch Paulinus is not mentioned at all. On the other hand, the disputes of the patriarchs are described in more detail, as well as a victory over Pippin , the second son of Charlemagne, in the year 810. In many annals, only the Eastern Roman-Byzantine history is touched upon. In addition to the much more detailed history of Venice, the situation among the Hungarians and Slavs ( Croats ), Normans and Saracens is also described. Years of incarnation appear very rarely, and in many cases there is no date at all. The Franks are only mentioned when the local potentates are involved, as in the case of Peter von Grado , who is associated with Charles the Bald's procession to Italy for the coronation of emperors (875).

The Roman-German imperial relations only come into focus when Otto II loses the battle of Crotone in 982, although his portrayal differs from that of Thietmar and Alpert of Metz († 1024). With the reign of Otto III. the narrative becomes livelier and more multifaceted, which is an indication that it falls into the author's life phase. The work was probably not completed, because it concludes with the characterization of the young Patriarch Ursus von Grado and the renovation of the local St. Mary's Church (Santa Maria delle Grazie).

Reception in the Middle Ages

The chronicle was partially included in the Annalista Saxo , the Chronicle of Andrea Dandolo and the Libri de vitis patriarcharum Aquilegensium .

Editions

  • Girolamo Francesco Zanetti (ed.): Chronicon Venetum omnium quae circum feruntur vetustissimum, et Johanni Sagornino vulgo tributum e mss. codice Apostoli Zeno v. cl. , Venice 1765. ( digitized version )
  • Georg Heinrich Pertz (Ed.): Chronicon Venetum (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica , Scriptores, 7), Hanover 1846, pp. 4-38. ( Digitized version )
  • La cronaca veneziana del diacono Giovanni , in: Giovanni Monticolo (ed.): Cronache veneziane antichissime (= Fonti per la storia d'Italia [Medio Evo], IX), Rome 1890, pp. 59–171. ( Digital copy , PDF)
  • Mario Di Biasi (Ed.): La cronaca veneziana di Giovanni Diacono. Versione e commento del testo , 2 volumes, Ateneo Veneto , Venice 1986 and 1988.
  • Luigi Andrea Berto (Ed.): Giovanni Diacono, Istoria Veneticorum. Edizione e traduzione (= Fonti per la Storia dell'Italia medievale. Storici italiani dal Cinquecento al Millecinquecento ad uso delle scuole , 2), Zanichelli, Bologna 1999.

literature

  • Giovanni Monticolo : I manoscritti e le fonti della cronaca di Giovanni diacono , in: Bullettino dell'Istituto storico italiano per il Medio Evo 9 (1890) 37–328.
  • Enrico Besta : Sulla composizione della cronaca veneziana attribuita al diacono Giovanni , in: Atti del Reale Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti 73 (1914) 775-802.
  • Max Manitius : History of Latin Literature in the Middle Ages. From the middle of the 10th century to the outbreak of the struggle between church and state , Volume 2: From the middle of the tenth century to the outbreak of the struggle between church and state , CH Beck, Munich 1923, pp. 246–249. ( Digitized version )
  • Luigi Andrea Berto:  Giovanni Diacono. In: Mario Caravale (ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 56:  Giovanni di Crescenzio – Giulietti. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 2001.
  • Luigi Andrea Berto: Il vocabolario politico e sociale della "Istoria Veneticorum" di Giovanni Diacono , Padua 2001. ISBN 88-7115-174-7 . Translation: The Political and Social Vocabulary of John the Deacon's Istoria Veneticorum , Brepols, Turnhout 2013. ISBN 978-2-503-53159-5

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Oliver Plessow: The rewritten story. Late medieval historiography in Münster between the diocese and the city , Böhlau, Cologne 2006, p. 148.
  2. ^ Alpert von Metz : De Episcopis Mettensibus libellus , MGH, Scriptores 4, Hannover 1841, pp. 697-700 ( digitized version ).