Liber certarum historiarum

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The liber certarum historiarum ( the book of certain stories ) is a historical work of the late Middle Ages and was written by Abbot Johann von Viktring .

The book deals with the history of the duchies of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola from 1335 onwards. Parts of this imperial and church history go back to the Carolingian era. The work was also intended as a prince mirror and describes the contemporary history of the time with a focus on the ruling families of the Habsburgs and Luxembourgers .

The personal copy is kept today in Munich in the Bavarian State Library. The book of certain stories is completely preserved in the "Anonymus Leobiensis". It consists of six books ( libri I - VI ).

For the story before his own lifetime, Johann von Viktring relied on written sources such as the Styrian rhyming chronicle of Ottokar from the Gaal or Martinus Polonus , whereas for contemporary history he asked contemporary witnesses (especially churchmen) or wrote them down from his own experiences and memory. He also used verbatim quotations. What makes the liber certarum historiarum such an important work of the late Middle Ages is the abbot's attempt to be as objective as possible. That is why there are many versions of parts of the book that are still preserved today because new information and linguistic, stylistic and literary improvements are constantly being added. Johann von Viktring dedicated his work to Albrecht II of Austria.

The individual books

Liber primus with 14 chapters consists of - Friedrich II takes office . - Loss of Austria to Ottokar - conflict and change in the empire - Ulrich von Kärnten .

Liber secundus with 10 chapters consists of - election of Rudolf as Roman king - exit of the Babenbergs - beginning of the interregnum in Austria - Rudolf von Habsburg against Ottokar - customs of the Carinthians.

Liber tertius with 10 chapters consists of - Albrecht and the historical events - Death of Pope Bonifazius - Submission of Carinthia - Death of Albrecht.

Liber quartus with 10 chapters consists of - Election of Heinrich of Luxemburg - expulsion of Heinrich of Carinthia from Bohemia - Italian campaign of Henry VII. - Death of Henry VII. - Battle of Gammelsdorf 1313.

Liber quintus with 10 chapters consists of - Double choice 1314 - Battle of Mühldorf 1322 - Frederick and Heinrich's release from captivity - Ludwig's Italian campaign - Albrecht II's characterization - Ludwig's return from Italy - Johann von Böhmen's Italian campaign .

Liber sextus with 12 chapters consists of - Death of Heinrich of Carinthia and successor to the Habsburgs - Dukes of Otto the Merry - Conflicts between Johann of Bohemia and the Habsburgs - Albrecht's pilgrimage to Aachen and Cologne .

Editions

  • Iohannis abbatis Victoriensis: Liber certarum historiarum. Edited by Fedor Schneider . Hahn, Hannover et al. 1909–1910;
    • Volume 1: Libri I - III (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica . Scriptores. 7, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum seperatim editi. 36, 1).
    • Volume 2: Libri IV - VI (= Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Scriptores. 7, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum seperatim editi. 36, 2).
  • Abbot Johann von Victring: The book of certain stories (= The historians of the German prehistoric times in German processing. XIV. Century, Bd. 8). Dyk, Leipzig 1888.

literature

  • Urban Bassi, Margit Kamptner: Studies on the historiography of Johann von Viktring (= The Carinthian State Archive. Vol. 22). With a foreword by Winfried Stelzer . Kärntner Landesarchiv, Klagenfurt 1997, ISBN 3-900531-36-6 .