Melis Stoke
Melis Stoke (* around 1235, † around 1305) was a Dutch historian of the 13th century.
Melis Stoke was probably born in Zeeland around 1235 and was a clerk in the service of Count Jan II of Holland and Count Willem III of Holland. Together with an anonymous author, he is the author of a chronicle of the County of Holland in rhyme form.
Works
The rhyming chronicle of Melis Stoke, written in Middle Dutch , was one of the first chronicles in the Netherlands and is therefore only called "The Dutch rhyming chronicle".
The rhyming chronicle, in today's tradition, was created in several stages. The first books of the rhyming chronicle deal with the history of Holland from 366 to 1205 and come from an anonymous author who was in the service of Florens V as a scribe . In the years from 1301 to 1305 Melis Stoke wrote a continuation of the chronicle, which he started in 1205, long before his birth. These books are probably based on the "Egmonder Chronik" (chronicle in the Egmond monastery) and have little source value. The last ones, which range from 1290 to 1305, tell from personal memory and give the chronicle the value of a contemporary witness report.
The rhyming chronicle contains very eventful and changeable years in Dutch history. It contains, for example, a report on the murder of Florens V (1296) and outlooks on the history of the German Empire. As one of the earliest historiographical works in Holland, it is also an important subject of study for the linguists of Middle Dutch.
The rhyming chronicle was first printed in Amsterdam in 1591.
literature
- Ernst Martin : Stoke, Melis . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 36, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, p. 323 f.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stoke, Melis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1253 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Zeeland |
| DATE OF DEATH | around 1305 |