Styrian rhyming chronicle

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The Styrian rhyming chronicle of Ottokar from the Gaal is considered the first comprehensive historical work in the German language. It comprises a little less than 100,000 verses and mainly tells the history of the empire, especially that of Styria and Austria.

Claim and historical value

The intention of this work was decidedly historical. In contrast to the older rhyming chronicles , it is based on thorough use of oral and written sources . It was created as a continuation of the lost "Kaiserbuch", which also came from Ottokar. While his older work was still relatively close to the old world chronicles and, according to his own account, also treated events for which he had no sources, his approach in his later work, the rhyming chronicle , is a big step towards modern historiography . This is because, apart from a few humorous insertions, he always wants to depict purely historical events and treats his material in a critical examination of all available sources.

Scope and content

The rhyming chronicle contains over 98,000 verses. The existing stock has several gaps. Ottokar died while writing the work, which is why it remained unfinished. When finished, it would certainly have comprised more than 100,000 verses.

The content includes the presentation of the history of the Holy Roman Empire , including the Empire in Italy , from the death of Staufer Friedrich II. In 1250 to the coronation of Henry VII. In 1309. It also includes the history of Austria and Styria since 1246 (the death of the last Babenberger ) until 1310, for the revolt of the Lower Austrian nobility and Viennese citizens against Duke Friedrich the Fair . The history of the neighboring countries of Salzburg , Bohemia , Hungary and Poland in their relations with the empire and their princely history is also dealt with. Furthermore events of French and Flemish history, the battles of Venice with Aquileia and Gorizia in 1289 and with Ferrara in 1308/1309 as well as the siege and fall of Acon in 1291 as part of the 7th Crusade are dealt with. Occasionally there are also reviews that are before the treated period.

In addition to political history, Ottokar is also interested in the manners and customs of the knightly society of his time, to which his work is also directed. But he also tells of natural disasters and strange phenomena, such as the locust plague in 1309 in Styria or the appearance of pelicans on the Mur . Also on legal customs reports. For example about the enthronement ceremony of the Duke of Carinthia on the Zollfeld . Very occasionally he also brings legendary, legendary or fairytale-like as well as anecdotal, although it is not clear whether it is intended for entertainment or whether the author himself believes it.

Style, form and expression

The style means , which uses Ottocar, are part of the spielmannsdichtung , part of the court seal removed. However, mastery of the poetic language does not come close to that of the masters of his time. The structure is often not artistically designed, the rhymes are often impure and banal. Otherwise, his style is very spirited, often ironic and funny. The metrical form of the rhyming chronicle is based on the courtly epic divided into three- to four-letter verses with an unequal number of indentations and an often polysyllabic prelude, which are connected by blunt or ringing rhyme. The language is very Bavarian-Austrian colored and has a strong dialectic influence, especially in the choice of words.

Tradition and aftermath

Ottokar's original manuscript is lost. The work is preserved in eight manuscripts from the late 14th and 15th centuries, all of which are incomplete and in part complement each other. The effect on further late medieval historiography up to humanism was very great. Their reliability as a source was judged very differently. While he was still used without hesitation in the first following years, people became more cautious after they were able to prove individual errors. Above all, the abundance and attention to detail of his descriptions raised the question of whether a person could have experienced all this. It was only through research into the author's person, in particular his elevated position and circle of contact, that his credibility rose again in the time of humanism.

The humanists, above all Wolfgang Lazius and Reichard Streun von Schwarzenau, used manuscripts from the rhyme chronicle. It was first printed in 1745 by the Melk Benedictine Hieronymus Pez . Through this edition, Grillparzer also got to know the rhyming chronicle. The next print was not published until 1890 by Joseph Seemüller in a two-volume edition in the “ Monumenta Germaniae Historica ” (MGH).

Person of the author

Ottokar's political views are often expressed. He is exceptionally Staufer and anti-papal when it comes to events before his time. For his time he was a loyal supporter of the Habsburgs and an absolute opponent of the Bohemian King Ottokar . Ottokar from the Gaal came from a princely ministerial family and had very close relationships with the Styrian Liechtensteiners . As a result, he belonged to the circle of the Styrian knighthood, which initially stood on the side of the Babenbergess Gertrud , but helped prepare the conspiracy of the landlords in favor of King Rudolf during the second reign of the Bohemian King in Styria.

While it has long been assumed that he sent collectors to look for sources, it is now assumed that he looked at most of the sources himself. Ottokar was undoubtedly very well read and knew all the important works of his time very well. He can therefore be considered learned.

expenditure

literature

  • Ernst English: Ottokars Steirische Reimchronik. Attempt to interpret the real world. The function of the written source in material culture research , in: Heinrich Apelt (Hrsg.): The function of the written source in material culture research (publications by the Institute for Medieval Reality Studies Austria, Vol. 1), Vienna 1976, pp. 7–54.
  • Othmar Hageneder : About the princely legislative right with the Styrian rhyming chronicler , in: Festschrift Nikolaus Grass. For the 60th birthday presented by colleagues, friends and students. Vol. 1: Alpine and German legal history. History and Law of the Church. History and Law of Austria, Innsbruck, Munich 1974, pp. 459–481.
  • Bettina Hatheyer: The Book of Acre. The theme of the crusade in the Styrian rhyming chronicle of Ottokar from the Gaal. Investigations, translation and commentary , (Göppingen papers on German studies, vol. 709), Göppingen 2005, ISBN 3-87452-960-6 .
  • Karin Hofbauer: The protagonists of Styrian politics at the turn of the 13th to the 14th century. In the representation of the Styrian rhyming chronicle of Ottokar von der Gaal. In: Journal of the Historical Association for Styria. 77, 1986, pp. 67-89.
  • Eberhard Kranzmayer: The Styrian rhyming chronicle of Ottokar and its language (session reports of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vol. 226.4), Vienna 1950.
  • Maja Loehr: The Styrian rhyming chronicler - an Austrian historian of the Middle Ages (The Bindenschild, Volume 1, Book 2). Bindenschild-Verlag, Vienna 1946.
  • Annelies Redik: The image of the Jew in the Steirische Reimchronik , in: Walter Höflechner (Hrsg.): Domus Austriae. A festival. Hermann Wiesflecker on his 70th birthday. Graz 1983, pp. 335-343.
  • Julius Franz Schütz: The installation of a duke in Carinthia. On the material bibliography of the Styrian rhyming chronicle of Ottokar. Synoptic breakdown of the material based on the rhyming chronicle and according to the Conversio Bagoariorum, the Sermo ad Religiosos by Berthold von Regensburg, the Schwabenspiegel insert, the Liber certarum historiarum by Johannes Victoriensis and the Austrian Chronicle of the 95 Dominions , Graz 1954.
  • Gunter Seibert: Defense and city in the Styrian rhyme chronicle , in: Blätter für Heimatkunde. 60, 1986, pp. 82-86.

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