University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Master's Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Spring 2007 The Annals of Hildesheim Bethany Hope Allen University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Allen, Bethany Hope, "The Annals of Hildesheim" (2007). Master's Theses and Capstones. 37. https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/37 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ANNALS OF HILDESHEIM BY BETHANY HOPE ALLEN BA History, BA Classics, University of New Hampshire 2005 THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in History May, 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1443595 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 1443595 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This Thesis has been approved by: Thesis director, David Bachrach, Assistant Professor of History Gregory McMahon, Associate Professor of history R. Scott Smith, Associate Professor of Classics Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION................. 1 THE ANNALS OF HILDESHEIM Part One: From Isidore, The Annals of Lorsche, and The Annals o f Hersfeld...................................................... 23 Part Two: Authentic and Present Day........................ 73 Part Three: From The Greater Annals of Hildesheim...................................................................75 Part Four: The Greater Part fromThe Annals of S. Alban’s................................................................. 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................... 126 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT ANNALS OF HILDESHEIM by Bethany Allen Thesis director, David Bachrach University of New Hampshire, May, 2007 The Annals o f Hildesheim is the first English translation of the Annales Hildesheimensis as edited by George Waitz in the Monumenta Germinae Historica and originally found in theCodex Parisiensi. The translation is annotated, and notes provide information pertaining to dates, important personages, martial affairs, politics and religion. In addition, an introduction includes a brief history of Hildesheim, as well as a description of the organization of The Annals, a discussion of the possible identity of the anonymous authors of the text, the historical method used by the authors, and the sources that were employed in the creation of the text. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 INTRODUCTION The City of Hildesheim Hildesheim is a small city in lower Saxony, not far from the well known city of Hanover. The history of the city is inextricably linked to the Church. Although the city existed well before the ninth century, its founding date, as recorded by historians, is 815, the year in which the bishopric of Hildesheim was established. Since those living in Hildesheim were able to enjoy the benefits of the protection of the church, it is at this time that Hildesheim’s population began to grow, and the city to flourish.1 For nearly four centuries, the town was ruled and dominated by ecclesiastical authorities, including Bishop Bemward (993-1022), who was known as a great patron of the arts, and Bishop Godehard (1022-1038), who became the patron saint of Hildesheim. Perhaps one of the best examples of the power and authority wielded by the Church in Hildesheim is the city’s architecture. Beginning in 815, building projects in Hildesheim were overwhelmingly religious in nature. The chapel of Saint Mary was the first of these building projects. Constructed in 815 by Louis the Pious, the chapel was responsible for the formation of the diocese of Hildesheim.2 While the chapel is no longer in existence, its memory is commemorated by the one hundred year old rosebush that is located in the courtyard of Hildesheim Cathedral, and which was supposedly 1 Timothy Reuter, Germany in the Early Middle Ages: 800-1056, (New York: Longman Publishing, 1991). p. 68. Will hereafter be referred to as Reuter. Pierre Rich6, The Carolingicms: A Family Who Forged Europe, translated by Michael Idomir Allen, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993). p. 159. Will hereafter be referred to as Richd. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. planted in the exact location where the old chapel once stood.3 The cathedral was also an early building project, begun in 872 by Bishop Altfried (847-874). It was not completed until 1061 under Bishop Hezilo (1054-1079) and underwent many artistic transformations under Bishop Bemward, including the fashioning of its great bronze doors as well as the addition of the murals found on its walls and ceilings.4 In 1013, the cathedral was destroyed by a fire, as is mentioned in The Annals.5 The majority of the building projects seem to have been undertaken during the time of Bishop Bemward. After a journey to the shrine of Saint Martin in Tours, Bemward built a chapel dedicated to the saint.6 In 1010, he also began construction on the church of Saint Michael, which would serve the monastery attached to it and house Bemward’s large collection of theological and philosophical books.7 Like the chapel of Saint Mary, the church of Saint Michael and its adjoining monastery are no longer in existence. Bemward is also given credit for the construction of several churches in the more rural areas of Hildesheim.8 According to his Testamente, Bemward was responsible for building the city’s walls in 996. Bemward states, “... I built the walls of the city.”9 It was not until 1217, when the first town hall was built in Hildesheim, that historians began to see the trend of authority shift in favor of the city’s secular population.10 3 The city of Hildesheim www.hi1desheim.de April 2007. 4 J. Tschan, “Bemward of Hildesheim,” inMedieval and Historiographical Essays, Cate and Anderson, eds., (New York: Kennikat Press, 1966). p. 335. Will hereafter be referred to as Tschan. 5 The Annals of Hildesheim, p. 59. 6 Tschan, p. 333. 7 Rich6, p. 357. Also see Tschan, p. 334. 8 Tschan, p. 333. 9 Bemward, “Testamente,” in Karl Janicke,Urkundenbuch des Hochstifts Hildesheim und Seiner Bischofe, Karl Janicke, ed., (OsnabrUck: Zeller, 1965), p. 27, “...[MJurum tivitatis-.extruxi.” Will hereafter be referred to as Janicke. 10 Reuter, p. 97. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 There is relatively little written about the history of Hildesheim. Although the bishops were vassals of the king, they did not play overly active roles in court politics, nor did the city gain any fame through martial affairs.11 Rather, the city’s importance rests not only upon its role in church politics but also, thanks to Bishop Bemward, on its role as a cultural center in the German Empire.12 In the realm of church politics, the diocese of Hildesheim is probably best known for an event that is only mentioned in the briefest of terms in The Annals: a dispute regarding the right of jurisdiction over the convent in Gandersheim. The convent in question was originally located in Brunshausen, which was part of the diocese of Hildesheim. However, it was later moved to Gandersheim, which was in the diocese of Mainz. Largely instigated by Abbess Sophia, the daughter of Emperor Conrad I, the affair began in 1002 and centered around the consecration of the convent’s new church in Gandersheim. As she did not want a mere bishop, such as Bemward of Hildesheim, to preside over the ceremony, Sophia requested Willigis, the archbishop of Mainz, to perform the consecration. Because the convent had always belonged to Hildesheim, Bemward would not allow it to pass into another’s hands and challenged Willigis’ right to perform the ceremony. In 1007, Henry II (972-1024) decided the matter and ruled in favor of Hildesheim.13 According to The Annals, “There was an odious quarrel between Archbishop Willigis, and Bemward... Because of his prudent nature, the king wisely