An Annotated Bibliography of Printed and Online Primary Sources for the Middle Ages
Schmeidler, Bernard, ed., Adam von Bremen, Hamburgische Kirchengeschichte (Hannover: Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum in Usum Scholarum Separatim Editi (SS rer. Germ) vol. 2), 1917). View Source Online
Text name(s): Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum; Deeds of the Bishops of the Church of Hamburg
Number of pages of primary source text: 286
Medieval Author(s): Adam of Bremen
Dates: 78 - 1072
Archival Reference:
Original Language(s): Latin;
Translation: Original language included.
Translation Comments:
Geopolitical Region(s): Europe; Germany; Scandinavia;
County/Region: Bremen; Hamburg
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Record Type(s): Chronicle, Annals |
Subject Heading(s): Clergy - Monks, Nuns, Friars Clergy - Priests, Bishops, Canons Conversion Diplomacy Economy - Trade Government Historiography Nobility / Gentry Piety Royalty / Monarchs Towns / Cities |
Apparatus: Index Bibliography Introduction
Comments:
Adam of Bremen, a functionary attached to the archiepiscopal court of Bremen after 1066, recounted the deeds of the archbishops of Bremen for the years 788-1072. As Adam notes, during this time the church in Bremen was continually trying to convert the Slavic and Scandinavian peoples. Adams sources include long-range merchants, missionaries, and other travelers, and his account describes the ethnography of the Slavic and Scandinavian peoples (drawing on classical sources), wars, and the proselytizing efforts of the bishops of Bremen. . This text is contained in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, a useful compilation of primary sources, mainly from Germany and France, in the original language. The first volumes were published in 1826 under the auspices of the Deutsches Institut für Erforschung des Mittelalters, and volumes continue to be published to this day. The MGH is divided into five separate series: Scriptores (Writers); Leges (Laws); Diplomata (Documents); Epistolae (Letters); Antiquitates (Antiquities). Known for its rigorous and conscientious editing of medieval manuscripts, the MGH is an important tool for historians of the Middle Ages. This text appears as volume 2 of the Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi (a collection of texts edited separately and intended for classroom use). A full text version of the MGH is also available online at http://www.dmgh.de/ A modern English translation of this work is available in Francis Tschan, ed. History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002).
Introduction Summary:
The editors lengthy (67 pp) German introduction provides a thorough discussion of the manuscripts in which the text survives, and clarifies the criteria for the selection of texts used in the present edition. The editor considers textual transmission, as well as the two previous modern editions of the Gesta, and briefly summarizes its contents. He also briefly discusses the dating and sources of the text, noting that for the period outside his own life Adam used such sources as Einhards Life of Charlemagne, Gregory of Tours History of the Franks, The Annals of Corbeille and of Fulda, and the Annals of Regino of Prüm.
Cataloger: MCB