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Johannes
Trithemius. Chronicon insigne monasterii Hirsaugiensis: Ordinis S.
Benedicti |
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Folio. [2] + 303 + [18] pages. 305 x 193 mm. Parchment binding. Bound with Marianus Scotus, Chronica (Basel: Iacobus Parcus, [1559]).
Trithemius’ Chronicon about the monastery at Hirsau, a substantial work in its own right, was later expanded into the massive Annales also shown in this exhibit. The Chronicon covers the period from the founding of Hirsau in 830 to the year 1370. Shown here is the entry for 1359, in the reign of Abbot Wignand. Trithemius could find no documentation for this period. Never one to be flummoxed by lack of sources, he uses the occasion to criticize the monks of that time for losing their love of letters to the point of not even bothering to record contemporary events for posterity. He then extends his complaint to the monks (and abbots!) of his own day, who “ignore the usefulness of history.”
Ours is the first printed edition; the only extant manuscript is Trithemius’ autograph, now in Rome (Cod. Vat. Pal. lat. 929, fol. 1r-258r). This copy was formerly in the library of the Jesuit Community in Freiburg (im Bresgau?), with an inscription dated 1585.
Saint John’s Rare Book Collection |
