Notable Chronicle of the Hirsau Abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict

CHRONICLE OF JOHANNES TRITHEMIUS

...impelled by the truth, I have made my decision. Although I cannot provide the brilliance of high eloquence, I promise to observe the truth in all things as far as my conscience is concerned.

The sources from which he takes his information.

I can produce many witnesses for the things I am about to write. These are taken from the histories of others whose names follow. From the written annals and legal privileges term: legal privileges; documents granting specific rights or exemptions to a monastery, often from a king or pope of the aforementioned Hirsau monastery, I have gathered the names and successions of the abbots along with their deeds. I have also obtained many details from various authors, histories, legends of the saints, and letters.

The authors include Widukind original: "Vuindichinus"; Widukind of Corvey was a tenth century Saxon chronicler, a monk, in his history of the Saxons, and another who completed that same history. I used Regino, Abbot of Prüm, in his history of the people of Mainz, and Berno, Abbot of Reichenau, in his history of the Alemanni. I consulted Theoderic, a monk, in his history of the people of Trier, and Golscher, a monk, in his account of their deeds. I included Marianus Scotus, a monk of Fulda, in his universal German history, and Otto, Bishop of Freising, in his own history. I used Andrew, a monk of Saint Emmeram in Regensburg, in his deeds of the Dukes of Bavaria, and Henry of Erfurt in his history of memorable things. I drew from Godfrey of Viterbo in his chronicle titled Pantheon.

Other sources include Godfrey, a monk of Saint Pantaleon, in his history of the people of Cologne, and John of Hildesheim, a Carmelite, in his chronicle. I used Rupert of the Premonstratensian order in his universal history, and Hugh, a monk of Fleury. I included John, a monk of Kastl, in his book on the famous men of our order, and Everwin, a monk of Steinfeld, in his chronicle. I used Bernard, a monk of Corvey, in his history of the Saxons, and Bertrand, a monk, in his history of the people of Hersfeld.

With great effort, I have also inserted scattered items from various other histories of the Bavarians, Swabians, and the people of Mainz and Speyer. I added details from the deeds of the Counts Palatine of the Rhine, which were described by a certain monk of the Lorsch monastery. These seemed to me to belong to the logical structure of this history. Finally, I decided to insert many events that occurred throughout Germany as digressions. I did this so that the work might bring pleasure to the people of Hirsau and to any other readers. I find that almost everyone before me did this when they recorded the history of their monasteries, the successions of their abbots, or their deeds. Perhaps a time will come when this work of ours will not remain hidden in the narrow confines of a single monastery. Instead, through the study or curiosity of men, it may eventually be brought out and reach the hands of many people for examination.

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