Annales laureshamenses

The Lorsch Annals ( Annales Laureshamenses ) are related annual reports from the Frankish Empire, following on from the earlier annals describe the period of the years 703-803, and which are regarded as important contemporary witness the coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor in the year 800.

However, offer the Lorsch annals only from the year 785 independent material; the period preceding the description with the presentation in the Annales mosellani is identical. Probably the death of the author of the Lorsch annals has this prevented from continuing the representation about the year 803 addition.

A fragment of the Lorsch annals today as manuscript 515 in the possession of the Austrian National Library. Whether it is the autograph is controversial. The Annals count despite its small size and its incompleteness among the most important sources of history from the Carolingian period.

The research is now believed that the manuscript 515 of the Lorsch annals has been written by four people. As the main author of the Austrian historian Heinrich Fichtenau suspected the bishop of Trier Richbod. This was a personal friend of Charlemagne, since the year was 784 in the Lorsch monastery abbot, and finally Bishop of Trier and had access to all the important information at that time. However, this hypothesis is controversial.

In addition to the Latin historical records was at the very end of the manuscript also registered an Old High German text, namely the Nachgestaltung of the biblical text to Christ and the Samaritan woman in the fourth chapter of John's Gospel (Jn 4,1 LUT) in altalemannischer language. This in his rhyme book of the Gospels Otfrid of White Castle related text is a particularly important source for historical linguistics.

A full copy of the Lorsch annals is in Cod 8/1 of the library of the monastery of St. Paul to find in the Lavant Valley.