Richerus

Richer of Reims ( * after 940; † after 998 in Reims ) listed, partly in sources as Richer of Saint- Rémi or Richerus Remensis, was a monk and author of a chronicle. He came from a family of the court Ludwig IV Radulf His father was a vassal (miles ) of the king, after his death in 954, his widow Gerberga.

Life and work

How many nobles of his time, he became a monk and lived from 969 in the Abbey of Saint Remi in Reims, where he remained for most of his life. From 972 onwards he was at the cathedral school of Gerbert of Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II, 991-996 Archbishop of Reims ). Whether the special medical interest Richer goes back to the mediation by Gerbert's teaching, can not be clarified. 991 Richer traveled to Chartres to view a manuscript of Hippocrates. Maybe he has longer stopped in Chartres.

Between 991 and 998 he wrote a Gerbert dedicated work of history, that was probably substantially completed already 996. Richer stood in the tradition of the Annals of Hincmar of Reims, but only advertised Flodoard of Reims in the first two books and expanded. It was only rediscovered in 1833 by Georg Heinrich Pertz in the library of Bamberg. The title and the division into books and chapters go back to the first editor who envisaged by Richer title is unknown. The presentation shed new light on the events associated with the fall of the Carolingians, the appearance of the Capetians, the invasion of the Normans 885-888 and IV to the struggle of Louis and his son Lothar against Hugo the Great.

The plant, now known as the Historiae ( Histories ), is primarily a history of Western franc of 879 / 888-995 in four books, supplemented by shorter additives. Richer has taken many passages from the annals Flodoards in Book 1 and 2, this is not always correct. He has equally swapped some newly invented, as well as events. For the two other books dealing with the period from 966, he was a witness and used their own records, next to his father's stories. Supplementary annalistic supplements rich to 998, the last datable event mentioned the Richer, the collection of Gerbert as archbishop of Ravenna in 998 Although particularly in the older research, many historians his stories rather distrusted the Richer 's " history " is the best source to the government of Hugh Capet. He advocated for a strong monarchy, whereby he criticized both Carolingian and Hugh Capet well.

The author copy

The handwriting Msc.Hist.5 the Bamberg State Library is the autograph concept with numerous corrections and additions, and subsequently inserted sheets, on which he has worked in several phases. It is one of the oldest surviving manuscripts of a literary work. The editorial staff was not fully completed, but Richer has left the manuscript of his client, who had the instance in Italy, as the records in two Pope Silvester prove of respective texts. Like other donated by Henry II the library its inception Bamberg manuscripts could copy to the library of Otto III. have heard. The copy of the monastery Michel mountain, Ekkehard of Aura and Johannes Trithemius have used contained only the first two books and is now lost. Other manuscripts are not known, although Hugo has used Flavigny is the only historian in the West Richer.

Editions and translations

• Hartmut Hoffmann ( eds.): Scriptores ( in folio ) 38: Richer of Saint- Remi, Historiae. Hannover 2000 ( Monumenta Historica Germaniae, digitized )
• Justin Lake ( ed.): Richer of Saint - Rémi. Histories. 2 vols. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.. 2011 ( Latin text and English translation).