Hermann von Wartberge (died ca. 1380) was a chronicler of the Livonian Order. Born in

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

, Wartberge was a Catholic priest and author of the valuable Latin chronicle ''Chronicon Livoniale'' covering the history of the

Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...

from 1196 to 1378. Wartberge used previous chronicles (

Livonian Rhymed Chronicle The ''Livonian Rhymed Chronicle'' (german: Livländische Reimchronik) is a chronicle written in Middle High German by an anonymous author. It covers the period 1180 – 1343 and contains a wealth of detail about Livonia — modern South Estonia a ...

and

Chronicle of Henry of Livonia The ''Livonian Chronicle of Henry'' ( la, Heinrici Cronicon Lyvoniae) offers a Latin narrative of events in Livonia (roughly corresponding to today's inland Estonia and the northern part of Latvia) and surrounding areas from 1180 to 1227. It was ...

), archival documents, and personal experiences. As the narrative became more detailed around 1358, it is believed that Wartberge joined the Order around the time and began describing the events as an eyewitness. For example, in 1366 he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Gdańsk (Danzig) and took part in numerous military campaigns against the pagan

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

. Wartberge provided extensive details on localities of the frequent raids and on construction of Livonian fortresses. The chronicle was preserved in the State Archives in Gdańsk and was first published in 1863 by Ernst Strehlke in ''Scriptores Rerum Prussicarum''. Translations into Lithuanian and Latvian were published in 1991 and 2005.

References

Bibliography

Anti Selart Anti Selart (born 11 August 1973 in Tallinn) is an Estonian historian and philosopher. Selart is professor of middle ages in University of Tartu (since 2009). He studies history of medieval Livonia, especially Russo-Livonian relationships. In 200 ...

, Die livländische Chronik des Hermann von Wartberge, in:

Matthias Thumser Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

(Hg.), Geschichtsschreibung im mittelalterlichen Livland, Berlin 2011, S. 59-86.

External links

Full-text of the chronicle in German (published in 1863)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wartberge, Hermann von 14th-century history books Lithuanian chronicles People associated with the Livonian Order 14th-century German Roman Catholic priests 14th-century German historians 14th-century Latin writers