The ''Chronicon Burgense'' is a collection of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
annals
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
that, together with the ''
Annales Compostellani'' and the ''
Chronicon Ambrosianum'', may form a group of related histories sometimes called the ''Efemérides riojanas'' because they may have been compiled in
La Rioja
La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a ...
. The ''Chronicon Burgense'' is named after the
Cathedral of Burgos
The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos ( es, Santa Iglesia Basílica Catedral Metropolitana de Santa María de Burgos) is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official n ...
, where it was discovered on one folio of a surviving thirteenth-century obituary/calendar. It deals primarily with matters in the
Kingdom of Castile
The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...
and may have been written at Burgos, the Castilian capital. It also touches on the
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France.
The medieval state took ...
(in which La Rioja lay) and covers the period from the
Nativity of Jesus
The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a m ...
to the
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Islamic history as the Battle of Al-Uqab ( ar, معركة العقاب), took place on 16 July 1212 and was an important turning point in the '' Reconquista'' and the medieval history of Spain. The Chr ...
in 1212. It uses the dating system of the
Spanish era
The Spanish era ( la, Æra Hispanica), sometimes called the era of Caesar, was a calendar era (year numbering system) commonly used in the states of the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th century until the 15th, when it was phased out in favour of the ...
and not the ''
Anno domini
The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...
''. It is a unique source for several details relating to early Castilian history. The following is an excerpt:
Editions
*In
Francisco de Berganza Fray Francisco de Berganza y Arce (10 April 1663 – 29 April 1738), better known as Padre Berganza, was a Spanish Benedictine monk and medievalist. Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo called him ''la lumbrera intelectual de su siglo'' ("the brightest ...
, ed. ''Antigüedades de España'', II (Madrid: 1721), 560–62.
*In
Enrique Flórez
Enrique or Henrique Flórez de Setién y Huidobro (July 21, 1702August 20, 1773) was a Spanish historian.
Biography
Flórez was born in Villadiego
Villadiego is a Spanish town and municipality in the comarca of Odra-Pisuerga, in west of the p ...
, ed. ''España Sagrada''
XXIII(Madrid: 1767), 307–10.
*In Manuel Martínez Añíbarro y Rives, ed. ''Intento de un diccionario biográfico y bibliográfico de autores de la provincia de Burgos'' (Madrid: 1889), 49–50.
*In A. Huici Miranda, ed. ''Las crónicas latinas de la Reconquista'', I (Valencia: 1913), 27–39.
References
*Conerly, Porter (1993). "Cronicones," p. 469. ''Dictionary of the Literature of the Iberian Peninsula'', vol. 1. Germán Bleiberg, Maureen Ihrie, and Janet Pérez, edd. (Greenwood Publishing Group,
{{ISBN, 0-313-28731-7).
*Martínez Díez, Gonzalo (2005). ''El condado de Castilla, 711–1038: La historia frente a la leyenda''. Marcial Pons Historia, p. 755.
Medieval Latin texts