''Chronicon Roskildense'' ( Danish: ''Roskildekrøniken'' English: ''Roskilde Chronicle'') is a small Danish historical work, written in

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 ...

. It is one of the oldest known attempts to write a coherent account of

Danish history The history of Denmark as a unified kingdom began in the 8th century, but historic documents describe the geographic area and the people living there—the Danes—as early as 500 AD. These early documents include the writings of Jordanes and ...

by a Danish author, spanning from the introduction of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

in Denmark to the author's own time.

History

The original chronicle covers the time frame of 826 to ca. 1143. A later addition from the reign of King

Valdemar I of Denmark Valdemar I (14 January 1131 – 12 May 1182), also known as Valdemar the Great ( da, Valdemar den Store), was King of Denmark from 1154 until his death in 1182. The reign of King Valdemar I saw the rise of Denmark, which reached its medieval zen ...

, of a few more pages, takes the chronicle to 1157 when King Valdemar I gains the throne of Denmark; these additional pages are mostly direct quotes from other sources. The author is unknown, but it is thought to have had some relationship to

Roskilde Cathedral , image = Roskilde Cathedral aerial.jpg , caption = View from the north-west , coordinates = , location = Roskilde , country = Denmark , denomination = Church of Denmark , previous denomination = Catholic Church , website = , founded da ...

. The author is very confident with matters dealing with

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

. Churchly matters are not of special interest to the author who writes vividly about all kinds of local matters. Events themselves are only briefly covered while people taking part in them or even causing them are throughout covered with great passion. Unlike Saxo's ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and ...

'' or Aggesen's '' Brevis Historia Regum Dacie'', ''Chronicon Roskildense'' often covers the 'losing' side in these very same events as told by Saxo Grammaticus and Svend Aggesen. At times the author can seem very bitter and blinded by politic; however, this fact also makes this chronicle a very interesting piece of work. The early part of the work is in many cases based on

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen ( la, Adamus Bremensis; german: Adam von Bremen) (before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Ges ...

's ''Descriptio insularum Aquilonis'', sometimes even using direct quotes. However, the author only takes what is needed and the meaning is not always the same. As with many Danish chronicles, the exact time of writing is not known with certainty. The original chronicle ends very suddenly. The last subject written about concerns the quarrel between Bishop Rike of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ...

and Bishop

Eskil of Lund Eskil was a 12th-century Archbishop of Lund, in Skåne, Denmark (now in Sweden). He was one of the most capable and prominent princes of the Church in Scandinavia. A man of profound piety, he was always zealous for the welfare of the church, and ...

over the Archbishop seat of Lund between 1137 and 1138. Olaf "II" Haraldsen, the son of Harald Kesja who is killed in 1143, is still alive as of the writing. With these in mind, the book must have been finished ca. 1143. The original manuscript is lost today and the chronicle exists now only in copies made in the 13th, 16th and 17th centuries. Copies in Latin reside in: * University Library,

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland pe ...

, S. H. 8 A.8° (13th century). Known as ''Codex Kiloniensis''. * Den Arnamagnæanske Samling,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, AM 107 8o (16th century). *

Uppsala University Library The Uppsala University Library ( sv, Uppsala universitetsbibliotek) at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden, consists of 11 subject libraries, one of which is housed in the old main library building, Carolina Rediviva. The library holds books ...

, De la Gardie XXV-XXIX (17th century).

References

Other sources

* Jørgen Olrik (1888
''Den Ældeste Danmarkskrønike (Roskildekrøniken)''
(Copenhagen: Nielsen & Lydiche) * Lotte Fang (1979
''Roskildekrøniken - Den ældeste Danmarkshistorie''
(Viborg: Forlag Sesam A/S)

History

References

Other sources

Related reading