Marianus Scotus (1028–1082 or 1083) was an Irish monk and

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

r. He authored the ''Chronica Clara'', a history of the world.

Name

Marianus Scotus is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for " Marian the

Scot Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (or ...

", although that term at the time was still inclusive of the Irish. He is sometimes known as to distinguish him from Marianus Scotus of Regensburg and sometimes called (Modern ), "

Brigit Brigid or Brigit ( , ; meaning 'exalted one'),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandaise ''B ...

's Servant". The name "Marianus" ('devotee of Mary') was doubtless given on the occasion of his becoming a monk on the Continent.

Life

An Irishman by birth, he was educated by a certain Tigernach and, having become a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

in 1052, he travelled to Germany, on the continental mainland, in 1056, and his subsequent life was passed in the abbeys of St Martin at Cologne and of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

, and at

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. He died in Mainz on 22 December 1082 or 1083, and was buried in

Mainz Cathedral Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral ( or, officially, ') is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the episcopal see of th ...

Works

Marianus wrote a ''Clear Chronicle'' (), which purports to be a

universal history Universal history may refer to: * Universal history (genre), a literary genre **''Jami' al-tawarikh'', 14th-century work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia ** Universal History (Sale et al), ''Universal History'' ...

from the creation of the world to 1082 and which employed a dual numbering scheme on the misunderstanding that the

Christian era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian and Julian 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", tak ...

computed by

Dionysius Exiguus Dionysius Exiguus (Latin for "Dionysius the Humble"; Greek: Διονύσιος; – ) was a 6th-century Eastern Roman monk born in Scythia Minor. He was a member of a community of Scythian monks concentrated in Tomis (present-day Constanț ...

had been mistaken by 22 years. The chronicle was very popular during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and, in England, was extensively used by

John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the . Works John of Worcester's principal work was the (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or ...

and other writers. It was first printed at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in 1559 and has been edited with an introduction by Georg Waitz for the ''

Monumenta Germaniae Historica The (Latin for "Historical Monuments of Germany"), frequently abbreviated MGH, is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of parts of Northwestern, Central and Souther ...

Scriptores
', Vol. V.See also W. Wattenbach, ''Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen'' (Bd. ii., 1894). Codex Palatino-Vaticanus 830 contains the Tripartite Chronicle of Marianus Scotus.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Reeves, William, ''On Marianus Scotus, of Ratisbon'' (

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

, 1860)
title details
online at google.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marianus Scotus 1028 births 1080s deaths 11th-century Irish historians Irish Christian monks Irish expatriates in Germany Medieval European scribes Irish scribes Irish chroniclers 11th-century writers in Latin