Matthias of Neuenburg (1295 – between 1364 and 1370) was a

chronicler 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, ...

Biography

Matthias of Neuenburg was born in 1295, possibly in

Neuenburg am Rhein Neuenburg am Rhein (High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Neiburg am Rhi'') is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Geographical location Neuenburg is elevated on the right ban ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

. He studied jurisprudence at

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, and later received minor orders, but never became a priest. In 1327 he was solicitor of the episcopal court 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 ...

, and shortly after, while clerk to Bishop Berthold von Buchecke, held a similar position in Strasbourg. He died between 1364 and 1370, probably in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. He has been considered to be the author of a Latin chronicle from 1243 to 1350, and of its first continuation from 1350 to 1355. Later, three other writers carried on the work to 1368, 1374, and 1378 respectively. It is an important contribution to Alsatian and

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

history and for the times in which Matthias lived. It has been attributed to different writers, among them to the

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

notary, Jacob of Mainz,cf. Wichert, ''Jacob von Mainz'',

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, 1881 also to Albert of Strasbourg, especially by earlier editors, while those of later times attribute it to Matthias of Neuenburg. For the voluminous literature on this controversy see

August Potthast August Potthast (13 August 1824, Höxter, Province of Westphalia13 February 1898, Leobschütz), was a German historian, was born at Höxter, and was educated at Paderborn, Münster and Berlin. He assisted GH Pertz, the editor of the ''Monume ...

, ''Bibliotheca Kin. Med. Aevi.'' (Berlin, 1896). Among the editions are: *''Alberti Argentinensis Chronici fragmentum'', an appendix to Johannes Cuspinian's work ''De consulibus Romanorum commentarii'' (Basle, 1553), 667–710, very much abridged; *G. Studer, ''Matthiae Neoburgensis chronica cum continuatione et vita Berchtoldi''; *''Die Chronik des Matthias von Neuenburg'', from the

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

and Strasbourg manuscripts (Bern, 1866); *A. Huber, ''Mathiae Neuwenburgensis Cronica, 1273-1350'' in Bohmer, ''Fontes rerum Germanicarum'', IV (Stuttgart, 1868), 149–276; *''Continuationes'', 276–297 It has also been edited from a Vienna and a Vatican manuscript in ''Abhandlungen der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften'', xxxvii-viii (Göttingen, 1891-2), and translated into German by Grandaur (Leipzig, 1892).

Notes

References

;Attribution *. Cites sources: **POTTHAST, Bibliotheca (Berlin, 1896), 780 sq.; **WEILAND, Introduction to the above-mentioned German version, pp. i-xxviii {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthias of Neuenburg 1295 births Chroniclers from the Holy Roman Empire 14th-century German historians 14th-century writers in Latin Year of death unknown