Richerus or Richer of Reims (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

10th century) was a monk of Saint-Remi, just outside

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded ...

, and a historian, an important source for the contemporary

kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period ...

Life

He was a son of Rodulf, a trusted councillor and captain of Louis IV of France (r. 936-954). He studied at Reims under Gerbert, afterwards Pope Silvester II, who taught him mathematics, history, letters and eloquence. He was also well versed in the medical science of his time, and in 991 travelled to Chartres to consult the medical manuscripts there. He was still living in 998, but there is no mention of him after that date.

''Historiae''

In the 19th century, it was thought by both French and German scholars that Richerus was an ardent supporter of the

Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...

and French supremacy, as opposed to the

Ottonians The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...

, but this view has since been tempered somewhat. Whatever one makes of Richer's political biases, inaccuracies and his taste for stylistic embellishment, his ''Historiae'' has a unique value as giving us the only tolerably full account by a contemporary of the memorable revolution of 987, which placed the Capets on the throne of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The ''Historiae'', in four books, spans the period from 888 to 995. It begins with

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

and

Eudes Eudes may refer to: Given name * Eudes de France (c.857-898) was a King of Western Francia, reigning from 888-898 * Eudes-Henry (946–1002), Duke of Burgundy (944–965) * Eudes, Count of Penthièvre and Count of Brittany (999–1079) * Eudes II ...

, and goes down to the year 995. For the first two books, Richerus made extensive use of the annals and church history written by Flodoard (d. 966). From 969 onwards Richerus had no earlier history before him, and his work is the chief source for the period. The history survives in a single manuscript ( Bamberg State Library, Msc.Hist.5), discovered in the early part of the nineteenth century. It was the author's

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...

and showed signs of continuous revision, probably until his death.

References

Bibliography

Editions and translations

*Lake, Justin (ed. and tr.) ''Richer of Saint-Rémi. Histories''. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, HUP. 2 vols. 2011. Facing-page English translation. *Hoffmann, Hartmut (ed.). ''Richer von Saint-Remi. Historiae''. MGH Scriptores 38. Hanover, 2000. *Latouche, Robert (ed. and tr.). ''Histoire de France (888-995)''. 2 vols: vol 2 (AD 954-995). Les classiques de l'histoire de France au moyen age 17. Paris: Belles Lettres, 1964. * Pertz, Georg Heinrich (ed.). MGH Scriptores 3. 561–657. First printed as ''Richeri historiarum libri IIII''. Hanover, 1839. Superseded by Hoffmann's edition. *Osten-Sacken, Karl Freiherr von (tr.). ''Richers vier Bücher Geschichte''. Die Geschichtsschreiber der deutschen Vorzeit 2. vol 10. Leipzig, 1891. German translatio
available from Google-USA
*Poinsignon, A.M. (tr.). ''Richeri historiarum quatuor libri''. Reims: Pub. de l'Academie de Rheims, 1855. French translatio
available from Gallica
*Guadet, J. (tr.). ''Histoire de son temps''. Societé de l'histoire de France. 2 vols. Paris, 1845. French translatio

and from Google Books
vol 1
an
vol 2

Secondary literature

* Bur, M. "Richer von Reims." In: ''Lexikon des Mittelalters'' 7. 830 ff. * Glenn, Jason. ''Politics and History in the Tenth Century: The Work and World of Richer of Reims''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004
See CUP for information
* Kortüm, Hans-Henning. ''Richer von Saint-Remi: Studien zu einem Geschichtsschreiber des 10. Jahrhunderts''. Stuttgart, 1985. * Molinier, A. ''Les sources de l'histoire de France des origines aux guerres d'Italie''. Vol 1. 1901. 284 ff.

External links

*
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
{{Authority control 10th-century French historians French Christian monks 10th-century Latin writers 10th-century births Year of death unknown French male non-fiction writers