Valerius Anshelm (1475 – 1546/1547), born as Valerius Rüd (or Ryd), was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

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 working in

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 ...

. Anshelm was born in

Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has over 25,000 ...

, a city in

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that was allied with the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

. His grandfather „Boley der Rüd genannt Anshelm“ had fought on the side of the '' Eidgenossen'' in the Burgundy Wars. After studies in

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(1493–1495) and

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(until 1499) he spent some time as a travelling

scholar A scholar is a person who is a researcher or has expertise in an academic discipline. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researcher at a university. An academic usually holds an advanced degree or a termina ...

(in 1501, he was in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

). He then settled in

, where he was appointed on 22 August 1505 the

headmaster A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

of the Latin school. In 1508, he became the city physician. As a sympathizer of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, he corresponded with reformers such as

Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swi ...

and Vadian. A critical remark of his wife on the

veneration Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

of Mary earned him a reprimand by the city council and a substantial pay cut in 1523, and as a consequence the family moved to Rottweil two years later. However, there he got involved in the conflicts between

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s and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s, too, and even spent some time in jail. When the Protestants were banned from Rottweil in 1529, he more than gladly followed a call of Bern (which had become Protestant in 1528) to serve as the city's chronicler. From 1535 to 1537 he again served also as the

city physician City physician (German language, German: ; , , from Latin ) was a historical title in the Late Middle Ages for a physician appointed by the city council. The city physician was responsible for the health of the population, particularly the poor, ...

(). He died between 1 August 1546 and 21 February 1547; the exact date is unknown. Anshelm's appointment as chronicler was based on his having written a Latin chronicle of world history already during his first stay in Bern. Written in 1510, it was not printed until 1540, but Anshelm had distributed handwritten copies before. His main opus, however, was the ''Berner Chronik'', a history of the city of Bern on which he worked in his position as city chronicler until his death. After a brief introduction to the early history, it covered especially the time from the Burgundy Wars until 1536, although only fragments of the period of 1526 to 1536 survived. It remained buried in the municipal archives of Bern and was thus not widely known until the 17th century, when Michael Stettler was commissioned to continue Anshelm's work. Stettler's own ''Schweizerchronik'', a history of Switzerland that was based on Anshelm's work, appeared first in 1626.

Notes

* * * *Zahnd, U.M.,
«Wir sind willens ein kronick beschriben ze lassen» Bernische Geschichtsschreibung im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert
', in ''Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Heimatkunde'' 67/1, pp. 37–61; Historical Society of the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

e ("Historischer Verein des Kantons Bern"), 2005. In German. {{DEFAULTSORT:Anshelm, Valerius 16th-century Swiss historians Swiss chroniclers 1475 births 1540s deaths Year of death uncertain People from Rottweil