Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018) - photo 1
Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018) - photo 2

Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018)

Lot 19
12.12.2022 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 7 560
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 869412
Lot 19 | Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018)
Estimate value
£ 3 000 – 5 000
Thietmar of Merseburg (975-1018)
A leaf from Chronicon (Corvey recension), in Latin, manuscript on vellum [?Germany, 12th century]
The oldest surviving witness to the Corvey recension of Thietmar of Merseburg’s invaluable chronicle of Ottonian history, the text here describing the ‘immensely cruel fornicator’, Vladimir of Russia.

c.280 × 230mm. 2 columns of 30 (of 34) lines, ruled in plummet with pricking preserved on the fore edge, the text from ‘noster homo erat zelo dei feruens’ to ‘de Gallia cum uenerabili uiro Adelhardo’, Chronicon VII 71-75 (some text on recto lost due to use as binding in the 17th century, first four lines of text lost due to trimming, repair to horizontal split in leaf, small holes).

Provenance:
(1) Used as the binding for a copy of Martin Ruland (1532-1602), De ortu animae in the 17th century: two 17th-century inscriptions along centre of the recto name Ruland De ortu, with the upper inscription including the classing I Centuriae 8.2.10, while the lower inscription seems to report the classing I Centuriae 4.3.6.
(2) Erik von Scherling, Rotulus VII (1954), pp.17-18, no 2491, with plate on p.17 (he states, ‘The present leaf represents the earliest witness to the revised [Corvey] text’).
(3) Colker MS 66; acquired in 1964 by Maggs (gift of Hazel Colker).

The leaf is comprehensively described and its readings recorded by Colker in Scriptorium 25 (1971) pp.62-67, with plate 9a. Thietmar, Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death in 1018, was one of the most important chroniclers recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian dynasty. His Chronicon was composed during the final six years of his life, and the original manuscript, executed by eight scribes and by Thietmar himself, survives in Dresden Landesbibliothek Msc. R. 147. Evidently Thietmar did not survive to complete his corrections, as the final four pages contain several mistakes and even a lacuna. In the 12th century, at the monastery of Corvey, a revised edition was produced, with extensive and important changes in style and content - important too because this revision provided an idea of what the lacunae in the Dresden manuscript must have contained. This revision is preserved in only one codex, Brussels, KBR, ms.7503-7518, dated to the late 14th century. The present fragment is consequently the earliest survival of this important recension.

The leaf treats fascinating material from 989 to 1017, discussing King Vladimir of Russia, that ‘fornicator, immensus et crudelis’, an anecdote on how Frankfurt got its name, and an account of the earliest history of Corvey.
Place of origin:Germany
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.11.2022 – 12.12.2022
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.