Church Historians of the Second Period
The second period of church history (the middle ages) produced a copious historical
literature, although it belongs rather to special than to general church history. Its
works deal more often with particular nations, dioceses, and abbeys; general
histories are rare. Moreover, owing to the dominant position of the Church among
the Western peoples, ecclesiastical and profane history are in this epoch closely
interwoven.
In the East church history is almost completely identified with the history of the
imperial court owing to the close relations of State and Church. For the same
reason the Byzantine chronicles from Justinian the Great to the destruction of
the empire in the middle of the fifteenth century contain much valuable
information about the history of the Greek Church. The most important of them
are: the "Chronography of Theophanes Isaacius" (ed. de Boor, 2 vols., Leipzig,
1885); the "Chronicles" of Georgius Syncellus, George Hamartolus, Nicephorus,
Patriarch of Constantinople, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, John Malalas,
Procopius, Paulus Silentiarius, the works of Leo Diaconus, Anna Comnena,
Zonaras, Georgius Cedrenus, to which we may add Nicetas Choniates, Georgius
Pachymeres, Nicephorus Gregoras, and John Cantacuzenus. These Byzantine
historical works were first published in a large collection at Paris (1645-1711)
under the title, "Byzantinæ historiæ Scriptores". A new edition, better and more
complete, was executed by Niebuhr, Becker, Dindorf, and other collaborators in
forty volumes (Bonn, 1828-78) under the title, "Corpus Scriptorum historiæ
Byzantinæ". Most of these writings are also to be found in the Patrologia Græca
of Migne. The only true church historian of the Byzantine period worthy of the
name is Nicephorus Callistus, who flourished in the beginning of the fourteenth
century. (See NICEPHORUS CALLISTUS.)
In Syriac we possess the aforesaid chronicle of Dionysius of Telmera. Towards
the end of the twelfth century Michael Kandis, Patriarch of the Jacobites (died
1199), wrote a chronicle from the creation to 1196. It is an important source for
the history of the Syriac Church after the sixth century, particularly for the history
of the Crusades. This work has reached us in a thirteenth century Armenian
version; a French translation was published by Langlois, "Chronique de Michel le
Grand" (Venice, 1868). Another patriarch of the Jacobites, Gregory
Abulpharagius or Bar-Hebræus (q. v.), Maphrian (i. e. primate) of the
Syro-Jacobite Church (1266-86), also wrote a universal chronicle in three parts.
We must also mention the "Bibliotheca" (Myriobiblon) of Photius (died 891), in
which about 280 authors are described and passages quoted from them (ed.
Becker, Berlin, 1834), and the work "On Heresies" of St. John Damascene.
Throughout this period the West was furnishing abundant material for
ecclesiastical history, but few genuinely historical works. Public life moved in
narrow circles; a speculative tendency ruled in the centres of intellectual activity;
consequently, ecclesiastico-historical works of a general character accorded ill
with the spirit of the age, and during the whole period from the eighth to the
fifteenth century the West offers only a few works of this class. In the ninth
century, Haymo, Bishop of Halberstadt (died 853), undertook to write an
ecclesiastical history of the first four centuries, taking Rufinus as his principal
authority ("De christianarum rerum memoriâ", ed. Boxhorn, Leyden, 1650; P. L.,
CXVI). Subsequently with the aid of Latin versions of Georgius Syncellus,
Nicephorus, and especially of Theophanes, to which he added his own material,
the Roman Abbot Anastasius Bibliothecarius (the Librarian) wrote a "Church
History" to the time of Leo the Armenian, who died in 829 (Migne, P. G., CVIII).
About the middle of the twelfth century, Ordericus Vitalis, Abbot of St. Evroul in
Normandy, wrote an" Historia ecclesiastica" in thirteen books; it reaches to
1142, and is of especial value for the history of Normandy, England, and the
Crusades (ed. A. Le Prevost, 5 vols., Paris, 1838-55). The Dominican
Bartholomew of Lucca, called also Ptolemæus de Fiadonibus (died 1327),
covered a longer period. His work in twenty-four books reaches to 1313, and was
continued to 1361 by Henry of Diessenhofen (ed. Muratori, "Scriptores Rerum
Italicarum ", XI). The "Flores chronicorum seu Catalogus Pontificum Romanorum"
of Bernard Guidonis, Bishop of Lodève (died 1331), may be counted among the
works on the general history of the Church (partially edited by Mai, "Spicilegium
Romanum", VI; Muratori, op. cit., III; Bouquet, "Script. rer. gall.", XXI). The most
extensive, and relatively the best, historical work during this period is the
"Summa Historialis" of St. Antoninus. It deals with profane and ecclesiastical
history from the creation to 1457.
The national histories which appeared towards the end of the last period (of
Cassiodorus, Jordanis, Gregory of Tours), were followed by similar works giving
the history of other peoples. Venerable Bede wrote his admirable "Historia
ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum", which describes in five books the history of
England from the Roman conquest to 731, though treating principally of events
after St. Augustine's mission in 596 (ed. Stevenson, London, 1838; ed. Hussey,
Oxford, 1846). Paulus Warnefrid (Diaconus) wrote the history of his
fellow-Lombards (Historia Langobardorum) from 568 to 733; it still remains the
principal source for the history of his people. An unknown writer continued it to
774, and in the ninth century the monk Erchembert added the history of the
Lombards of Beneventum to 889 (ed. Waitz in "Mon. Germ. Hist: Script. rer.
Langob. et Ital.", Hanover, 1877). Paulus wrote also a history of the bishops of
Metz ("Gesta episcoporum Mettensium", ad. in "Mon. Germ. Hist: Script.", II)
and other historical works. The Scandinavian North found its ecclesiastical
historian in Adam of Bremen; he covers the period between 788 and 1072, and
his work is of special importance for the history of the Diocese of
Hamburg-Bremen ("Gesta Hamburgensis ecclesiæ Pontificum", ed. Lappenberg
in "Mon. Germ. Hist: Script.", VII, 276 sqq.). Flodoard (died 966) wrote the
history of the Archdiocese of Reims (Historia ecclesiæ Remensis) to 948, a very
important source for the history of the Church of France to that time ("Mon.
Germ. Hist. Script.", XIII, 412 sqq.). The ecclesiastical history of Northern
Germany was described by Albert Crantz, a canon of Hamburg (died 1517), in
his "Metropolis" or "Historia de ecclesiis sub Carolo Magno in Saxoniâ
instauratis" (i. e. from 780 to 1504; Frankfort, 1576 and often reprinted). Among
the special historical works of this period of the Western Church we must
mention the "Liber Pontificalis", an important collection of papal biographies that
take on larger proportions after the fourth century, are occasionally very lengthy
in the eighth and ninth centuries, and through various continuations reach to the
death of Martin V in 1431 (ed. Duchesne, 2 vols., Paris, 1886-92; ed. Mommsen,
I, extending to 715, Berlin 1898). The German, Italian, French, and English
chronicles, annals, and biographies of this epoch are very numerous. The more
important authors of chronicles are: Regino of Prüm, Hermannus Contractus,
Lambert of Hersfeld, Otto of Freising, William of Tyre, Sigebert of Gemblours.
The most important modern collections, in which the reader can find the
chronicles and annals of the various Christian countries, are the following: for
England: "Rerum Britannicarum medii ævi Scriptores, or Chronicles and
Memorials of Great Britain", I sqq. (London, 1858-); for Belgium: "Collection de
Chroniques belges", I sqq. (Brussels, 1836-); "Collection des chroniqueurs et
trouvères belges publ. par l'Académie belge", I sqq. (Brussels, 1863-); "Recueil
de chroniques publié par la Société d'émulation de Bruges" (56 vols., Bruges,
1839-64); for France: Bouquet, "Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la
France" (Paris, 1738-; new ed. by L. Delisle, Paris, 1869-); for Germany: "
Monumenta Germ. historica: Scriptores", I sqq. (Hanover and Berlin, 1826-); for
Italy: Muratori, "Rerum Italicarum Scriptores præcipui" (25 vols., Milan, 1723-51);
Idem, "Antiquitates Italicæ medii ævi" (6 vols., Milan, 1738-42); for Spain: Flórez,
"España sagrada" (51 vols., Madrid, 1747-1886); for Austria: "Fontes rerum
Austriacarum: Scriptores" (8 vols., Vienna, 1855-75); for Poland: Bielowski,
"Monuments Poloniæ historica" (2 vols., Lemberg, 1864-72; continued by the
Academy of Cracow, III sqq., Cracow, 1878-); "Scriptores rerum polonicarum"
(ibid., 1873-); for Denmark and Sweden: Langebek, "Scriptores rerum Danicarum
medii ævi" (9 vols., Copenhagen, 1772-8); Fant, "Scriptores rerum Suecicarum
medii ævi" (3 vols., Upsala, 1818-76); Rietz, "Scriptores Suecici medii ævi" (3
vols., Lund, 1842). Other important collections are: L. d'Achéry, "Spidilegium
veterum aliquot scriptorum" (13 vols., Paris, 1655); Mabillon, "Acts Sanctorum
ordinis S. Benedicti" (9 vols., Paris, 1668); "Acts Sanctorum Bollandistarum"
(see BOLLANDISTS). The best guide to the sources of medieval history is
Potthast, "Bib. hist. medii ævi: Wegweiser durch die Geschichtswerke des
europäischen Mittelalters bis 1500" (Berlin, 1896).
J. P. Kirsch
Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VII
Copyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
The Catholic Encyclopedia: NewAdvent.org