The Chronicle of Adémar de Chabannes (the legendary, chronicler, musical composer and literary forger extraordinaire) has been well known for years (as Chronicon Aquitanicum et Francicum or Historia Francorum). It contains a number of mentions of Suavic rulers that originated mostly in other sources. In other words they are not particularly original and do not possess new information (for example, Thrasco and other Suav rulers are mentioned but the sources of Ademar’s here are likely the various Frankish or abbey annals). However, the third book of the Chronicle is mostly original. Moreover, one redaction of the Chronicle contains an interesting passage in that book that is not found in other versions.
A portion of this passage deals with the activities of Saint Adalbert (Wojciech) and Saint Bruno among the peoples of Prussia, Poland, Russia and Hungary containing some religious motifs albeit only in generalities. This portion probably ones from some Life of Saint Adalbert. Another portion,however, delivers an entirely new and original piece of information – it deals with the opening of the tomb of Charlemagne by Otto III. Ademar writes that upon opening the tomb Charlemagne’s body was discovered sitting untouched by age on a golden throne. That throne Otto sent to Boleslav the Great of Poland in exchange for the body parts of Saint Adalbert [Wojciech] who had been recently killed by the Prussians. (However, it is not entirely clear from this fragment that, as some people maintain, Boleslav had actually been present at Aachen).
Carolus drawn by Chabbanese Adémar himself (under Carolus’ butt, the seat in question)
Interestingly, we now know that this version of the Chronicle was an autograph of Adémar’s. For a description of the issues and controversies surrounding this edition of the Chronicle, you can see an article by Dariusz Andrzej Sikorski from 2002 “The Chronicle of Adémar de Chabannes: A Recovered Source for the Earliest History of Poland” (Kronika Ademara z Chabannes – odzyskane źródło dla najwcześniejszych dziejów Polski – in Polish). This was a review of the then new Pascale Bourgain edition of the Chronicle (oddly, Sikorski or his editor did not realize that Bourgain is a woman). Another Polish article on this is Miłosz Sosnowski’s “Boleslav Chrobry and Charlemagne: Legitimization Between Cult and Imitation.” The “γ” refers to the text that was labeled by Bourgain as such. Note, however, that the Latin text below follows the MGH edition. Note that the person to first bring the attention of Polish historians (in 1902) to this underappreciated fragment was Stanislaw Kętrzyński, the son of none other than the multi-talented Wojciech Kętrzyński (on his theories, see here, here, here, here, here and here).
Book III, Chapter 31
English Version
At this time with Otto II dead, his son Otto, third in act and name, gained the imperial power. Who interested in philosophy and thinking about the riches of Christ, that he might render a double talent before the tribunal of the Judge, he sought to convert by the will of God the peoples in the surrounding areas given over to idols to the worship of God.
In truth, it was two reverend bishops, namely the holy Adalbert archbishop of the city of Prague which lies in the province of Bohemia and also the holy Bruno the bishop of the city of Querfurt which lies in the province of Bavaria, a relative of the same Emperor. The holy Adalbert was of small stature [while] the reverend Bruno was tall.
And whenever Saint Adalbert was in the imperial palace, he would leave alone in the middle of the night for the forest and carried wood on his own shoulders, walking on bare feet, delivering it, none knew, to the poorhouse.* He then prepared the sale of this timber himself. And after many days the Emperor found about this [and said]: “A bishop such as you are should follow this up by teaching to the peoples of the Slavs.”
* compare this with John Capgrave’s fragment on Saint Wenceslas: “propriis humerus ligna deferens, ante fires viduarum et pauperum clam depnebat…”
The bishop kissed the emperor’s feet and quickly agreed [to the emperor’s joking suggestion] to undertake this [mission]; lest the emperor could talk him out of it. And at the bishop’s request in his city of Prague a replacement archbishop was ordained, whom the bishop had selected, and the emperor gladly assented to this. Having made all the necessary preparations, he departed barefooted to the province of the Poles, where no one had heard the name of Christ and began to preach the Gospel.
Bishop Bruno followed his example and requested that the emperor appoint a bishop, by the name of Odalric, for his [Bruno’s] seat whom he had chosen. When this was done he humbly departed for the country of Hungary, that is called White Hungary to differentiate it from that other Black Hungary, by reason of the fact that its population has a brownish color like the Ethiopians.
Lastly, Saint Adalbert converted to the faith of Christ those four provinces that had been of old held [in the grasp] of paganism, that is Poland, Slavania, Waredonia* [and] Cracow. And after he built a foundation of faith, he went for the province of the Pincenatori** to speak to them of the Lord. That people worshipped many fierce idols, [and] after eight days he had come to them and had began to proclaim Christ to them, [but] on the ninth day they found him to have fallen into prayers, piercing him with missiles even of iron, they made a martyr for Christ. Then he [?] cut off the head, submerged the body in a great lake but the head they tossed to the field for the wild beasts. The angel of the Lord accepted the head but the body he set upon the other shore; there he remained immobile and intact and uncorrupted, until such time as a merchant boat passed by his location. And they took the holy treasury [of his body] and delivered it to Slavania. And then the King of Slavania by the name of Boteslav, whom Saint Adalbert had baptized, was given these great gifts and accepted them with honor and built a monastery in his [Adalbert’s] great name and many miracles began to occur through this martyr of Christ. But Saint Adalbert was martyred on the 24th day of April, that is on the ninth day before the Calends of May.
* Wenedonia?
** Prussians?
However, Saint Bruno converted to the Faith the province of Hungary and another that is called Russia. He converted the King of Hungary who is called Gouz* and he changed his name in the baptism and [Bruno] called him Stephen, [he] whom the Emperor Otto received in baptism at the birth of the martyr Stephen and [whose] kingdom he [Otto] allowed him freely to possess, giving him permission to carry the sacred lance everywhere, as it is the custom of the emperor to do so, and the remains of the key of the Lord and the spear of Saint Maurice to replace his own spear. And the above-mentioned king ordered Saint Bruno to baptize his own son, giving him the same name [that is] Stephen.
* Géza
** Stephen I, Géza’s son
And to his son Stephen, the emperor Otto gave away in marriage the sister of Henry, the subsequent emperor….*
[skipping some portions of the narrative about Hungarians – the complete Latin version is below]
* Gisela of Bavaria, the sister of Henry II, future emperor
In those days, the emperor Otto [III] was told in a dream to raise the remains of Charlemagne which were buried at Aachen. But as age erases memory, so was it not known exactly where he had been laid to rest. Yet after a three day fast the emperor had a vision as to where the body was and so it was found sitting on a golden throne in an arched-ceilinged cave under the basilica of the Holy Mary wearing a golden crown set with precious stones and wielding a sword of the purest gold and his body was preserved and unrotten. It was raised and shown to the masses. And one of the canons of that place, Adalbert, though a man sporting a great and tall frame, was shown to have an insufficient brow for having tried to fit on Charlemagne’s crown, it proved to be too wide for the circumference of his head. And comparing his shin too to the shins of the king, he proved the shorter, and also was his shin [by reason of this arrogant deed] broken through Heavenly Might. Going on to live yet forty years he remained nevertheless a cripple forever. And the rediscovered body of Charlemagne was laid to rest on the right side of the basilica right behind the altar of Saint John the Baptist. And there was built over it a wondrous golden crypt which begun at once to glimmer with many portends and miracles. Yet he [Charlemagne] has no holy day of his own, [he is] just [remembered during] the commonly celebrated All Saints Day. His golden throne, the emperor Otto [III] earmarked for king Botislav in exchange for the relics of the holy martyr Adalbert [Wojciech]. And the king Botislav accepted the gift and [in exchange] sent the emperor the martyr’s shoulder and the emperor received it happily and to honor the holy martyr Adalbert he built in Aachen an extraordinary basilica and set in it a convent of [female] servants of the Lord. He also built another monastery in Rome to honor the same martyr.
Latin Version
Ea tempestate Hotone secundo mortuo, Hoto filius eius, tercius actu et nomine, imperio potitus est. Qui philosophiae intentus, et lucra Christi cogitans, ut ante tribunal Iudicis duplicatum redderet talentum, Dei voluntate populos in circuitum ydolis deditos ad Dei cultum convertere studuit.*
* [compare this to the version found in other editions of the Chronicle: Ea tempestate Hotone secundo mortuo, Hoto filius eius, tercius actu et nomine, imperio potitus est. Qui philosophiae intentus, et lucra Christi cogitans, ut ante tribunal Iudicis duplicatum redderet talentum, Dei voluntate populos Ungriae una cum rege eorum ad fidem Christi convertere meruit…]
Etenim erant ei duo episcopi reverentissimi, sanctus videlicet Adalbertus archiepiscopus de civitate Pragra, que est in provincia Bevehem, sanctus etiam Brunus episcopus de civitate Osburg, quę est in provintia Baioarie, consanguineus ejusdem imperatoris. Nam sanctus Adalbertus parvus statura, sanctus Brunus procero corpore erant.
Et quandocumque sanctus Adalbertus in aula imperatoris interesset, nocte intempesta solus ad silvam abiens, ligna propriis humeris, pedibus nudis, deferebat, nemine sciente, ad hospitium suum. Que ligna vendens victum preparabat sibi. Quod cum post multos imperator comperiens dies, cum pro sancto duceret, die quadam solito locutus cum eo, dixit jocando: “Talis episcopus, sicut vos estis, debuisset pergere ad predicandum Sclavorum gentes”.
Mox episcopus pedes imperatoris deosculans, ait, se hoc incipere; nec postea imperator eum avertere potuit ab hac intentione; et rogante ipso episcopo, ordinatus est pro eo in urbe Pragin archiepiscopus, quem elegerat ipse, et libenter imperator assensit. Et preparatis omnibus necessariis, pedibus nudis abiit in Pollianam provinciam, ubi nemo Christi nomen audierat, et praedicare coepit euangelium.
Quod exemplum eius secutus Brunus episcopus, petiit imperatorem, ut pro eo iuberet consecrare in sede sua episcopum, quem elegerat, nomine Odolricum. Quo facto, et ipse humiliter abiit in provinciam Ungriam, quae dicitur Alba Ungria ad differentiam alteri Ungrie Nigre, pro eo quod populus est colore fusco velut Etiopes.
Sanctus denique Adalbertus convertit ad fidem Christi quattuor istas provincias, quae antiquo paganorum errore detinebantur, scilicet Pollianam, Sclavaniam, Waredoniam, Cracoviam. Quas postquam fundavit in fide, abiit in provintiam Pincenatorum, ut eis praedicaret Dominum. Illa gens nimium idolis effera, post octo dies ad eos venerat et Christum eis adnunciare coeperat, nono die reperientes eum orationi incumbere, missilibus quam ferreis confodientes, Christi martirem fecerunt. Deinde secto capite, corpus eius in lacum magnum demerserunt; capud autem bestiis in campum proiecerunt. Angelus autem Domini accipiens capud, posuit iuxta cadaver in ulteriorem ripam; ibi immobile et intactum et incorruptum permansit, quousque negotiatores navigio per illum locum praeterirent. Qui auferentes sanctum thesaurum, patefeceruntque Sclavaniam. Quo comperto rex Sclavanie nomine Botesclavus, quem ipse sanctus Adalbertus baptizaverat, datis magnis muneribus, capud et cadaver excepit cum honore, et monasterium in eius nomine maximum construxit, et multa miracula fieri coeperunt per eundem Christi martirem. Passus est autem sanctus Adalbertus 24. die mensis Aprilis, id est nono Kalendas Mai.
Sanctus autem Brunus convertit ad fidem Ungriam provintiam, aliam, que vocatur Russia. Regem Ungrie baptizavit, qui vocabatur Gouz, et mutato nomine in baptismo Stephanum vocavit, quem Oto imperator in natali protomartiris Stephani a baptismate excepit, et regnum ei liberrime habere permisit, dans ei licentiam ferre lanceam sacram ubique, sicut ipsi imperatori mos est, et reliquias ex clavis Domini et lancea sancti Mauricii ei concessit in propria lancea. Rex quoque supradictus filium suum baptizare iussit sancto Bruno, imponens ei nomen sicut sibi Stephanum.
Et ipsi filio eius Stephano Oto imperator sororem Eenrici, postea imperatoris, in coniugio dedit. At vero sanctus Brunus cum ad Pincenates properavisset, et Christum praedicare cepisset illis, passus est ab eis, sicut passus fuerat sanctus Adalbertus. Nam Pincenati diabolico furore sevientes, viscera omnia ventris per exiguum foramen lateris ei extraxerunt, et fortissimum Dei martirem perfecerunt. Corpus eius Russorum gens magno precio redemit, et in Russia monasterium eius nomini construxerunt, magnisque miraculis coruscare cepit. Post paucos dies quidam Grecus episcopus in Russiam venit, et medietatem ipsius provintiae, quae adhuc idolis dedita erat, convertit, et morem Grecum in barba crescenda et ceteris exemplis eos suscipere fecit. Odolricus autem, qui sancto Bruno successerat, ad Dominum migrans, magnis virtutibus clarere meruit. Ideoque monasterium foris civitatem Osburg eius nomini construxit episcopus item Brunus, successor eius, frater Eenrici imperatoris. Eadem vero urbs apud Romanos vocabatur Valentina ab imperatoris nomine, qui eam condidit primus.
Quibus diebus Oto imperator per somnum monitus est, ut levaret corpus Caroli Magni imperatoris, quod Aquis humatus erat, sed vetustate obliterante, ignorabatur locus certus, ubi quiescebat. Et peracto triduano ieiunio, inventus est eo loco, quem per visum cognoverat imperator, sedens in aurea cathedra, intra arcuatam speluncam infra basilicam Marie, coronatus corona ex auro et gemmis, tenens sceptrum et ensem ex auro purissimo, et ipsum corpus incorruptum inventum est. Quod levatum populis demonstratum est. Quidam vero canonicorum eiusdem loci Adalbertus, cum enormi et procero corpore esset, coronam Caroli quasi pro mensura capiti suo circumponens, inventus est strictiori vertice, coronam amplitudine sua vincentem circulum capitis. Crus proprium etiam ad cruris mensuram regis dimetiens, inventus est brevior, et ipsum eius crus protinus divina virtute confractum est. Qui supervivens annis 40, semper debilis permansit. Corpus vero Caroli conditum in dextro membro basilicae ipsius retro altare sancti Iohannis baptistae, et cripta aurea super illud mirifica est fabricata, multisque signis et miraculis clarescere coepit. Non tamen sollempnitas de ipso agitur, nisi communi more anniversarium defunctorum. Solium eius aureum imperator Oto direxit regi Botisclavo pro reliquiis sancti Adalberti martiris. Rex autem Botisclavus, accepto dono, misit imperatori brachium de corpore eiusdem sancti, et imperator gaudens illut excepit, et in honore sancti Adalberti martiris basilicam Aquisgrani construxit mirificam, et ancillarum Dei congregationem ibi disposuit. Aliud quoque monasterium Romae construxit in honore ipsius martiris.
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“However, it is not entirely clear from this fragment that, as some people maintain, Boleslav had actually been present at Aachen”
Hm, maybe it will convince the unbelievers?
“Leaving that place on the Octave Day of Easter, with the greatest reverence and brotherly love he [Otto III]took his sister to Maiz, Cologne and Aachen, which the city he adored more than the others, except for Rome, and having thanked [rewarded] Boleslav, he took rest for some time that was needed in order to prepare for the remaining of the journey.” Annales Quedlin-burgenses, year 1000, translation by G.K. Walkowski.
Yeah, i have to add AQ to the annals list