The Histories of a Medieval German City, Worms c. 1000-c. 1300

Translation and Commentary

David S. Bachrach

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781472436412
• eBook ISBN: 9781317028956
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European Medieval History
• Index: History

Germany was the most powerful kingdom in the medieval West from the mid-tenth to the mid-thirteenth century. However, its history remains largely unknown outside of the German-speaking regions of modern Europe. Until recently, almost all of the sources for medieval Germany were available only in the original Latin or in German translations, while most scholarly investigation has been in German. The limited English-language scholarship has focused on royal politics and the aristocracy. Even today, English-speaking students will find very little about the lower social orders, or Germany's urban centers that came to play an increasingly important role in the social, economic, political, religious, and military life of the German kingdom after the turn of the millennium. The translation of the four texts in this volume is intended to help fill these lacunae. They focus on the city of Worms in the period c.1000 to c.1300. From them readers can follow developments in this city over a period of almost three centuries from the perspective of writers who lived there, gaining insights about the lives of both rich and poor, Christian and Jew. No other city in Germany provides a similar opportunity for comparison of changes over time. As important, Worms was an 'early adopter' of new political, economic, institutional, and military traditions, which would later become normative for cities throughout the German kingdom. Worms was one of the first cities to develop as a center of episcopal power; it was also one of the first to develop an independent urban government, and was precocious in emerging as a de facto city-state in the mid-thirteenth century. These political developments, with their concomitant social, economic, and military consequences, would define urban life throughout the German kingdom. In sum, the history of Worms as told in the narrative sources in this volume can be understood as illuminating the broader urban history of the German kingdom at the heigh

Chronicon Wormatiense

With respect to Brunhild. Brunhild established many communities of priests and monks in Burgundy and Austrasia.¹ Among these, the monastery of St. Vincent still exists outside the walls of Lyon. Another one, namely Lingenfelt, where she was buried with the permission of Lothar, still exists in the lands of the Hedui.² She dedicated many churches and places to St. Martin to whom she was especially devoted. She did so much that if you were to compare the expenditure with Brunhild’s resources you would be surprised that a woman built so many churches in a single generation. When she was campaigning against Lothar, Brunhild stayed at Worms, which was the capital of the Vangian people.³

On the feast of St. Margaret 1221, a fire broke out at dawn in the city of Worms in the house of Reimar, which was located opposite from the marketplace.⁴ All of the merchants’ houses and the old districts up to the hospital were burnt. The entire marketplace was destroyed in the fire. It was similar in the Hagen neighborhood and the greater part of the wool district. The citizens of Worms incurred enormous damages as a result of the fire.

A fire broke out at Worms in July 1231 in the house of the knight Herbord in the neighborhood of the bakers.⁵ The monastery of St. Paul burned down as did everything from the Jewish gate down to the Pavonum gate, and everything that was located along the Rhine. The damages suffered cannot be calculated.

On the day before the vigil of St. John the Baptist 1234, a fire broke out at the estate of Sigelus Gozmari, which is now called Schönek.⁶ The entire city burned. In the lower portion of the city, the destruction went up to the walls, while in the upper part of the city the destruction went as far as the boundary of the district of St. Peter near the river.⁷

At vespers on April 13, which was Palm Sunday 1242, a horrible fire broke out near the church of St. Andrew. More than half of the city, along with all of the churches located in those areas, burned down completely. More than 300 people were burned and suffocated in the fire. Who could calculate this loss!⁸

At compline on the vigil of the feast of the apostles Philip and James 1259, a fire broke out in the home of the Weinheimers that lay across from the Wackerpil estate.⁹ More than half of the city burned in this horrible fire, and the damage was so great that it no longer even looked like a city. The fire lasted all night long and caused enormous damage. This horrible fire cost the city of Worms more than 150,000 marks.¹⁰ Of particular importance was the loss of the engines and equipment as well as the tackle for the horses, which the city commune had.¹¹ These were all burned in the arsenal along with the wagon, which was called a Stanthart, at an estimated cost of 1,000 marks.¹²

In 1269, a horrible fire broke out in Worms the middle of the night near the convent of the Preachers.¹³ Because of the strong winds, almost half of the city burned down.

On the feast of the apostles Philip and James in 1298, a great part of the city along the bank of the river where the wool workers and tanners are located was destroyed by fire.¹⁴

The city of Worms suffered such incalculable losses in these great fires that it was hardly able to survive. Many other smaller fires broke out as well but they cannot be listed individually.

In 1221, the brothers minor came to Worms for the first time.¹⁵ They obtained a house nearby St. Nazarius. Afterward they moved nearby the district of St. Peter.¹⁶

The preaching brothers first came to Worms to stay in 1226 when they purchased the estate of the knight Werner on the street of the saddle makers and began to build there. Although the citizens favored them, the lord bishop Henry was opposed to the Dominicans.¹⁷ The bishop tried in every possible way to remove them from the city, and the clergy always supported him. But nothing worked. He heard that the son of his brother, the count of Leiningen, named Eberhard, who was in the order and died in their convent, was buried on the Dominicans’ land.¹⁸ Going there, the bishop ordered that his brother’s son be dug up. Having assembled the entire clergy of the city, the bishop then ordered that his nephew be carried away and buried properly in the vault of the cathedral.¹⁹ Finally, after a great deal of legal wrangling, he forced the brothers to leave and to remove their buildings from their present location.²⁰ With divine assistance, they moved to a larger and better place, namely the estate of Hiltegund, called “before the mint” which they purchased with their own money and with the aid of good men. They obtained both the house and the lands around it, with all of its appurtenances.

In March 1227, more than four hundred citizens left Worms all at the same time. They were marked with the cross to support the Holy Land across the sea.²¹ At the same time, Lord Frederick the magnificent, the second emperor of this name, also crossed the sea. He would have conquered the Holy Land immediately if the lord pope had not attacked his cities in Apulia and Sicily in his absence, excommunicating the emperor on both sides of the sea.²² Because of the innumerable difficulties and losses which the pope had set into motion and caused him, it was necessary for Frederick to return from the Holy Land without having finished his task. This will weigh on the Christian people until the end of time. The pilgrims who survived returned to their own lands. When the lord emperor returned to his own lands, he and the lord pope were immediately reconciled. Afterward, the pagans entered the holy city of Jerusalem. Remaining there, they destroyed the tower of David and caused enormous troubles for the Christian people.²³

In 1231, a horrible plague and exceptionally heavy sentence fell with divine permission. A certain brother named Conrad Dorso arrived. He was a lay brother from the Order of Preachers accompanied by a secular priest named John. The latter was half-blind, maimed, and truly totally worthless. These two first began in the upper reaches of the Rhine among the poor, saying that they could recognize heretics. And they began to burn them as certain of them confessed that they were guilty and did not wish to abandon their sects. When the people saw that they were burning people of this type, they continually supported and aided Conrad and John, with merit, because these kinds of people were worthy of death. When these two men saw that the people supported them in this manner, they kept on going further and seized whomever they wished in whatever city or village they wanted. They did not offer any evidence other than saying to the judges: “these are heretics, we wash our hands of them.” It was therefore left for the judges to burn these people. But they did not keep to either the letter or the spirit of sacred scripture. The whole of the clergy everywhere was very upset about this. But because the common rabble everywhere clung to these unjust judges, their will prevailed everywhere. They condemned many people who in the hour of death called upon Lord Jesus Christ with all of their hearts, and implored the aid of the holy mother of God and of all the saints even while they were in the blazing fire. Hear how horrible this was!

Then, when these imperfect and merciless judges realized that they would not be able to prevail without the help of the lords, they gained the support of Lord Henry the king and the lords in this manner: “See, if we burn many rich people, you will have their goods. In the episcopal cities, let the bishop receive half, and the king or some other judge the other part.”²⁴ The overjoyed lords helped them and led them into their cities and villages, digging pits for themselves. And so many died because of their property, which their lords then seized for themselves. Seeing this, the people, now afraid and miserable, said to them: “Why are you doing this?.” They responded, answering in their depraved manner: “We would burn 100 innocents if there were just one guilty man among them.”

At this point, the whole earth trembled and the strong no longer had any strength. These two men, in order to gain further strength, went to Brother Conrad of Marburg, who had been the confessor of St. Elizabeth and was considered to be some kind of prophet.²⁵ Having gained his support, they proceeded just as he wished because he was a judge without mercy. They then kept to the road on which they had started using the power of the judges to seize whomever they wished. Those who confessed to heresy, as many innocent people did in order to save their lives, had their heads shaved above the ears and had to go about in this manner for as long as Conrad, John, and Conrad wanted. They burned those who refused. Their will prevailed everywhere because Brother Conrad was an exceptionally skillful and educated man. These three attacked many lords, nobles, knights, and citizens. They shaved many of them and burned many others. O wonder to behold! Certain of the preachers and others from the lesser brothers supported them.²⁶ They took orders from them and, indeed, those who accepted orders from no on...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Maps
• Genealogies
• Introduction
• Vita Burchardi
• Vita Sancti Eckenberti
• Chronicon Wormatiense
• Annales Wormatienses
• Bibliography
• Index