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(Younger Rhymed Chronicle) 16th century. Sweden. A chronicle in Swedish, dating from the very end of the Middle Ages. It contains narrative material gathered from all the great chronicles from Erikskrönikan to Sturekrönikan, and a new continuation up to 1520. These texts were provided with a new prologue and recast in a first person narrative form, a device borrowed from Lilla rimkrönikan. In the oldest preserved manuscript (Linköping, Stadsbibliotek, cod. H 130), it is called Cronica Swecie. Olle FermBibliography Text G.E. Klemming, Svenska medeltidens rimkrönikor, 3, 1867-8, …

(Erik's Chronicle) 1320s. Sweden. A rhymed chronicle in ca 4500 lines of Swedish knittel (doggerel verse), covering the whole history of Sweden, but focussing on the exploits of Eric, Duke of Södermanland, brother of King Birger Magnusson.Drawing on information from written documents, oral tradition and his own observations, the anonymous author chronicles Sweden's history from the middle of the 13th century to the election of Magnus Eriksson in 1319. The perspective is aristocratic. It is the history of herra ok första (lords and princes), the most prominent being the memb…

[Qualiter regnavit rex Magnus] ca 1370. Sweden. A historical pamphlet in Latin on the reign of King Magnus Eriksson (1319-63), preserved in a manuscript from ca 1400 (Uppsala, UB, cod. D 203). Magnus, son of the hero of Erikskrönikan, who became king at the age of three, was deposed and replaced by the German Albrecht of Mecklenburg in 1363. The pamphlet originates in the aristocratic circle that forced him to resign and looked to St. Birgitta as their spiritus rector. In the early years Birgitta (1303-73) had been favourable to Magnus, but she became increasingly critical…

(Prose Chronicle) 15th century. Sweden. A Swedish vernacular chronicle, preserved in Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, cod. D 4, together with Lilla rimkrönikan, both probably written at the initiative of King Karl Knutsson. The anonymous expresses Karl's ambitions author in various ways, seeking to document Sweden's supremacy over the other Scandinavian countries. To this end he links Swedish history to the Old Testament and later relates the story of a Gothic emigration from Sweden. This theory originates in Jordanes' History of the Goths (Jordanes is referred to as bishop…

[Wazstenense] (Memorial Book of Vadstena) late 14th-16th century. Sweden. Latin annals of Vadstena Abbey, the motherhouse of the Birgittine Order on Lake Vättern. They cover the period 1344-1545, written concurrently with the events described. Most of the work consists of short notices, but some periods are dealt with in greater detail, notably the years 1463-7, when the annalistic text is transformed into a continuous narrative of political events, dominated by the struggle between Karl Knutsson and the Danish King Christian I. Generally, the authors of the Diarium sympathise wi…

(Visby chronicle) 15th century. Sweden. Latin chronicle covering 815-1444, composed by an anonymous Franciscan in Visby, Gotland, ca 1410-12 and preserved in a manuscript from around the same time: Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, cod. B 99. The early part of the work, until around 1350, is annalistic in form, based on various earlier annals and other texts, including Compendium Saxonis and Erikskrönikan. From the mid-14th century, the text develops into a broad narrative of events in the Baltic area. When describing Valdemar IV of Denmark's conquest of Gotland and his att…

(Sture's Chronicle) 15th/16th century, final version not before 1496. Sweden. A rhymed chronicle in Swedish, focussing on the deeds of the Swedish regent Sten Sture, after whom the chronicle was named by the modern editor. In reality this was originally two chronicles, one dealing with the years 1452-87 (ca 3400 verses), the other 1487-96 (ca 800 verses).The former was written in the circle of Sten Sture, who succeeded Karl Knutsson as the leader of the anti-Danish faction, with the title riksföreståndare (protector of the realm) and ruled Sweden 1471-97 and again 1501-3. T…

(History of the Goths) 13th century. Sweden. An appendix to Gutalagen (Law of the Goths) in Swedish.The oldest preserved example of historical writing in the vernacular in Sweden, Gutasagan presents a brief account of the history of the island of Gotland from heathen times into the Christian period. It also tells of a large-scale emigration from Gotland as the result of overpopulation, and of the descendants of these migrants – almost certainly the Goths – who now live in southern Europe and who still speak "something of our language". Gutasagan was written no later than 1285 and po…

(Little rhyme chronicle) 15th century with continuations to 1520. Sweden. Transmitted together with Prosaiska Krönikan in Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, cod. D 4 a., Lilla rimkrönikan has derived much of its material from Prosaiska krönikan and like it contains biographies of the Swedish kings from the oldest times to the coronation of Karl Knutsson, thus providing a mythical origin of his reign. It is written in first person narrative form, whereas Prosaiska krönikan is written in the traditional third person narrative. Olle FermBibliography Text G.E. Klemming, Svenska medelt…

1450s. Sweden. A 7000-line verse chronicle in Swedish, written in the chancellery of the Swedish king Karl Knutsson (1448-57), to serve national interests in general and glorify the deeds of Karl Knutsson in particular.Its first part is based on Engelbrektskrönikan (ca 2700 verses), a rhymed chronicle in Swedish, written towards the end of the 1430s, which is only preserved embedded in Karlskrönikan but must originally have existed as a separate text. E ngelbrektskrönikan is named after the revolutionary leader Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (d. 1436), a man of the lower…