ca 975-1018. Germany. Bishop of Merseburg (1009-18). Author of a Latin Chronicon on the high politics of Church and Empire which also comments on Thietmar's own lineage, the house of Walbeck, eastern Saxony.

Compiled between 1012 and 1018, the Chronicon is divided into eight books. In book one, Thietmar recounts events from the reign of King Henry I (919-36). Books two, three, and four are devoted to the reigns, respectively, of Otto I, Otto II, and Otto III. Books four through eight are focused on the reign of King Henry II (1002-24). Although Thietmar drew on the work of other his…