property rights remained a matter of dispute. Thietmar
seems to have occupied most of his career in attempts
to regain diocesan lands ceded to neighboring dioceses
during the period of Merseburg’s suppression (i.e.,
981–1004). Similar issues led to a long running property
dispute with the Saxon ducal house of the Billunger.
Thietmar’s chief gift to posterity is his history, the
Chronicon, which he composed between 1012 and his
death in 1018. The work is divided into eight books and
survives in two manuscripts at Brussels and Dresden,
the latter now available only in the form of a facsimile.
The Dresden manuscript is particularly valuable as it
was produced under Thietmar’s direction and includes
corrections and additions made in his own hand. In com-
piling the Chronicon, Thietmar drew heavily at times on
the work of other historians, but much of his material is
based on his own observations and experiences, espe-
cially in the later books. Indeed, for events in the reign
of Emperor Henry II, he is often our unique informant.
It is generally assumed that Thietmar’s original inten-
tion was to focus on the history of his diocese. If so, his
theme must have rapidly expanded to include the history
and deeds of the Ottonian kings, their lineage, and other
topics as well. Thietmar was nothing if not opinionated
and expressed views on subjects ranging from politics to
the (in his opinion) shocking character of contemporary
women’s fashions. He subjected monastic reform and its
advocates to a withering critique and offered negative
characterizations of Lotharingians, Bavarians, Italians,
and others lacking the good fortune to have been born
Saxon. With his detailed commentary on the career of
Duke Boleslav Chrobry, Thietmar is one of the most
important witnesses for the emergence of the medieval
Polish state, and his detailed descriptions of Slavic
social customs and religion are some of the earliest on
record. Thietmar’s testimony is especially valuable for
the history of Ottonian policy in the east, German rela-
tions with the western Slavs, and the family histories
of the east Saxon aristocracy.
See also Otto I
Further Reading
Chronicon (Die Chronik des Bischofs Thietmar von Merseburg
und ihre Korveier Überarbeitung). ed. Robert Holtzmann.
Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Germani-
carum, nova series 9. Berlin: Weidmann, 1935.
Leyser, Karl. The Ascent of Latin Europe. Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1986.
Lippelt, Heinrich. Thietmar von Merseburg. Riechsbischof und
Chronist. Mitteldeutsche Forschungen 72. Cologne: Böhlau,
1973.
Warner, David A. “Thietmar of Merseburg on Rituals of King-
ship.” Viator 26 (1995): 53–76.
——. Ottonian Germany. Manchester: Manchester University
Press, 1999.
David A. Warner
THOMAS À KEMPIS (1379/1380–1471)
An author of spiritual writings, Thomas (Hemerken) à
Kempis (also Hamerkein, Malleolus) was born some
time between September 29, 1379, and July 24, 1380,
at Kempen near Cologne. At the age of thirteen he left
for Deventer to attend classes at the chapter’s school of
the Lebuinus Church. In 1399 he applied for admission
to a monastery of the Canons Regular at Zwolle called
St. Agnietenberg. This monastery, a daughter-house of
Windesheim, was pervaded by the spirit of the Devotio
moderna (Modern Devotion) movement. After taking
the habit in 1406 and after his solemn profession in
1407, Thomas was ordained a priest in 1413 or 1414.
He evolved into a prolifi c transcriber and author of
several spiritual writings. From 1425 till 1430 (and in
a second term starting in 1433), he performed the task
of subprior and combined it with the assignment of a
novice master. In this last quality he developed as a
musician, preacher, and history teacher. For the job of
procurator Thomas turned out to be less suited; he held
that offi ce for only one year in 1443. He died on either
May 1 or July 24, 1471.
Thomas à Kempis is credited with thirty-one trea-
tises, as well as three cycles of sermones (sermons),
some cantica (catechetic songs), and epistolae (letters).
Depending on the goal he had in mind or the audience
he wanted to reach, he used different genres. He proved
to be a pious historian in, e.g., his Chronicon Montis
sanctae Agnetis. One can discover his qualities as a
musician and writer of letters in his Cantica and Episto-
lae. His output consists in large part of practical-ascetic
works, such as his Libellus de disciplina claustralium,
Vita boni monachi, Manuale parvulorum, and Doctrina
iuvenum.
His famous De Imitatione Christi is included in this
category as well. This work deserves a wider treatment
here, as it is one of the most infl uential spiritual texts
of the late Middle Ages and can be considered the most
widely read book in Christianity, with the exception of
the Bible. In the centuries-old fi ght about the author-
ship of this fi fteenth-century treatise, forty serious
candidates have been taken into account. Among them
Augustin, Bernard, Jan van Ruusbroec, Geert Grote,
Joannes Gersen, abbot of Vercelli, Jean Gerson, and,
fi nally, Thomas à Kempis, were the most prominent.
On the basis of the excellent linguistic and codicologi-
cal (manuscript) investigations of L.J.M. Delaissé, it is
now generally accepted among scholars that Thomas
à Kempis has to be regarded as the author of the four
libelli (books) that form De Imitatione Christi. The
fi rst four treatises of Thomas à Kempis’s autograph of
1441 (Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, manuscript
no. 5855–5861) form, in this order, books I, II, IV, and
III of De Imitatione Christi. They have the following
incipits (fi rst lines):THIETMAR OF MERSEBURG