This manuscript from the Benedictine abbey of Stavelot contains one
of the more than forty extant copies of the world chronicle that
Sigebert of Gembloux (b. c. 1028, d. 1112), a Benedictine monk at
the abbey of Gembloux and St Vincent in Metz, wrote between c. 1086
and 1106. The world chronicle covers the period from 381 to his own
time, with a continuation by Anselm of Gembloux (d. 1136), covering
the years 1112-1135. The manuscript also contains additions
relating to the history of Stavelot, added by different scribes: a
calendar recording the obits of the monks at Stavelot as well as
notes about events at Stavelot, and the monastery’s lands.
Contents:ff. 2v-7r: Calendar of obits of the monks of Stavelot. ff.
8v-75v: Sigebert of Gembloux (d. 1122), Chronica sive chronographia
universalis , (the title added by a scribe writing in a 15 th
-century script: ‘Chronica sigeberti gemblacensis monachi’),
with the continuation of Anselm de Gembloux (d. 1136) to the year
1131. ff. 76v-79r: Copies of letters regarding the Third Crusade: a
bull of Pope Gregory VIII calling for the Third Crusade, dated to
1187 (ff. 76v-77r); Henry of Marcy (d. 1189), Cardinal Bishop of
Albano, to Emperor Frederic I, dated to 1187 (ff. 77r-77v);
Thierry, Grand Preceptor of the Templars, to the Order, on Third
Crusade, dated to 1187 (f. 77v); Henry of Marcy (d. 1189), Cardinal
Bishop of Albano, address at Diet of Mainz in 1188 (f. 78v); Pope
Adrian IV to Emperor Frederic I (f. 78v) and his reply, dated to
1159 (ff. 78v-79r). The manuscript contains several additions: f.
2r: A note by the porter of Stavelot written during the abbacy of
Erlebald (1158-1192) on the lands surrounding the monastery ff.
7v-8r: An astrological prognostication about the coming of a new
sect and religious change in 1349, with an astrological diagram in
the margin of f. 7r. ff. 75v-76r: Notes relating to Stavelot,
concerning events in 1232-1253, and the lands of the monastery,
written by different scribes. ff. 79r-79v: Notes relating to
Stavelot, concerning events in 1238-1253, and the lands of the
monastery, written by different scribes.Decoration:1 large foliate
initial in red ink (f. 8v). Small initials in red and brown ink
throughout the manuscript.
