In the years 1529-1531 the St. Gall humanist, reformer, and
politician Joachim Vadian wrote a history of the abbey and city of
St. Gall during the high and late middle ages (1199-1491). It goes
by the title Grössere Chronik der Äbte (Great Chronicle of the
Abbots). In this work, Vadian describes the way the abbey town
changed into a self-reliant, independent city and became wealthy
from the cloth weaving industry. The historical work is
simultaneously a work of heated reformist protest, exposing and
often bitingly commenting upon the increasing corruption of church
dignitaries and institutions, particularly the Abbots and Abbey of
St. Gall since the investiture conflict.
Rights
e-codices - Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland
