The Medieval Elbe
Slavs and Germans on the Frontier

The Deeds of Wiprecht

Preface


The Preface Begins The wise foresight of the ancients considered it fitting to commit the deeds of the most excellent men to writing for these reasons: namely, so that through the passing of time their favourable lives might not be lost to the spirits of mortals by the obliteration of old age and forgetfulness; and, preferably, so that, if they should touch on any courageous and honourable actions, the minds of their listeners might delight in them, and they might also profit from imitating them, with their continuous recollection impressed upon them. For pagans and those utterly foreign to the true faith, it was the most important of pursuits to transmit not only their own commendable deeds but also those of their predecessors to posterity in writing, for the sake of perpetual praise and edification (even though a few were invented). Why, then, should we not preferably extol the deeds of Christ’s faithful, honourable as well as fortunate, by writing and proclaiming all their praiseworthy actions? Their lives are much more commendable, the memory of their deeds is far more delightful, and the performance of their pious works shines more fruitfully. Therefore, intending to write about the foundation of the monastery of Pegau, we will open our narrative by first starting a little further back with its founder's descent from grandparents and great-grandparents. From there—having offered who was born and from whom as a brief foretaste—we will then disclose with God’s help to those wanting to know, plainly and without circumlocution: what cause provided the occasion for the establishment of this place (by divine agency, so we believe); what things its founder, namely Margrave Wiprecht, accomplished generously, vigorously, and fortunately (in the eyes of both God and the world) . We relate it just as we have learned it from the truthful reports of those who either heard from others or saw and were present, many of whom we see still living.

Analysis

While the first of these two prefatory paragraphs is more ornate than the other, both interweave secular deeds with religious ones. Thus, thematically, they hang together. The majority of this preface may have been composed at the time that an account of Pegau's foundation was written and combined with a preexisting account of Wiprecht's activity on the local scene and/or some version of his activities in Rome.   That same author may have written the account of Wiprecht's legendary forebears, or attached it to the text including Pegau's foundation narrative, since both are mentioned together in the second paragraph here.  If these assumptions are true, it testifies to that author/compiler's unity of vision.  However, it seems equally likely that the preface was revised more than once as the overall text went through various stages of revision.  These two paragraphs might, therefore, originate from the pens of different authors but may also have been subjected to revisions that work to integrate them.