Die Anfänge der Egerer Stadtchronistik um die Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts – der Blick von außen auf die Stadtgeschichte

Abstract

Situated on the border between Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire, Eger was a city characterized by division—not only in terms of political geography, but also in terms of its constitutional status. Did the local chronicles at the beginning of the early modern period reflect this fact? The present study examines accounts of the Eger city chronicles in an attempt to discern how contemporaries thought about Eger in the transitional period between the Middle Ages and the early modern era. It contrasts such portrayals as recorded in works originating outside of Eger (e.g., in Bohemia and Bavaria) with the image conveyed by the earliest chroniclers in Eger. Furthermore, the study aims to clarify how works produced outside of Eger might have influenced the portrayal of local history in the oldest Eger chronicle, namely the account by Pankratz Engelhardt. Did he choose the emphases and structures to formulate his narrative of the city’s history himself, or did he rely on older works? A further question posed here concerns the extent to which the city council did or did not influence choices regarding the structure of the historical narratives about Eger.