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''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' ("Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg") is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions (''scholia'') to the text until his death (possibly 1081; before 1085). It is one of the most important sources of the medieval history of Northern Europe, and the oldest textual source reporting the discovery of coastal North America. It covers the entire period known as the Viking Age, from the foundation of the bishopric under Willehad in 788 until the rule of prince-bishop Adalbert in Adam's own time (1043–1072). The text focusses on the history of the Hamburg-Bremen diocese and its bishops. As the bishops had jurisdiction over the missions to Scandinavia, it is also gives a report of the Norse paganism of the period. The existence of the work was forgotten in the later medieval period, until it was re-discovered in the late 16th century in the library of Sorø Abbey, Denmark. ==Contents== The treatise consist of the following parts: *an introduction, addressed to bishop Liemar *Book 1: History of the archbishopric of Bremen and (after 845) Hamburg-Bremen (788–940) *Book 2: History of the archbishopric Hamburg-Bremen (940–1045) *Book 3: Biography of archbishop Adalbert of Bremen (r. 1043–1072) *Book 4: ''Descriptio insularum aquilonis'': Geographical description of Northern Europe *''M. Adami epilogus ad Liemarum episcopum'': A dedication to bishop Liemar in hexameters The text is one of the most important sources of Northern German and Scandinavian history and geography in the Viking Age and the beginning High Middle Ages. It covers the relations between Saxons, Wends (West Slavs) and Danes (Vikings). The third book is focussed on the biography of archbishop Adalbert of Bremen. Adam based his works in part on Einhard, Cassiodorus, and other earlier historians, consulting the library of the church of Bremen. The text as presented to bishop Liemar was completed in 1075/1076.〔 The historical context is Bremen's position as a major trading town and a hub of naval traffic. After the death of Bishop Leuderich (838–45), the see was given to Ansgar, it lost its independence, and from that time on was permanently united with the Archdiocese of Hamburg. The Archdiocese of Bremen was designated the "Mission of the North" and had jurisdiction over all missions in Scandinavia, and the entire scope of Viking expansion in the north (Russia, Iceland, Greenland), throughout the Viking Age, until the archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen had a falling-out with the pope, and separate archbishopric for the North was established in Lund in 1105. Adam is also an important source of Viking Age Norse paganism, including the practice of human sacrifice:〔 "There is a festival at Uppsala every nine years () The sacrifice is as follows; of every kind of male creature, nine victims are offered. By the blood of these creatures it is the custom to appease the gods. Their bodies, moreover, are hanged in a grove which is adjacent to the temple. This grove is so sacred to the people that the separate trees in it are believed to be holy because of the death or putrefaction of the sacrificial victims. There even dogs and horses hang beside human beings."〕 The description of the temple at Uppsala is one of the most famous excerpts of the ''Gesta'': :"In this temple, entirely decked out in gold, the people worship the statues of three gods in such wise that the mightiest of them, Thor, occupies a throne in the middle of the chamber; Wotan and Frikko have places on either side. (...) Thor, they say, presides over the air, which governs the thunder and lightning, the winds and rains, fair weather () crops. The other, Wotan – that is, ''Fury'' (id est furor'' ) – carries on war and imparts to man strength against his enemies. The third is Frikko, who bestows peace and pleasure on mortals. His likeness, too, they fashion with an immense phallus." The fourth book describes the geography of Scandinavia and the Baltic region. It mentions numerous episcopal seats and churches, including Meldorf, Schenefeld, Verden, Pahlen, Ratzeburg, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg in Holstein and Jumne. Beyond this, it gives a description of the coast of Scandinavia and of the "northern isles" including Iceland, Greenland and notably (in chapter 38) Vinland (North America), being the oldest extant written record of the Norse discovery of North America. Adam of Bremen had been at the court of Danish king Sven Estridson and was informed about the Viking discoveries in the North Atlantic there. Also notable is the mention of a ''Terra feminarum'' ("land of women"), as a place in Fennoscandia, possibly a (mis-)translation of the name ''Kvenland''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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