Zimmern Chronicle - History

History

In 1540, Froben Christopher had written the genealogical "Liber rerum Cimbriacarum" whose structure shows many resemblances to the later work.

The beginnings of the chronicle as we know it today lie probably in the year 1559, and it was not even finished at Froben Christopher's death in 1566.

Two manuscripts were written by secretary Johannes Müller at Froben Christopher's chancellery at Meßkirch castle:

• Manuscript A (Cod. Don. 581): 296 sheets, probably started by Müller as a fair copy. Many later corrections by Froben Christopher, some sheets and illustrations removed. Probably eventually used as a draft copy for manuscript B.

• Manuscript B (Cod. Don. 580): 1567 pages (divided in two volumes since 1792, hence also known as B1/B2), illustrated with 43 images of coats of arms, a picture of a flag bearer and three ornamental pages.

With the Zimmern family expiring with the death of Froben Christopher's only male heir Wilhelm von Zimmern as early as 1594, the work never materialized as the memorial and textbook that it was originally intended to become. The chronicle manuscripts eventually wound up in the possession of the counts of Fürstenberg, probably via Appolonia von Helfenstein, a daughter of Froben Christopher's. The books were stored for nearly four centuries in the Fürstenbergische Hofbibliothek at Donaueschingen, until that library was sold and scattered by the princes of Fürstenberg for financial reasons in 1993. Since 1993, the manuscripts are in possession of the Wurttemberg State Library (Württembergische Landesbibliothek) in Stuttgart.