Arild Huitfeldt (Arvid) (11 September 1546 – 16 December 1609) was a Danish historian and state official, known for his vernacular Chronicle of Denmark.
Huitfeldt was born into an aristocratic family from Scania, part of the Kingdom of Denmark at the time. He was partly educated in Germany and France, made his career as a state official and was, from 1573 to 1580, First Secretary to the Danish Chancellery, the King's central administrative organ. From 1583 to his death he was also superintendent at Herlufsholm School, the first Danish boarding school. In 1586 he achieved his highest appointment, becoming Rigskansler (Chancellor of the Realm, the very approximate equivalent to a modern Minister of Justice), until shortly before his death. Huitfeldt also owned several manor estates and handled a number of diplomatic assignments. As a politician and as an official he appears to have been studious, conservative, and sociable, avoiding overt clashes with his colleagues.
In September 1597 Huitfeldt and Christian Barnekow were ambassadors in London and lodged in Fenchurch Street in the house of Alderman Houghton or the Customer Master Smith. Their mission concerned the Sound tolls. They returned the insignia of the Order of Garter that had belonged to Frederick II of Denmark. Queen Elizabeth made a joke at their expense on her birthday. After their audiences in London they came to Scotland.[1]
Historical worksedit
What has made Huitfeldt famous, however, is his contribution as a historian. He wrote the first great History of Denmark in vernacular Danish – Danmarks Riges Krønike (Chronicle of the Kingdom of Denmark, 8 vols, 1595-1603), thus taking up the weighty legacy of Saxo Grammaticus. Huitfeldt was no official Danish historiographer, but at his time several official attempts at writing a comprehensive History of Denmark in Latin had come to little. Huitfeldt created a work that supplanted all earlier Latin attempts and more or less became the referential history work on Denmark until the time of Ludvig Holberg.
The Chronicle deals with Denmark from what was then a time of legend until 1559. It is mostly structured around the reigns of the various kings and was published in non-chronological order, beginning with the time of Christian III. Through published rather quickly, his work seems to have been prepared across several years. Being a state official with access to documents and with the possibility of using help from scribes, Huitfeldt did have many writing advantages. The form of his Chronicle is annalist but not narrowly limited to each single year. What makes it still more important is that Huitfeldt reproduces many documents and sources the originals of which are now lost. In that way his book is also a significant source collection.
In the Chronicle Huitfeldt reveals himself as a pragmatic aristocrat. A central view of his is that history repeats itself, but in aspects such as his emphasis on judicial and constitutional factors, he shows himself rather in advance of his time. At bottom, he remains subjective: his own ideal is that of the aristocratic state, in which the King respects the role and power of the nobility. Thus he may be held responsible for the extremely negative picture of Christian II, and the corresponding idealized version of Christian III, which for many years dominated Danish historical thinking. Yet as a whole, Huitfeldt is sober and calm, using plain and relatively unaffected language. While transmitting the ancient legends and myths he often shows scepticism as to their reliability, an attitude he also partly displays toward later sources. His prefaces to the separate volumes of his history are themselves worth noting, as an additional testimonial to his political ideals.
Referencesedit
^William Acres, Letters of Lord Burleigh to his son Robert Cecil (Cambridge, 2017), p. 272: Nichols, John, Progresses and Public Processions of Elizabeth, vol. 3 (London, 1823), pp. 419-420: Elizabeth Goldring, Faith Eales, Elizabeth Clarke, Jayne Elisabeth Archer, John Nichols's Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth: 1596-1603, vol. 4 (Oxford, 2014), p. 57.
Bibliographyedit
Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, vol. 6. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1979-84.
Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol. 7. Copenhagen: Gyldendal and Politiken, 1988-93.
Arrild Huitfeldt: Rigis Krönicke fra Kong Dan den förste oc indtil Kong Knud den 6, t. 1
Arrild Huitfeldt: Rigis Krönicke fra Kong Dan den förste oc indtil Kong Knud den 6, t. 2
January 01, 1970
arild, huitfeldt, arvid, september, 1546, december, 1609, danish, historian, state, official, known, vernacular, chronicle, denmark, contents, life, historical, works, references, bibliographylife, edithuitfeldt, born, into, aristocratic, family, from, scania,. Arild Huitfeldt Arvid 11 September 1546 16 December 1609 was a Danish historian and state official known for his vernacular Chronicle of Denmark Arild Huitfeldt Contents 1 Life 2 Historical works 3 References 4 BibliographyLife editHuitfeldt was born into an aristocratic family from Scania part of the Kingdom of Denmark at the time He was partly educated in Germany and France made his career as a state official and was from 1573 to 1580 First Secretary to the Danish Chancellery the King s central administrative organ From 1583 to his death he was also superintendent at Herlufsholm School the first Danish boarding school In 1586 he achieved his highest appointment becoming Rigskansler Chancellor of the Realm the very approximate equivalent to a modern Minister of Justice until shortly before his death Huitfeldt also owned several manor estates and handled a number of diplomatic assignments As a politician and as an official he appears to have been studious conservative and sociable avoiding overt clashes with his colleagues In September 1597 Huitfeldt and Christian Barnekow were ambassadors in London and lodged in Fenchurch Street in the house of Alderman Houghton or the Customer Master Smith Their mission concerned the Sound tolls They returned the insignia of the Order of Garter that had belonged to Frederick II of Denmark Queen Elizabeth made a joke at their expense on her birthday After their audiences in London they came to Scotland 1 Historical works editWhat has made Huitfeldt famous however is his contribution as a historian He wrote the first great History of Denmark in vernacular Danish Danmarks Riges Kronike Chronicle of the Kingdom of Denmark 8 vols 1595 1603 thus taking up the weighty legacy of Saxo Grammaticus Huitfeldt was no official Danish historiographer but at his time several official attempts at writing a comprehensive History of Denmark in Latin had come to little Huitfeldt created a work that supplanted all earlier Latin attempts and more or less became the referential history work on Denmark until the time of Ludvig Holberg The Chronicle deals with Denmark from what was then a time of legend until 1559 It is mostly structured around the reigns of the various kings and was published in non chronological order beginning with the time of Christian III Through published rather quickly his work seems to have been prepared across several years Being a state official with access to documents and with the possibility of using help from scribes Huitfeldt did have many writing advantages The form of his Chronicle is annalist but not narrowly limited to each single year What makes it still more important is that Huitfeldt reproduces many documents and sources the originals of which are now lost In that way his book is also a significant source collection In the Chronicle Huitfeldt reveals himself as a pragmatic aristocrat A central view of his is that history repeats itself but in aspects such as his emphasis on judicial and constitutional factors he shows himself rather in advance of his time At bottom he remains subjective his own ideal is that of the aristocratic state in which the King respects the role and power of the nobility Thus he may be held responsible for the extremely negative picture of Christian II and the corresponding idealized version of Christian III which for many years dominated Danish historical thinking Yet as a whole Huitfeldt is sober and calm using plain and relatively unaffected language While transmitting the ancient legends and myths he often shows scepticism as to their reliability an attitude he also partly displays toward later sources His prefaces to the separate volumes of his history are themselves worth noting as an additional testimonial to his political ideals References edit William Acres Letters of Lord Burleigh to his son Robert Cecil Cambridge 2017 p 272 Nichols John Progresses and Public Processions of Elizabeth vol 3 London 1823 pp 419 420 Elizabeth Goldring Faith Eales Elizabeth Clarke Jayne Elisabeth Archer John Nichols s Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth 1596 1603 vol 4 Oxford 2014 p 57 Bibliography editDansk Biografisk Leksikon vol 6 Copenhagen Gyldendal 1979 84 Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie vol 7 Copenhagen Gyldendal and Politiken 1988 93 Arrild Huitfeldt Rigis Kronicke fra Kong Dan den forste oc indtil Kong Knud den 6 t 1 Arrild Huitfeldt Rigis Kronicke fra Kong Dan den forste oc indtil Kong Knud den 6 t 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arild Huitfeldt amp oldid 1144764282, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
