Adam of Bremen
Illustration — A facsimile of Adam of Bremen's magnum opus. Adam of Bremen (Adamus Bremensis; Adam von Bremen; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century.
Also recorded as Adam of Bromen
Adam of Bremen

Adam von Bremen · Austrian National Library · Public domain
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- theologian · historian · writer · geographer · canon · chronicler
- Known for
- Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum
- Languages
- medieval Latin · Latin
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Illustration — A facsimile of Adam of Bremen's magnum opus. Adam of Bremen (Adamus Bremensis; Adam von Bremen; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century.
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wikidata · Q109244 · wikipedia · Adam of Bremen
In this article
Life
Life
Adam is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (Deeds of Bishops of the Hamburg Church). He was "one of the foremost historians and early ethnographers of the medieval period". In his chronicle, he included a chapter mentioning the Norse outpost of Vinland, and was thus the first European to write about the New World.
Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles. He is believed to have come from Meissen, then its own margravate. The dates of his birth and death are uncertain, but he was probably born before 1050 and died on 12 October of an unknown year (possibly 1081, at the latest 1085). From his chronicles, it is apparent that he was familiar with a number of authors. The honorary name of Magister Adam shows that he had passed through all the stages of a higher education. It is probable that he was taught at the Magdeburger Domschule. In 1066 or 1067, he was invited by Archbishop Adalbert von Hamburg-Bremen to join the Church of Bremen. Adam was accepted among the capitulars of Bremen, and by 1069 he appeared as director of the Bremen Cathedral's school. Soon thereafter he began to write the history of Bremen/Hamburg and of the northern lands in his Gesta. His position and the missionary activity of the church of Bremen allowed him to gather information on the history and the geography of Northern Germany. A stay at the court of Sweyn II of Denmark gave him the opportunity to find information about the history and geography of Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries. Among other things he wrote about in Scandinavia were the sailing passages across Øresund such as today's Helsingør–Helsingborg ferry route.

Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum 1073
Adam of Bremen · Austrian National Library

Adam von Bremen, Geschichte der Hamburger Kirche
Adam von Bremen · Scan aus Buch: Matthias Puhle (Hrsg.): Otto der Große. Magdeburg und Europa, Bd. II. Katalog, S. 8
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1100
Adam of Bremen born at Meissen.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Volker Scior: Das Eigene und das Fremde. Identität und Fremdheit in den Chroniken Adams von Bremen, Helmolds von Bosau und Arnolds von Lübeck. Berlin 2002, S. 29.
- 2.Vorwort zur Übersetzung von J. C. M. Laurent. 2. Aufl. 1893
- 3.NDB 1 49 50 Adam von Bremen Joachim Leuschner 11850052X
- 4.Volker Scior: Das Eigene und das Fremde: Identität und Fremdheit in den Chroniken Adams von Bremen, Helmolds von Bosau und Arnolds von Lübeck. Berlin 2002, S. 29 Anm. 4.
- 5.Volker Scior: Das Eigene und das Fremde. Identität und Fremdheit in den Chroniken Adams von Bremen, Helmolds von Bosau und Arnolds von Lübeck. Berlin 2002, S. 31.
- 6.Volker Scior: Das Eigene und das Fremde. Identität und Fremdheit in den Chroniken Adams von Bremen, Helmolds von Bosau und Arnolds von Lübeck. Berlin 2002, S. 30.
- 7.Volker Scior: Das Eigene und das Fremde: Identität und Fremdheit in den Chroniken Adams von Bremen, Helmolds von Bosau und Arnolds von Lübeck. Berlin 2002, S. 30.
- 8.Gesta Hammaburgensis, Liber I., Capitulum 18 und die Anmerkung in der Übersetzung dazu
- 9.Volker Scior: Das Eigene und das Fremde: Identität und Fremdheit in den Chroniken Adams von Bremen, Helmolds von Bosau und Arnolds von Lübeck. Berlin 2002, S. 31–33.
- 10.Volker Scior: Das Eigene und das Fremde: Identität und Fremdheit in den Chroniken Adams von Bremen, Helmolds von Bosau und Arnolds von Lübeck. Berlin 2002, S. 36.
- 11.Klaus Böldl: Die Götterbilder im Tempel. Zur religionsgeschichtlichen Relevanz eines Motivs in Adam von Bremens Kirchengeschichte. In: Alessia Bauer, Alexandra Pesch (Hrsg.): Hvanndalir – Beiträge zur europäischen Altertumskunde und zur mediävistischen Literaturwissenschaft. Festschrift für Wilhelm Heizmann. Berlin u. a. 2018. S. 19–32, hier: S. 20.
- 12.Henrik Janson: „Pictured by the Other: Classical and Early Medieval Perspectives on Religions in the North“. In: Margaret Clunies Ross (Hrsg.): The Pre-Christian Religions of the North: Research and Reception. Band 1. Turnhout 2018, S. 7–40; Stephen A. Mitchell: Óðinn. In: Phillip Pulsiano, Kirsten Wolf (Hrsg.): Medieval Scandinavia. An Encyclopedia. New York u. a. 1993, S. 444–445, hier: S. 444; Karl Hauck: Altuppsalas Polytheismus exemplarisch erhellt mit Bildzeugnissen des 5. bis 7. Jahrhunderts. In: Heiko Uecker (Hrsg.): Studien zum Altgermanischen. Berlin u. a. 1994, S. 224.
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q109244: Adam of BremenWikimedia Foundation
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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