Augustiniánský historiograf Valentin Weidner a jeho dvě klášterní kroniky

The essay concerns the personality and work of the Augustinian monastic historiographer Valentin Weidner. It sums up known life data, paying attention to his stay in two monasteries: Dolní Ročov (the Louny County) and Zaječov – Svatá Dobrotivá (the Beroun County). It presents the themes and sources of the chronicler’s work, his outline of the contemporary historiographic literature and interest in oral history. The essay compares Weidner’s chronicles on the Svatá Dobrotivá and Dolní Ročov monasteries. The much larger Svatá Dobrotivá chronicle allows studying the author’s approach to obtaining information from the literature and written as well as oral sources, which are richly commented. Attention is paid to the history of the Svatá Dobrotivá monastery, but also the family of the founder Oldřich Zajíc of Valdek, whom the text undoubtedly seeks to honour. Information on the design of the monastery before its Baroque reconstruction is also very interesting and valuable. In the second example, Weidner is founder of the Dolní Ročov monastery chronicle. The impulse was inspired by a search for the foundation legend, which is followed by a brief recount of the history of the monastery until the end of the 17th century. The author is not so much concerned with the founder’s family as in the previous chronicle; the record is much shorter. In addition to information from the monastic life, it offers two rich descriptions of Baroque festivals organized by the monastery. Weidner’s manuscript became a basis for writings of other monastic chroniclers from the Dolní Ročov monastery.