Schilling of Solothurn

Schilling of Solothurn refers to a family of Swiss chroniclers whose origins lay in Solothurn and whose work belongs to the tradition of late-medieval Swiss illustrated and civic historiography. The designation is principally associated with members of the Diebold Schilling family rather than with a commercial brand, company, or continuing institution. The family’s history includes several writers and scribes active in the late fifteenth century in the cities and courts of the Swiss and Upper Rhine regions. Klewi Schilling, described in the available reference material as a controversial figure, was expelled from Solothurn. He subsequently settled in Hagenau in Alsace and is believed to have died in Kaysersberg. His sons pursued careers connected with writing, administration, and manuscript production. Hans Schilling worked as a scribe at the Hagenau publishing house of Diebold Lauber, an important center of late-medieval book production. Klewi’s younger son, Diebold Schilling the Elder, became a chancellor in Lucerne before moving to Bern. In 1460, Diebold Schilling the Elder relocated to Bern to serve as a scribe for the city council. His move placed him within the administrative and intellectual environment that supported the production of civic chronicles. Hans Schilling later moved to Lucerne and assumed the position that his brother had vacated. The family’s activities therefore connected several important urban centers, including Solothurn, Hagenau, Lucerne, and Bern. Diebold Schilling the Elder’s principal achievement was the Great Burgundian Chronicle, commissioned by the Bern Council. He wrote and published the work in three volumes between 1474 and 1483. The chronicle recorded Bern’s involvement in the Burgundian Wars while also offering unusually detailed prose accounts of everyday life, political events, military affairs, and civic experience. Its importance rests not only on its historical narrative but also on its role in the development of richly illustrated Swiss chronicle traditions. The family’s later generations retained a less conventionally administrative character. Hans Schilling traveled with the chronicler Melchior Russ to the court of Matthias Corvinus in Vienna in 1488. The two returned in poverty, illustrating the precarious circumstances that could accompany literary and courtly ambitions in the period. Hans’s son, Diebold Schilling the Younger, was likewise described as unconventional and spent at least two years imprisoned for misdemeanors and for sheltering criminals. The Schilling family is therefore remembered chiefly through its contributions to historical writing and manuscript culture. Its significance is cultural and historiographical rather than commercial. The surviving legacy centers on the Great Burgundian Chronicle and the family’s place in the broader history of Swiss illustrated chronicles.

The Schilling of Solothurn family originated in Solothurn and became associated with a group of late-medieval Swiss chroniclers, scribes, and civic officials. The family’s members operated across a network of urban and courtly centers in what is now Switzerland, eastern France, and neighboring territories. Their careers combined municipal administration, manuscript production, and historical writing. Klewi Schilling appears in the family story as an unsettled and controversial figure. He was banned from Solothurn and moved to Hagenau in Alsace, where he established a new base. He probably died in Kaysersberg. His eldest son, Hans Schilling, entered the manuscript and publishing world as a scribe in the Hagenau workshop of Diebold Lauber. Lauber’s establishment was known for producing manuscripts, and Hans’s employment placed him in a significant center of fifteenth-century book culture. Klewi’s younger son, Diebold Schilling the Elder, initially worked in Lucerne as a chancellor. In 1460 he moved to Bern after receiving a position as a scribe to the city council. His brother Hans later moved to Lucerne and took over the post that Diebold had left. These movements linked the family to the administrative institutions of both cities and helped establish the circumstances for Diebold’s later work as a civic historian. The Bern Council commissioned Diebold Schilling the Elder to prepare the Great Burgundian Chronicle. He wrote and published the three-volume work between 1474 and 1483. The chronicle treated Bern’s role in the Burgundian Wars and distinguished itself through detailed prose descriptions of social and everyday life. It is an important example of the Swiss illustrated chronicle tradition, in which political and military history was presented alongside visual and narrative accounts of civic experience. Hans Schilling’s life also extended beyond routine scribal employment. In 1488 he traveled with the chronicler Melchior Russ to the court of Matthias Corvinus in Vienna. The expedition did not bring financial success: both men returned destitute. This episode reflects the uncertain economic position of writers and intellectuals who sought patronage outside their municipal careers. The next generation included Diebold Schilling the Younger, Hans’s son. He was portrayed as a bohemian or unconventional figure and spent at least two years in prison, both for misdemeanors and for giving refuge to criminals. His biography contrasts with the official civic service of Diebold Schilling the Elder, but it also shows the varied and sometimes unstable social circumstances surrounding the family. The family’s enduring historical importance comes from its contribution to Swiss chronicle writing, especially the Great Burgundian Chronicle. The name should not be treated as that of a modern commercial brand or corporate organization. It identifies a historical family and a body of cultural work connected with late-medieval Swiss urban institutions, manuscript production, and the recording of regional political and social history.

• 1488

  Hans Schilling travels to the court of Matthias Corvinus

  [1]Schilling of Solothurnen.wikipedia.org

  Hans Schilling traveled to Vienna with the chronicler Melchior Russ and returned with him in poverty.

• 1483

  The Great Burgundian Chronicle is completed

  [1]Schilling of Solothurnen.wikipedia.org

  Diebold Schilling the Elder completed and published the three-volume Great Burgundian Chronicle, covering Bern and the Burgundian Wars while describing aspects of everyday life.

• 1474

  Work on the Great Burgundian Chronicle begins

  [1]Schilling of Solothurnen.wikipedia.org

  The Bern Council’s commissioned chronicle entered its publication period under Diebold Schilling the Elder.

• 1460

  Diebold Schilling the Elder moves to Bern

  [1]Schilling of Solothurnen.wikipedia.org

  Diebold Schilling the Elder moved from Lucerne to Bern to become a scribe for the Bern city council.

Late-medieval Swiss chronicle writing and manuscript culture, with particular importance for civic history, the Burgundian Wars, and illustrated historical narrative.

• Historical chronicle · 1474

  Great Burgundian Chronicle

  A three-volume chronicle commissioned by the Bern Council and written and published by Diebold Schilling the Elder between 1474 and 1483. It documents Bern’s role in the Burgundian Wars and is notable for its detailed prose treatment of political events, military affairs, civic life, and everyday experience. The work is regarded as an important contribution to the Swiss illustrated chronicle tradition.

1. 1Schilling of Solothurnen.wikipedia.org