No copy of the original
Annales iuvavenses survives. Its existence is hypothesized from the identical and near identical text of certain annalistic entries in various manuscripts.
Harry Bresslau argued that these annals, which he called
Annales Iuvavenses antiqui ('Old Salzburg Annals'), originally covered the years 725–829 and were later given continuations down to 842 and 956 (possibly 976). In Bresslau's
stemma, they are a sister text of the
Annales Xantenses and
Annales Maximiniani, being all derived from a compilation of annals that itself made use of the
Liber Pontificalis,
Annales Petaviani,
Annales Regni Francorum and a lost set of annals from
Lorsch Abbey. Two series of annal entries found in a single 9th-century manuscript, now Würzburg, Universitätsbibliothek, M.p.th.f. 46, are derived from the
A. iuv. antiqui. They were added to the manuscript by
Baldo of Salzburg to supplement the
Annales qui dicuntur Alcuini. The series called
Annales iuvavenses maiores ('Greater Salzburg Annals') covers the years 725–835 and was added to the margins of an
Easter table. The other, called
Annales iuvavenses minores ('Lesser Salzburg Annals'), covers the years 742–805. Another extract from the
A. iuv. antiqui is found in a single 12th-century manuscript,
Admont, Bibliothek des Benediktinerstifts, Cod. 718. Known as the
Annales iuvavenses maximi ('Greatest Salzburg Annals'), it covers the years 725–956. The
Annales sancti Emmerammi Ratisponensis maiores covering the years 748–823 are also derived from
A. iuv. antiqui. The manuscript, now Munich, Bavarian State Library, Clm 14456, is from
Saint Emmeram's Abbey, but the text
Vorlage of the text came from
Mondsee Abbey and the text itself goes back to the Salzburg annals. Bresslau, in his edition for the
Monumenta Germaniae Historica series, presents the texts of the
A. iuv. maximi,
A. iuv. maiores,
A. iuv. minores and
A. s. Emmerammi in four parallel columns across two pages. The
incipit (opening text) of the four annals is as follows: Annales iuvavenses maximi
DCCXXV. Karolus primum in Baworiam venit. [725. Charles [Martel] first came to Bavaria.] Annales iuvavenses maiores
DCCXXV. Carolus primum in Baioariam venit. [725. Charles [Martel] first came to Bavaria.] Annales iuvavenses minores
Anno nativitatis Domini DCCXLII. Natus est Carolus, qui factus est rex XXVII. anno, imperator anno LX. [AD 742. Charles [the Great] is born, who became king in his 27th year, emperor in his 60th.] Annales sancti Emmerammi Ratisponensis maiores
DCCXLVIII. Pippinus Grifonem de Baiowaria expulit et Tasiloni duactum dedit. [748. Pippin expelled Grifo from Bavaria and gave the duchy to Tassilo.] Several centuries after their appearance, the
Annales iuvavenses antiqui were still being used as a source. The so-called
Auctarium Garstense, compiled at
Admont Abbey in 1181, used them as a source for its early entries. Beginning in 1517, the Bavarian historian
Johannes Aventinus added material from them as marginal notes to his copy of the
Annales Fuldenses and the
Annales Altahenses in Munich, Bavarian State Library, Clm 966. These
Excerpta Aventini cover the period from 748 to 939 and sometimes contain information found nowhere else, but since Aventinus sometimes altered the wording their reliability is suspect. ==Content==