Rain in Rome, Rain in Hof. Natural Disasters and their Interpretations in Enoch Widmann’s ›Chronik der Stadt Hof‹

Abstract

The following article is dedicated to chosen passages concerning weather events in Enoch Widmann’s ›Chronik der Stadt Hof‹ (Chronicle of the City of Hof) (1615), some of which have been made accessible for the first time by the complete new edition (2015). The city chronicle by the Protestant Widmann, which is valued for its narrative elements, initially deals with events from late antique and early medieval Rome, similar to a world chronicle. A comparison of the passages relating to weather events in the past and (Widmann’s) present leads to the realization that the author consistently understands the events of the 16th century – in contrast to those of late antiquity – as omens of world events, following Melanchthon, to whom he refers.