Godfrey of Viterbo
Italian poet and historian
Godfrey of Viterbo (c. 1120 – c. 1196) was a Roman Catholic chronicler, either Italian or German. From an early age he displayed great activity as one of the clergy at the court of Conrad III and later Frederick I, accompanying the latter on many of his campaigns, and frequently fulfilling diplomatic missions for him.
Biography
He was probably an Italian by birth, although some authorities assert that he was a Saxon German like his imperial patrons. He evidently passed some of his early life at Viterbo in Italy, but he was educated at Bamberg, where he was taken by Lothair in 1133, gaining a good knowledge of Latin, possibly preparing for work in governmental service. Following his education, he began working in the Papal Chancellery. In the following years he was active in both governmental and ecclesiastical offices. About 1140 he became chaplain to the German king, Conrad III; but the greater part of his life was spent as secretary (notarius) in the service of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, who appears to have thoroughly trusted him, and who employed him on many diplomatic errands, traveling extensively throughout Europe, including over forty trips to Rome. Incessantly occupied, he visited Sicily, France, and Spain, in addition to many of the German cities, in the emperor's interests, and was by his side during several of the Italian campaigns.
“Godfrey of Viterbo” enters the record as italian poet and historian. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Godfrey, Viterbo and Italian can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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“Godfrey of Viterbo” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Godfrey, Viterbo and Italian provides the most credible route into that argument.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q614256. VIAF identifies the subject as 84755541. The Library of Congress control number is n79144831. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1120, 1196, 1133 and 1140.
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This entry incorporates text from “Godfrey of Viterbo” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.