AD'AM OF BREMEN. A German his torian. He was born, probably, at Aleissen. Sax ony (the date uncertain), and came to Bremen in 1007 front and became a canon of the cathedral, and in 1008 principal of the cathedral school. He won perpetual fame by writing (between 1072 and 10711) from all avail able sources, ineludiw* the oral testimony of Svend Estridson, King of Denmark, to see whom lie made a special journey, a history of the Hamburg Church, which is one of the most pre cious of mediatval histories. The best. edition of this great work, Gest(' llametaburgensi.s E• elesh• Pontilieum, is by Lapiamberg (Hanover, 1870). The third edition of the German trans lation, by J. C. M. Laurent, appeared in the Die der Dents•hen For.:eff (Berlin, 1893). As the appendix to the third and last hook Adam gives a general account of the lands belonging to the Danes and Swedes, and of Norway. In it occurs this interesting passage referring to America; "Besides this he (Svend Estridson, King of Denmark) told of still an other island that had been found by many in that ocean (the Atlantic.). It is called Wine
land, because vines spring up there spontane ously, producing excellent wine. I mention this confidently, for I have learned from no fab ulous rumor, but through definite information from Danes. that crops ;11.0 thine in abun dance without having been sown." (Cap. 247, or § 38). In his book Adam (motes from preced ing chroniclers, from t'ieero, from the Latin poets, Vergil, Horace, Lucan. Juvenal, and Per sins; from the Latin Fathers, Jerome, Ambrose, Gregory the Great; from Bede., Cassiodorus, and Paulus Diacouns. But the style is defective awl the Latin difficult and faulty, notwithstand ing that he took Sallust as his master. Al thomdi the day of his death, October 12, is known front the church record of Bremen, the year is not, but probably it wax about 1070.