Life Sketch
Johan Zumbrunnen was the oldest child of Burkhard Zumbrunnen and the brother of Heinrich Zumbrunnen, who became a famous war hero in Uri.
Johan was a historian. Heauthored the “Chronicle of Seedorf” which was a history, known to have been written in Latin, about a monastery to St. Lazarus that was located in a town called Seedorf, in the Canton of Uri, Switzerland. Johan’s chronicle was finished in 1360, meaning Johan lived until at least this year.
Johan’s chronicle was destroyed in a fire in 1590. Before his chronicle was destroyed, however, other historians had made references to it. A 1566 history of the same monastery relied heavily upon Johan’s work. In the 1700s a forgery of Johann’s work was created but it has no connection to the lost original.
While sources agree that Johan was the son of Burkhard Zumbrunnen, I believe this is some confusion in these sources and that he is the son of Burkhard Zumbrunnen who was a Knight in the Order of St. Lazarus, and the grandson (not the son) of Landammann Burkhard “Schüpfer” Zumbrunnen. Most sources agree that Johan was the father of Walter Zumbrunnen, although one source: the Nobiliaire Militaire Suisse, says that Johan’s brother Heinrich was the father of Walter Zumbrunnen. Other sources agree that Heinrich was the uncle of Walter.
Vital Information
Name: Johan Zumbrunnen
Sex: Male
Birth: Late-1200s or early 1300s
Residence: Uri
Offices: Historian in 1360
Death: After 1360
Family Members
Father: Burkhard Zumbrunnen
Mother: Unknown
Siblings: Heinrich Zumbrunnen, Mechtilde Zumbrunnen (Püntener)
Spouse: Unknown
Children: Walter Zumbrunnen
Second cousin: Abbot Conrad Zumbrunnen
Third cousin: Johann Von Attinghausen
Uncle: Conrad Zumbrunnen
Grandfather: Burkhard Zumbrunnen, the elder
Sources
[…] the eminent position of Landammann from 1273 to 1287. He was father of 1. Henry who follows. 2. Johann who still lived in 1360 and wrote in Latin the history of the Abbey of Seedorf. 3. Melchtilde, wife […]
[…] 1200s or early 1300s, Burkhard Zumbrunnen, a Knight in the Order of St. Lazarus, had two sons named Johann Zumbrunnen and Heinrich Zumbrunnen. The younger son Heinrich is the one who would become a namesake across the […]
[…] living near Altdorf at the time: Burkhard Zumbrunnen, Conrad Zumbrunnen, Heinrich Zumbrunnen, Johan Zumbrunnen, Mechtilda Zumbrunnen and Walter Zumbrunnen who all lived in the late 1200s or early 1300s. They […]