Gerold Edlibach

Who was Gerold Edlibach?

Gerold Edlibach was a chronicler and official of Zurich, author of the Zürcher Chronik.

He was born to Ulrich Edlibach and Anna Landolt of Einsiedeln. His mother was from a wealthy family of ironmongers, who after her first husband's death married the mayor of Zurich, Hans Waldmann. Gerold Edlibach married Ursula Röist, with whom he had a total of 18 children. He was employed by the Einsiedeln Abbey to manage its property in the city of Zurich during 1473 to 1480. He was elected to the city council in 1487, but he was forced to retire after the execution of his step-father in 1489. He sat in the council again during 1493 to 1499 and during 1515 to 1524. He acted as a reeve for the city in Bülach in 1488, in Grüningen during 1494 to 1498 and in Greifensee during 1505 to 1507. As an opponent of the Swiss Reformation led by Ulrich Zwingli, he opted to retire from all offices in 1524.

His main work is the Zürcher Chronik which documents the history of the Old Swiss Confederacy from 1431 to 1530. The portion covering the time up to 1486 is partly based on the illustrated chronicle by Diebold Schilling the Elder.