Dietrich of Nieheim

Dietrich of Nieheim (Niem or Nyem) (22 March 1418) was a medieval German historian.

Life Dietritch was born at Nieheim, a small town subject to the see of Paderborn.

Urban VI here took particular notice of him, made him an abbreviator to the papal chancery, and in 1383 took him with him in his visit to Charles III of Naples at Naples, an expedition which led to many unpleasant adventures, from which he escaped in 1385 by leaving the Curia. In 1387 he is again found among the abbreviators, and in 1395 Pope Boniface IX appointed him to the Prince-Bishopric of Verden. His attempt to take possession of the see, however, met with successful opposition.

However, this is actually a paraphrase of Dietrich's position in the treatise De modis, as expressed by the German historian Ludwig von Pastor, in his book Geschichte der Päpste seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters (History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages), vol. 1, p. 149. De modis is credited in German editions of Darkness at Noon, but von Pastor is not. The paraphrase is about how Dietrich wanted the Holy Roman Emperor to call a General Council, the Pope to bow to the will of Emperor and Council, and for Emperor and Council to do whatever they felt necessary to end the antipope schism.

Here is the actual quote from De Modis, from the section 'De modis, loco trium malorum Pontificum, unum bonum eligendi, in Universalis Concilio Constantienst':