Hermann von Fritzlar

Hermann von Fritzlar ( Hermannus de Fritschelar ; † after 1349) was a German mystic of the 14th century. Practically nothing is known about his life. The north Hessian city ​​of Fritzlar was probably his place of birth or home. He was probably not a clergyman, but a learned layman. From various references in the " Book of the Holy Life " one concludes that he had traveled a lot, not only in Germany, but also in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. However, much of this may already have been found in the sources used by the author of the collection.

The "Book of the Sacred Life"

Hermann of Fritzlar is known by a significant, created in the years 1343 to 1349 and in mid-German ( Rhine Franconian - Hessian ) language written ascetic prose collection, the " Book of the Lives of the Saints " (reprinted in Franz Pfeiffer German mystics of the fourteenth century ). The collection, in skilful and lively prose , has only survived in a single manuscript . It contains around 90 legendary stories and sermons and reflections on the holy feasts of the year and the Christmas festival circle linked to or interspersed with them. However, it was not put together by Hermann himself, but on his behalf, probably by the Dominican Giselher von Slatheim , whose main achievement was the compilation of the various parts. The main source was a collection of sermons created by Heinrich von Erfurt after 1323 (the legend points to an Erfurt source), but a large number of other books, sermons and theological works were also used. The work is important both for the German-language prosaic narrative literature and for the history of German mysticism .

The work appears to be a selection of a much more extensive collection of explanations of the gospels and epistles, compiled around 1340 , which was based on the works of the mystics and embodied a free-thinking and anti-hierarchical attitude of mind.

An earlier work, “ The Flower of Vision ”, an anonymously handed down treatise on the mystical “ vita contemplativa ”, has not survived .

literature

• Gertrud Lichenheim: Studies on the holy life of Hermann von Fritzlar . Dissertation, University of Halle-Wittenberg, 1916
• Engelbert Krebs: Hermann von Fritzlar. In: Wolfgang Stammler (ed.): The German literature of the Middle Ages: Author's lexicon. Volume 2, de Gruyter, Berlin and Leipzig 1936, Col. 415-416
• Franz Pfeiffer: Hermann von Fritzlar, Nicolaus von Strassburg, David von Augsburg. In: German mystics of the fourteenth century. 1st volume, Göschen, Leipzig 1845; Reprint: Scientia-Verlag, Aalen 1962, ISBN 3-511-01051-9 ; 2nd edition, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1907
• Peter Kesting:  Hermann von Fritzlar. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1969, ISBN 3-428-00189-3 , p. 645 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Reinhold Bechstein:  Fritzlar, Hermann von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, p. 118 f.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz :  Hermann von Fritzlar. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , column 751.