Notker I.

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Notker Balbulus in a manuscript from St. Gallen, 10th century

Notker I. von St. Gallen , also called Notker Balbulus or Notker Poeta (German Notker der Stammler or Notker the poet ), (* around 840 in Elgg or Jonschwil ; † April 6, 912 in the prince abbey of St. Gallen ) was a important scholar and poet of the Carolingian period. His life is described by Ekkehard IV in his Casus sancti Galli .

Life

Notker came from a family based in Toggenburg . After his parents' death, his foster father gave him a monastic upbringing at the St. Gallen monastery. According to Ekkehard, along with his friends Tuotilo and Ratpert, he received the basics of education from Iso and the Irish Moengal. Early on he began to write the text of the sweeping Gregorian Hallelujah closing melisms . According to his own testimony (dedication of the Liber Ymnorum ), he applied the syllabic rule adopted by Iso (Isonic rule) .

In addition to his poetry, which became more and more rich and artistic from 880, he was also active as a document writer until 909, as well as a teacher at the monastery school. His humor is reflected in the anecdotal Gesta Karoli Magni , which also contain valuable historical news.

The self-chosen nickname Balbulus - "Stammler" - is supposed to refer to a dental defect that prevented him from speaking.

Works

Notker's 883 work Gesta Karoli Magni is considered one of the most beautiful narrative books of the German Middle Ages. A Vita sancti Galli and a Sermo sancti Galli, the martyr story De sancto Stephano (around 883), the theological writing notatio and a sample book for letters and documents have also survived from him. He also wrote occasional poems and sacred hymns. With his forty Latin sequences ( Liber hymnorum, written around 884 and dedicated to Liutward von Vercelli ), which he (partly) set to music himself, he became the most important spiritual lyric poet in Middle Latin literature . The antiphon Media vita in morte sumus was ascribed to him. Legend has it that he wrote it when he saw the danger in which construction workers were floating over a precipice when building a bridge. The antiphon probably originated in France as early as 750.

Remembrance day

  • Roman Catholic (as Blessed):
    • Not required day of remembrance: April 6th
    • Obligatory day of remembrance in the diocese of St. Gallen: 7 May

Discography

Work editions

  • Sequences. Edition for the practice / Notker Balbulus. Set up by Stefan Morent, translated by Franziska Schnoor and Clemens Müller. EOS Editions, Sankt Ottilien; Verlag am Klosterhof, St. Gallen 2017, ISBN 978-3-8306-7848-9 .
  • Notker: Gesta Karoli. In: Sources on the Carolingian Empire history. 3rd part, edited by Reinhold Rau (FSGA 5), Darmstadt 1969, pp. 321-427.
  • Hans F. Haefele (Ed.): Scriptores rerum Germanicarum, Nova series 12: Notker der Stammler, Deeds of Emperor Charlemagne (Notkeri Balbuli Gesta Karoli Magni imperatoris) Berlin 1959 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )

literature

Web links

Commons : Notker I.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Biography according to NDB article
  2. ^ Notker I. in the ecumenical dictionary of saints
predecessor Office successor
Liuthart Librarian from St. Gallen
before 883-890 		Waldram
personal data
SURNAME Notker I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Notker Balbulus; Notkerus Balbulus; Notker the Stammler
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scholar and poet of the Carolingian period
DATE OF BIRTH around 840
PLACE OF BIRTH Heligau or Jonschwil
DATE OF DEATH April 6, 912
Place of death Prince Abbey of St. Gallen