Walahfrid Strabo

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Walahfrid of Reichenau (also Walahfried or Walafried), Latinized (Walafridus) Strabo (German Walachfried Squint-Eye ) or - as he called himself - Strabus (* 808 / 809 in Swabia , † 18 August 849 in the Loire in the West Frankish Reich ) was a Benedictine , poet , botanist , diplomat and from 838 to 849 abbot of the Reichenau monastery .

Life

Walahfrid was of lower Alemannic origin and was born on Lake Constance . Already in childhood he was given by his parents as a wafer in the monastery in Reichenau . After he had made his profession in 823/824 , he went to study in the Fulda monastery in 825 , where he was taught by Rabanus Maurus . There he met Gottschalk von Orbais , with whom he remained connected in a lifelong friendship that was reflected in numerous poems. From 829 to 838 he was at the court of Emperor Ludwig the Pious in Aachen , where he was chaplain to Empress Judith and educator of Charles the Bald . Not only in Fulda, but also in Aachen, he was tormented by feelings of homesickness for the island of Reichenau , which he expressed in his most personal poem, the Metrum Saphicum .

Emperor Ludwig the Pious appointed Walahfrid abbot of the Reichenau monastery in 838 in order to reward him for his loyal service at court. However, this contradicted the right of the Convention to freely elect abbots. The members of the convent opposed the emperor's wish and instead chose Ruadhelm as Abbot Erlebald's successor .

When, after the death of Louis the Pious, there was a dispute between his sons about the division of the empire, Walahfrid Strabo sided with Lothar I and was therefore forced to leave Reichenau Monastery, as it was under the control of Ludwig the German . He was in exile in Speyer for almost two years before reconciling himself with Ludwig the German through Grimald's mediation , returning to Reichenau in 842 and resuming his office as abbot, which had been exercised by Ruadhelm during his absence.

At the age of 40, Walahfrid drowned in the Loire on August 18, 849 . The island of Reichenau thus lost much of its importance as one of the important centers of Western religion.

Honors

The plant genus Walafrida E. Mey is named after him . from the fig family (Scrophulariaceae).

Works

Walahfrid is one of the most important poets of the Carolingian Renaissance .

In 824 he wrote the Visio Wettini , which reproduces in Latin hexameters the vision of the death of his teacher Wetti, initially recorded in prose by the resigned Abbot Heito . Walahfrid's work is the earliest poetic implementation of a medieval concept of the afterlife ; He gave the impetus for the resurgence of a genre that was to reach its unsurpassable climax in Dante's Divina commedia . The Visio describes how Wetti wanders through the underworld under the guidance of an angel and observes the punishment of various sinners , including Charlemagne . In the introduction Walahfrid offers an overview of the history of the island of Reichenau as well as short biographies of Heitos and the "ruling" abbot Erlebald .

Around 840 he wrote the Liber de cultura hortorum (" Book about the cultivation of gardens "), also known as Hortulus , one of the most important botanical and horticultural works of the Middle Ages . 24 medicinal plants are listed in verse in this work .

Another important work is De imagine Tetrici , a criticism of the transfer of the statue of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great from Ravenna to Aachen, which was arranged by Charlemagne .

The Codex Sangallensis 878 contains the so-called Vademecum of Wahlafrid, a personal handbook in which he has made entries on grammar and metrics , remarkable events, medicine and agriculture since his youth . It is also one of the few known autographs by an important figure from the early Middle Ages .

literature

Manuscripts

De cultura hortorum is handed down in seven manuscripts:

  • Augsburg, State and City Library , 2 ° Cod. 133, Bl. 46v – 58v (1479).
  • Herrnstein near Siegburg, Gräflich Nesselrode'sche Bibliothek, Ms. 192, Bl. 83vb – 86va (12th century; loss of war).
  • Leipzig, University Library , Rep. I. 53, Bl. 1r – 10r (2nd Dr. 10th century) [L].
  • Munich, State Library , Clm 666, Bl. 1r – 12v (1463, copy of the Leipzig Codex by Hartmann Schedel ) [M].
  • Rome (Vatican City), Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana , Cod. Pal. lat. 1519, pp. 85va – 88vb (10th century) [K].
  • Rome (Vatican City), Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, Cod.Regin. lat. 469, Bl. 29v – 39r (2nd Dr. 9th century) [C].
  • Private ownership, no details, 1 sheet of parchment, verses 23–99 on the verso (around 1000) [F].

Early prints

  • Strabi Galli, poeta et theologie doctissimi, ad Grimaldum Coenobii S. Galli abbatem Hortulus , Vienna 1510 (hence the title Hortulus , under which the work became known in modern times ); Reprint Munich 1926; Reprint Reichenau 1974.
  • Strabi Fuldensis monachi, poetae suavissimi, quondam Rabani Mauri auditoris, Hortulus, nuper apud Helvetios in S. Galli monasterio repertus, qui carminis elegantia tam est delectabilis quam doctrinae cognoscendarum quarundam herbarum varietate utilis , Nuremberg 1512.
  • Basel 1527 and Freiburg 1530 as an appendix to Odo von Meung's De herbarum virtutibus with a commentary on Scholia in Strabi Hortulum by Johannes Atrocianus .

Editions of works and translations

  • Walafridi Strabi Fuldensis monachi opera omnia ex editione Duacensi et collectionibus Mabillonii, Dacherii, Goldasti, etc. nunc primum in unum coadunata accurante J.-P. Migne. 2 vols. Paris 1879 (Patrologia Latina 113, 114).
  • Walahfridi Strabi carmina . In: Poetae Latini medii aevi 2: Poetae Latini aevi Carolini (II). Published by Ernst Dümmler . Berlin 1884, pp. 259–473 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )
  • Vita Galli confessoris triplex. III: Vita auctore Wahlafrido . In: Bruno Krusch (ed.): Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 4: Passiones vitaeque sanctorum aevi Merovingici (II). Hanover 1902, pp. 280–337 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )
  • De cultura hortorum ( About horticulture ). Reclam, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-15-018199-2 .
  • De cultura hortorum (Hortulus). The poem of horticulture . Introduced and edited by W. Berschin, with pictures of plants by C. Erbar. Mattes, Heidelberg 2012, 2nd edition, ISBN 978-3-86809-040-6 .
  • Hortulus. Vom Gartenbau, first published by Joachim von Watt . Ed., Translated and introduced by Werner Näf and Matthäus Gabathuler. St. Gallen 1942; 2nd edition ibid 1957; also in: Hans-Dieter Stoffler (Ed.): The Hortulus des Walahfrid Strabo. From the herb garden of the Reichenau monastery. With a contribution by Theodor Fehrenbach, Sigmaringen 1978 (2nd ed. Darmstadt 1985, 3rd ed. Sigmaringen 1989, 4th ed. Ibid 1996), pp. 74-102.
  • Visio Wettini ( The Visions of Wetti ) Introduction. Latin-German edition and explanations by Hermann Knittel: Mattes, Heidelberg 2009, 3rd exp. Ed., ISBN 978-3-86809-013-0 .
  • Vita sancti Otmari . In: Georg Heinrich Pertz u. a. (Ed.): Scriptores (in Folio) 2: Scriptores rerum Sangallensium. Annales, chronica et historiae aevi Carolini. Hannover 1829, pp. 41–47 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version) (834–838; revision of the original written by Gozbert around 830)
  • Libellus de exordiis et incrementis quarundam in observationibus ecclesiasticis rerum . (Latin / English edition and commentary edited by Alice L. Harting-Correa. Brill, Leiden et al. 1996, ISBN 90-04-09669-8 )
  • Metrum Saphicum ( Lob der Reichenau ; Latin / German / Alemannic edition by Bruno Epple. Gessler, Friedrichshafen 2001, ISBN 3-86136-051-9 )
  • Two legends. Versus Strabi de beati Blaithmaic vita et fine; De vita et fine Mammae monachi . Mattes, Heidelberg 2012, 2nd ext. Ed., ISBN 978-3-86809-014-7
  • Vita Sancti Galli / The life of Saint Gallus (Latin / German), Reclam 2012, ISBN 3-15-018934-9

Secondary literature

  • Konrad Beyerle : From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724–1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 92–108.
  • Walter Berschin : Walahfrid Strabo and the Reichenau. "Augia felix" . (= Tracks; volume 49). German Schiller Society, Marbach 2000, ISBN 3-933679-45-1 .
  • Arno Borst : Monks on Lake Constance. 610-1525 . Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1978, ISBN 3-7995-5005-4 (and several later editions).
  • Albrecht Diem : The “Regula Columbani” and the “Regula Sancti Galli”. Reflections on the Gallus Vitus in their Carolingian context . In: P. Erhart, J. Kuratli, K. Schmuki, F. Schnoor and E. Tremp, (eds.): Gallus and his time. Life, work, afterlife (= Monasterium Sancti Galli ; 7). Verlag am Klosterhof, St. Gallen 2015, ISBN 978-3-90590-613-4 , pp. 67–99.
  • Irmgard Fees : Was Walahfrid Strabo the teacher and tutor of Charlemagne? In: Matthias Thumser / Annegret Wenz-Haubfleisch / Peter Wiegand (eds.): Studies on the history of the Middle Ages. Jürgen Petersohn on his 65th birthday. Theiss, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-8062-1448-4 , pp. 42-61.
  • Curt M. Genewein : Des Walafrid Strabo von der Reichenau "Hortulus" and his plants , Munich 1947 (Diss. Med.)
  • Alf Önnerfors : Walahfrid Strabo as a poet . In: Helmut Maurer (Ed.): The Reichenau Abbey. New contributions to the history and culture of the island monastery (= Bodensee-Bibliothek ; Vol. 20). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1974, ISBN 3-7995-6709-7 , pp. 83-113
  • Georg Schwarz : Walafried Strabo, in dsb., The eternal trace. Poet profiles of a German tribe. Piper, Munich 1946 and others, pp. 5-11
  • Hans-Dieter Stoffler: The Hortulus of Walahfried Strabo. From the herb garden of the Reichenau monastery with a contribution by Theodor Fehrenbach. Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1978 etc. (1997, ISBN 3-7995-3506-3 ).
  • Karl Sudhoff : Codex medicus Hertensis (Ms. 192). Handwriting study. In: Archives for the History of Medicine. Volume 10, 1917, pp. 265-313.
  • Benedikt Conrad Vollmann: A new fragment from Walahfrid Strabo's poem De cultura hortorum . In: Aevum. Rassegna di scienze storiche, linguistiche e filologiche , 79th vol. No. 2, 2005, pp. 283-292 (on [F]).
  • Wilhelm Wattenbach :  Walahfrid Strabo . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 40, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1896, p. 639 f.
  • Klaus-Gunther Wesseling :  Walafrid Strabo. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 13, Bautz, Herzberg 1998, ISBN 3-88309-072-7 , Sp. 169-176.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Konrad Beyerle : From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724-1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 55–212, here p. 93.
  2. ^ Konrad Beyerle: From the foundation to the end of the baronial monastery (724-1427) . In: Konrad Beyerle (ed.): The culture of the Reichenau Abbey. Commemorative pamphlet for the twelve hundredth anniversary of the founding year of the island monastery 724–1924 . 1st subband. Verlag der Münchner Drucke, Munich 1925, pp. 55–212, here p. 99.
  3. ↑ Lotte Burkhardt: Directory of eponymous plant names - Extended Edition. Part I and II. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin , Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-946292-26-5 doi: 10.3372 / epolist2018 .
  4. ↑ Johannes Gottfried Mayer , Konrad Goehl : Herbal Book of Monastery Medicine. Reprint-Verlag Leipzig 2013, ISBN 978-3-8262-3057-8 , p. 29.
predecessor Office successor
Ruadhelm Abbot of Reichenau
842–849 		Folkwin
personal data
SURNAME Walahfrid Strabo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Walahfrid von der Reichenau; Walahfried Strabo; Walahfried von der Reichenau
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Frankish poet and diplomat of the early Middle Ages, Benedictine, abbot of the Reichenau monastery
DATE OF BIRTH 808 or 809
PLACE OF BIRTH at Lake Constance , Franconia
DATE OF DEATH August 18, 849
Place of death Loire , western France