Notker the Stammerer | |
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| Notker Balbulus | |
 Notker in a 10th century manuscript, probably from Saint Gall.[n 1] | |
| Born | c. 840 Near theAbbey of Saint Gall |
| Died | 6 April 912 Abbey of Saint Gall |
| Notable work | Liber Hymnorum Gesta Karoli Magni |
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Notker the Stammerer (c. 840 – 6 April 912),Notker Balbulus, or simplyNotker,[n 2] was aBenedictine monk at theAbbey of Saint Gall active as a composer, poet and scholar. Described as "a significant figure in the Western Church",[4] Notker made substantial contributions to both the music and literature of his time. He is usually credited with two major works of theCarolingian period: theLiber Hymnorum, which includes an important collection of early musicalsequences, and an early biography ofCharlemagne, theGesta Karoli Magni. His other works include a biography ofSaint Gall known as theVita Sancti Galli and amartyrology, among others.
Born near theAbbey of Saint Gall, Notker was educated alongside the monksTuotilo andRatpert; all three were composers, making the Abbey an important center of earlymedieval music. Notker quickly became a central figure of the Abbey and among the leading literary scholars of theEarly Middle Ages. A renowned teacher, he taughtSolomon III, the bishop of Constance and on occasion advisedCharles the Fat. Although venerated by the Abbey of Saint Gall and the namesake of later scholars there such asNotker Physicus andNotker Labeo, Notker was never formally canonized. He was given "the Stammerer" as anepithet, due to his lifelongstutter.
Notker was born around 840, near theAbbey of Saint Gall in modern-day Switzerland.[5] His wealthy family was of eitherAlemannic or Swiss descent and they owned land inJonschwil ofThurgau.[4] Notker's later biographerEkkehard V claims he was born in Heiligau—nowElgg—in theCanton of Zürich, but this has been rejected by the historianGerold Meyer von Knonau [de], who suggests a birthplace near Jonschwil.[6] Since childhood Notker had astutter, because oftooth loss in his youth,[7] resulting in the Latinepithetbalbulus (lit. 'babbler') or "the Stammerer" in English.[4] The German musicologistStefan Morent [de] likened him to the partially blindWalafrid Strabo andHermann of Reichenau, who had alimp, as three monks with physical impairments who achieved creative feats.[7]
He began schooling at Saint Gall early in age and spent the rest of his life in the Abbey.[6] His teachers included the Swiss monkIso [de] and the Irish monk Moengal, called "Marcellus" by Notker.[4] He may have also been instructed byGrimald of Weissenburg, a student ofAlcuin.[8] The later bookCasus monasterii Sancti Galli ofEkkehard IV "paints a lively picture of the monastery school", and notes that Notker was taught alongsideTuotilo andRatpert; all three would become teachers and composers at the Abbey.[4][5]
Although first and foremost a scholar, Notker held numerous positions at the Abbey including librarian in 890 and master of guests (hospitarius) in 892 and 894.[6] He became established as a well-known teacher and was eventually appointed "master of the monastic school".[9] Among his students wasSolomon, who was laterBishop of Constance from 890 until his death in 912.[10] Notker was often called upon for council from outside the Abbey; on occasion he advisedCharles the Fat who visited the Abbey from 4–6 December 883.[6] Charles was the dedicatee of Notker'sDe Carolo Magno, an early biography ofCharlemagne.[11] Ekkehard IV lauded Notker as "delicate of body but not of mind,stuttering of tongue but not of intellect, pushing boldly forward in things Divine, a vessel of the Holy Spirit without equal in his time".[12]
Despite his renown in the Abbey, Notker never became anabbot of Saint Gall, and repeatedly declined abbacy offers elsewhere.[6][n 3] Notker died in Saint Gall on 6 April 912.[5]
Notker created theLiber Hymnorum ("Book of Hymns") during the late 9th century, an important early collection ofSequences dedicated toLiutward, thebishop of Vercelli.[6] Completed in 884, it is essentially a set of melodies and texts organized by the Church calendar.[5] The oldest surviving sources of theLiber Hymnorum date from either Notker's last years or directly after his death.[13]
In the preface to hisLiber Hymnorum, Notker claimed his musical work was inspired by an antiphoner that was brought to Gall from theJumièges Abbey, soon after its destruction in 851.[14][n 4] Notker was particularly inspired by the Jumièges chant book setting verses to the melodies, making them easier to remember; he goes on to discuss his childhood difficulties in recalling themelodiae longissimae.[16]
Numerous other musical works have been ascribed to Notker, with varying certainty. The sequence melody "Ave beati germinis" is attributed to him in one mid-10th century source.[17]
Ekkehard IV's attribution of the melodies "Frigdola" and "Occidentan" is problematic since these appear to have existed before Notker's time.[17] The hymnMedia Vita was erroneously attributed to him byJodocus Metzler [de] in 1613.[12][17]
For modern translations, seeFarrier 1993, pp. 30–31
TheGesta Karoli Magni ("The Deeds of Charles the Great")—also known asDe Carolo Magno ("Concerning Charles the Great")—is among the earliest biographies of Charlemagne, after theVita Karoli Magni ofEinhard.[18][19] Notker the Stammerer is usually identified as thepseudonymous "Monk of Saint Gall" (Latin:Monachus Sangallensis) to whom the work is attributed.[20] Numerous life details are shared between Notker and the unknown Monk, including their origin, education and long-term stay at Saint Gall.[21][n 5] The translatorLewis Thorpe concludes that the two are "probably the same person, although this cannot be proved".[22]
The work is not a linear biography, but instead two books ofexempla—anecdotal "moral tales"—relating chiefly to Charlemagne and his family.[10] When discussed by scholars, Notker's work is often compared unfavorably to that of Einhard; the historianPhilipp Jaffé derided Notker as one who "took pleasure in amusing anecdotes and witty tales, but who was ill-informed about the true march of historical events", and described the work itself as a "mass of legend, saga, invention and reckless blundering".[23] Similarly, the classical scholarH. W. Garrod dismissed it as a "a largely mythical record".[23] More sympathetically, the historianMatthew Innes has cited Notker's use of "humour and anecdotal style" as encouraging "a negative judgement [of] his abilities", noting that "Recent scholarship [on theGesta Karoli Magni ] has stressed the underlying clarity of its intellectual vision and found coherent ideas about the correct ordering of society, church and politics."[18]
Among Notker's literary works was the arrangement of amartyrology,[12] which is a catalogue ofmartyrs or other Christiansaints with short biographies.[24] Written around 900, only a single incomplete copy survives, not including some saints born on June 13–17, July 3–6, August 19–26, October 27 and December 31.[25] That the work survives incomplete may suggest Notker simply never finished his "ambitious project".[25]
In his martyrology, Notker appeared to corroborate one ofSt Columba's miracles. St Columba, being an important father of Irish monasticism, was also important toSt Gall, which had strong Irish connections. The abbotAdomnán wrote that at one point Columba had—through clairvoyance—seen a city in Italy near Rome being destroyed by fiery sulphur as a divine punishment and that three thousand people had perished. And shortly after Columba saw this, sailors from Gaul arrived to tell the news of it. Notker claimed in his martyrology that this event happened and that an earthquake had destroyed a city which was called 'new'. It is unclear what this city was that Notker was claiming, although some thought it may have beenNaples, previously called Neapolis (lit. 'new city'). However Naples was destroyed by a volcano in 512 before Columba was born, and not during Columba's lifetime and the historianRichard Sharpe notes that "Notker was no better placed than anyone since to know what Adomnán intended".[26]
Notker completed theBreviarium Regum Francorum ("Breviary of the Frankish Kings") begun byErchanbert.[9] A Latin key explaining significative letters (performance instructions in someGregorian chant) is attributed to Notker, though it is sometimes erroneously ascribed to Notker Labeo.[27][28][n 6]
Scholars vary on evaluating Notker's main legacy; the priestAlban Butler asserted that his sequences were his most important achievement,[9] while the historianRosamond McKitterick states that he is best remembered for theGesta Karoli Magni.[30] Notker andSolomon II were the most important writers educated at Saint Gall,[30] and Notker was among the both leading literary scribes and scholars of his time.[31] He was the namesake of the later scholarsNotker Physicus andNotker Labeo, who are referred to as "Notker II" and "Notker III" respectively.[2][32]
On Notker's canonization status, the English clericJohn Donne noted that "he is a private Saint, for a few Parishes".[33] According to the 16th-century historianHenricus Canisius, Notker' Sainthood was granted byLeo X in 1512 for Saint Gall and nearby churches, and in 1513 for theDiocese of Constance.[33][10] TheCatholic Encyclopedia interprets Leo's action asbeatification.[12] In Saint Gall and other churches he is commemorated annually on 6 April.[10] Notker was never formally canonized.[6]
In the mid-19th century the Swiss music scholarAnselm Schubiger [de] was the first to transcribe almost all of Notker's extant melodies into modern notation. Many of his transcriptions are still in use, though older manuscript sources are available now that Schubiger did not have access to, meaning that "a more comprehensive approach to the sources will produce readings that are closer to Notker's own use, and better musically".[34] In 2017, a modern edition for 20 of Notker's sequences was published byStefan Morent [de] viaEOS Verlag [de].[35]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Music
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