Rabanus Maurus | |
|---|---|
 Rabanus Maurus (left) with Alcuin presents his work to Otgar of Mainz (right). Illustration from a Fulda manuscript,c. 830–840. | |
| Archbishop of Mainz, Monk | |
| Born | c. 780 Mainz |
| Died | 4 February 856 Winkel |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 4 February |
| Influences | Alcuin |
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius (c. 780 – 4 February 856), also known asHrabanus orRhabanus, was aFrankishBenedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who becamearchbishop of Mainz inEast Francia.[1] He was the author of the encyclopaediaDe rerum naturis ("On the Natures of Things"). He also wrote treatises on education and grammar and commentaries on the Bible. He was one of the most prominent teachers and writers of theCarolingian age,[2] and was called "Praeceptor Germaniae", or "the teacher of Germany". In the most recent edition of the Roman Martyrology (Martyrologium Romanum, 2004, pp. 133), his feast is given as 4 February and he is qualified as a Saint ('sanctus').
Rabanus was born of noble parents inMainz. The date of his birth remains uncertain, but in 801 he was ordained a deacon atBenedictineAbbey of Fulda in Hesse, where he had been sent to school and had become a monk. At the insistence ofRatgar, his abbot, he went together withHaimo (laterof Halberstadt) to complete his studies atTours. There he studied underAlcuin, who in recognition of his diligence and purity gave him the surname of Maurus, after the favourite disciple ofBenedict,Saint Maurus.[2][3]
Returning toFulda, in 803 he was entrusted with the principal charge of the abbey school,[3] which under his direction became one of the most preeminent centers of scholarship and book production in Europe, and sent forth such pupils asWalafrid Strabo,Servatus Lupus of Ferrières, andOtfrid of Weissenburg. It was probably at this period that he compiled his excerpt from the grammar ofPriscian,[2] a popular textbook during the Middle Ages. According toAlban Butler'sLives of the Saints, Rabanus ate no meat and drank no wine.
In 814 Rabanus was ordained a priest. Shortly afterwards, apparently on account of disagreement with Abbot Ratgar, he withdrew for a time from Fulda. This banishment was long thought to have occasioned a pilgrimage toPalestine, based on an allusion in his commentary onJoshua.[2] However, the passage in question is taken fromOrigen'sHomily xivIn Librum Jesu Nave. Hence, it was Origen, not Rabanus, who visited Palestine.[4] Rabanus returned to Fulda in 817 on the election of a new abbot,Eigil, and at Eigil's death in 822, Rabanus himself became abbot.[2] He handled this position efficiently and successfully, but in 842 he resigned so as to have greater leisure for study and prayer, retiring to the neighbouring monastery ofSt Petersberg.
In 847 Rabanus was constrained to return to public life when he was elected to succeedOtgar asArchbishop of Mainz. He died atWinkel on theRhine in 856.[2]
Rabanus composed a number of hymns, the most famous of which is theVeni Creator Spiritus. This is a hymn to theHoly Spirit often sung atPentecost, at ordinations and at thepapal conclave. It is known in English through many translations, includingCome, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire;Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest; andCreator Spirit, by whose aid.[5]Veni Creator Spiritus was used byGustav Mahler as the first chorale of hiseighth symphony.
Another of Rabanus' hymns,Christ, the fair glory of the holy angels (Christe, sanctorum decus Angelorum), sung for the commemoration ofSaint Michael and All Angels, and to include thearchangelsGabriel andRaphael, is found in English translation inThe Hymnal 1982 (of theEpiscopal Church), and was harmonized byRalph Vaughan Williams.[6]
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Rabanus' works, many of which as of 1911[update] remained unpublished, comprise commentaries on scripture (Genesis toJudges,Ruth,Kings,Chronicles,Judith,Esther,Canticles,Proverbs,Wisdom,Sirach,Jeremiah,Lamentations,Ezekiel,Maccabees,Matthew, theEpistles of St Paul, includingHebrews); and various treatises relating to doctrinal and practical subjects, including more than one series ofhomilies. InDe institutione clericorum he brought into prominence the views of Augustine and Gregory the Great as to the training which was requisite for a right discharge of the clerical function.[2][7] One of his most popular and enduring works is a collection of poems centered on the cross, calledDe laudibus sanctae crucis orIn honorem sanctae crucis, a set of highly sophisticated poems that present the cross (and, in the last poem, Rabanus himself kneeling before it) in word and image, even in numbers.[8]
Among the others may be mentioned theDe universo libri xxii., sive etymologiarum opus, a kind of dictionary or encyclopedia, heavily dependent uponIsidore of Seville'sEtymologies, designed as a help towards thetypological, historical and mystical interpretation of Scripture, theDe sacris ordinibus, theDe disciplina ecclesiastica and theMartyrologium. All of them are characterized by erudition (he knew even someGreek andHebrew).[2] He also wroteDe procinctu romanae miliciae, an annotated abridgement ofDe re militari to improve Frankish warfare.[1]
In the annals of German philology a special interest attaches to theGlossaria Latino-Theodisca. A commentary,Super Porphyrium, printed byCousin in 1836 among theOuvrages inédits d'Abélard, and assigned both by that editor and by Haurau to Hrabantis Maurus, is now generally believed to have been the work of a disciple.[2]
In 2006 Germans marked the 1150th anniversary of his death, especially in Mainz and in Fulda. Highlights of the celebrations included the display of Codex Vaticanus Reginensis latinus 124, an extremely rare loan by the Vatican to Mainz of a spectacular manuscript containingDe laudibus sanctae crucis. The anniversary also saw the publication of no fewer than three book-length studies of Maurus and his work.[9]
A runic alphabet recorded in a treatise calledDe Inventione Litterarum has been ascribed to Rabanus. It consisted of a mixture ofElder Futhark withAnglo-Saxon runes and is preserved in 8th and 9th-century manuscripts mainly from the southern part of theCarolingian Empire (Alemannia,Bavaria). The manuscript text attributes the runes to theMarcomanni, quos nos Nordmannos vocamus (and hence traditionally, the alphabet is called "Marcomannic runes") but it has no connection with theMarcomanni, and rather is an attempt of Carolingian scholars to represent all letters of the Latin alphabet with runic equivalents.
Wilhelm Grimm discussed these runes in 1821.[10]
The first nominally complete edition of the works of Hrabanus Maurus was that ofGeorges Colvener (Cologne, 6 vols. fol., 1627). TheOpera omnia form vols. cvii–cxii ofMigne'sPatrologiae cursus completus (1852). TheDe universo is the subject ofCompendium der Naturwissenschaften an der Schule zu Fulda im IX. Jahrhundert (Berlin, 1880).
Recent critical editions and translations are available of some of his works:
German publications on the occasion of the 1150th anniversary of his death:
See also:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hrabanus Maurus Magnentius".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 842.
Works by or aboutRabanus Maurus atWikisource| Preceded by | Archbishop of Mainz 848–856 | Succeeded by |
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