Helinand of Froidmont
Encyclopedia
Helinand of Froidmont was a medieval poet
, chronicler, and ecclesiastical writer.
parents at Pronleroy
in Oise
in France
c. 1150; his date of death is said to be 3 February 1223, or 1229, or 1237. His talents as a minstrel
won the favor of King Philip Augustus, and for some time he freely indulged in the pleasures of the world, after which he became a Cistercian monk at the monastery
of Froidmont in the Diocese of Beauvais about the year 1190. From being a self-indulgent man of the world he became a model of piety
and mortification
in the monastery. Whatever time was not consumed in monastic exercises he devoted to ecclesiastical studies and, after his ordination to the priesthood, to preaching and writing. The Church of Beauvais honors him as a saint
and celebrates his feast on 3 February.
containing forty-nine books (of which only less than half have survived), which he compiled from 1211 to 1223. Helinand incorporated several of his treatise
s and letters into his Chronicon. These include moral treatises such as De cognitione sui, and De bono regimine principis, twenty-eight sermons on various Church festivals; one epistle entitled De reparatione lapsi, in which he exhorts a renegade monk to return to his monastery. The Chronicon itself is largely a compilation of texts taken from a wide range of sources.
Vincent of Beauvais
on his turn based his Speculum Historiale, which provided a history of the world down to his time, on the Chronicon of Helinand.
Surviving parts of the Chronicon include Books 1-18, covering the period from the creation to the death of Alexander the Great; fragments from Books 19-44, surviving as copies in the Speculum Maius of Vincent of Beauvais; the text of books 45-49, which deal with the period from 634 to 1204. Books 45-49 of the Chronicon serve as a source for the chronicle by the Cistercian monk Aubri de Trois-Fontaines (Alberic of Trois-Fontaines) (ca. 1241).
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
, "his chronicle is not sufficiently critical to be of much historical value." Yet it would be unfair to call Helinand an uncritical writer - or rather, compiler - of history, as from time to time he interrupts the narrative to alert the reader where his sources diverge from each other, often trying to harmonize them in much the same fashion as a scholastic
treatise. The structure of the Chronicon is mainly chronological, although Helinand frequently digresses from the historical account to comment on Scripture, include a treatise against astrology, write about saints and their legends, examine the animal world, or incorporate material from Latin literature or vernacular traditions. He is frequently quoted as a medieval authority on the meaning of the word "graal," i.e. the Holy Grail
.http://www.chronique.com/Library/Knights/Grail.htm In this sense, the Chronicon's value is not based on its existence as a work on history. He is cited, for example, as a source of the description of the flight
of Eilmer of Malmesbury
.
") shortly after entering the monastery, between 1194 and 1197. In fifty stanzas, Helinand asks Death to call upon his best friends and exhort them to abandon the world. Each stanza contains twelve octosyllabic lines; the rhyme scheme is aab aab bba bba. This form was imitated by later poets and is called by critics the "helinandian stanza." In this poem, Death appears as a ubiquitous and hyperactive agent. Helinand does not use macabre elements, except in the title, which puns on the homonymy between "vers" (worms) and "vers" (verses). His lyrical sermon uses various tropes such as anaphora, metaphor, and adnominatio to great effect. Through this unique witness of his poetic talent as a trouvere, Helinand appears as a precursor of Villon, Chastelain, and other French poets of the fifteenth century.
Helinand of Froidmont is sometimes confused with the Cistercian Hélinand of Perseigne, the author of a commentary on the Apocalypse
and gloss
es on the Book of Exodus, although there are no arguments for this identification.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, chronicler, and ecclesiastical writer.
Life
He was born of FlemishFlemish people
The Flemings or Flemish are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons...
parents at Pronleroy
Pronleroy
Pronleroy is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise....
in Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
c. 1150; his date of death is said to be 3 February 1223, or 1229, or 1237. His talents as a minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
won the favor of King Philip Augustus, and for some time he freely indulged in the pleasures of the world, after which he became a Cistercian monk at the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
of Froidmont in the Diocese of Beauvais about the year 1190. From being a self-indulgent man of the world he became a model of piety
Piety
In spiritual terminology, piety is a virtue that can mean religious devotion, spirituality, or a combination of both. A common element in most conceptions of piety is humility.- Etymology :...
and mortification
Mortification
Mortification can refer to:*Mortification , theological doctrine*Mortification of the flesh, religious practice of corporal mortification...
in the monastery. Whatever time was not consumed in monastic exercises he devoted to ecclesiastical studies and, after his ordination to the priesthood, to preaching and writing. The Church of Beauvais honors him as a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
and celebrates his feast on 3 February.
Helinand's Chronicon
Helinand is most remembered for his Chronicon, a world-chronicle in LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
containing forty-nine books (of which only less than half have survived), which he compiled from 1211 to 1223. Helinand incorporated several of his treatise
Treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...
s and letters into his Chronicon. These include moral treatises such as De cognitione sui, and De bono regimine principis, twenty-eight sermons on various Church festivals; one epistle entitled De reparatione lapsi, in which he exhorts a renegade monk to return to his monastery. The Chronicon itself is largely a compilation of texts taken from a wide range of sources.
Vincent of Beauvais
Vincent of Beauvais
The Dominican friar Vincent of Beauvais wrote the Speculum Maius, the main encyclopedia that was used in the Middle Ages.-Early life:...
on his turn based his Speculum Historiale, which provided a history of the world down to his time, on the Chronicon of Helinand.
Surviving parts of the Chronicon include Books 1-18, covering the period from the creation to the death of Alexander the Great; fragments from Books 19-44, surviving as copies in the Speculum Maius of Vincent of Beauvais; the text of books 45-49, which deal with the period from 634 to 1204. Books 45-49 of the Chronicon serve as a source for the chronicle by the Cistercian monk Aubri de Trois-Fontaines (Alberic of Trois-Fontaines) (ca. 1241).
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
, "his chronicle is not sufficiently critical to be of much historical value." Yet it would be unfair to call Helinand an uncritical writer - or rather, compiler - of history, as from time to time he interrupts the narrative to alert the reader where his sources diverge from each other, often trying to harmonize them in much the same fashion as a scholastic
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
treatise. The structure of the Chronicon is mainly chronological, although Helinand frequently digresses from the historical account to comment on Scripture, include a treatise against astrology, write about saints and their legends, examine the animal world, or incorporate material from Latin literature or vernacular traditions. He is frequently quoted as a medieval authority on the meaning of the word "graal," i.e. the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
.http://www.chronique.com/Library/Knights/Grail.htm In this sense, the Chronicon's value is not based on its existence as a work on history. He is cited, for example, as a source of the description of the flight
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
of Eilmer of Malmesbury
Eilmer of Malmesbury
Eilmer of Malmesbury was an 11th-century English Benedictine monk best known for his early attempt at a gliding flight using wings.- Life :...
.
Lesser works
Helinand wrote a work in Old French called Les Vers de la Mort ("Verses of DeathDeath
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
") shortly after entering the monastery, between 1194 and 1197. In fifty stanzas, Helinand asks Death to call upon his best friends and exhort them to abandon the world. Each stanza contains twelve octosyllabic lines; the rhyme scheme is aab aab bba bba. This form was imitated by later poets and is called by critics the "helinandian stanza." In this poem, Death appears as a ubiquitous and hyperactive agent. Helinand does not use macabre elements, except in the title, which puns on the homonymy between "vers" (worms) and "vers" (verses). His lyrical sermon uses various tropes such as anaphora, metaphor, and adnominatio to great effect. Through this unique witness of his poetic talent as a trouvere, Helinand appears as a precursor of Villon, Chastelain, and other French poets of the fifteenth century.
- As a well-known preacherPreacherPreacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
, he wrote more than sixty Latin sermonSermonA sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
s. His sermons, written in a neat Latin style, give evidence of a remarkable acquaintance with the pagan poets as well as with the Fathers of the Church. - He wrote some LatinLatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
poems - A Martyrium of Saints GereonSaint GereonSaint Gereon of Köln , who may have been a soldier, was martyred at Cologne, allegedly by beheading, probably in the early 4th century.According to his legend, Gereon was said to be a soldier of the Theban Legion...
, Victor, Cassius, and Florentius, martyrs of the Theban LegionTheban LegionThe Theban Legion figures in Christian hagiography as an entire Roman legion — of "six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men" — who had converted en masse to Christianity and were martyred together, in 286, according to the hagiographies of Saint Maurice, the chief among the Legion's...
used to be attributed to Helinand, but it is unclear whether he is the true author.
Helinand of Froidmont is sometimes confused with the Cistercian Hélinand of Perseigne, the author of a commentary on the Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
and gloss
Gloss
A gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
es on the Book of Exodus, although there are no arguments for this identification.
External links
H. Voorbij, Helinand of Froidmont: Life and Oeuvre- Helinand at the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...