William of Hirsau
Encyclopedia
Hirsau Abbey
Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most prominent Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It was located in the town of Hirsau, in the Diocese of Speyer, near Calw in the present Baden-Württemberg.-History:...
, for whom he created the Constitutiones Hirsaugienses, based on the uses of Cluny
Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was built in the Romanesque style, with three churches built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries....
, and was the father of the Hirsau Reforms, which influenced many Benedictine monasteries in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He supported the papacy in the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
. In the Roman Catholic Church, he is a Blessed, the second of three steps toward recognition as a saint.
Early life
William was born in BavariaBavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, possibly in about 1030; nothing more is known of his origins. As a puer oblatus entrusted to the Benedictines he received his spiritual education as a monk in St. Emmeram's Abbey
St. Emmeram's Abbey
St. Emmeram's Abbey , now known as Schloss Thurn und Taxis, Schloss St. Emmeram, and St...
, a private church of the Bishop of Regensburg, where the famous Otloh of St. Emmeram
Otloh of St. Emmeram
Otloh of St Emmeram was a Benedictine monk of St Emmeram's in Regensburg, known as a scholar and educator.-Life:...
was William's teacher. It is generally believed that it was here that William first became friends with Ulrich of Zell
Ulrich of Zell
Saint Ulrich of Zell, also known as Wulderic, sometimes of Cluny or of Regensburg , was a Cluniac reformer of Germany, abbot, founder and saint.-Life:...
(later distinguished as a Cluniac reformer and a saint), a friendship which lasted to the end of his life.
Secular activities
Also in the abbey, about the middle of the 11th century, William composed learned treatises on astronomy and music, disciplines that formed part of the quadriviumQuadrivium
The quadrivium comprised the four subjects, or arts, taught in medieval universities, after teaching the trivium. The word is Latin, meaning "the four ways" , and its use for the 4 subjects has been attributed to Boethius or Cassiodorus in the 6th century...
, in the knowledge of which William was considered unsurpassed in his day.
He constructed various astronomical instruments, made a sun-dial which showed the variations of the heavenly bodies, the solstice
Solstice
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...
s, equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
es and other sidereal phenomena. His famous stone astrolabe
Astrolabe
An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and longitude, surveying, triangulation, and to...
can still be seen today in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
: more than 2.5 metres high, it is engraved on the front with an astrolabe sphere, while on the reverse side is the figure of a man gazing into the heavens, presumed to be the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
astronomer and poet Aratos of Soloi (of the 3rd century B.C.).
He was also a skilled musician and made various improvements on the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
.
Abbacy
In 1069 William was called to Hirsau AbbeyHirsau Abbey
Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most prominent Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It was located in the town of Hirsau, in the Diocese of Speyer, near Calw in the present Baden-Württemberg.-History:...
as elected successor to the deposed Abbot Frederick. He immediately took over the management of the monastery, but refused to accept the abbatial benediction till after the death of his unjustly deposed predecessor in 1071.
In his first years of office he pursued the goal of making the abbey independent of secular powers, on the basis of the reforms of Gorze Abbey
Gorze Abbey
Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz-Campagne, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s.-History:...
in Lorraine and of Cluny, which had begun to take effect some time previously.
This policy put him in direct opposition to Hirsau's powerful lay abbot
Lay abbot
Lay abbot is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income.This custom existed principally in the Frankish Empire from the eighth...
s, the Counts of Calw
Calw
Calw is a municipality in the middle of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany, capital of the district Calw. It is located in the northern Black Forest.-History:...
. A writ of Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
, probably drafted shortly after 1070, although it created the important link between the abbey and the monarchy, nevertheless largely confirmed the status of Hirsau as a private monastery of the counts.
However, a privilege of Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
, drawn up between 1073 and 1075, put Hirsau under papal protection.
William eventually prevailed against Count Adalbert II of Calw, who renounced his lay lordship over the abbey. Henry IV immediately put the monastic community under his own protection, although Hirsau was not made an imperial abbey directly answerable to the monarch (reichsunmittelbar). The count received by royal grant the Vogtei
Vogtei
Vogtei could be:* The residenz or domain of a Vogt* Vogtei , a municipal association in the Unstrut-Hainich district of Thuringia, Germany....
of the abbey. The abbey, by deed of 9 October 1075, received the "complete freedom of the monastery", which included the freedom to elect and invest the abbot, and to elect or dismiss the Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
, although it is true that the choice of candidates for the latter position was restricted to the kin of the founder.
In 1075 William went to Rome to obtain the papal confirmation for the exemption of Hirschau. On this occasion he became acquainted with Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
, with whose efforts towards reforms he was in deep sympathy and whom he afterwards strongly supported in the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
against Henry IV.
Hirsau Reforms
Against this background William introduced to Hirsau, from no later than 1079, a number of reforms originating in Cluny, on which he based the Constitutiones Hirsaugienses ("Customs of Hirsau"), which later became very widespread as a result of the Hirsau Reforms (see below). These reforms particularly focussed on discipline and obedience, tough punishments for infringements of the rules and continuous supervision of the monks.Parallel with these developments he found it necessary, in order to bring under some sort of control the great numbers of laymen flocking to Hirsau, to create the institution of the conversi in the German Benedictine monasteries. Before this there were certainly men-servants in the monasteries, but they lived outside the monastery, wore no specifically religious clothing and took no vows.
Despite - or rather, precisely because of - the unusually strict monastic discipline and ascetic piety which William introduced from Cluny, Hirsau had become very attractive: the number of choir monks increased from 15 to 150. Due to this increase in its popularity, the existing monastery (dedicated to Saint Aurelius
Saint Aurelius
Saint Aurelius was Christian saint who died around 430. He was a bishop of Carthage from ca. 391 and led a number of ecclesiastical councils on Christian doctrine. Augustine of Hippo admired Aurelius, and a number of letters from Augustine to Aurelius have survived. Aurelius's feast day in the...
) proved too small, and the community therefore re-settled to the other side of the River Nagold
Nagold
Nagold is a town in southwestern Germany, bordering the northern Black Forest. It is located in the Landkreis of Calw . Nagold is known for its ruined castle, Hohennagold Castle, and for its road viaduct...
. There, sometime after 1083, was built the largest monastery complex in Germany of the time, with its great Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
church dedicated to Saint Peter.
William's efforts were not limited to Hirsau. Many monasteries, perhaps as many as 200, both newly founded and long established, embraced the Hirsau Reforms. New abbeys, settled by monks from Hirsau, included Zwiefalten
Zwiefalten Abbey
- References :...
, Blaubeuren
Blaubeuren Abbey
Blaubeuren Abbey was a house of the Benedictine Order located in Blaubeuren, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-History: Catholic:...
, St. Peter im Schwarzwald
St. Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest
St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest or St. Peter's Abbey, Schwarzwald is a former Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Peter im Schwarzwald, in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-History:...
and St. Georgen im Schwarzwald
St. George's Abbey in the Black Forest
St. George's Abbey in the Black Forest was a Benedictine monastery in St. Georgen im Schwarzwald in the southern Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Foundation to Reformation:...
in Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
, and Reinhardsbrunn
Reinhardsbrunn
Reinhardsbrunn in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in Thuringia in Germany, is the site of a formerly prominent Benedictine abbey extant between 1085 and 1525, and, from 1827, of a royal castle and park of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family.-Monastery:...
in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. Already existing monasteries which accepted the reforms included Petershausen
Petershausen Abbey
Petershausen Abbey was a Benedictine monastery at Petershausen, now a district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-History:...
near Konstanz
Konstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
, Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....
, Comburg
Comburg
Comburg was a Benedictine monastery near Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.It was founded in the late 1070s by the Counts of Comburg-Rothenburg on the site of their castle. They retained the office of Vogt, which continued until their extinction in the Staufer dynasty...
, and St. Peter's in Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
. Finally, there were the priories such as Reichenbach
Reichenbach Priory (Baden-Württemberg)
Reichenbach Monastery or Priory was a house of the Benedictine Order, located at Klosterreichenbach, now part of Baiersbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Schönrain
Schönrain Priory
Schönrain Priory was a house of the Benedictine Order located near Lohr in the Spessart, in Bavaria in Southern Germany....
in Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
and Fischbachau
Fischbachau Priory
Fischbachau Priory was a Benedictine monastery located in Fischbachau, Bavaria, Germany.The monastery was founded in 1087 as a priory of Hirsau Abbey against the background of the Investiture Controversy and the Hirsau Reforms, by the monks who had previously formed the small monastery founded in...
in Bavaria.
He also had a standard edition of the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
made for all the monasteries of the reform.
Political implications
Support for the reforms came primarily from SwabiaSwabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
and Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
, with a smaller following in Central and East Germany. The spread of the Hirsau Reforms was directly related to the reputation William had acquired through the ecclesio-political propaganda of the Investiture Controversy, as the main support of Pope Gregory's faction in Germany and in Swabia. He was on the side of the counter-kings Rudolf of Swabia (1077-1080) and Herman of Luxemburg, Count of Salm (1081-1088). Among other things, the tenacity of the Gregorian party in south-west Germany was due to him, quite apart from the reputation of Hirsau Abbey among ecclesiastical reformers. When William died on 5 July 1091, the reform party in Swabia and Germany lost an important champion.
Legacy
Besides composing the Constitutiones Hirsaugienses William of Hirsau was the author of the treatises "De astronomia", of which only the prologue is printed and "De musica".His life is recorded in the Vita Willihelmi abbatis Hirsaugiensis.
William of Hirsau is commemorated in various martyrologies on 4 July or 5 July.