Saints celebrated on the 15th of July
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HERMANN, ABBOT OF NIEDERALTAICH
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| Niederaltaich: The Abbey Church's Organ |
Hermann (Hermannus), the 30th abbot of Niederaltaich in Lower Bavaria (South Germany) is remembered as a strict zealot of monastic discipline. He also expanded and improved the institute entrusted to him. Due to him keeping the reigns tight and fostering a spirit of order, many holy and capable monks emerged from the abbey, who, in turn, were nominated to lead other monasteries, such as Formbach, Oberaltaich, Prül, Aschbach and Biburg.
Born in 1200, Hermann was unanimously elected abbot on October 27, 1242, according to Lackner* (Memoriale, p. 86), and consecrated on November 9, 1243, by Bishop Rüdiger of Passau in the Church of St Anthony in Vienna, which at that time still belonged to the Diocese of Passau.
It is well beyond the format of this short biography to give even a brief overview of all he did for the benefit of his monastery during his 30-year reign. The following are but his most outstanding achievements: Under the protection of Duke Otto II the Illustrious, Hermann sought to heal the wounds inflicted on the monastery by a number of persecutors, particularly Count Albert of Bogen. He then constructed various buildings and diverted the Danube, which often caused great damage to the monastery, into a different channel (cf. Saint Godehard). Moreover, for the benefit of pastoral care, he established new parishes in Aichach, Thundorf, Zell, and Zeholfing; he also had the rectory in Isarhofen rebuilt and settled many disputes concerning tithes, and other matters.
He granted fiefs (feuda) to several noblemen, notably the lords of Frauenberg and Frauenhofen, Weichs, Ahaim, Wartenberg, Reysach, etc. Because of his excellent qualities, which his chaplain Heinrich Stero described in particular, he was very popular at the court of Duke Henry of Lower Bavaria.
However, he is especially famous for his writings, having compiled
1) several documents of his time into a codex, which was printed in 1771 in the Monumentis Boicis (Vol. XI), the original of which apparently is kept in the secret archives in Vienna. He also wrote
2) annals covering the years 1152-1273, which constitute the main source for the history of Bavaria and Austria during that period. As far later as 1517, Aventinus still used the original manuscript of these annals in the monastery. By 1679, this work of Hermann had been transferred to the Imperial Library in Vienna in 1679.
Since his strength was failing, Hermann resigned his office on March 12, 1273, and finally went to his eternal reward after a long illness, completely exhausted, on July 31, 1275, at the age of 75. He was buried in the monastery church in the south choir. His successor was named Albinus. Notwithstanding his date of death, he is listed in Bucelin's* Supplement on July 15.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, pp. 672-73)
*A hagiography source used by the authors
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org
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