Eigil (also called Aeigil or Egil) (c. 750–822) was the fourth
abbot of Fulda
The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...
. He was the nephew and biographer of the abbey's founder and first abbot
Saint Sturm. We know about Eigil primarily from the Latin ''Life'' (''Vita Aegili'') that the monk and teacher of Fulda,
Candidus Bruun composed about him after his death.
[Candidus Bruun, ''Vita Aeigili,'' in E. Duemmeler, ed. ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini'' II (Berlin, 1884), pp. 94-117.]
Eigil's parents, who were nobles of
Norica, sent him to the abbey of Fulda (still Under Sturm's rule) for his education.
[Candidus Bruun, ''Vita Eigili,'' in E. Duemmeler, ed. ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores'' XV.1 (Hannover, 1887), cap.1] Sturm died in 779 and was succeeded by
Baugulf.
[''Annales Fuldenses'' in ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores 1'', p. 353.]
The next abbot,
Ratgar Ratgar was a controversial abbot at the famous Benedictine monastery of Fulda during the early ninth century.
Life
Ratgar was abbot of the monastery of Fulda from 802 until 817. He was from a noble family in Germania, and was sent by his parent ...
, with his excessive severity, caused deep divisions in the monastery. In 811, monks from Fulda, possibly including Eigil, petitioned Emperor
Charlemagne to remove the abbot. Finally, in 817, Ratgar was denounced by the monks. Charlemagne's son and successor,
Louis the Pious, banished Ratgar and sent two of his delegates, Aaron and Adalfrid, along with their associates to reform the abbey according to proper monastic discipline .
Eigil was elected in 818,
[''Annales Fuldenses'' in ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Scriptores 1'', p. 357.] and, says Candidus, brought harmony to the monastery once again.
[Candidus Bruun, ''Vita Aeigili,'' in E. Duemmeler, ed. ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini'' II (Berlin, 1884), p.] In a poem,
[Hraban Maur in ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Poetaes Latini Aevi Carolingi''II, poem 14.] his student and successor
Hrabanus Maurus
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...
celebrated his clemency and gentleness, supporting Candidus' positive portrait.
Under Eigil, several building projects were dedicated at Fulda. In 819, the
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Haistolf came to Fulda to dedicate the Basilica of Saint Boniface (who was considered a co-founder of the abbey, with his disciple Sturm), and Boniface's holy
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s - his bones - were
translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
(that is, conveyed in a public religious ceremony) to the new Basilica.
Eigil died in 822 and was succeeded by the head teacher of Fulda's school, Hrabanus Maurus,
one of his former pupils. Candidus' ''Vita'' treats Eigil as a saint, but other writers, such as Hrabanus do not.
Works
Eigil wrote
Life of Saint Sturm who was a disciple of Saint Boniface as well as the founder, in 742 or 744, and first abbot of the abbey of Fulda (747-779).
Bibliography
* Candidus Bruun. ''Vita Aeigili,'' liber II (= vita metrica). In E. Duemmeler, ed. ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Poetae Latini Aevi Carolini'' Vol. II. Berlin, 1884, pp. 94–117.
* Gereon Becht-Jördens. "Vita Aegil abbatis Fuldenis a Candido ad Modestum edita prosa et versibus. Ein Opus geminum des IX. Jahrhunderts. Einleitung und kritische Edition" (phil. Diss. Heidelberg), Marburg (Selbstverlag) 1994.
* Gereon Becht-Jördens. ''Die Vita Aegil abbatis Fuldensis des Brun Candidus. Ein opus geminum aus dem Zeitalter der anianischen Reform in biblisch figuralem Hintergrundstil.'' Frankfurt am Main 1992 ().
* Gereon Becht-Jördens. "Die Vita Aegil des Brun Candidus als Quelle zu Fragen aus der Geschichte Fuldas im Zeitalter der anianischen Reform." In ''Hessisches Jahrbuch für Landesgeschichte'' 42 (1992), pp. 19–48.
* Christine Ineichen-Eder. "Künstlerische und literarische Tätigkeit des Candidus-Brun von Fulda." In Fuldaer Geschichtsblätter 56, 1980, p. 201-217 (without notes but with illustrations of considerable value also in Winfrid Böhne (Ed.). ''Hrabanus Maurus und seine Schule. Festschrift der Rabanus-Maurus-Schule 1980.'' Fulda 1980, p. 182-192.
* Pius Engelbert (1968), ''Die Vita Sturmi des Eigil von Fulda: Literarkritisch-historische Untersuchung und Edition''
* Chr. Browerus, ''Vita Sancti Stumi Primi Abbatis Fuldensis,'' in Sidera Germaniae (Mainz, 161:6), pp. 5–24. The critical edition is found in Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores, vol. II, pp. 366–77.
See also
Abbey of Fulda
*
Raban Maur
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius ( 780 – 4 February 856), also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of t ...
*
Candidus Bruun of Fulda
*
Sturm of Fulda
*
Ratgar of Fulda
External links
Eigil's Life of Saint Sturm in English translation*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eigil of Fulda
750 births
822 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Abbots of Fulda
People from Fulda