Ekkehard I ( la, Eccehardus; died 14 January 973), called ''Major'' or ''Senex'' (the Elder), was a monk of the Abbey of Saint Gall. He was of noble birth, of the Jonschwyl family in Toggenburg, and was educated in the monastery of St. Gall; after joining the

Benedictine Order , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

, he was appointed director of the inner school there. Later, under Abbot Kralo, who trusted him implicitly, he was elected dean of the monastery, and for a while directed all the affairs of the abbey. Ekkehard made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he was retained for a time by Pope John XII, who presented him with various relics of

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. After Kralo's death Ekkehard refused the abbatial succession, because of lameness resulting from a fractured leg. However, he directed the choice of Burkard, son of Count Ulrich of Buchhorn, who governed St. Gall with the advice and co-operation of Ekkehard. The latter erected a

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

in front of the monastery for the sick and strangers, and was in many other ways a model of charity. He was also distinguished as a poet, and wrote a Latin epic "

Waltharius ''Waltharius'' is a Latin epic poem founded on German popular tradition relating the exploits of the Visigothic hero Walter of Aquitaine Walter or Walther of Aquitaine is a king of the Visigoths in Germanic heroic legend. Epic poetry Walter ...

", basing his version on an original German text. He dedicated this poem to Bishop

Erkanbald of Strasburg Erkanbald (died 17 August 1021) was the Abbot of Fulda from 997 and afterwards Archbishop of Mainz from 1011 until his death. Erkanbald was a member of the family of the counts of Ölsburg and was thus related to Bernard III of Sommerescheburg, ...

(965-991). It describes the elopement of Walter of Aquitaine with the Burgundian princess Hildegunde, from the land of the Huns, followed by the battle of Wasgenstein between Walter and the followers of Gunther and Hagen (ed. Peiper, Berlin, 1873). He also composed various ecclesiastical hymns and sequences, e. g. in honour of the

Blessed Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

St. Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Christianity in Italy, Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Ortho ...

St. Columbanus Columbanus ( ga, Columbán; 543 – 21 November 615) was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries after 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and Bobbio Abbey in pr ...

and

St. Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

(Meyer, "Philologische Bemerkungen zum Waltharius" in "Abhandl. der bayr. Akad. d. Wissenschaften", Munich, 1873; Streeker, "Ekkehard und Virgil" in "Zeitschrift f. deutsches Altertum", 1898, XLII, 338-366).

In popular culture

*''Ekkehard'' (1857) - historical romance by Joseph Victor von Scheffel.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ekkehard 01 973 deaths Year of birth unknown Monks at Saint Gall Medieval Latin poets