Haito (or Hatto or Heito) {c.762-March 17, 836)
[Tremp, Ernst. "Haito", ''Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS)'', Version vom 26.11.2007]
/ref> was the abbot of Reichenau Abbey
Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charl ...
and Bishop of Basel
The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Catholic diocese in Switzerland.
Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Fürstbistum Basel).
The bis ...
.
Biography
Haito was born in 763, of a noble family of Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
. At the age of five, along with his brother Wadilcoz, he entered the Abbey of Reichenau
Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charl ...
, on an island in Lake Constance
Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...
. Abbot Waldo (786-806) made him head of the monastic school, and in this capacity he did much for the instruction and classical training of the monks, as well as for the growth of the library.[Schaefer, Francis. "Haito." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 21 December 2022 The Abbey gained influence in the Carolingian dynasty by educating the clerks who staffed Imperial and ducal chanceries.
As a substitute for Abbot Waldo, who was often absent in the service of Charlemagne and who, as Bishop of Pavia, also administered the bishopric of Basel, Haito grew into the position of abbot on the Reichenau at an early age. In 802 he became Bishop of Basel.
/ref>
When Waldo was transferred to the Abbey of St. Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
, near Paris, in 806, Haito was made Abbot of Reichenau, and about the same time Bishop of Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. The so-called Murbach Statutes, long attributed to Murbach Abbey
Murbach Abbey (french: Abbaye de Murbach) was a famous Benedictine monastery in Murbach, southern Alsace, in a valley at the foot of the Grand Ballon in the Vosges.
The monastery was founded in 727 by Eberhard, Count of Alsace, and established ...
because of their tradition, are actually Haito's, implementing regulations for the Aachen reform plans of 816 for the monastery of Reichenau.[
He enjoyed the confidence of the emperor ]Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
and in 811 was both witness to the emperor's will and was sent with others to Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
on a diplomatic mission, which he fulfilled to the satisfaction of his master. The interests of his diocese and abbey were not neglected. He rebuilt the cathedral of Basel and the abbey church of Reichenau, and issued appropriate instructions for the guidance of clergy and people in the ways of religion.[
In 816 the abbey was rebuilt in a cruciform ]basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
style; he consecrated the Marienmünster and the Church of St. Mark in Mittelzell. That same year, he took part in the Aachen Reform Synod, called to establish regulations for the monastic life in the Frankish realm.[
In 823 he resigned both positions, owing to serious infirmities, and spent the remainder of his life as a simple monk in the monastery of Reichenau where he died on 17 March 836.][
]
Writings
Haito was the author of several works. He wrote an account of his journey to Constantinople, the ''Hodoeporicon'', of which, however, no trace has been found so far.
In 824 he wrote the ''Visio Wettini'', in which he relates the spiritual experiences of Wettin, president of the monastic school of Reicheneau. The day before his death (4 November 824) Wettin saw in a vision bad and good spirits; an angel took him through hell, purgatory, and heaven, and showed him the torments of the sinners and the joys of the saints. The book, which bears some resemblance to Dante's '' Divina Commedia'', was soon afterwards put into verse by Walafrid Strabo
Walafrid, alternatively spelt Walahfrid, nicknamed Strabo (or Strabus, i.e. " squint-eyed") (c. 80818 August 849), was an Alemannic Benedictine monk and theological writer who lived on Reichenau Island in southern Germany.
Life
Walafrid Strabo ...
(Mon. Germ. Hist., loc. cit.).
While Bishop of Basel, he issued a number of regulations in twenty-five chapters, known as the ''Capitulare Haitonis'', in which he legislated on matters of diocesan discipline. Priests should lead exemplary lives and be able to preach in both Latin and the vernacular. They were forbidden to live with women and stay in taverns.Sieber-Lehmann, Claudius. "Bischof Haito - Ein Reisender zwischen den Welten", Stadt.Geschichte.Basel
/ref> The statutes were probably published at a synod.
The copy of the so-called St. Gall monastery plan can be traced back to his initiative. Haito is an outstanding example of the close connection between ecclesiastical, political and scholarly activity in the Carolingian Empire.[
]
References
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{{Authority control
763 births
836 deaths
9th-century Burgundian bishops
Medieval Latin poets
German travel writers
9th-century Latin writers
Writers from the Carolingian Empire
Bishops of Basel
German male poets
German male non-fiction writers