Aaron Scotus,

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

, fl. late 10th century – 14 December 1052.

Background

Aaron was an

and

music theorist Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation ( ...

, the term ''Scotus'' at the time denoting Irish (person).

St. Martin's of Cologne

Benedictine , 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 ...

, Scotus was the abbot of St. Martin,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

in the year 1042. He

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

aged in his youth to Colonia to the Gaelic-Irish

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

of St. Martin. He became abbot of the same in 1042. He was identified with Aaron, abbot of St. Pantaleon. Today historians reject this identification.

Work as a composer

It is believed that he first introduced the Gregorian evening service (''nocturns'') into Germany. He authored two historically important treaties: ''De utilitate cantus vocalis et de modo cantandi atque psallendi'' and ''De regulis tonorum et symphoniarum''. The library of St. Martin, Cologne conserves his work ''Tractatum de utilitate cantus vocalis et de modo cantandi atque psallendi''. He wrote three musical treatises, all of which have been lost. Aaron died on 14 December 1052.

Bibliography

* ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' �
online version
* Slonimsky, Nicolas (ed.): ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 7th edition, New York: 1984). . * Huglo, Michel: "Aaron Scotus",
Grove Music Online
', ed. L. Macy, (subscription required; retrieved on 4 September 2007).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron Scotus Year of birth unknown 1052 deaths 11th-century German clergy 11th-century Irish writers 11th-century scholars 11th-century Irish abbots Irish expatriates in Germany Irish-language singers 11th-century Latin writers Medieval European scribes Medieval Irish musicians

Background

St. Martin's of Cologne

Work as a composer

Bibliography

See also

References