Wandalbert of Prüm (813 – died after 850), also known as Wandalbertus Prumiensis, was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

, distinguished poet, and theological writer. Little is known of his personal history. He was apparently a native of

Francia The Kingdom of the Franks (), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, or just Francia, was the largest History of the Roman Empire, post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks, Frankish Merovingian dynasty, Merovingi ...

, born around 813.''The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature''. (James Strong and John McClintock) Harper and Brothers; NY; 1880
/ref> In 839 he was already a monk at the Abbey of Prüm, where he was head of the school. About this date Abbot Markward commissioned him to rewrite the old ''Life of St. Goar'' and to supplement it by an account of the miracles worked by the saint. It originated in the desire to perpetuate the fame of St. Goar, whose cell on the Rhine was given to the monastery of Prüm by King Pepin. The life Wandalbert wrote is not without historical value. He composed his second work, a

martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in the calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by na ...

in verse that was finished about 848, at the request of Otrich, a priest of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, and with the aid of his friend

Florus of Lyon Florus of Lyon (), a deacon in Lyon, was an ecclesiastical writer in the first half of the ninth century. A theologian, canonist, liturgist, and poet, he ran the scriptorium at Lyons. He was considered one of the foremost authorities on theological ...

. The martyrology is based on earlier ones, particularly that of the

Venerable Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most fa ...

. The arrangement follows the calendar, and a brief account is given for each day of the life and death of one or more

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

s. Together with the martyrology are poems on the months and their signs, on the various kinds of agricultural labour, the seasons for hunting, fishing, cultivation of fruit, of the fields, and of vineyards, and the church Hours. The poetry is, in general, uniform and monotonous, the most graceful passages are various descriptions of nature. Wandalbert also wrote a (lost) work on the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

References

Sources

*Heinz Erich Stienen (1981), ''Wandalbert von Prüm. Vita et Miracula sancti Goaris'' {{Authority control 813 births Year of death unknown Frankish Benedictines 9th-century deaths Writers from the Carolingian Empire Carolingian poets 9th-century writers in Latin