Hermann, called Contractus

ERMANNO, called CONTRACTUS. - Benedictine (called Contractus because of the paralysis with which he was afflicted), chronicler, poet, scientist, of the abbey of Reichenau (Augia dives), on Lake Constance, to which he was entrusted at the age of seven. Son of Count Wolfrad, b. July 18, 1013, d. at Reichenau on Oct. 24, 1054. Endowed with great intellect, he learned and then taught all the sciences of his time and became one of the most learned men of his century.

Compose una Cronaca, altamente appreciated for its exactness, especially in matters of chronology, from Christ up to 1054 (MGH, Scriptores, V [1844], pp. 67-133; PL 143, 53-263). Up to 1039 it is a diligent compilation from known sources, but from 1040-1054 it is the author's personal work. Various hymns and sequences go under his name and are collected by Dreves-Blone in Analecta hymnica, 50 (1907), pp. 308-19. Some would attribute to him the Alma Redemptoris Mater, and the Salve Regina; he also composed the melodies of various hymns. The graceful unbound poem Conflictus ovis et lini (PL 143, 445-58) is doubtful. He composed various other writings such as on the astrolabe (PL 143, 379-412), on music, (ibid., 413-42). Other brief opuscules and letters have been edited in various journals, such as the poem De octo vitiis principalibus, ed. F. Dümmler in Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum, 13 (1867), pp. 385-434.

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