Hermann of Schildesche

HERMANN OF SCHILDESCHE. - Augustinian theologian and canonist of the 14th century, d. 8 July 1357. He was the first of the German Hermits to be awarded the doctoral degree. In 1320 he was a student in Paris, where in 1326-27 he remained as a teacher. In 1328-30 he is found [as lector] in the convent of Herford; in 1332 he was made bachelor, and finally in 1337 master and superior of his Saxon-Thuringian religious province. In 1338 he was sent by the German bishops on a mission to Avignon to reconcile Louis the Bavarian with Benedict XII. Among his contemporaries he enjoyed a reputation for vast learning and great holiness. The historians of his Order honor him with the title of "blessed."

He worked much for the instruction of youth, and carried on, through writings and by word of mouth, an intense apostolate among the of the birth and of the death. Having fallen ill after a decade of governance, he resigned his office into the hands of Simon, bishop of Tournai. Some historians report that, after leaving office, he went to Rome and to Jerusalem, where he is said to have fallen into the hands of the infidels and died a martyr.

Works: Narratio restaurationis abbattiae S. Martini Torranensis (PL 180, 39-131); De miraculis B. Marius Laudunensis (ibid., 156, 961 ff.); De Incornatione Iesu Christi Domini Nostri (ibid., 180, 10-17); this christological work is influenced by Anselmian thought and has good mariological insights.

Antonio Piolanti