HERP (Harpius, Herpius, Citharedus), HEINRICH. - Franciscan mystical writer, first preacher of the Brothers of the Common Life (1445-50) in Holland, then Observant Friar Minor of the province of Cologne (1450); d. at Mechelen in 1477. He took the Franciscan habit in Rome, in the convent of Ara Coeli, on the occasion of a pilgrimage. He devoted himself to the study of spiritual theology, especially on the works of the venerable J. Ruysbroeck. From 1470 to 1473 he governed the province of Cologne; then he was guardian of the Convent of Mechelen.

Although often obscure and not immune from exaggerations, he was one of the most esteemed mystics of the 15th and 16th centuries, as is shown by the numerous editions of his works, of which the principal are: Speculum aureum praeceptorum Dei (Mainz 1474); Sermones de tempore et de sanctis, de tribus partibus Poenitentiae, de triplici adventu Christi (Nuremberg 1481). His most important work is Theologia mystica (edited by D. Loher, Cologne 1538), which combined 3 writings of H. (Soliloquium divini amoris,

Directorium contemplativorum, which is a translation of Spieghel der volcomenhait [Antwerp 1501], and Eden seu Paradisus contemplativorum in the 2nd ed., dedicated to St. Ignatius (ibid. 1566) was placed on the Index because of ambiguous expressions; but the edition of Rome (1585), improved, had, in frequent reprints, a wide and deserved diffusion.

Bibliography6 works

BIBL.: Wadding, Scriptores, pp. 356-58; A. Possevinus, Appomius sacer, I, Venice 1603, p. 728; S. Dirks, Histoire littéraire et bibliographique des Frères Mineurs de l'Observance en Belgique, Antwerp 1885, pp. 7-14; P. Schloger, Zum Leben des Franziskaners H. H., in Der Katholik, 2 (1905), pp. 46-48; Hutter, II, coll. 1086-87; D. Kalverkamp, Die Vollkommenheitslehre des Franzisk. H. H., Werl in V. 1940.

Felice da Mareto

@incollection{ec6_herp_harpius_herpius_citharedu, author = {Felice da Mareto}, title = {Herp (Harpius, herpius, citharedus), heinrich}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {VI}, pages = {1420--1421}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1951}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/herp-harpius-herpius-citharedus-heinrich} }

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Herp (Harpius, Herpius, Citharedus), Heinrich

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