HERP (Harpius, Herpius, Citharedus), HEINRICH. – Franciscan mystical writer, initially preacher of the Brothers of the Common Life (1445–50) in the Netherlands, then an Observant Friar Minor of the province of Cologne (1450); he died at Mechelen in 1477. He donned the Franciscan habit in Rome, at the convent of Ara Coeli, on the occasion of a pilgrimage. He devoted himself to the study of spiritual theology, especially to the works of the ven. J. Ruysbroek. From 1470 to 1473 he governed the province of Cologne; thereafter he was guardian of the Convent of Mechelen.
Although often obscure and not free from exaggerations, he was one of the most highly regarded mystics of the 15th and 16th centuries, as is demonstrated by the numerous editions of his works, the principal ones being: 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 brought together three writings by H. (Soliloquium divini amoris, Directorium contemplativorum, which is a translation of Spieghel der volcomenhait [Antwerp 1501], and Eden seu Paradisus contemplativorum). In the 2nd edition, dedicated to s. Ignatius (ibid. 1566), it was placed on the Index because of ambiguous expressions; but the improved Roman edition (1585) enjoyed, through frequent reprintings, a broad and well-deserved circulation.
Felice da Mareto