Ubaldo of Saint-Amand

UBALDO OF SAINT-AMAND. - Erudite monk (Hucbaldus, Hubaldus, Hugbaldus, Hucboldus, Uchubaldus), b. ca. 830, entered the Benedictine abbey of St. Amand (the famous "Monasterium Elnomense" in Gallican Flanders), where he d. on 20 June 930.

He was educated by his learned uncle Milo in the same abbey and perfected his knowledge of the sciences and letters at Nevers (?) and at Auxerre in France. His rare literary and theological learning, and especially his musical learning, accompanied by distinguished religious virtues, led to his being appointed (ca. 872) director of the school of St. Amand; later (883) he directed the school of the abbey of St. Bertin near St-Omer and finally (893) that of Reims, where he went at the request of Archbishop Fulco. Ca. the year 900 he returned to the abbey of St. Amand. He was bound in friendship with the great scholars and men of letters of his time.

Besides some compositions in verse and the Acta martyrii ss. Ciriaci et Julittae (apocryphal), he left various hagiographic works of great value, such as the lives of St. Rictrudis, St. Aldegundis and other biographies of Flemish saints of the 7th century. His writings on music are important for the history of that art in that century; but the authenticity of several of them is disputed. The De harmonica institutione (M. Gerbert, Scriptores de musica sacra, I, S. Blaise 1784, pp. 104-105) seems to remain his, in which, although drawing on earlier works, he gives valuable information on the notation of intervals, etc.

Alberto Ampe