Very little is known about his life (cf. the preface by Waitz to the edition of the *Res gestae* [see bibliography]). Of the many works attributed to him by Trithemius (*Annales Hirsaugienses*, ed. St. Gallen 1690, p. 98), most are spurious. Probably never existed is the *Life of Otto I*, attributed to him by Sigebert of Gembloux (*Liber de scriptoribus*, c. 129: PL 160, 575), while lost are a *Passio* of St. Thecla in verse and a *Life of St. Paul the Hermit* in mixed prose and verse (Sigebert of Gembloux, loc. cit.). What remains, however, is the work by which V. is renowned: the *Res gestae Saxoniae, sive Annalium libri tres*, dedicated to Matilda, abbess of Quedlinburg, daughter of Emperor Otto I. Written mostly around 968, the narrative extends to the death of Otto (973).
Departing from the more common chronographic tradition, the author begins not with the Empire of Rome but with the origins of the Saxons, describing their struggles against the Franks, their conversion to Christianity, their conquests up to the reign of Henry I, and their triumph under the empire of Otto I. Though often inaccurate—especially regarding events in France and Italy—and frequently partisan, V.’s work is important as the only source for many of the events it recounts. The narrative abounds in literary reminiscences, especially from Virgil and Ovid, and in quotations from the Vulgate; the style, in its pursuit of concision, is often harsh or even incomprehensible. The *Res gestae* soon gained wide popularity and was already used in the 11th century by Thietmar of Merseburg (v.) for his *Chronicon*.