From the 10th century to the 13th there were five monks with the name Ekkehard at the Swiss monastery of St Gallen who were of some importance to the history of medieval chant and poetry.
ALEJANDRO ENRIQUE PLANCHART
(b Thurgau, c910; d St Gallen, 14 Jan 973). Teacher of the liberal arts at the monastery. His students included his nephew, (2) Ekkehard II ‘Palatinus’, (3) Ekkehard III, Notker III ‘Labeo’ (or ‘Teutonicus’) and Burkhard II (abbot from 1001 to 1022). He went to Rome in about 957 and was offered the abbacy by Pope John XII (955–64), but declined it because of his poor health. He was an overseer of ten brethren (decanus) from 958 to 964. His surviving works comprise eight versus ad sequentias: A solis occasu, Adoremus gloriosissimum (of doubtful authenticity), Ambulans Jesus, Concurrite huc, O martyr eterni, Prompta mente, Qui benedici cupitis and Summum preconem. His authorship of the famous epic Carmen Waltharii manu fortis (ed. and trans. D. Kratz, New York, 1984), ascribed to him by (4) Ekkehard IV, is considered doubtful by some scholars.
(b c940; d Mainz, 23 April 990). Teacher at St Gallen, at the court of Duchess Hadwig of Swabia (d 994) in Hohentwiel Castle, and at the imperial court of Otto I (936–73), where he taught the young Otto II (973–83). His administrative ability won him the favour of Queen Adelheid (d 999) and ultimately a post as cathedral provost at Mainz. His works include a book of poems, Epigrammata, mentioned by (4) Ekkehard IV but now lost, and a few surviving versus ad sequentias: Gaudendum nobis suadent, Plebs parentis, Summi conatibus and perhaps Laudes Deo perenni (sometimes incorrectly ascribed to (1) Ekkehard I).
(b c950; d 21 March, after 1000). A decanus like (1) Ekkehard I, although the title did not become associated with his name. He was a teacher at St Gallen and at Hohentwiel, where he taught the castle chaplains. His name is mentioned in the cloister's annals as a writer (976), but no works ascribed to him survive.
(b Alsace, c980; d St Gallen, 21 Oct 1060). Student of Notker III ‘Teutonicus’. He went to Mainz (1022–31) at the request of Bishop Aribo (1020–31), where he led the cathedral schola. As choirmaster he took part in the famous celebration of Easter Mass at Ingelheim on 29 March 1030 in the presence of Emperor Conrad II (1024–39). After Aribo's death he returned to St Gallen. Ekkehard IV was a prolific writer. His best-known work is the Casus monasterii sancti Galli (ed. and trans. H.F. Haefele, Darmstadt, 1980), written between 1046 and 1053 as a continuation of an earlier chronicle by Ratpert (d 890). Other works include Benedictiones ad mensas, Liber benedictionum (1020–35), Poemata, Versus ad picturas claustri sancti Galli, Versus ad picturas ecclesie Moguntium, epitaphs for Notker I ‘Balbulus’, Aribo of Mainz and Walter von Speyer, reworkings of poems by (1) Ekkehard I, Notker I and Ratpert, and several versus ad sequentias.
Although not always historically accurate, Ekkehard's Casus is invaluable not only for its wealth of biographical detail and anecdotes about such important figures as Ekkehard I–IV, Hartmann I–II, Iso, Notker I–III, Ratpert, Tuotilo and Waltram, but also for detailed descriptions of ceremonies, including those connected with visitations of the cloister (Charles III, 883; Conrad I, 911; Otto I, 972), which give a good picture of the liturgical and musical practice at the monastery and at Mainz during the 10th and 11th centuries. It is also the source for the legend of the visit by the Roman cantors Petrus and Romanus, according to which the teaching of Romanus at the monastery was the origin of the ‘Romanian’ letters found in the St Gallen chant manuscripts and other east Frankish manuscripts. Ekkehard's handwriting has been identified in a number of St Gallen manuscripts.
(fl 1210–20). Author of Instituta patrum de modo psallendi sive cantandi (GebertS, i, 5–8; also ed. in Bernhard), and of the Vita Notkeri Balbuli essentially taken from the Casus of (4) Ekkehard IV.
The principal manuscript sources for the versus ad sequentias of the monks named Ekkehard are CH-SGs 381 (10th century), 376, 378, 380 and 382 (all 11th century), CH-SGs 546 (1507), PL-Kj Cod.Theol.IV° 11 (Minden, 1024) and CH-E 121 (10th century). The earliest source for the Casus is CH-SGs 615 (12th or 13th century).
M. Goldast: Alamannicarum rerum scriptores aliquot vetusti, i (Frankfurt, 1606, rev. 3/1730 by H.C. Senckenberg as Rerum alamannicarum scriptores aliquot vetusti)
F.J. Mone, ed.: Hymni latini medii aevi (Freiburg, 1853–5/R)
A. Schubiger: Die Sängerschule St. Gallens vom achten bis zwölften Jahrhundert (Einsiedeln and New York, 1858/R)
E. Dümmler: ‘Ekkehard IV von St. Gallen’, Zeitschrift für deutsches Alterthum, xiv (1869), 1–73
J. Kehrein: Lateinische Sequenzen des Mittelalters aus Hansdschriften und Drucken (Mainz, 1873/R)
G. Meyer von Konau: ‘Die Ekkeharde von St. Gallen’, Öffentliche Vorträge gehalten in der Schweiz, iii (1879)
C. von Henking: ‘Die annalistischen Anzeichnungen des Klosters St Gallen’, Mittheilungen zur vaterländischen Geschichte, new ser., ix (1884), 195–368
G.M. Dreves and C. Blume, eds.: Analecta hymnica medii aevi, ix (Leipzig, 1890/R); l (Leipzig, 1907/R)
J.W. Beck: Ekkehards Waltharius: ein Kommentar (Groningen, 1908)
S. Singer: Die Dichterschule von St. Gallen (Leipzig, 1922)
A. Bruckner, ed.: Schreibschulen der Diözese Konstanz: St Gallen I und II (Geneva, 1935–8)
J. Smits van Waesberghe: ‘De verklaring der letters: Appendix, De “Instituta patrum” van Sint Gallen’, Muziekgeschiedenis der Middeleeuwen, ii (Tilburg, 1942), 197–205
W. von den Steinen: Notker der Dichter und seine geistige Welt (Berne, 1948)
S.A. van Dijk: ‘Saint Bernard and the Instituta patrum of Saint Gall’, MD, iv (1950), 99–109
J. Szöverffy: Die Annalen der lateinischen Hymnendichtung (Berlin, 1964–5)
N. de Goede, ed.: The Utrecht Prosarium, MMN, vi (1965)
E.E. Ploss, ed.: Waltharius und Walthersage: eine Dokumentation der Forschung (Hildesheim, 1969)
H. Hoffman: Buchkunst und Königtum im ottonischen und frühsalischen Reich, MGH, Schriften, xxx (Stuttgart, 1986)
M. Bernhard: Clavis Gerberti: eine Revision von Martin Gerberts ‘Scriptores ecclesiastici de musica sacra potissimum’ (St. Blasien 1784), i (Munich, 1989), 5–8
A. Önnerfors: Das Waltharius-Epos: Probleme und Hypothesen (Stockholm, 1988)
W. Arlt and S. Rankin, eds.: ‘The Sequence Repertory’, Stiftsbibliothek Sankt Gallen Codices 484 & 381 (Winterthur, 1996), i, 50–52