Hermann of Reichenau

Life events

1. Born — 1013

   Hermann was born on 18 July 1013 at Vöhringen, son of the Count of Altshausen, with a cleft palate and cerebral palsy; sources also attribute spina bifida, though more recent scholarship proposes amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinal muscular atrophy as the underlying condition, leaving him with severe difficulty moving and barely able to speak.

2. Other — 1020

   At age seven, Hermann was placed by his parents in the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau — a monastery on an island in Lake Constance, Germany — because they could no longer provide his care. He was raised there by the monks.

3. Educated

   Growing up at Reichenau, Hermann became literate in Arabic, Greek, and Latin and engaged with all four disciplines of the quadrivium — arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.

4. Tonsured — 1033

   At approximately age twenty, Hermann entered the Benedictine order as a monk at Reichenau, the same community that had raised him since childhood.

5. Wrote

   Hermann composed a chronicle of world history from the birth of Christ to his own day, ordered by the Christian era; he also produced treatises on music theory, geometry, arithmetic, and astronomy — including instructions for constructing an astrolabe — along with surviving liturgical officia for St. Afra and St. Wolfgang. His pupil Berthold of Reichenau extended the chronicle after Hermann's death.

6. Wrote

   When Hermann went blind in his later years, he turned primarily to composing hymns. Among the works traditionally attributed to him are the Marian antiphons Salve Regina, Veni Sancte Spiritus, and Alma Redemptoris Mater, though modern scholarship treats these attributions as uncertain.

7. Died — 1054

   Hermann died at Reichenau on 24 September 1054, aged 41.

8. Other — 1863

   The Roman Catholic Church confirmed Hermann's cultus and beatification in 1863, assigning his feast day to 25 September.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Born with a cleft palate and cerebral palsy, with spina bifida also attributed, Hermann had severe difficulty moving and could barely speak; recent scholarship proposes ALS or spinal muscular atrophy as the underlying condition. (plausible)
• The Marian antiphons Salve Regina, Veni Sancte Spiritus, and Alma Redemptoris Mater have traditionally been attributed to Hermann, though modern scholarship treats these attributions as uncertain. (disputed)
• Hermann wrote astronomical treatises including instructions for constructing an astrolabe, which led some later writers to credit him as its inventor. (likely)
• The Roman Catholic Church confirmed Hermann's cultus and beatification in 1863; his feast day is 25 September. (certain)
• Russian composer Galina Ustvolskaya based three of her five symphonies on texts by Hermann of Reichenau. (likely)