Ekkehard II

Ekkehard II (died 23 April 990), called Palatinus (the Courtier), was a monk of the Abbey of Saint Gall. He and Ekkehard III were nephews of the preceding, who educated also at St. Gall his other nephews, Notker the physician and Burkard, later abbot of the monastery. Ekkehard II was taught by his uncle and the monk Geraldus, and was later a teacher in the monastery school. A number of his pupils joined the order; others became bishops.

According to the Casus Sancti Galli he was called later to Hohentwiel, the seat of the Duchess Hadwig of Swabia, widow of Burkard II. The duchess was wont occasionally to visit St. Gall, and eventually (973) asked for and obtained the services of Ekkehard as her tutor in the reading of the Latin classics. Nevertheless, he continued to render great services to his monastery, especially on the occasion of the differences between St. Gall and Reichenau (Abbot Ruodmann); in many other ways also he proved himself useful to the monks by the influence he had obtained as tutor of the duchess.

Ekkehard was also prominent at the imperial court of Otto I. Later he became provost of Mainz Cathedral where he died 23 April 990. He was buried in the church of St. Alban, outside the city gates. He was the author of various ecclesiastical hymns, known as sequences, all of which are lost, except one in honour of St. Desiderius.

Johann Joseph Abert's 1878 opera Ekkehard is based on his life.

Sources

•  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ekkehard". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.