From Regensburg to Hirsau and Back. Paths in 11th-12th Century German Theology

The reform of Hirsau monastery in the late 11th century came about thanks to one of the outstanding scholars of St. Emmeram: William, monk of the monastery of Regensburg, a place where he wrote important works about music and astronomy, before he became abbot of the monastery in the Black Forest, by whose name he is remembered – William of Hirsau (†1091). Thanks to him, the theological culture of St. Emmeram, and more generally its intellectual world, was exported first to Hirsau, and then to the other houses headed by the Black Forest abbey. Among them we find the monasteries of Regensburg. The aim of paper is to broadly track an itinerary which can be seen as circular. The remnants of Regensburg’s monastic libraries enable us to set out the most important lines of Hirsau’s theological world. Finally, this study hopes to clarify why Hirsau’s reform, with its institutional and cultural network, must be considered key to understanding culture, and particularly theology, in 11th-12th century Germany, and west of the Rhine