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 HERINCX

265

HERMANN

where for many years he was sclwlasticus of the monas- tic school. He was an intimate friend of Bishop Notger of Liege, whom he accompanied to Rome in 989, and at whose instance he wrote a few works. In 990 he was elected to succeed the deceased Folcwin as Abbot of Lobbes. By long and assiduous study of the Fathers of the Church and the writers of classical antiquity he amassed an amount of learning quite unusual in those times. On the whole, he wrote with more historical criticism than most of his contempo- raries, though as a hagiographer he at times sinks to the level of an ascetical novelist. His chief work is a history of the bishops of Lioge, " Gesta episcoporum Leodiensium", which, however, reaches only to the death of St. Remaclus in 667. It was first published by Chapeauville in " Auctores de Gestis Pontificum

Tungrensium et Leodiensium" (Liege,

1618), 1-98; a better edition was issued by Martcne and Durand in " Veterum Scriptorum Amplissima CoUectio" (Paris, 1724-33), IV, 837-912; finally, it was published with a valuable historical disquisition on the writings of Heriger by Kopke in " Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script.", VII, 1.34-94, whence it was reprinted in Migne, P. L., CXXXIX, 958-1068. The history was continued to the year 1048 by Anselm of Li&ge. Heriger's other writings are: the " Life of the Virgin St. Berlendis", published in "Acta SS.", February, I, 378-81; the "Life of St. Landoald", ibidem, March, III, 35—42; a metrical "Life of St. Ursmar", of which only a few fragments remain; a treatise on the Body and Blood of Christ, "De Corpore et Sanguine Domini", which is little else than a compilation of excerpts from the Fathers, and must not be con- founded with another work of the same title, generally ascribed to Gerbert; and a few other works on hagio- logical and liturgical subjects. Most of these works are printed in Migne, P. L., CXXXIX, 999-1 136. Heri- ger is also the author of an arithmetical work entitled " Regulse de numerorum abaci rationibus", which was published by Bubnov in the " Opera Mathematica " of Gerbert (Berhn, 1S99), 205-25.

Kopke, loc cit. above: Kurth in Biographie nat. de Belgique, IX (Brussels, 1886). 245-51: BEHLitRE, Monasticon Brine (Bruges, 1890-7), I, 209: DC'Mmler in Neues Archiv der Ge- sellschaft fur allere deiUsche Geachichtakunde, XX\'I (Hanover, 1900), 755-9: Ebert, Allgem. Gesrh. der LMeratur des Mitlel- alters im Abendlande (Leipzig, 1879-87), III, 405-9.

Michael Ott.

Herincx, Williaji, theologian, b. at Helmond, North Brabant, 1621; d. 17 Aug., 1678. After re- ceiving his preliminary education at 'S Hertogen- bosch he entered the University of Louvain, where he devoted himself with great ardour to the study of the ancient classics and obtained the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. As a student he was distinguished for his diligence, modesty, and piety. After completing his university course, he resolved to embrace the religious state and entered the Franciscan Order. In 1653 he was appointed lecturer in theology at Lou- vain. His superiors, who had observed his great talents and success in teaching, ordered him (1658) to draw up a course of theology for use in the Fran- ciscan schools, and the first volume of his work was published in 1660. The style is concise and clear. A spirit of piety pervades the work. In the preface to his "Summa Theologica ", he writes: "The teach- ing of theology does not consist alone in the search after truth, but it behooves us to make use of the truth for our own sanctification and for the sanctification of others, and above all for kindling and nourishing in ourselves and in others the love of God. " Accord- ing to the constitutions of his order, Father Herincx propounds the doctrine of Duns Scotus, but he does not neglect the teachings of St. Bonaventure or St. Thomas.

Father Herincx was a Probabilist, and his tractate "De conscientia" is a masterpiece. He shows that

the system of Probabilism is not altogether new, and he draws his proofs from St. Thomas, St. Bonaven- ture, St. Antonine, and Scotus, although the Subtle Doctor is not so explicit on the matter as the other ancient writers. According to Herincx, the tempest that arose in the seventeenth century against Prob- abilism had its origin in Jansenism, for Rigorism was unknown among the theologians of the Middle Ages. The decrees of Alexander VII, issued in 1665 and 1666, after the publication of Herincx's work, called for some modifications in the latter, and Father Van Goorlacken, lector jubilate, was commissioned to bring out a new edition. After fifteen years spent in teaching theology, Father Herincx was honoured with the title of Lector Jubilate, equivalent to the university degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was twice elected minister provincial, then definitor gen- eral, and finally commissary general for the northern countries of Europe. On 28 April, 1677, whilst mak- ing a canonical visitation in England, he received word at Newport that Charles II had nominated him Bishop of Ypres. He was consecrated on 24 October in the same year, in the Franciscan church, Brussels. He left immediately for his diocese but ruled it for less than a year; he died while making his first dio- cesan visitation. The epitaph on his tombstone in the cathedral of Ypres says: "Ob virtutem et omni- modam eruditionem ad has infulas a.ssumptus". Letters found in his room after his death show that his promotion to the cardinalate had been determined on by the pope. His "Summa Theologica Scholas- tica et Moralis" was published at Antwerp, 1660-63; 2nd ed., 1680; 3rd, 1702-04.

FoppENS, Bibliotheca Brlgica (Brussels, 1739), contains a por- trait of Herincx: Schouten.s, MaTtyrolooiuvi Minoritico-Belgi- cum; HuRTER, NomenclatoT; Dirks, Histoire litteraire et biblio- graphiquedes Frcrefi Mineurs en Belgique et dans les Pays-Baa (Antwerp, 1885); Bibliotheca Univ. Franciscana (Madrid).

Gregory Cleary.

Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia (1190-1217), famous as a patron of medieval German poets. He was the second son of Ludwig surnamed der Eiserne (the iron one) and of Judith, sister of the Emperor Frederick I. Together with his brother Ludwig, he warred against Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, who had been put under the ban of the empire. The brothers were defeated and taken prisoners in the battle of Weissensee (1180) but released the following year. Ludwig had been made Count Pala- tine of Saxony as a reward for his services to the emperor, but he transferred the dignity to Hermann, who now took up his residence at Neuenburg on the Unstrut (at present Freiburg), which he exchanged for the Wartburg castle near Eisenach, when in 1190 on the death of Ludwig he became Landgrave of Thuringia. He successfully maintained his posses- sions against the ambitious designs of Henry VI. In 1197 he took part in a crusade, but returned on the news of Henry's decease. In the wars between the rival kings, Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick (1198-1208), he played a conspicuous, but not very glorious, part, changing sides more than once for material advantage. As a consequence his dominions suffered fearfully, being repeatedly overrun and devas- tated by the armies of the rival factions. When Otto was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III, a number of German princes, among them Hermann, assembled at Nuremberg, in 1211, and chose in his place Freder- ick of Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily. In the struggle that ensued Thuringia was again invaded by Otto, and Hermann was reduced to great distress, from which he was saved only by the timely arrival of Frederick, the newly elected emperor, at the news of which Otto turned back. Henceforth he remained loyal to Frederick, though he was always regarded with dis- trust. He died at Gotha, 25 April, 1217, and was buried at Reinhardsbrunn. Hermann was twice