Notker
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [1]
There are several persons of this name mentioned in Church histories. The most important among them are:
1. ST. NOTKER, surnamed Balbulus, or "the stammerer," a learned German monk, who was born about 830 at Elgau, in Northern Switzerland. At an early age he entered the convent of St. Gall (q.v.). His talents attracted the attention of the emperor Charles the Large, who repeatedly offered to make him bishop, but Notker always declined. He died April 16, 912. He wrote, Liber de interpretibus divinarumn Scripturairuns (Hamburg, 1736, 8vo; and in Pez, Thesaurus anecdotorum): — Liber sequentiarum, in the same collection: — Notitia de illustribus viris, ibid.: — Martyrologium (in Canisius, Antiquae Lectiones): — S. Fridolini historia (in Goldast, Scriptores Alemannici): — Hymns (in Canisius, Lectiones): — and a treatise on the value of letters in music (in Gerbert, Scriptores). The Gesta Caroli Magni has been erroneously attributed to Notker.
2. NOTKER, surnamed Labeo, or Teutonicus, a learned German monk, was born about the middle of the 10th century. He was a nephew of Ekkehard I, who wrote a Latin paraphrase of Waltharius's German poem. He entered at an early age into the convent of St. Gall (q.v.) where he made rapid progress, obtaining even a good mastery of the Greek language, which was a rare accomplishment at that time. He became the head of the school. We have still a Latin poem by one of his pupils, with notes and corrections in Notker's handwriting (see Pertz, Monumenta. vol. ii). In his teaching Notker often made use of the German. language, and vainly sought to establish the custom of so doing (see his letter to the bishop of Sion in Grimm's Gottinger Gelehrte Anzeigen, 1835). Notker also translated into German several portions of the Bible, and some of the classics. It has been erroneously asserted by some that he merely supervised these translations, and that they were made by his pupils. He died June 29, 1022. Among his translations we find some of the Psalms in Hattemer (Denkmaler) and in Graff (Windberger Psalmen [Quedlinburg, 1839]); De Consoiatione of Boathius, published by Graff (Berlin, 1837); De nuptiis Mercurii et Phillolgice of Martianus Capella (ibid. 1847); the Categories and Hermeneutics of Aristotle (ibid. 1837). He also wrote a treatise on rhetoric in Latin, published in Haupt (Zeitschrift, vol. iv). Among his translations which have been lost we notice that of the Book of Job; the Bucolics of Virgil; the Andrian of Terence; the Disticha of Cato, etc. This Notker is by some con.sidered as the author of the little treatise on music mentioned under the preceding; as also of one on logic in Haupt (Altdeutsche Blatter, vol. ii). See Ekkehard, Casus S. Galti; Acta Sanct. Feb. and April; Oudin, Scriptores ecclesiastici, s.v.; Gallia Christiana, s.v. (J. N. P.)
