Hermann was a son of the
Count of
Altshausen. He was disabled due to a
paralytic disease from early childhood. He was born on 18 July 1013 with a
cleft palate and
cerebral palsy and is said to have had
spina bifida. Based on the evidence, however, more recent scholarship indicates Hermann possibly had either
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or
spinal muscular atrophy. As a result, he had great difficulty moving and
could hardly speak. At seven, he was placed in a
Benedictine monastery by his parents who could no longer look after him. He grew up in the
Abbey of Reichenau, an island on
Lake Constance in Germany. He learned from the monks and developed a keen interest in both
theology and the world around him. At twenty, Hermann entered their order as a
Benedictine monk, becoming literate in several languages (including
Arabic,
Greek and
Latin) and contributing to all four arts of the
quadrivium. He wrote about history,
mathematics,
astronomy, and
Christianity. He wrote a
treatise on the science of
music, several works on
geometry and
arithmetics, and
astronomical treatises including instructions for the construction of an
astrolabe which caused him to sometimes be credited as its inventor. As an historian, he wrote a detailed
chronicle from the
birth of Christ to his own present day, ordering them after the reckoning of the
Christian era. It was later extended by his pupil
Berthold of Reichenau. He was a renowned religious poet and
musical composer. Among his surviving works are
officia for
St. Afra and
St. Wolfgang. When he went
blind in later life, he began writing hymns. He was famous enough that he appears to have been credited with compositions by later writers; among the works traditionally attributed to him are the
Salve Regina ("Hail Queen"),
Veni Sancte Spiritus ("Come Holy Spirit"), and
Alma Redemptoris Mater ("Nourishing Mother of the Redeemer"). Herman died on Reichenau on 24 September 1054, aged 41. The
Roman Catholic Church beatified him in 1863. ==Legacy and influence==