Walafrid Strabo

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Walafrid Strabo (also Walahfrid; nicknamed Strabo, meaning “squint-eyed”) lived about 808–849. He was an Alemannic Benedictine monk and a writer on theology, history, and poetry, who spent most of his life at Reichenau Island in southern Germany.

Life
He was born in Swabia around 808 and trained at Reichenau Abbey under Tatto and Wetti. He studied at Fulda with Rabanus Maurus before returning to Reichenau, where he became abbot in 838. He was expelled from his monastery for unclear reasons—likely related to the political struggles after Louis the Pious’s death, when he supported his elder brother Lothair I. He was restored to Reichenau in 842 and died there in 849 while on an embassy to a former pupil. His epitaph, written by Rabanus Maurus, praises him as a faithful guardian of his monastery.

Works
Walafrid’s writings mix theology, history, and poetry. Key works include:
- Expositio quatuor Evangeliorum (commentary on the four Gospels)
- De exordiis et incrementis quarundam in observationibus ecclesiasticis rerum (840–842), a practical guide to church life, rites, bells, prayers, baptisms, and the Holy Communion; it uses German expressions of the day and discusses the Mass as a memorial of Christ’s Passion
- A life of Saint Gall (Vita sancti Galli), a major historical work, plus a shorter life of Saint Othmar
- Several poems, including Liber de cultura hortorum (the Hortulus), about his garden at Reichenau and the herbs he grows, with notes on their uses and even beer brewing
- De Imagine Tetrici, a dialogue inspired by a statue of a nude emperor at Aachen
- A hexameter poem, Liber de visionibus Wettini, about visions of the monk Wettin

Context and influence
Walafrid also produced other short poems addressed to kings, queens, and friends. His Hortulus remains well known for its practical, almost gardener’s-eye view of nature and healing. Some later claims about him—such as authorship of the Glossa Ordinaria on the Bible—were later shown to be incorrect. Walafrid’s writings reflect a concerned, court-centered approach to church life and governance, illustrating how a monastic scholar viewed the roles and responsibilities of church and society from a central, learned perspective.