Engelbert of Admont facts for kids

Engelbert (born around 1250 – died May 12, 1331) was an important leader called an Abbot at the Benedictine monastery of Admont in Styria. A monastery is a place where monks live and work. He was known as one of the smartest people of his time.

Engelbert's Early Life and Studies

Engelbert was born into a noble family in a place called Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel. When he was about 17 years old (around 1267), he joined the Admont monastery.

Just four years later, he was sent to Prague to study. There, he learned about grammar and logic. After two years, he moved to the University of Padua in Italy. He spent nine years there, studying deep subjects like philosophy and theology. Philosophy is about big ideas like knowledge and existence. Theology is the study of religious beliefs.

Becoming an Abbot

In 1297, the monks chose Engelbert to be their Abbot of Admont. This meant he was the head of the monastery. He led the monastery for 30 years! When he was almost 80 years old, he decided to step down. He wanted to spend his last years focusing on prayer and his studies. Engelbert was very smart and wrote about many different topics.

Engelbert's Writings and Ideas

Engelbert wrote many books on various subjects. These included books about morals, religious beliefs, history, and how governments should work. He also wrote about the Bible, nature, teaching, and even music.

Understanding Government and Power

One of Engelbert's most famous books was called De ortu, progressu et fine Romani imperii. He wrote it when Emperor Henry VII was ruling (between 1308 and 1313). In this book, Engelbert shared his ideas about how a ruler should govern.

He believed a ruler should be very knowledgeable. Their main goal should always be to help their people. Engelbert also thought that if a ruler was unfair, they could be removed from power.

He explained that the emperor and the pope were both important leaders. Each had their own area of power and should be independent. Engelbert saw the Holy Roman Empire as a Christian continuation of the ancient Roman Empire. He felt there should be one main ruler, the emperor, whom all other rulers should respect.

Engelbert was worried about the power of both the emperor and the pope getting weaker. He even predicted that difficult times would come, leading to big changes for the Holy Roman Empire and the Church.

Engelbert's Musical Insights

Another interesting work by Engelbert was his book on music, called De musica tractatus. In this book, he talked about the challenges music teachers faced back then. Music was very complicated with its systems of hexachords, solmization (singing notes), and mutation (changing notes). This book helps us understand how music was taught and learned a long time ago.