Fortune and misfortune at Saint Gall

The eleventh-century monk Ekkehard IVÕsÊFortune and Misfortune at Saint Gall, part of the chronicles of the famous Swiss abbey, is a treasure trove of medieval monastic life. Saint GallÕs records span its humble beginnings in the early seventh century to the late Middle Ages, with EkkehardÕs contribution covering the 880s to 972, near the end of the monasteryÕs two-century-long golden age. Its unforgettable tales, sometimes at odds with the historical record, contain sharp flashes of EkkehardÕs signature humor_when, for instance, a spying abbot from a neighboring monastery is caught hiding in the latrine. Ekkehard also shows how the abbeyÕs role as a spiritual haven could be compromised by worldly ties, including close associations with the powerful Carolingian and Ottonian courts. He bears witness to the struggles of the tenth-century church reform movement, when Emperor Otto I dispatched investigators to uncover Saint GallÕs deviations from the Rule of Saint Benedict.