Ekkehard I

Ekkehard I (Latin: Eccehardus; died 14 January 973), called Major or Senex (the Elder), was a monk of the Abbey of Saint Gall.

He was of noble birth, of the Jonschwyl family in Toggenburg, and was educated in the monastery of St. Gall; after joining the Benedictine Order, he was appointed director of the inner school there.

However, he directed the choice of Burkard, son of Count Ulrich of Buchhorn, who governed St. Gall with the advice and co-operation of Ekkehard.

He was also distinguished as a poet, and wrote a Latin epic "Waltharius", basing his version on an original German text.

He also composed various ecclesiastical hymns and sequences, e. g. in honour of the Blessed Trinity, St. John the Baptist, St. Benedict, St. Columbanus and St. Stephen (Meyer, "Philologische Bemerkungen zum Waltharius" in "Abhandl.