Martin Gerbert
He was educated at Freiburg im Breisgau, at Klingnau in Switzerland and at the Benedictine St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest, where in 1737 he took the vows. In 1744 he was ordained priest, and immediately afterwards appointed professor, first of philosophy and later of theology.
Martin Gerbert

illisible · Des hochwürdigsten Herrn, Herrn Martin Gerberts... Reisen durch Alemannien, Welschland und Frankreich · Public domain
- Born
- 1720 · Horb am Neckar.
- Died
- 1793 · St. Blasien.
- Nationality
- Germany
- Occupation
- musicologist · music theorist · music historian · university teacher · philosopher · theologian · composer
- Languages
- Latin · German
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
He was educated at Freiburg im Breisgau, at Klingnau in Switzerland and at the Benedictine St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest, where in 1737 he took the vows. In 1744 he was ordained priest, and immediately afterwards appointed professor, first of philosophy and later of theology.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Martin Gerbert. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q66625 · wikipedia · Martin Gerbert
In this article
Life
Life
Between 1754 and 1764 he published a series of theological treatises, their main tendency being to modify the rigid scholastic system by an appeal to the Fathers, notably Augustine; from 1759 to 1762 he travelled in Germany, Italy and France, mainly with a view to examining the collections of documents in the various monastic libraries. In 1764 he was elected prince-abbot of St Blaise's, and proved himself a model ruler both as abbot and prince. His examination of archives during his travels had awakened in him a taste for historical research, and under his rule St. Blaise's became a notable centre of the methodical study of history; it was here that Marquard Herrgott wrote his Monumenta domus Austriacae, of which the first two volumes were edited, for the second edition, by Gerbert, who also published a Codex epistolaris Rudolphi I, Romani regis (1772) and De Rudolpho Suevico comite de Rhinfelden, duce et rege, deque ejus familia (1785) (cf. Rudolf of Rheinfelden). It was, however, in sacramental theology, liturgiology, and notably ecclesiastical music that Gerbert was mainly interested. In 1774 he published two volumes De cantu et musica sacra; in 1777, Monumenta veteris liturgiae Alemannicae; and in 1784, in three volumes, Scriptores ecclesiastici de musica sacra, a collection of the principal writers on church music from the 3rd century till the invention of printing. The materials for this work he had gathered during his travels, and although it contains many textual errors, its publication has been of great importance for the history of music, by preserving writings which might either have perished or remained unknown. His interest in music led to his acquaintance with the composer Gluck, who became his intimate friend. In the Febronian controversy he had early taken a mediating attitude, and it was largely due to his influence that Bishop Hontheim had been induced to retract his extreme views. In 1768 St. It was at his request that it was made the mausoleum of all the Austrian princes buried outside Austria, whose remains were solemnly transferred to its vaults. In connexion with its consecration he published his Historia Nigrae Silvae, ordinis S. Benedicti coloniae (3 vols, St Blasien, 1783). Gerbert, who was beloved and respected by Catholics and Protestants alike, died in St. Blasien on 3 May 1793.
He was educated at Freiburg im Breisgau, at Klingnau in Switzerland and at the Benedictine St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest, where in 1737 he took the vows. In 1744 he was ordained priest, and immediately afterwards appointed professor, first of philosophy and later of theology. Between 1754 and 1764 he published a series of theological treatises, their main tendency being to modify the rigid scholastic system by an appeal to the Fathers, notably Augustine; from 1759 to 1762 he travelled in Germany, Italy and France, mainly with a view to examining the collections of documents in the various monastic libraries. In 1764 he was elected prince-abbot of St Blaise's, and proved himself a model ruler both as abbot and prince. His examination of archives during his travels had awakened in him a taste for historical research, and under his rule St. Blaise's became a notable centre of the methodical study of history; it was here that Marquard Herrgott wrote his Monumenta domus Austriacae, of which the first two volumes were edited, for the second edition, by Gerbert, who also published a Codex epistolaris Rudolphi I., Romani regis (1772) and De Rudolpho Suevico comite de Rhinfelden, duce et rege, deque ejus familia (1785) (cf. Rudolf of Rheinfelden). It was, however, in sacramental theology, liturgiology, and notably ecclesiastical music that Gerbert was mainly interested. In 1774 he published two volumes De cantu et musica sacra; in 1777, Monumenta veteris liturgiae Alemannicae; and in 1784, in three volumes, Scriptores ecclesiastici de musica sacra, a collection of the principal writers on church music from the 3rd century till the invention of printing. The materials for this work he had gathered during his travels, and although it contains many textual errors, its publication has been of great importance for the history of music, by preserving writings which might either have perished or remained unknown. His interest in music led to his acquaintance with the composer Gluck, who became his intimate friend. As a prince of the Empire Gerbert was devoted to the interests of the house of Austria; as a Benedictine abbot he was opposed to Emperor Joseph II's church policy. In the Febronian controversy he had early taken a mediating attitude, and it was largely due to his influence that Bishop Hontheim had been induced to retract his extreme views. In 1768 St. Blaise's abbey, with the library and church, was burnt to the ground, and the splendid new church which rose on the ruins of the old (1783) remained until its destruction by fire in 1874, at once a monument of Gerbert's taste in architecture and of his Habsburg sympathies. It was at his request that it was made the mausoleum of all the Austrian princes buried outside Austria, whose remains were solemnly transferred to its vaults. In connexion with its consecration he published his Historia Nigrae Silvae, ordinis S. Benedicti coloniae (3 vols, St Blasien, 1783). Gerbert, who was beloved and respected by Catholics and Protestants alike, died in St. Blasien on 3 May 1793.

Martin II Gerbert, prince-abbott of St. Blaise Abbey in the Black Forest. With the sapphire pectoral cross of 1777
Unidentified painter
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1720
Martin Gerbert born at Horb am Neckar.
1793
Martin Gerbert died at St. Blasien.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Horb am Neckar.
Birth place
St. Blasien.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q66625: Martin Gerbert
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Martin Gerbert”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
scholarly publication
- Friedrich Nicolai, Martin Gerbert und das Kloster St. Blasien, Schwäbische Heimat, 2025
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2025
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Friedrich Nicolai, Martin Gerbert und das Kloster St. Blasien, Schwäbische Heimat, 2025Crossref registry
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,438 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Martin FryPerson
- Martin GallingPerson
- Martin GalwayPerson
- Martin GarrixPerson
- Martin GorePerson
- Martin Gotthard SchneiderPerson
- Martin GrechPerson
- Martin Gregor-DellinPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Martin Gerbert?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.