Hendrik Herp

Hendrik Herp [Also Harp or Erp; Latin Hendricus de Herp, Henricus Herpius or Harpius, Harphius, Citharoedus.] (died 1478) was a Flemish Franciscan of the Strict Observance, and a writer on mysticism,

Life

Only the last thirty years of his life are known to us. Born either at Düren (Marcoduranus), at Erp near Düren, or at Erps-Kwerps near Leuven, Herp appears as rector of the Brethren of the Common Life, first in 1445 at Delft in Holland, then at Gouda, "to the great good of his subjects". In 1450, on a pilgrimage to Rome, he took the habit of St. Francis at the Convent of Ara Cœli. Twenty years later we find him provincial of the Province of Cologne (1470-73), then guardian of the convent of Mechlin in present-day Belgium, where he died. The "Franciscan Martyrology" of Arturus of Rouen gives him the title of Blessed.

Works

He was praised by Mabillon, Bona, and others. Of his works, only one was printed during his life-time, "Speculum aureum decem præceptorum Dei" (Mainz, 1474); it is a collection of 213 sermons on the Commandments for the use of preachers and confessors. Another collection of 222 sermons (Sermones de tempore, de sanctis, etc.) was printed in 1484, etc. Both frequently quote the Doctors of the Middle Ages, especially Thomas Aquinas, Alexander of Hales, Bernard of Clairvaux, etc., and were often reprinted.

The other works of Herp, of which some - still unpublished - are to be found in the libraries of Cologne, Brussels, etc., are devoted to mystical subjects. The principal of these is the "Theologica Mystica", written on Mount Alverno and published in full at Cologne in 1538 by the Carthusian Dietrich Loher, with a dedication to George Skotborg, Bishop of Lund. It was reprinted five times before 1611, and translated into French, German, etc. The whole work comprises three parts: "Soliloquium divini Amoris", "Directorium Aureum contemplativorum", "Paradisus contemplativorum". The second part, the most famous, was written originally in Flemish ("Spiegel der Volcomenheyt"), printed in 1501, etc.; then, with several short treatises on kindred matters, it was translated into Latin under the title given above (Cologne, 1513, etc.), into Italian, Spanish, German, etc. The edition of the mystical theology, dedicated to Ignatius Loyola in 1556 by Loher, was censured by the Index (1559, 1580, 1583, etc.). Corrected editions followed with an "Introductio ad doctrinam" (Rome, 1585), an "Index Expurgatorius" (Paris, 1598), where can he found, as well as in the "Index of Sotomayor" (1640), the opinions to be corrected. As a whole and in the chief divisions of his doctrine, Herp shows several points of contact with his compatriot John of Ruysbroeck [ [http://www.domcentral.org/study/aumann/cs/cs07.htm Chapter Seven ] ] . The Franciscan Chapter of Toledo in 1663 recommended his works as standard writings in mystic theology.

References

*Dirks, Histoire littéraire et bibliographique des Frères Mineurs del' Observance en Belgique et dans les Pays-Bas (Antwerp, 1885);
*Reusens in Bibliographie Nationale, IX (1886-7), 278-284;
*Schlager, Beiträge zur Geschichte der kölnischen Franziskaner Ordensprovinz im M. A. (Cologne, 1904), and Zum Leben des Franziskaners H. Harp in Der Katholik (1905), II, 46-48.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07293a.htm "Catholic Encyclopedia" article]
* [http://users.bart.nl/~roestb/franciscan/franauth.htm#_Toc427570994 Franaut page]