Biography
Hariulf of Langres
About Hariulf of Langres
Hariulf is remembered as a monk whose work joined the communities of Saint Gall and Ellwangen with the bishopric of Langres. The French Catholic calendar Nominis calls him Hérulfe and describes him as a Benedictine monk of Saint Gall who founded Ellwangen in 764 before becoming a bishop.
At Ellwangen he is known as Hariolf. Local church tradition remembers him together with his brother Erlolf as a founder of the monastery. The community became an important Benedictine house, and the later town grew from this religious settlement. The brothers are consequently remembered as founders of both monastery and town, rather than as founders of an already existing city.
The chronology of his life is less secure than these associations might suggest. Nominis places his death around 774. Historian Hubert Häfele, however, notes that a diploma of Louis the Pious from 814 addresses Hariolf as someone still living. These accounts cannot both supply his death date, so no definite year is given here.
Häfele dates the Life written by the Ellwangen monk Ermenrich to about 850. That places this important account after the monastery’s foundation, traditionally dated to 764. A later narrative and an imperial document provide different kinds of evidence; neither warrants filling the gaps with an invented birth year or precise lifespan.
Ellwangen’s remembrance remains visible in the Basilica of Saint Vitus. A reliquary made in 1909–1910 holds relics venerated as those of Hariolf and Erlolf. Its restoration was completed in 2026, and a service at the shrine marked Hariolf’s commemoration on August 13. This continuing local observance preserves the brothers’ place in the religious history of Ellwangen.
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