Ermoldus Nigellus

Who is Ermoldus Nigellus?

Ermoldus Nigellus or Niger, translated Ermold the Black, or Ermoald, was a poet who lived at the court of Pippin of Aquitaine, son of Frankish Emperor Louis I, and accompanied him on a campaign into Brittany in 824.

Ermoldus was a cultured man with a knowledge of the Latin poets, and his poem, In honorem Hludovici imperatoris, has some historical value. It consists of four books and deals with the life and exploits of Louis from 781 to 826. He also wrote two poems in imitation of Ovid, which were addressed to Pippin.

Very little is known about Nigellus' life aside from what he writes about himself in his poetry. Although many scholars have thought that he was a monk or member of the Christian clergy, since we only have his own works as evidence about him, this affiliation as a monk cannot be proven. More recent scholarship on Nigellus, therefore, leans away from asserting his vocation as a monk

The only other known fact about Nigellus is that some time in the 820s he was sent into exile for an undisclosed offence to Pippin and Louis.