DRUTHMAR, CHRISTIAN: The name assigned to the author of an extensive commentary on Matthew, and two briefer ones on Luke and John. It has recently been shown, however, that the name Druthmar does not occur in the manuscripts, but is based on a statement of Trithemius (De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis, 280), and therefore must be given up. According to the prologue to the commentary on Matthew, Christian was a monk in the cloister of Stabulaus (the modern Stavelot, 24 m. s.e. of Liége), where he wrote his work on the basis of the lectures which he delivered in the school of the monastery. Sigibert of Gembloux (De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis, 72) states that Christian came from Aquitaine to Gaul, although certain passages in his own writings make plausible the conjecture that his native district was Burgundy. His date can only be conjectured, but his statement that the Bulgarians were in process of conversion to Christianity during his lifetime points approximately to 865. A deacon named Christian is known to have lived at Stavelot in 880, and it is not impossible that he was the exegete. The commentary on Matthew ranks above the average contribution of the ninth century. Though the author drew much from other sources, he did not content himself with mere excerpting, but proceeded with a considerable degree of independence. He was tolerably accurate in his judgment on literal and allegorical exegesis, preferring the former in cases of advantage, yet not disdaining the latter. The other two commentaries are inferior in value, and may have been merely notes for his lectures.

(A. HAUCK.)

 

Bibliography: The editio princeps of the Commentary was published Strasburg, 1514; the Commentary on Matthew was published separately by M. Molther at Hagenau, 1530, and in MPL, cvi. Consult E. Dümmler, Ueber Christian von Stavelot, in Sitzungeberichte der Berliner Akademie, 1891, p. 935.