Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monk, hagiographer and historian. He was born in
Ponthieu
Ponthieu (; ; ) was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France.Dunbabin.France in the Making. Ch.4. The Principalities 888-987 Its chief town is Abbeville.
History
Ponthieu p ...
and given by his parents to the
abbey of Saint-Riquier
The abbey of Saint-Riquier was founded in 625 by Richarius (Riquier), son of the governor of the town of Centula (or ''Centulum''), which lay within the kingdom of Austrasia. The foundation was enriched by King Dagobert I and prospered under the ab ...
as a child
oblate
In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service.
Oblates are i ...
. In 1105, he was elected abbot of Saint Peter's in Oudenburg,where he served until his death.Theodore Evergates, "Historiography and Sociology in Early Feudal Society: The Case of Hariulf and the ''milites'' of Saint-Riquier", ''Viator'' 6 (1975): 35–49.
During his time at Saint-Riquier, Hariulf wrote a chronicle of the abbey at the request of his fellow monks. The original ''Chronicon Centulense'' (also called ''Gesta ecclesiae Centulensis'') cover the years 625–1088. He later extended it down to the end of the abbacy of in 1096. He used a wide variety of written and oral sources. His work preserves information lost with the destruction of Saint-Riquier's archives in 1131.Brigitte Meijns "Hariulf" in G. Dunphy (ed.), '' Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle Online'' (Brill, 2016). An English translation was published in 2024.Kathleen Thompson, trans., ''Hariulf's History of St Riquier'' (Manchester University Press, 2024).
The ''Chronicon'' was known to
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...
. It was translated into
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th lost. Hariulf's autograph manuscript">Lost literary work">lost. Hariulf's autograph manuscript was lost to fire in 1719, but was copied by André Duchesne.
At Oudenburg, Hariulf wrote a biography of Bishop Arnold of Soissons in support of his canonization.