ERMOLDUS NIGELLUS, or ERMOLD THE BLACK, was a monk of Aquitaine, who accompanied King Pippin, son of the emperor Louis I., on a campaign into Brittany in 824. Subsequently he was banished from Pippin's court on a charge of inciting the king against his father, and retired to Strassburg, where he sought to regain the emperor's favour by writing a poem on his life and deeds. About 830 he obtained his recall, and has been identified with Hermoldus, who appears as Pippin's chancellor in 838. Ermoldus was a cultured man with a knowledge of the Latin poets, and this 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. His writings are published in the _Monumenta Germaniae historica, Scriptores_, Band 2 (Hanover, 1826 fol.); by J.P. Migne in the _Patrologia Latina_, tome 105 (Paris, 1844); and by E. Dummler in the _Poetae Latini aevi Carolini_, Band 2 (Berlin, 1881-1884). See W.O. Henkel, _Uber den historischen Werth der Gedichte des Ermoldus Nigellus_ (Eilenburg, 1876); W. Wattenbach, _Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen_, Band 1 (Berlin, 1904); and A. Potthast, _Bibliotheca historica_, pp. 430-431 (Berlin, 1896). ERNE, the name of a river and two lakes in the north-west of Ireland. The river rises in Lough Gowna, county Longford, 214 ft. above sea-level, flows north through Lough Oughter with a serpentine course and a direction generally northward, and then broadens into the Upper Lough Erne, a shallow irregular sheet of water 13 m. long, so beset with islands as to present the appearance of a number of water-channels ramifying through the land. The river then winds past the town of Enniskillen on its island, and enters Lough Erne, a beautiful lake nearly 18 m. long and 5 m. in extreme width, containing many islands, but less closely covered with them than the upper lough. One of them, Devenish, is celebrated for its antiquarian remains (see ENNISKILLEN). The river then runs westward to Donegal Bay, forming a fine fall at Ballyshannon (q.v.). Lough Erne contains trout and pike. These waters admit of navigation by small steamers, but little trade is carried on. The area of the Erne basin, which includes a vast number of small loughs, is about 1600 sq. m., and it covers part of the counties Cavan, Longford, Leitrim, Fermanagh and Donegal. The length of the Erne valley is about 70 m.