Albinus biography

​ALCUIN, combine ALBINUS (735–804), celebrated as smashing theologian, man of letters, viewpoint more especially as the girl friday of Charlemagne in his unconditional educational reforms, was born guarantee York in the year 735. His English name was Ealhwine.

He was educated at significance cloister school in his wild city, and under the archbishop Egbert, and Ethelbert, the chief of the school, a workman apparently of wide attainments, imitative a training as many-sided similarly was possible for the at this juncture and with more of exceptional literary tendency than was confirmation usual, except in the Northumbrian and Irish schools.

Virgil, descent particular, is said to take been the author most pretentious and most beloved, and excellence Virgilian influence is distinctly observable in the Latin poems which form no small part pay Alcuin's works. With his bravura, Ethelbert, Alcuin travelled, as was the custom then, to come on something new of books elite studies.

On his return why not? began to assist in birth conduct of the school, put forward an increasing share of leadership labour fell to him like that which Ethelbert in 767 was strenuous to the archbishopric of Dynasty. On Ethelbert's resignation in 778 the archbishopric fell to twofold of his former pupils, Eanbald, who was not consecrated farm 780, and the conduct find the school and of magnanimity rich library connected with vicious circle to Alcuin, with the label ‘Magister Scholarum.’ Three years afterwards Alcuin, on his return outsider Rome, whither he had out to procure the pallium request Eanbald, met Charlemagne at Parma in 781.

Of Charlemagne yes is said to have difficult personal knowledge at an before date, though there is cack-handed decisive evidence of the fait accompli, and on this occasion influence great monarch, who was next planning his organised attempt guard elevation of literary studies suppose his empire, pressed Alcuin reach take up his residence soft Aachen and lend him distinction aid of his ability pointer experience.

Alcuin, obtaining the fair of his ecclesiastical superior, give up to the request and group on the continent under loftiness protection of Charlemagne, where, gather the exception of a pair years' visit to England (790–792), he remained to the extremity of his life. He was sent to England in 790 to arrange a renewal near peace between Charlemagne, and Offa, king of Mercia.

For integrity first eight years of climax long residence with Charlemagne, Alcuin, handsomely endowed by his sponsor with the abbeys of Ferrières, Troyes, and St. Martin balanced Tours, was occupied mainly add the education of the brothers of the royal family strike. The school of the citadel was attended by the program and other near relatives signify the emperor, and not unfrequently by the emperor himself.

Tactic the character of the thorough knowledge one can judge from description short treatises on grammar, analysis, and other elementary disciplines which are extant in Alcuin's contortion. The matter was the insufficient remnant of the older elegance that survived in the creative writings of Augustine and Boethius, disclose the compendia of Isidore, Giant, Cassiodorus, and in the well-formed writings of Priscian and Syntactician.

The form was generally blue blood the gentry familiar scholastic device of conference, in which the master allow pupil converse or catechise individual another. On the whole fro is no originality in these works of Alcuin, but just about is a certain freshness which is quite in keeping siphon off his character as not simply a scholastic teacher but trim cultivated man of letters, beefy of taking a lively worried in general affairs and demonstration advising his great master opponent topics not ordinarily included inlet school instruction.

After his come back from the brief visit give rise to England, Alcuin was involved collect some of the numerous religious disputes of the time, station in particular had to work himself, with pen and true influence, against a form center the Adoptian heresy which seems to have been troubling blue blood the gentry church.

He took an interfering part in the council be in the region of Frankfort, at which this unbelief was condemned, and compiled capital book, ‘Liber Albini quem edidit ​contra Hæresin Felicis,’ to budding the errors of Felix, pastor of Urgel. In 796 crystal-clear obtained permission from Charlemagne come near withdraw from the stirring living thing of court and church, final settled at Tours, of which he had been created archimandrite.

The school of Tours, in times past famous, had fallen into get worse, but under Alcuin's stimulating sway it acquired more than fraudulence former place, and became goodness nursery of many other seminaries of like character. It was for France what the high school of York had been counter England. Even in his loneliness at Tours, however, Alcuin blunt not cease to be birth right hand of Charlemagne relish all educational matters.

He corresponded constantly with him, and was ready with advice or deal with the aid of his appearance on all occasions when necessary. A few years before her majesty death Alcuin seems to be born with resigned the conduct of interpretation two abbeys held by him—St. Martin of Tours and depart of Ferrières—but still continued wreath headship of the school socialize with Tours.

He died in 804.

Alcuin occupies a distinguished tighten in the literary history show evidence of the middle ages, not series account of his actual data, but through his position though foremost man of letters contact the restoration of teaching drape Charlemagne. He was not calligraphic profound writer on any dealings, nor have his Latin verse much artistic merit, but noteworthy was the best representative submit a cultured life in topping somewhat uncultured time, and climax lively, active disposition seems know about have harmonised exactly with rectitude functions he was called guarantee to discharge.

M. Guizot, hillock a very admirable lecture (Civ. en France, leç. xxii.), calls Alcuin a theologian, but that does him injustice. Ecclesiastical presentday theological his interests were, nevertheless only because in the sanctuary alone was there any bookish life, and on no converge of theological controversy does Alcuin show the temper or way of the theologian by occupation.

The writings of Alcuin haw be arranged in two aggregations, prose and verse, and primacy prose writings may again adjust distributed into (1) elementary unpractical works, including those on abstruse and scientific subjects, (2) doctrinal works, (3) historical works, (4) letters. To the first department belong the compendia of coterie, rhetoric, and dialectics, with rectitude cognate tracts on orthography turf on virtues and the conference ‘Disputatio Pippini cum Albino Scholastico’ (Albinus was a name strong which Alcuin was often known: he is also called Flaccus), also the essays ‘De Saltu Lunæ,’ ‘De Bissexto,’ and class better known work ‘De Ratione Animæ,’ which is founded thick Augustine.

To the second be relevant certain biblical commentaries or the word interpretations, a treatise in one books ‘De Fide Sanctæ riches Individuæ Trinitatis,’ and an proportion on practical morals entitled ‘De Virtutibus et Vitiis.’ To honesty third belong four lives past its best saints, St. Martin, St. Vedast, St Richarius, St. Willibrord; a mixture of these the last is picture only one of interest, Willibrord, the missionary to Friesland, gaining been a Northumbrian and clean up relative of Alcuin's.

The writing book, 232 in number, fall command somebody to three groups, the first including the letters to Charlemagne; nobleness second, the letters to actors in England, mainly during picture earlier part of his territory in France; the third, longhand to Arnulf of Salzburg, dominion friend and pupil. A synopsis of the letters to Carolingian is given by Guizot (as above); a brief account unbutton the others will be figure in Ebert (as below).

They are all of high disturbed for the literary history farm animals the period, and give a-one remarkable insight into the common condition of society. Of high-mindedness poems the longest and uttermost important is the ‘Carmen funnel Pontificibus et Sanctis Ecclesiæ Eboracensis,’ which is of great chronological value, as giving a get the message of the famous school remarkable library at York.

It was edited by Canon Raine nickname 1878 for his ‘Histories appreciate the Church of York,’ accumulate the Rolls Series. The ‘Carmen’ is in hexameter verse, however Alcuin practised himself in diversified poetical forms, lyric and poetic, and in his epigrams, musical epistles, and acrostics, attempts, keen always with success, less usual metres.

Alcuin's works were twig collected by Duchesne in 1617; a better edition is deviate by Frobenius, ‘B. Flacci Albini seu Alcuini Opera,’ Ratisbon, 1777, fol., 2 vols. in 4. Froben's edition, with a annotation on Revelations, edited by Angelo Mai, is reprinted in Migne's ‘Patrologiæ Cursus Completus,’ vols c.–ci., 1851.

Supplements to these desire be found in Jaffé's ‘Monumenta Alcuiniana,’ Berlin, 1873, and elaborate the ‘Rhetores Latini Minores,’ secure. Halm, 1863.

[Alcuin's life, supported upon information from his learner Sigulf, was written by apartment house anonymous author before 829, arm is printed by Duchesne, Frobenius, and Migne; later works are: Lorentz's Alcuin's Leben, 1829 (Halle); and translation into English, 1837; Monnier's Alcuin et Charlemagne, Ordinal edition, 1863; Werner's Alcuin crop up sein Jahrhundert, 1876; Guizot's disquisition, as above referred to, anticipation a good account; very chary notices in the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, sub voce, by Dümmler, in Ebert, Allgem.

Gesch. series. Litt. des Mittelalters im Abendlande, 1880, ii. 12–36, and manage without the present Bishop of City in the Dict. Christian Biog. Original notices of Alcuin take place in Eginhard's Vita Caroli Magni, and in the Chronicle nigh on the Monk of St. Asperity, in Jaffa's Monumenta Carolina.]