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{{Short description|8th-century | {{Short description|8th-century English scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher}} | ||
{{About|the scholar Alcuin of York||Alcuin (disambiguation)}} | {{About|the scholar Alcuin of York||Alcuin (disambiguation)}} | ||
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}} | {{Use British English|date=September 2013}} | ||
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'''Alcuin of York''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|l|k|w|ɪ|n}};<!-- Editorial note: Lexico uses /a/ for the sound more accurately transcribed in IPA as /æ/ --><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/alcuin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131084858/https://www.lexico.com/definition/alcuin|url-status=dead |archive-date=31 January 2020 |title=Alcuin |website=Lexico |access-date=13 September 2020}}</ref> {{langx|la|Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus}}; {{circa}} 735 – 19 May 804), also called '''Ealhwine''', '''Alhwin''', or '''Alchoin''', was | '''Alcuin of York''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|l|k|w|ɪ|n}};<!-- Editorial note: Lexico uses /a/ for the sound more accurately transcribed in IPA as /æ/ --><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/alcuin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131084858/https://www.lexico.com/definition/alcuin|url-status=dead |archive-date=31 January 2020 |title=Alcuin |website=Lexico |access-date=13 September 2020}}</ref> {{langx|la|Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus}}; {{circa}} 735 – 19 May 804), also called '''Ealhwine''', '''Alhwin''', or '''Alchoin''', was an Anglo-Latin scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from [[York]], [[Northumbria]]. He was born around 735 and became the student of [[Ecgbert of York|Archbishop Ecgbert]] at York. At the invitation of [[Charlemagne]], he became a leading scholar and teacher at the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian court]], where he remained a figure in the 780s and 790s. Before that, he was also a court chancellor in [[Aachen]]. "The most learned man anywhere to be found", according to [[Einhard]]'s ''[[Vita Karoli Magni|Life of Charlemagne]]''{{sfn|Einhard|2003|p=54}} ({{circa|817}}–833), he is considered among the most important intellectual architects of the [[Carolingian Renaissance]]. Among his pupils were many of the dominant intellectuals of the Carolingian era. | ||
Alcuin wrote many theological and dogmatic treatises, as well as a few grammatical works and a number of poems. In 796, he was made abbot of [[Marmoutier Abbey, Tours|Marmoutier Abbey]], in [[Tours]], where he worked on perfecting the [[Carolingian minuscule]] script. He remained there until his death. | Alcuin wrote many theological and dogmatic treatises, as well as a few grammatical works and a number of poems. In 796, he was made abbot of [[Marmoutier Abbey, Tours|Marmoutier Abbey]], in [[Tours]], where he worked on perfecting the [[Carolingian minuscule]] script. He remained there until his death. | ||
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Alcuin was born in [[Northumbria]], presumably sometime in the 730s. Virtually nothing is known of his parents, family background, or origin.{{sfn|Bullough|2004|p=164}} In common hagiographical fashion, the ''Vita Alcuini'' asserts that Alcuin was of "noble English stock", and this statement has usually been accepted by scholars. Alcuin's own work only mentions such collateral kinsmen as [[Wilgils|Wilgils of Ripon]], father of the missionary saint [[Willibrord]]; and [[Beornrad (archbishop of Sens)|Beornrad]] (also spelled Beornred), abbot of [[Echternach]] and bishop of [[Sens]].{{sfn|Bullough|2004|pp=146-147, 165}} Willibrord, Alcuin and Beornrad were all related by blood.{{sfn|Mayr-Harting|2016|page=212}}{{sfn|Stenton|2001|page=219}} | Alcuin was born in [[Northumbria]], presumably sometime in the 730s. Virtually nothing is known of his parents, family background, or origin.{{sfn|Bullough|2004|p=164}} In common hagiographical fashion, the ''Vita Alcuini'' asserts that Alcuin was of "noble English stock", and this statement has usually been accepted by scholars. Alcuin's own work only mentions such collateral kinsmen as [[Wilgils|Wilgils of Ripon]], father of the missionary saint [[Willibrord]]; and [[Beornrad (archbishop of Sens)|Beornrad]] (also spelled Beornred), abbot of [[Echternach]] and bishop of [[Sens]].{{sfn|Bullough|2004|pp=146-147, 165}} Willibrord, Alcuin and Beornrad were all related by blood.{{sfn|Mayr-Harting|2016|page=212}}{{sfn|Stenton|2001|page=219}} | ||
In his ''Life'' of St Willibrord, Alcuin writes that Wilgils called a ''[[Pater familias]]'', had founded an oratory and church at the mouth of the [[Humber]], which had fallen into Alcuin's possession by inheritance. Because in early Anglo-Latin writing ''paterfamilias'' ("head of a family, householder") usually referred to a {{lang|ang|[[churl|ceorl]]}} ("[[churl]]"), [[Donald A. Bullough]] suggests that Alcuin's family was of {{lang|ang|cierlisc}} ("churlish") status: i.e., free but subordinate to a noble lord, and that Alcuin and other members of his family rose to prominence through beneficial connections with the aristocracy.{{sfn|Bullough|2004|pp=146-147, 165}} If so, Alcuin's origins may lie in the southern part of what was formerly known as [[Deira]].{{sfn|Bullough|2004|p=165}} | In his ''Life'' of St Willibrord, Alcuin writes that Wilgils, called a ''[[Pater familias]]'', had founded an oratory and church at the mouth of the [[Humber]], which had fallen into Alcuin's possession by inheritance. Because in early Anglo-Latin writing ''paterfamilias'' ("head of a family, householder") usually referred to a {{lang|ang|[[churl|ceorl]]}} ("[[churl]]"), [[Donald A. Bullough]] suggests that Alcuin's family was of {{lang|ang|cierlisc}} ("churlish") status: i.e., free but subordinate to a noble lord, and that Alcuin and other members of his family rose to prominence through beneficial connections with the aristocracy.{{sfn|Bullough|2004|pp=146-147, 165}} If so, Alcuin's origins may lie in the southern part of what was formerly known as [[Deira]].{{sfn|Bullough|2004|p=165}} | ||
=== York === | === York === | ||
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=== Return to Northumbria and back to Francia === | === Return to Northumbria and back to Francia === | ||
In 790, Alcuin returned from the court of Charlemagne to England, to which he had remained attached. He dwelt there for some time, but Charlemagne then invited him back to help in the fight against the [[Spanish Adoptionism|Adoptionist]] heresy, which was at that time making great progress in [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], the old capital of the [[Visigoths]] and still a major city for the Christians under [[Al-Andalus|Islamic rule in Spain]]. He is believed to have had contacts with [[Beatus of Liébana]], from the [[Kingdom of Asturias]], who fought against Adoptionism. At the [[Council of Frankfurt]] in 794, Alcuin upheld the orthodox doctrine against the views expressed by [[Felix, Bishop of Urgel|Felix of Urgel]], an [[heresiarch]] according to the [[Catholic Encyclopedia]].{{sfn|Burns|1907}} Having failed during his stay in Northumbria to influence King [[Æthelred I of Northumbria|Æthelred I]] in the conduct of his reign, Alcuin never returned home. | In 790, Alcuin returned from the court of Charlemagne to England, to which he had remained attached. He dwelt there for some time, but Charlemagne then invited him back to help in the fight against the [[Spanish Adoptionism|Adoptionist]] heresy, which was at that time making great progress in [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], the old capital of the [[Visigoths]] and still a major city for the Christians under [[Al-Andalus|Islamic rule in Spain]]. He is believed to have had contacts with [[Beatus of Liébana]], from the [[Kingdom of Asturias]], who fought against Adoptionism. At the [[Council of Frankfurt]] in 794, Alcuin upheld the orthodox doctrine against the views expressed by [[Felix, Bishop of Urgel|Felix of Urgel]], an [[heresiarch]] according to the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''.{{sfn|Burns|1907}} Having failed during his stay in Northumbria to influence King [[Æthelred I of Northumbria|Æthelred I]] in the conduct of his reign, Alcuin never returned home. | ||
He was back at Charlemagne's court by at least mid-792, writing a series of letters to Æthelred, to Hygbald, Bishop of [[Bishop of Durham|Lindisfarne]], and to [[Æthelhard]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] in the succeeding months, dealing with the [[Viking]] attack on Lindisfarne in July 793. These letters and Alcuin's poem on the subject, {{Lang|la|"De clade Lindisfarnensis monasterii"}}, provide the only significant contemporary account of these events. In his description of the Viking attack, he wrote: "Never before has such terror appeared in Britain. Behold the [[St Cuthbert's Society, Durham|church of St Cuthbert]], splattered with the blood of God's priests, robbed of its ornaments."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crossley-Holland |first=Kevin |title=The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology |date=24 June 1999 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0192835475 |page=186}}</ref> | He was back at Charlemagne's court by at least mid-792, writing a series of letters to Æthelred, to Hygbald, Bishop of [[Bishop of Durham|Lindisfarne]], and to [[Æthelhard]], [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] in the succeeding months, dealing with the [[Viking]] attack on Lindisfarne in July 793. These letters and Alcuin's poem on the subject, {{Lang|la|"De clade Lindisfarnensis monasterii"}}, provide the only significant contemporary account of these events. In his description of the Viking attack, he wrote: "Never before has such terror appeared in Britain. Behold the [[St Cuthbert's Society, Durham|church of St Cuthbert]], splattered with the blood of God's priests, robbed of its ornaments."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crossley-Holland |first=Kevin |title=The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology |date=24 June 1999 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0192835475 |page=186}}</ref> | ||
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Alcuin transmitted to the [[Franks]] the knowledge of Latin culture, which had existed in [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon England]]. A number of his works still exist. Besides some graceful epistles in the style of [[Venantius Fortunatus]], he wrote some long poems, and notably he is the author of a history (in verse) of the church at York, ''Versus de patribus, regibus et sanctis Eboracensis ecclesiae''. At the same time, he is noted for making one of the only explicit comments on [[Old English poetry]] surviving from the early [[Middle Ages]], in a letter to one Speratus, the bishop of an unnamed English [[Episcopal see|see]] (possibly [[Unwona]] of Leicester): {{lang|la|"verba Dei legantur in sacerdotali convivio: ibi decet lectorem audiri, non citharistam; sermones patrum, non carmina gentilium. Quid [[Hinieldus]] cum Christo?"}} ("Let God's words be read at the episcopal dinner-table. It is right that a reader should be heard, not a harpist, patristic discourse, not pagan song. What has [[Ingeld]] to do with Christ?").<ref>Donald A. Bullough, "What has Ingeld to do with Lindisfarne?", ''Anglo-Saxon England'', 22 (1993), 93-125 (p. 93 for the Latin [quoted from ''Epistolae Karolini Aevi II'', ed. by E. Dummler, ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'', Epistula 4 (Berlin, 1895), p. 183 (no. 12)]; p. 124 for the translation); {{doi|10.1017/S0263675100004336}}.</ref> | Alcuin transmitted to the [[Franks]] the knowledge of Latin culture, which had existed in [[History of Anglo-Saxon England|Anglo-Saxon England]]. A number of his works still exist. Besides some graceful epistles in the style of [[Venantius Fortunatus]], he wrote some long poems, and notably he is the author of a history (in verse) of the church at York, ''Versus de patribus, regibus et sanctis Eboracensis ecclesiae''. At the same time, he is noted for making one of the only explicit comments on [[Old English poetry]] surviving from the early [[Middle Ages]], in a letter to one Speratus, the bishop of an unnamed English [[Episcopal see|see]] (possibly [[Unwona]] of Leicester): {{lang|la|"verba Dei legantur in sacerdotali convivio: ibi decet lectorem audiri, non citharistam; sermones patrum, non carmina gentilium. Quid [[Hinieldus]] cum Christo?"}} ("Let God's words be read at the episcopal dinner-table. It is right that a reader should be heard, not a harpist, patristic discourse, not pagan song. What has [[Ingeld]] to do with Christ?").<ref>Donald A. Bullough, "What has Ingeld to do with Lindisfarne?", ''Anglo-Saxon England'', 22 (1993), 93-125 (p. 93 for the Latin [quoted from ''Epistolae Karolini Aevi II'', ed. by E. Dummler, ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'', Epistula 4 (Berlin, 1895), p. 183 (no. 12)]; p. 124 for the translation); {{doi|10.1017/S0263675100004336}}.</ref> | ||
==== | ==== Possible homoeroticism ==== | ||
Some historians, including the queer historian [[John Boswell]], have identified what they consider to be a [[homoerotic]] or homosexual [[subtext]] in Alcuin's writings.{{sfn|Boswell|2015|p=189}}{{sfn|Bromell|2002|p=16}}{{sfn|Coon|2011|p=18}} Others, like [[Allen Frantzen]], have disputed this characterisation of his work; Frantzen identifies Alcuin's language with that of medieval Christian ''amicitia'' or friendship.{{sfn|Frantzen|1998|p=198}}{{efn |See also {{harvnb|Jaeger|1991}} }} Douglas Dales and [[Rowan Williams]] say "the use of language drawn [by Alcuin] from the ''[[Song of Songs]]'' transforms apparently erotic language into something within Christian friendship – 'an ordained affection{{'"}}.{{sfn|Dales|Williams|2013|p=228}} According to David Clark, passages in some of Alcuin's writings can be seen to display homosocial desire, even possibly homoerotic imagery, though he argues that it is not possible to necessarily determine whether they were the result of an outward expression of erotic feelings on the part of Alcuin.{{sfn|Clark|2009|p=80}} | Some historians, including the queer historian [[John Boswell]], have identified what they consider to be a [[homoerotic]] or homosexual [[subtext]] in Alcuin's writings.{{sfn|Boswell|2015|p=189}}{{sfn|Bromell|2002|p=16}}{{sfn|Coon|2011|p=18}} Others, like [[Allen Frantzen]], have disputed this characterisation of his work; Frantzen identifies Alcuin's language with that of medieval Christian ''amicitia'' or friendship.{{sfn|Frantzen|1998|p=198}}{{efn |See also {{harvnb|Jaeger|1991}} }} Douglas Dales and [[Rowan Williams]] say "the use of language drawn [by Alcuin] from the ''[[Song of Songs]]'' transforms apparently erotic language into something within Christian friendship – 'an ordained affection{{'"}}.{{sfn|Dales|Williams|2013|p=228}} According to David Clark, passages in some of Alcuin's writings can be seen to display homosocial desire, even possibly homoerotic imagery, though he argues that it is not possible to necessarily determine whether they were the result of an outward expression of erotic feelings on the part of Alcuin.{{sfn|Clark|2009|p=80}} | ||
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|prayer_attrib= | |prayer_attrib= | ||
}} | }} | ||
Alcuin is honoured in the [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Church of England]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]] on 20 May the first available day after the day of his death (as [[Dunstan]] is celebrated on 19 May).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.churchintouraine.org/?page_id=2|title=Why Alcuin – Church in Touraine |website=churchintouraine.org |language=en |access-date=29 November 2017 |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330082808/http://www.churchintouraine.org/?page_id=2 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=17 December 2019 |publisher=Church Publishing |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref> | Alcuin is honoured in the [[Calendar of saints (Church of England)|Church of England]] and in the [[Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church)|Episcopal Church]] on 20 May, the first available day after the day of his death (as [[Dunstan]] is celebrated on 19 May).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.churchintouraine.org/?page_id=2|title=Why Alcuin – Church in Touraine |website=churchintouraine.org |language=en |access-date=29 November 2017 |archive-date=30 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330082808/http://www.churchintouraine.org/?page_id=2 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=17 December 2019 |publisher=Church Publishing |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4 |language=en}}</ref> | ||
Alcuin is also venerated as a Saint by [[Eastern Orthodox]] Christians in the [[British Isles]] and [[Ireland]]. The Orthodox Fellowship of [[John the Baptist]] publishes a liturgical calendar that is widely used in that region, and this calendar includes a feast for St Alcuin.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} | Alcuin is also venerated as a Saint by [[Eastern Orthodox]] Christians in the [[British Isles]] and [[Ireland]]. The Orthodox Fellowship of [[John the Baptist]] publishes a liturgical calendar that is widely used in that region, and this calendar includes a feast for St Alcuin.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} | ||
[[Alcuin College]], one of the [[colleges of the University of York]], is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |last=York |first=University of |title=Alcuin - University of York |url=https://www.york.ac.uk/colleges/alcuin/ |access-date=13 April 2022 |website=University of York |language=en}}</ref> In January 2020, Alcuin was the subject of the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''[[In Our Time (radio series)|In Our Time]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dqy8 |title=BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Alcuin |website=BBC}}</ref> In December 2024, Alcuin was prominently featured in | [[Alcuin College]], one of the [[colleges of the University of York]], is named after him.<ref>{{Cite web |last=York |first=University of |title=Alcuin - University of York |url=https://www.york.ac.uk/colleges/alcuin/ |access-date=13 April 2022 |website=University of York |language=en}}</ref> In January 2020, Alcuin was the subject of the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''[[In Our Time (radio series)|In Our Time]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000dqy8 |title=BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Alcuin |website=BBC}}</ref> In December 2024, Alcuin was prominently featured in Part 2 of a 3-part podcast series on Charlemagne in ''[[The Rest Is History (podcast)|The Rest Is History]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/hu/podcast/charlemagne-pagan-killer-part-2/id1537788786?i=1000679734307 |title=Charlemagne: Pagan Killer (Part 2) |website=The Rest Is History}}</ref> | ||
At the entrance of [[St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery]], a private cemetery in [[Hong Kong]], two lines of his poem "Ashes and Dust" are demonstrated as [[Duilian (poetry)|Duilian]]; which is "You are now, traveller, what I once was, and what I am now you will one day become."<ref>Quod nunc es fueram, famosus in orbe, viator, et quod nunc ego sum, tuque futurus eris.</ref> | |||
== Selected works == | == Selected works == | ||
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* ''De animae ratione (ad Eulaliam virginem)'' (written for Gundrada, Charlemagne's cousin), PL 101, 639–650; | * ''De animae ratione (ad Eulaliam virginem)'' (written for Gundrada, Charlemagne's cousin), PL 101, 639–650; | ||
* ''De Cursu et Saltu Lunae ac Bissexto'', astronomical treatise, PL 101, 979–1002; | * ''De Cursu et Saltu Lunae ac Bissexto'', astronomical treatise, PL 101, 979–1002; | ||
* (?) ''[[Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes|Propositiones ad acuendos iuvenes]]'', ed. Menso Folkerts, "Die | * (?) ''[[Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes|Propositiones ad acuendos iuvenes]]'', ed. [[Menso Folkerts]], "Die älteste mathematische Aufgabensammlung in lateinischer Sprache, Die Alkuin zugeschriebenen ''Propositiones ad acuendos iuvenes''; Überlieferung, Inhalt, Kritische Edition", in ''idem'', ''Essays on Early Medieval Mathematics: The Latin Tradition'', Aldershot, Ashgate, 2003. | ||
=== Theology === | === Theology === | ||
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{{commons category}} | {{commons category}} | ||
* {{PASE|11518|Alcuin 1}} | * {{PASE|11518|Alcuin 1}} | ||
* [http://logica.ugent.be/albrecht/alcuin.pdf | * Alcuin: [http://logica.ugent.be/albrecht/alcuin.pdf ''Problems for the Quickening of the Minds of the Young''] | ||
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081205163439/http://www.bu.edu/english/levine/alcend.htm Introduction to Alcuin's writings | * Robert Levine and Whitney French Bolton: [https://web.archive.org/web/20081205163439/http://www.bu.edu/english/levine/alcend.htm Introduction to Alcuin's writings] (Boston University Websites) | ||
* [http://www.alcuinsociety.com/ ''The Alcuin Society''] | * [http://www.alcuinsociety.com/ ''The Alcuin Society''] | ||
* [http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/timeline/anglo-saxon ''Anglo-Saxon York on History of York site''] | * [http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/timeline/anglo-saxon ''Anglo-Saxon York on History of York site''] | ||
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081118194921/http://www.corpuschristianorum.org/series/cccm_preparation.html Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis – new critical editions in preparation] | * [https://web.archive.org/web/20081118194921/http://www.corpuschristianorum.org/series/cccm_preparation.html Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis – new critical editions in preparation] | ||
* [https://archive.today/20121204163129/http://kaali.linguist.jussieu.fr/CGL/index.jsp Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum – complete texts and full bibliography] | * [https://archive.today/20121204163129/http://kaali.linguist.jussieu.fr/CGL/index.jsp Corpus Grammaticorum Latinorum – complete texts and full bibliography] | ||
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130502224321/http://cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/readinghall/GalleryofHistory/ALCUIN/Alcuin-Door.html The Life of Alcuin | * Frederick Lorenz: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130502224321/http://cristoraul.com/ENGLISH/readinghall/GalleryofHistory/ALCUIN/Alcuin-Door.html ''The Life of Alcuin''] | ||
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Alcuin}} | * {{Internet Archive author|sname=Alcuin}} | ||
* {{Librivox author|id=1121}} | * {{Librivox author|id=1121}} | ||
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{{Authority control}} | {{Authority control}} | ||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcuin}} | |||
[[Category:730s births]] | [[Category:730s births]] | ||
[[Category:Year of birth | [[Category:Year of birth uncertain]] | ||
[[Category:804 deaths]] | [[Category:804 deaths]] | ||
[[Category:8th-century astronomers]] | [[Category:8th-century astronomers]] | ||