ALCUIN (ALCUINUS). – Advisor to Charlemagne. His Anglo-Saxon name, Alhwin (Alchoin, Alcevin, Alchovine, i.e., Eall-chvine = friend of the temple), was Latinized as Alcuninus (Alcunins) and Albinus. Following the academic custom he himself introduced into the palace school, he took the name Flaccus, hence Flaccus Albinus.
LIFE. – He was born around 735 in Northumbria to a noble Anglo-Saxon family, related to St Willibrord. He was educated at the episcopal school of York, where he learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew under Archbishop Egbert and Aelbert, with whom he made a journey to Rome. When Aelbert became Archbishop of York in 767, he ordained Alcuin a deacon—a rank Alcuin was to retain for life—and entrusted him with the direction of the school, which he greatly enhanced in prestige and reputation. In the spring of 781, while on a journey to Rome to seek the pallium for the new Archbishop Eanbald from Pope Adrian I, he met Charlemagne at Parma. The king pressed him strongly to settle at his court. Having obtained the consent of his own ordinary and of King Ethelred, Alcuin arrived at Aachen by the end of that same year or early in 782. Taking charge of the Schola Palatina, he introduced the system of the “trivium” and “quadrivium” already in use at York, and founded a kind of literary academy, of which Charlemagne himself was a member. According to Einhard, Alcuin was the “tutor” of the sovereign in all branches of learning (Vita Caroli M., 25). While at court he formed friendships with the Lombards Paul the Deacon and Peter of Pisa, the Visigoth Theodulf, and especially with Paulinus, the future Patriarch of Aquileia.
In 790 he returned to his homeland on a political mission for Offa, King of Mercia, whom he reconciled with Charlemagne. However, urged by the latter, he returned to his side in 793 and took a lively part in the theological disputes then agitating the Frankish realm: Spanish Adoptionism (v.) and the controversy over images. He therefore took part in the two great Councils of Frankfurt (794) and Aachen (799). At Charlemagne’s wish he was given the administration of several abbeys: Ferrières, Troyes, Saint-Josse-sur-Mer, and finally, in 796, the famous monastery of St Martin of Tours, whither he repaired that same year for reasons of health and to restore its fortunes. He immediately enriched its precious library and restored the school to great renown, which later became celebrated in the history of medieval paleography (Caroline minuscule). Among his pupils were Amalarius and Rabanus Maurus. He also saw to the completion of the foundation of the monastery of Cormery, near Tours, where he began the community with twenty monks of the reform of St Benedict of Aniane.
He died at Tours on Pentecost Sunday, 19 May 804.
Rabanus Maurus included him in his martyrology (19 May); chroniclers and historians gave him the title of blessed, but, as far as is known, no public cult was ever paid to him. It is uncertain whether Alcuin was a monk, as many believe with Mabillon.
WORKS AND DOCTRINE. – Alcuin’s literary output is multifaceted and in various respects recalls that of Bede.
I. Pedagogy
As a teacher, Alcuin left some writings that are didactically interesting for their dialogic method: “per interrogationes et responsiones, memoriae causa” (PL 101, 854 B). It seems that, following the example of Cassiodorus, he composed a complete treatise on the seven liberal arts, though only the first parts survive, those of the Trivium: the De grammatica, with a moral introduction in dialogic form, and the two short works De dialectica and De rhetorica. Of the De musica, the first discipline of the Quadrivium, a fragment survives, published by Gerbertus in Scriptores eccl. de Musica (I, pp. 26-27): a very important fragment, since it is the first Western writing to give the classification of the eight musical tones, four authentic and four plagal.Mathematical and astronomical questions are treated in the short work De cursu et de saltu lunae ac bis-sexto, and in various letters to Charlemagne, who was much interested in astronomy (MGH, Epist., IV, Epp. 126, 148, 149, 155, 170, 171).
Also to be noted is the short work De Orthographia, arranged according to the letters of the alphabet, and the brief but important Pippini disputatio cum Albino scholastico, in 106 questions and answers, whose catechetical procedure favours ingenious expressions very close to the riddle so dear to the Anglo-Saxons.
Some ninth-century manuscripts preserve among Alcuin’s works the Disputatio puerorum per interrogationes et responsiones, which Frobenius considered of doubtful authenticity (PL 101, 1097-1144). However, Silva-Tarouca regards it as at least from Alcuin’s school, and believes that he also composed a whole Catechism in question-and-answer form (Fontes historiae ecclesiasticae, p. 327, note 5).
Also attributed to Alcuin are the celebrated Propositiones ad acuendos iuvenes, already placed by Frobenius among his doubtful works (PL 101, 1143-60), and a commentary on Priscian (Excerptiones super Priscianum), preserved in three manuscripts (cf. Manitius, I, pp. 282 and 286).
II. Philosophy
In addition to the short work De dialectica, two treatises should be added: 1) De animae ratione, “ad Eulalium virginem”, inspired by St Augustine and Cassian and written around 801, representing the first attempt at a medieval psychology; 2) De virtutibus et vitiis, “ad Widonem comitem” (c. 801), an example of medieval ethics.III. Poetry
Alcuin left many compositions, generally short, sometimes mediocre, but often successful: hymns, epigrams, inscriptions for churches and altars, didactic pieces, occasional verses, eclogues, riddles, and some prayers. Particularly well known in literature are the Oratio in nocte, the De cuculo and the Certamen or Conflictus Veris et Hiemis. The short poem De clade Lindisfarnensis monasterii sive De rerum humanarum vicissitudine (PL 101, 805-812) is an elegy recalling the sack of the church of St Cuthbert by the Normans in 793. Alcuin normally employs classical metres, especially the hexameter, and has a sure sense of technique. Though not a great poet, he was much admired by his contemporaries, who called him “nostrum gloria vatum” (Theodulf, Carm., 15, vv. 131-40: MGH, Poetae Aevi Carol., I, 486; cf. p. 162).IV. History and hagiography
Alcuin wrote on these subjects in both prose and verse. Outstanding for its importance is the poem, inspired by love for his native land: De sanctis Euboricensis (or Eboracensis) Ecclesiae, composed between 780 and 782, which narrates the history of the church of York and its bishops.Between 782 and 789 or after 793, he wrote the Life of St Willibrord, founder of the monastery of Echternach, in two books, one in prose for liturgical use, the other in verse for the exercise of the pupils. He also wrote in prose the lives of St Martin of Tours, St Vedast (Vaast) of Arras, and St Richerius (Riquier).
V. Theology
To refute Adoptionism Alcuin wrote: Liber adv. haeresim Felicis; Adv. Felicem libri VII; Adv. Elipandum libri IV, and some polemical Letters. For the emperor he composed the treatise De fide sanctae et individuae trinitatis: he himself calls this work libellus de catholica fide (Ep. 258: MGH, Epist., IV, 416). He also wrote XXVIII Quaestiones de Trinitate, a kind of advanced catechism, and the short treatise De pretio salutis in the form of a letter to Charlemagne (Ep. 165: PL 100, 431-437).The Libellus de processione Spiritus Sancti, placed by Frobenius among Alcuin’s genuine works (PL 101, 63-84), is not authentic according to Dümmler (MGH, Epist., IV, 482). CARIOCINESI (v.) on the controversy over images are, however, attributed by Sabatier to Alcuin, according to the researches of Bastgen.
A. extols the authority of the Roman Church, called *Apostolica sublimitas* (cf. Ep. 90 and 95: PL 100, 293 and 301), admits purgatory (De fide S. Trinit., 3, 21) and the value of suffrages (Ep. 178: PL 100, 449); he upholds the intercession of the saints, the efficacy of relics (Ep. 23, 26-34: PL 100, 177, 181, 191) and the beatific vision for the just not delayed until the general judgment (Ep. 113: PL 100, 342); he combats superstition (Ep. 267: MGH, Epist., IV, 425 sq.) and simony (cf. ibid., p. 416, note 1). He clearly teaches transubstantiation (Ep. 411: PL 100, 203), defends the Roman use of unleavened and unsalted bread for the eucharistic sacrifice (Ep. 90: PL 100, 289), and urges the sovereign to suppress the pernicious custom, prevalent in some places, of celebrating Mass without Communion (Adm. gen. of 789, no. 6: MGH, Capit., I, 54). Against the error that had spread in Languedoc (Gothia), he upholds the dogmatic necessity of auricular confession (Ep. 112: PL 100, 337-41).
VI. Law
The juridical science of A. is revealed in his writings. Of particular interest is the Epistle 245 (MGH, Epist., IV, 393-98), in which he defends the right of asylum. In letters 174 and 255 he sets forth the fundamental principles of ecclesiastical public law; and in the 137th he emphasizes the Regestum of St. Gregory the Great received from Rome. This, however, as it seems, was in a shortened edition, and A., not finding in it the letter upon which the partisans of a single immersion for baptism relied, confirmed his erroneous opinion that three immersions were necessary for the validity of the sacrament. The question, which had become serious because of the weight of his authority, was later settled at the Council of Worms in 868 (can. 5: Mansi, 15, 869-71). It is also to be noted that the *Admonitio generalis*, a capitulary of Charlemagne from 789 (MGH, Capit., I, 52-62), contains a fragment from Alcuin—*De virtutibus et vitiis*, cap. 17: *De eleemosynis*—which found its way into the *Corpus Juris Canonici* (Decretum Gratiani, Dist. 45 cap. 12).VII. Missionology
He played an active part in the evangelization of the pagan world, urging bishops, settling doctrinal disputes, and giving directives for apostolic work. While encouraging Charlemagne to act as the missionary of Christ among the barbarians by sending them “pios praedicatores,” he censures the forced conversion of pagans to Christianity (Ep. 110 and 113: MGH, Epist., IV).The principles of A. triumphed in the synod convoked by Pepin, king of Italy, in 796 “ad Ripa Danubii,” under the presidency of Paulinus of Aquileia, to establish the conduct to be followed in the evangelization of the Avars, and in the diet of Aachen in 797, where the second capitulary for Saxony was issued, inspired by mildness and equity (MGH, Capit., I, 71-72).
VIII. Holy Scripture
I. Old Testament: *Interpretationes et responsiones in Genesim*: 281 brief answers to as many questions; the last, *De benedictionibus Patriarcharum*, longer than the others, also appears in a work falsely attributed in part to Eucherius and to St. Augustine (PL 35, 2199-2206), as well as to St. Jerome (PL 23, 1307-18); *Enchiridion, seu expositio pia ac brevis in Psalmos poenitentiales, in Ps. 118, et graduales*; *Compendium in Canticum Canticorum*, drawn from the works of Cassiodorus and Bede; *Commentaria super Ecclesiasten*, guided by St. Jerome.II. New Testament: *Commentaria in s. Ioannis Evangelium* in seven books, the principal work of A.; *Tractatus super tres s. Pauli ad Titum, ad Philem. et ad Hebraeos Epistolas*, in which he uses Chrysostom for the last and St. Jerome for the first; *Commentariorum in Apocalypsin libri V*, on the first 12 chapters, of uncertain authenticity according to A. Wilmart (Auteurs spir., Paris 1932, p. 52, note 6). Finally, the *Interpretationes nominum hebraicorum progenitorum D. N. Iesu Christi*, according to the literal, allegorical, and moral senses, and three letters (PL 100) dealing with biblical questions: Ep. 163 on Lk. 22, 36; Ep. 164, particularly interesting, on the hymn sung after the Lord’s Supper; Ep. 203, “de comparatione numerorum Veteris et Novi Test.”; and Ep. 204 on the nature of visions.
3. But A. is especially renowned for his revision of the Vulgate, executed “by order” of Charlemagne (cf. In Ioan., 1. VI, beginning). He collated exclusively Latin manuscripts, chiefly with orthographic and grammatical aims; but since he based himself on the models from York (the Amiatinus type), he produced a text that was excellent also in its content. The Alcuinian or Carolingian Bible spread throughout the empire and served as a model for many books until the 13th century.
IX. Liturgy
1. His first liturgical work, at the behest of Charlemagne, was the revision, chiefly orthographic, of the Lectionary or Epistles of the Mass (*Cones Albini*), completed before the Gregorian Sacramentary reached the court of Aachen. Moreover, A. “collected from the works of many Fathers two volumes of homilies” (Vita, col. 12), which were thought to be lost; but Morin has rediscovered at least one copy.But the work that places A. in the first rank in the history of the Roman liturgy and liturgical books is the “critical edition” of the Gregorian Sacramentary, undertaken not before 800. After first correcting the text of the Sacramentary “artis stylo,” he added a *Supplementum* using Gallican elements and the Gelasian Sacramentary, widely diffused in France. According to the important observation of A. Paredi (I Prefazi Ambrosiani, Milan 1937, p. 90), of the prefaces included in that appendix about seventy are also Ambrosian prefaces.
2. To foster private devotion, he also composed a *Liber Sacramentorum* (PL 101, 445-66) or weekly Missal, unrelated to the liturgical cycle; after the proper Masses for each day follow common and votive Masses. Although a work of private devotion, it greatly influenced official liturgy. The consecrations of Sunday to the Trinity, of Friday to the Cross, and of Saturday to the Virgin soon passed into use and became expressions of Catholic piety: the present Mass of the Holy Trinity, with its collects and its preface of Gelasian origin, is that of A.; likewise his Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin and most of his common and votive Masses.
3. The *De Psalmorum usu* and the *Officia per ferias* (PL 101, 465-508, 509-612) are not authentic (cf. A. Wilmart, in Rev. Bénéd., 48 [1936], pp. 262-65).
4. The treatise *De Baptismi caeremoniis* (PL 101, 611-14; MGH, Epist., IV, 202 sq.) explains to the priest Odinio the order and meaning of the baptismal rite.
5. In 798 A. exchanged letters with Charlemagne on the addition of the three weeks to Lent (Ep. 80 and 81: PL 100, 259-66).
6. His poem or invocation to the Holy Trinity (PL 101, 545-56 and 1409 sq.) has furnished almost all the antiphons for the festal office of this august mystery.
By adapting Roman books to Frankish-German usage, A. powerfully contributed to that liturgical uniformity of the Carolingian empire which marks the starting point for the liturgical unity of the West.
X. Ascetical Works
Not only the *De virtutibus et vitiis* and the hagiographical works mentioned above, but almost all his writings have a marked ascetical character, especially his letters. Most interesting is the little work *De confessione peccatorum ad pueros s. Martini* (PL 101, 649-56; MGH, Epist., IV, no. 131, pp. 193-98), in which A. urges the students of St. Martin of Tours to confess frequently.According to the manuscript S. 17 sup. of the Ambrosian Library in Milan, A. would also have composed a little work for aspiring monks, first published in 1928 by C. Ottaviano under the title *De conversorum acceptione* (in Aevum, 2 [1928], pp. 3-16).
For A., the cardinal points of Christian asceticism are: love for Christ Our Lord: *«Cluis, potus, carmen, laus, gloria vobis»* (Carm. 59, V. 30; MGH, Poetae aevi Carolini, I, 273); devotion to the Virgin, the ark of salvation: he seems to be the first Western writer to honor her with the title of queen (cf. Carm., 203, V. 2: PL 101, 774); prayer: *«Dominus adversus magna est oratio virtus»* (Carm. 62, V. 13; MGH, Poet., I, 275); and study, the delight of the spirit and a weapon against the passions: *«Nihil ad beatam vitam sublimius adipiscendam, nihil ad exercitum iucundius, nihil contra vitia fortius»* (Ep. 43: PL 100, 209). For him, a library rich in books is like a garden of flowers with the fragrance of paradise (cf. ibid., col. 208). He extols the study of astronomy, arithmetic, and every science, inviting one to give thanks to the Lord for the *«iucundissimam naturalium rerum cognitionem»* (Ep. 83), but above all he urges the study of Holy Scripture, from which *«exhortamur ad sapientiam discendam»* (Ep. 43). He exhorts to generosity toward the Lord: *«Non est claudicandum in Dei servitio, sed via regia gradandum»* (Ep. 184: MGH, Epist., IV, 309).
XI. Epistolary
The three hundred or so letters of A. are a historical source of the first order for understanding those times. But most of the epistolary corpus has been lost; of what remains, the majority belongs to the final period (796–804).XII. Dubious or apocryphal works
In addition to those already mentioned, there is the *Confessio fidei* (PL 101, 1003–1098), which Wilmart (*Auteurs spirituels*, p. 128) has shown to be the work of John of Fécamp; the *Commentary on St. Matthew*, unpublished, which Wilmart (loc. cit., p. 52, n. 6 and p. 601) considers of uncertain authorship; the commentary of Pseudo-Rufinus on the first seventy-five Psalms (PL 21, 641–660), which Wilmart has demonstrated to be the work of Letbert, abbot of Saint-Ruf near Avignon, at the beginning of the twelfth century (*Revue Bénéd.*, 31 [1914], pp. 258–76); the *De divinis officiis*, an important work but certainly apocryphal (PL 101, 1169–1286); the *De officio Missae*, recently published by Lowe (cf. Wilmart, *Ephem. Liturg.*, 50 [1936], pp. 133–39); the *Notitia Ecclesiarum urbis Romae*, published as an appendix to the works of A. (PL 101, 1359–65) for which see G. B. De Rossi, *Roma sotterr.*, I, Rome 1864, pp. 136–44; the epistle *De ortu Beneventanorum* to Charlemagne, published by G. Waitz in *Neues Archiv.*, 1 (1876), pp. 169–72.PERSONALITY AND INFLUENCE. — His doctrine, as an expression of ancient thought, does not display great originality. Nevertheless, as an organizer and disseminator of ideas, A. retains a distinctive profile. A man of science and action, he was the driving force behind the religious, cultural, and artistic movement known as the Carolingian Renaissance.
His passion for study led him to multiply manuscripts, admirable codices with gilded letters and miniatures. With A., as Delisle notes, the art of calligraphy took up residence in France. And he trained masters who in turn founded or expanded other important schools: Leidigradus at Lyon, Theodulf at Orléans, Alcuin at Halberstadt, Rabanus Maurus at Fulda and Mainz. Thus, through his influence, centers of learning made possible the scientific speculation of later centuries. The very term *scholasticus* is already used by A. to characterize the science taught in schools (Ep. 121: MGH, Ep., IV, 177, and the index p. 634).
A. willingly undertook many sacrifices in service to the Frankish king, for he recognized in him the *Ecclesiae defensor et amator* (cf. Carm. 228, V. 6: PL 101, 780); and he used his influence over the great emperor solely for the cause of good: to spread learning, reform clerical morals, and strengthen the Church both internally and externally. — See Plate LVIII.
Editions. The best edition still remains that of Frobenius Forster, Ratisbon 1777 (reproduced with additions in PL 100–101). Philipp Jaffé devoted to A. volume VI of his *Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum: Monumenta Alcuiniana*, Berlin 1873. It contains the anonymous ninth-century *Vita Alcuini* (see above), the *Vita L. Willibrordi* in prose and verse, the *De Pontificibus et Sanctis Ecclesiae Eboracensis carmen*, and the *Epistolae*. — The *Monumenta Germaniae Historica* provide the critical editions of the *Carmina* (*Poetae Latini Medii Aevi*, 1) and the *Epistolae* (*Epistolarum*, IV); of the *Vita Vedastis* (*Scriptores rerum Germanicarum*, III, pp. 414–427), and the *Vita Richarii* (ibid., IV, pp. 381–401); of the *Vita S. Willibrordi* in prose (ibid., VII, 81–141). — For the Roman Sacramentary, see H. A. Wilson, *The Gregorian Sacramentary and Charles the Great*, London 1915; and for the Lectionary (*Comes*), A. Wilmart, in *Ephemerides Liturgicae*, 51 (1937), pp. 151–73.
General studies. — F. Monnier, *Alcuin et Charlemagne, avec des fragments d’un commentaire inédit d’Alcuin sur S. Matthieu et d’autres pièces publiées pour la première fois*, 2nd ed., Paris 1864; K. Werner, *Alcuin und sein Jahrhundert*, 2nd ed., Vienna 1881; J. B. Laforté, *Histoire d’Alcuin*, Namur 1898; G. N. Browne, *Alcuin of York*, London 1908; F. M. Wilmot-Buxton, *Alcuin*, London–New York 1922. Cf. also M. Manitius, *Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters*, I, Munich 1911, pp. 273–288; P. Moncelle, s.V. in *DHG*, II, cols. 30–40; A. Kleineklaus, *Alcuin* (*Annales de l’Université de Lyon*, 3rd ser., XV), Paris 1948.
Bibl. special. — J. B. Laforté, *Alcuin restaurateur des sciences en Occident sous Charlemagne*, Louvain 1831; B. Hauréau, *Charlemagne et sa cour*, Paris 1868; A. Dupuy, *Alcuin et la souveraineté pontificale au VIIIe siècle*, Tours 1872; G. Morin, *L’Université d’Alcuin retrouvé*, in *Revue Bénédictine*, 9 (1892), pp. 491–97; id., *Une rédaction inédite de la Préface au Supplément du Conte d’Alcuin*, ibid., 29 (1912), pp. 341–48; S. Berger, *Histoire de la Vulgate pendant les premiers siècles du Moyen-âge*, Nancy 1893, pp. 185–242 and passim; M. Roger, *L’enseignement des lettres classiques d’Ausone à Alcuin*, Paris 1905; H. Lietzmann, *Das Sacramentarium Gregorianum nach dem Aachener Urkundenbuch* (in the series *Liturgisch-historische Quellen*), Münster in V. 1921, pp. XVIII–XXIII; id., *Handschriftliches zur Alcuins Ausgabe und Sakramentarium*, in *Jahrbuch für Liturgiewissenschaft*, 5 (1925), pp. 68–79; H. Quentin, *Mémoire sur l’établissement du texte de la Vulgate*, Rome–Paris 1922, pp. 267–97 and passim; A. Wilmart, *Le Lectionnaire d’Alcuin*, in *Ephemerides Liturgicae*, 51 (1937), pp. 136–97; J. F. Rivera, *A proposito de una carta de Alcuin recientemente encontrada*, in *Revista Española de Teología*, 1 (1940–41), pp. 418–33.