Alcuin of York Born c. 732/35, Alcuin was educated at the cathedral school of York, of which he became master in 766. A deacon all of his career, he met Charlemagne in 781 and became a leading figure at the Frankish king's court, where he established schools and libraries. He was also Charlemagne's private tutor and counselor. Alcuin wrote poetry, including a elegy on the destruction of Lindisfarne, and hagiography, including the life of St. Willibrord of Utrecht. He introduced the customs of singing the creed and of observing All Saints' Day into the Frankish church; he was also responsible for the Romanization of the Gallic mass. At the council of Frankfurt (794), he presented arguments against the adoptionism of Felix of Urgel. One of his arguments included the use of the phrase, filioque, in the creed; the Eastern church holds Alcuin responsible for the propagation of its usage. Alcuin may have written the Libri Carolini, which attacks the Seventh Oecumenical Council, and he may have supplemented the Gregorian sacramentary. Appointed abbot of the monastery of St. Martin of Tours in 796, Alcuin and his followers may have been the force behind Leo III's "surprise" coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, 800. Alcuin died four years later. His 300 surviving letters are an important source of history. His knowledge was considerable, but his originality was not. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 735 - Alcuin was born in York, England. 750 - Graduated from Saint Peter School in York. 767 - Became Deacon of York after Aelbert became Archbishop of York. 781 - He was sent to Rome by King Elfwald to bring a petition. On his way home, he met Charlemagne and as persuaded to join his court. 782-790 - Became the teacher of Charlemagne and his two sons. Returned to England but was summoned by Charlemagne ot help in the fight against the Adoptionist heresy. 796 - Alcuin inherited the monastey of Saint Andrew upon the death of Abbot Itherius. 804 - Died on May 19, 804. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alcuin of York By Dr Anna Ritchie Alcuin of York c Alcuin of York spent most of his life abroad. He was an an adviser to Charlemagne the Great, and had the ear of Europe's intellectual elite. Despite his absence from home, his writings offer a vivid insight into the realities of life during Britain's Dark Ages. Page 1 of 4 1. Alcuin of York (c.735 - 804) 2. An ambassador and scholar 3. Divine retribution 4. Find out more Print entire article Alcuin of York (c.735 - 804) This famous scholar is one of our best sources of information for the later eighth century. He was educated in the cathedral school at York, and became a monk and teacher there. He was a deacon of York when, in 781, he was returning from a visit to Rome and met the king of the Franks at Parma. King Charles the Great, known often as Charlemagne (768-814), recognised in Alcuin a scholar who could help him to achieve a renaissance of learning and reform of the Church. At the king's invitation, Alcuin joined the royal court in 781, and became one of Charlemagne's chief advisers on religious and educational matters. 'Many schools of learning were attached to monasteries and cathedrals.' Alcuin was made head of the palace school at Aachen, which was attended by members of the royal court and the sons of noble families, and he established a great library there. He revised the church liturgy and the Bible and, along with another great scholar, Theodulf of Orleans, he was responsible for an intellectual movement within the Carolingian empire in which many schools of learning were attached to monasteries and cathedrals, and Latin was restored to a position as a literary language. In 796, Alcuin became abbot of St Martin's monastery at Tours, where he established a school and library. Next Published: 2001-07-01 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alcuin of York Alcuin was born c. 732 (three years before the death of Bede) and from c. 740 to c. 781 was a pupil and later a teacher and librarian at York. Alcuin of York, as he was known, has been remembered as the chief architect of educational reform on the continent under Charlemagne. He was also the emperor's advisor and contributed greatly to the so-called Carolingian Renaissance. Alcuin also modified the use of the Roman liturgy and his work is the direct ancestor of the liturgy used in Roman Catholic Church today. In his "Admonitio Generalis" Alcuin drew up a curriculum for monastic and cathedral schools and standarised and recommended texts so that not only a uniform liturgy was used in the churches throughout christian Europe but a uniform doctrine was also taught in its schools. He became abbot of Tours and died there in 804, four years after Charlemagne was proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor. Alcuin's correspondence survived the ravages of time and there are in existence letters he wrote to the monks in Mayo. In one, he addresses Bishop Leutfred, bishop in Mayo from 773 - 786, who seems to be facing the problem of violence. Alcuin writes: "You should not agree to have anything to do with weapons of war. Throw yourself upon Christ's mercy, crying: 'My Love and my Stronghold, my Protector and Liberator, in whom my heart has put its hope". [Letter 32] * The monks at Mayo were a great concern to Alcuin and he pays tribute to their missionary zeal: "Your love has always been precious to me. I always made sure to ask for it through your brothers who visited me, while I lived in my own country ... I know your service abroad ranks high with Christ our God. For it was for his name you left your own country to live abroad and submitted to persecution from wicked men." [Letter 33] In his letters, Alcuin rejoices that the monastic life was thriving and he praises the monks in Ireland for their example: "Hearing through a venerable brother, your teacher the bishop Dungal, that a monastic way of life well - pleasing to God flourishes among you. I confess I rejoiced greatly that in this diastrous end of a passing world the Lord Jesus has such men to praise his holy name and preach the truth and seek after wisdom as I hear the famous island has to this day." There is also, among Alcuin's Irish letters, one addressed to Colcu, a teacher from Clonmacnoise who probably met Alcuin on a visit to Northumbria, which by the late 8th century was a major centre of learning Colcu may well have become abbot of the Irish branch of Colman's foundation on Inishbofin. This letter is a good example of how news reached remote parts of Europe: "When I heard your reverence was well and prosperous, I confess I was glad in my heart. And thinking you interested in our journey and in recent doings in the world, I took steps to inform you of what I have seen and heard through this unpolished letter." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alcuin of York c. 732-804 Cleric Teacher Theologian Writer x Europe France Britain: England Poet, historian and educator, Alcuin became private tutor to Charlemagne and head of the palace school at Aachen. He made important reforms in the Catholic liturgy, brought Anglo-Saxon traditions of humanism into Europe, wrote histories and poetry, and was the foremost scholar of the Carolingian Renaissance. Although he encouraged the use of "Carolingian minuscule" (the small style of handwriting that became the basis of our modern lower-case letters), whether he actually invented the alphabet himself is unknown. Alcuin left more than 300 letters that are a valuable source for the history of early medieval Europe. Important Dates Died: May 19, 804 Quotation "And those people should not be listened to who keep saying the voice of the people is the voice of God (Vox Populi, Vox Dei), since the riotousness of the crowd is always very close to madness." -- Letter to Charlemagne, 800 C.E. More Quotations by Alcuin At About Alcuin - Celebrated Ecclesiastic A two-page article from the 1911 Encyclopedia, online here at the Medieval History site. On the Web Alcuin Concise biography by John J O'Connor and Edmund F Robertson at the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. Catholic Encyclopedia: Alcuin Substantial biography by J. A. Burns. In Print Alcuin of York in Print Related Resources Philosophy & Theology A multi-page index of philosophical and theological theories and the individuals who contributed them, from the early Middle Ages to the early Modern Age. Dark-Age Britain A directory of sites that examine Britain during late antiquity, or the "dark ages," from Sub-Roman cultures to the end of Anglo-Saxon England. Medieval France General history, people, places, maps and more about France in the Middle Ages.