Alcuin and the Beauty of Wisdom:
Education and the Christian in the Early Middle Ages
800 A.D.
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| A manuscript from around 830. The middle figure is Alcuin. He and Rabanus Maurus are dedicating a book to Archbishop Odgar of Mainz. |
Scriptural Starting Places:
Proverbs 1:7 - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 8:32-36 - "And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death."
Ecclesiastes 7:12 - "For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it."
Sirach 24:12 - "I [Wisdom] took root in an honored people, in the portion of the Lord, His heritage."
Wisdom of Solomon 6:17-21 - "The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern for instruction is love of her, and love of her is the keeping of her laws, and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality, and immortality brings one near to God; so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom. Therefore if you delight in thrones and scepters, O monarchs over the peoples, honor wisdom, so that you may reign forever."
> Wisdom (in Hebrew, Chokmâh, in Greek, σοφῐ́ᾱ - sophia) is a significant theme in the Old Testament. Wisdom is neither experience nor piety, but is a saving knowledge of God and His ways for His creation. This saving knowledge is imparted by old to young, one to another. It is the responsibility of families to raise the next generation in the wisdom and fear of God. For early Christians, the Wisdom identified by Solomon is none other than the Word, the λόγος who was made flesh for the sake of the world. Education for believers is therefore a "passing along" of this Wisdom through worship, witness, and formal learning.
Background
Charlemagne (748-814), the son of Pepin the Short, ruled as Frankish king before gaining more and more power over the Lombards in Italy. In 774 he triumphed and ruled over a large area including modern day France. In 800 he was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Charlemagne is one of the most significant figures of the early Middle Ages; his reign marks a renaissance in learning, art, and culture. He fought back the Muslim armies in Spain, expanded his empire, and established many important, new monastic schools in his kingdom.
At this time, due to Charlemagne's keen interest in education, Christian and pagan texts began to be circulated widely after being copied with great skill. Charlemagne reached to all corners of his empire to find the best teachers and scholars for himself, his children, and his court. Among them were Alcuin of York, Theodulf - a Visigoth, Paul the Deacon, Peter of Pisa, Paulinus of Aquileia, Angilbert, Angilram, Einhard, and Waldo of Reichenau. Of all these scholars, the one who is best-known today is Alcuin.
Charlamagne also increased the number of libraries and scriptoriums (writing and copying workshops) throughout his realm, and established a library in his own palace as well as in the old city of Jerusalem.
Alcuin
Alcuin of York (c. 735-804) was called by a chronicler writing after his death, "The most learned man anywhere to be found." Born in York and educated there by the archbishop, Alcuin rose to prominence in Northumbria (modern day northern England) and was invited by Charlemagne to join his court.
Becoming the master of the palace school at Aachen, Alcuin personally educated (or supervised the education) of Charlemagne's children as well as the emperor himself. He revamped the curricula of the school to include the Trivium and Quadrivium disciplines- the seven liberal arts of grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, mathematics, music, astronomy, and geometry. The school was nicknamed "The School of Master Alcuin" so great was his influence.
Alcuin has left us numerous treatises, commentaries, poems and letters. At the end of his life he served as abbot at the Marmoutier Abbey outside of Tours, in Western France. He continued leading his students and monks in copying texts until his death.
Wherever he was, the great scholar sought the best for his students. In an interesting letter to Charlemagne dating from the late 790s, Alcuin writes,
"This is a matter which has not escaped your most noble notice, how through all the pages of Holy Scripture we are urged to learn wisdom. In toiling toward the happy life nothing is more lofty, nothing more pleasant, nothing bolder against vices, nothing more praiseworthy in every place of dignity; and moreover, according to the words of philosophers, nothing is more essential to government, nothing more helpful in leading a moral life, than the beauty of wisdom, the praise of learning and the advantages of scholarship... O Lord King, exhort the youths who are in your excellency’s palace to learn wisdom with all their might, and the gain it by daily toil while they are yet in the flush of youth, so that they may be deemed worthy to grow grey in honour, and by the help of wisdom may reach everlasting happiness. But I, according to the measure of my little talent, shall not be slothful to sow the seed of wisdom among your servants in this region. Mindful of the saying, ‘In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.”
Later Alcuin quotes Jerome (c. 347-420) in saying,
“The old age of those who have trained their youth in honest arts and have meditated in the law of the Lord day and night, becomes more learned with age, more polished by use, wiser by the lapse of time, and reaps the sweetest fruits of studies long grown old.”
Significance
"The Carolingian Renaissance" is a major moment in European history and educational history. A common script (Carolingian Minuscule) became the standard "font" for the Latin-language kingdom; monastic schools were established and flourished; new libraries abounded; texts were copied and distributed, making many writings available for the first time; and everywhere, education was encouraged by the great emperor who loved learning himself.
Education is a controversial and divisive subject today. With the amoral "Common Core State Standards" and the removal of the last traces of religion in American schools, education is far removed from the "instruction in Wisdom" that Solomon encouraged. During Alcuin's time there was no question that education involved sacred and secular reading, developing pious and well-balanced students who were able to wisely govern lands, adjudicate disputes, and themselves educate the populace. The telos or goal of education was nothing less than heaven, via a well-ordered life on earth. Education was the means of developing reasoning subjects who defended the land with sword or law as they defended the faith with pen or sermon. In the West today we have split "secular" learning from "sacred" learning. This is something we've come to accept as inevitable, possibly even healthy! But is it? What do other Christian voices suggest?
Stretching into the later Middle Ages and even into the Renaissance, the Carolingian view of education basically prevailed; the Trivium and Quadrivium components of a liberal, classical education were taught, and Christian instruction or catechesis was woven into every element of such an education. Martin Luther himself assumed that education for the young was absolutely necessary for a thriving, Christian population. Like Alciun, he supported no other "model" than that of the Trivium and Quadrivium, with Theology as the "Queen of the Sciences" at the university. Since God Himself is the source and goal of all learning, the completion of formal education at university (for clergy, lawyers, and physicians) was marked by a special emphasis on Theology itself. Luther believed monastic schools had declined and advocated for strong state schools, with curricula determined by pastors and teaching provided by learned men.
Erasmus, Luther's contemporary, saw the goal of all education to be a moral, Christian life. Education that is not concerned with or moving toward ethics is not education, by the great humanist's definition. He believed that by the careful study of the Bible (in its original languages) and the classic Greek and Latin authors, a society would be filled with moral and rational people.
Later Protestant theorists such as John Amos Comenius in the 17th century echoed Luther; education was to be broad, classical, religious, and moral. Comenius saw education as the central task of the Church, preparing our world for righteousness and dispelling the darkness of ignorance.
The question for the 21st century is, "What is "education" apart from Wisdom, apart from God, apart from the Church?"
Background
Charlemagne (748-814), the son of Pepin the Short, ruled as Frankish king before gaining more and more power over the Lombards in Italy. In 774 he triumphed and ruled over a large area including modern day France. In 800 he was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Charlemagne is one of the most significant figures of the early Middle Ages; his reign marks a renaissance in learning, art, and culture. He fought back the Muslim armies in Spain, expanded his empire, and established many important, new monastic schools in his kingdom.
At this time, due to Charlemagne's keen interest in education, Christian and pagan texts began to be circulated widely after being copied with great skill. Charlemagne reached to all corners of his empire to find the best teachers and scholars for himself, his children, and his court. Among them were Alcuin of York, Theodulf - a Visigoth, Paul the Deacon, Peter of Pisa, Paulinus of Aquileia, Angilbert, Angilram, Einhard, and Waldo of Reichenau. Of all these scholars, the one who is best-known today is Alcuin.
Charlamagne also increased the number of libraries and scriptoriums (writing and copying workshops) throughout his realm, and established a library in his own palace as well as in the old city of Jerusalem.
 |
| Emperor Charlemagne by Albrecht Dürer, 1511-1513 |
Alcuin
Alcuin of York (c. 735-804) was called by a chronicler writing after his death, "The most learned man anywhere to be found." Born in York and educated there by the archbishop, Alcuin rose to prominence in Northumbria (modern day northern England) and was invited by Charlemagne to join his court.
Becoming the master of the palace school at Aachen, Alcuin personally educated (or supervised the education) of Charlemagne's children as well as the emperor himself. He revamped the curricula of the school to include the Trivium and Quadrivium disciplines- the seven liberal arts of grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, mathematics, music, astronomy, and geometry. The school was nicknamed "The School of Master Alcuin" so great was his influence.
Alcuin has left us numerous treatises, commentaries, poems and letters. At the end of his life he served as abbot at the Marmoutier Abbey outside of Tours, in Western France. He continued leading his students and monks in copying texts until his death.
Wherever he was, the great scholar sought the best for his students. In an interesting letter to Charlemagne dating from the late 790s, Alcuin writes,
"This is a matter which has not escaped your most noble notice, how through all the pages of Holy Scripture we are urged to learn wisdom. In toiling toward the happy life nothing is more lofty, nothing more pleasant, nothing bolder against vices, nothing more praiseworthy in every place of dignity; and moreover, according to the words of philosophers, nothing is more essential to government, nothing more helpful in leading a moral life, than the beauty of wisdom, the praise of learning and the advantages of scholarship... O Lord King, exhort the youths who are in your excellency’s palace to learn wisdom with all their might, and the gain it by daily toil while they are yet in the flush of youth, so that they may be deemed worthy to grow grey in honour, and by the help of wisdom may reach everlasting happiness. But I, according to the measure of my little talent, shall not be slothful to sow the seed of wisdom among your servants in this region. Mindful of the saying, ‘In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening withhold not thy hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.”
Later Alcuin quotes Jerome (c. 347-420) in saying,
“The old age of those who have trained their youth in honest arts and have meditated in the law of the Lord day and night, becomes more learned with age, more polished by use, wiser by the lapse of time, and reaps the sweetest fruits of studies long grown old.”
Significance
"The Carolingian Renaissance" is a major moment in European history and educational history. A common script (Carolingian Minuscule) became the standard "font" for the Latin-language kingdom; monastic schools were established and flourished; new libraries abounded; texts were copied and distributed, making many writings available for the first time; and everywhere, education was encouraged by the great emperor who loved learning himself.
Education is a controversial and divisive subject today. With the amoral "Common Core State Standards" and the removal of the last traces of religion in American schools, education is far removed from the "instruction in Wisdom" that Solomon encouraged. During Alcuin's time there was no question that education involved sacred and secular reading, developing pious and well-balanced students who were able to wisely govern lands, adjudicate disputes, and themselves educate the populace. The telos or goal of education was nothing less than heaven, via a well-ordered life on earth. Education was the means of developing reasoning subjects who defended the land with sword or law as they defended the faith with pen or sermon. In the West today we have split "secular" learning from "sacred" learning. This is something we've come to accept as inevitable, possibly even healthy! But is it? What do other Christian voices suggest?
Stretching into the later Middle Ages and even into the Renaissance, the Carolingian view of education basically prevailed; the Trivium and Quadrivium components of a liberal, classical education were taught, and Christian instruction or catechesis was woven into every element of such an education. Martin Luther himself assumed that education for the young was absolutely necessary for a thriving, Christian population. Like Alciun, he supported no other "model" than that of the Trivium and Quadrivium, with Theology as the "Queen of the Sciences" at the university. Since God Himself is the source and goal of all learning, the completion of formal education at university (for clergy, lawyers, and physicians) was marked by a special emphasis on Theology itself. Luther believed monastic schools had declined and advocated for strong state schools, with curricula determined by pastors and teaching provided by learned men.
Erasmus, Luther's contemporary, saw the goal of all education to be a moral, Christian life. Education that is not concerned with or moving toward ethics is not education, by the great humanist's definition. He believed that by the careful study of the Bible (in its original languages) and the classic Greek and Latin authors, a society would be filled with moral and rational people.
Later Protestant theorists such as John Amos Comenius in the 17th century echoed Luther; education was to be broad, classical, religious, and moral. Comenius saw education as the central task of the Church, preparing our world for righteousness and dispelling the darkness of ignorance.
The question for the 21st century is, "What is "education" apart from Wisdom, apart from God, apart from the Church?"
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| Charlemagne et ses Leudes, a statue in Paris from 1878 |
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