Teaching Emperors: Transcending the Boundaries of Carolingian Monastic Communities

Kramer, Rutger

doi:10.1163/9789004315693_015

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Once settled, he was gradually drawn back into courtly circles, eventually becoming one of the leading authorities on monastic life in the empire, one of the key advisors to Louis the Pious, and one of the driving forces behind the monastic reform movement that characterised Carolingian rule in the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Indeed, his place of death testifies to his influence while alive: Inda was founded in 816 by Louis the Pious, then newly crowned emperor, with the express purpose of keeping Benedict close at hand to help him run the empire, while also using the peace and quiet of the monastery to rest 76 . As told in the panegyric that Ermoldus Nigellus dedicated to Louis the Pious in the 820s, Benedict was a «father to everyone» while residing at Inda, and Louis would be «emperor and abbot at the same time» (caesar et abba simul) 77 .…”

Section: Dying Between Cloister and Court: Benedict Of Anianementioning

confidence: 99%

You Only Die Twice? Abbots between Community and Empire. The Cases of Martin of Tours and Benedict of Aniane

Kramer¹,

Wieser²

2017

Hortus Artium Medievalium

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is article 1 compares the deaths of two abbots as told by contemporary observers, and shows how the relationship between these saints and their ascetic communities on the one hand and secular imperial authorities on the other hand would be consolidated in the way people were shown to react to their demise. First, the life and death Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316-397) are analysed through the Vita Martini and the letters by Sulpicius Severus. Against the backdrop of a strenuous relation between Roman imperial interests and a burgeoning Christendom, the author uses Martin's post-mortem reputation to appropriate the authority of his erstwhile rival, the emperor Maximus. In doing so, an attempt is made to resolve the conundrum of how to be Christian under Roman authority. en, two di erent descriptions of the death of Benedict of Aniane (c. 750-821) are presented, one by his hagiographer Ardo, the other a supposed eye-witness account by the monks of Inda. By contrasting these two accounts, it will be shown how di erent observers dealt with the tensions between personal salvation, imperial reform e orts and monastic idealism that emerged when secular and religious authority converged in the Carolingian era. e juxtaposition of the fth-century situation with the ninth-century accounts, nally, will highlight how understanding of authority has evolved in the wake of the spread of Christianityboth in the eyes of those in power, and according to those dealing with them in word and deed.

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Section: Dying Between Cloister and Court: Benedict Of Anianementioning

confidence: 99%

You Only Die Twice? Abbots between Community and Empire. The Cases of Martin of Tours and Benedict of Aniane

Kramer¹,

Wieser²

2017

Hortus Artium Medievalium

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Alcuin and his role in the preparation of the Benedictine reform in the Frankish kingdom

Ilina

2023

Vestn. Kostromskogo gos. univ. im. N.A. Nekrasova

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The article addresses the issue of the degree and form of Alcuin’s participation in the preparation of the so-called Benedictine reform in the Frankish state. This reform, apparently, was caused by secularisation and the insufficient level of education of monastics at that time. Based on the analysis of Alcuin’s works devoted to the topic of improving discipline, correcting morals and raising the level of education of monks (“General Exhortationˮ, “Letter on the Study of Sciencesˮ, letters), the author of the article looks for parallels with the “monasticˮ policy pursued by Charlemagne and tries to identify the degree Alcuin’s influence on the transformations being carried out at that moment in the monasteries – both through official documents, and through unofficial correspondence, and through his own deeds. The article proves that Alcuin, in his recommendations to the monks, referred to the early ascetic tradition, not only to the Rule of Benedict, but also to the writings of John Cassian the Roman. As a result, the author comes to the conclusion that Alcuin could contribute to the popularisation of the Rule of Benedict in the monasteries, as well as to increase the level of piety and education of the monks through the creation of their own schools, and through the stimulation of rewriting books, and through spiritual mentorship, manifested in his letters.

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Teaching Emperors: Transcending the Boundaries of Carolingian Monastic Communities

Abstract: , ��6 | doi �0.��63/97890043�5693_0�5 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0) License.

Cited by 2 publications

References 21 publications

You Only Die Twice? Abbots between Community and Empire. The Cases of Martin of Tours and Benedict of Aniane

You Only Die Twice? Abbots between Community and Empire. The Cases of Martin of Tours and Benedict of Aniane

Alcuin and his role in the preparation of the Benedictine reform in the Frankish kingdom

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Teaching Emperors: Transcending the Boundaries of Carolingian Monastic Communities

Abstract: , ���6 | doi �0.��63/97890043�5693_0�5 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0) License.

Cited by 2 publications

References 21 publications

You Only Die Twice? Abbots between Community and Empire. The Cases of Martin of Tours and Benedict of Aniane

You Only Die Twice? Abbots between Community and Empire. The Cases of Martin of Tours and Benedict of Aniane

Alcuin and his role in the preparation of the Benedictine reform in the Frankish kingdom

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Abstract: , ��6 | doi �0.��63/97890043�5693_0�5 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0) License.