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See alsoEóganachta; Munster; Osraige; Uí Néill;
Ulaid
ÉRIUGENA, JOHN SCOTTUS
(fl.848–870)
John Scottus was born some time in the first quarter of
the ninth century and died in or after 870. Neither birth
nor death date is known. That he was born in Ireland is
proved by the epithet he gave himself: “Eriugena” (born
in Ireland). His documented activity embraces the
period approximately 848 to 870, beginning with his
role in the predestination controversy and ending with
his last datable poem, addressed to King Charles the
Bald. It is not known when he came to the continent,
but what we know of his career took place in the western
kingdom of the Carolingian Empire, mostly in what is
now northeastern France. Centers such as Compiègne,
Saint-Denis, Soissons, Laon, and Reims figure in his
itinerary, but it is very difficult to know where he was
at any particular time. Legend holds that John left
Charles’s kingdom and became a teacher in the court of
King Alfred in Wessex, but this is widely discounted.
Other certain facts of his life are likewise few. Despite
his being arguably the most outstanding theologian of
his time, he held no position of ecclesiastical authority.
According to contemporary evidence (Prudentius of
Troyes,De praedestinatione, PL cxv, 1043A), he was
“nullis ecclesiasticis gradibus insignitus.”For a brief
period he was a teacher in Charles’s court. However, he
may have lost his position at the court when he came
under attack for his views on predestination, which were
condemned at two councils (Valence in January 855 and
Langres in May 859). It is not known if he suffered any
penalty for his views, although this possibility is sug-
gested by the relatively long silence between 851, when
he published his own De praedestinatione, and 858,
when his first securely dated poem was written. Finally,
there is some evidence to suggest that John not only
wrote and taught but also practiced medicine.
More, perhaps, is known of John’s literary contacts,
including some distinguished pupils. Contemporaries
in John’s circle include the Irish scholar Martin of
Laon (Martin Hiberniensis) and Wulfad, abbot of
Saint-Médard and later bishop of Bourges, to whom
John dedicated his magnum opus, the Periphyseon. He
was also on friendly terms with Hincmar, bishop of
Laon. Among his students are counted Heiric of Auxerre;
Wicbald, bishop of Auxerre; and, possibly, Hucbald of
Saint-Amand. John’s students may also have included
some of his countrymen, as the numerous Irish glosses
in his biblical scholia suggest. Unfortunately, it is not
known to what extent (if at all) John was in contact
with his famous fellow Irishman Sedulius or members
of his circle.
John’s education can be reconstructed only from a
study of his sources. It is difficult to tell what learning
he brought with him from Ireland and what he acquired
on the Continent, although certain stylistic manner-
isms betray his Irish early education. An aspect of his
education that affected practically all of his writings
was his study of Greek. How and where he acquired
a working knowledge of the Greek language, which
had all but disappeared from Western Europe after the
sixth century C.E., is a mystery. However, John
employed Greek, with increasing skill, over the course
of his career and in different contexts. These include
translations of Greek patristic works, citations of
Greek authors in his own writings, the use of Greek
for constructing etymologies, andmost impressively
thegraecafound in his poems. These exhibit Greek
elements ranging from a word or a phrase to whole
lines. Several poems are written entirely in Greek,
although there are some imperfections.
Even for a time noted for the collection of manu-
scripts and the expansion of libraries John’s reading
in both secular and religious literature would be con-
sidered impressive. Of the Roman classics, John had
a deep knowledge not only of Vergil but he also had
an acquaintance with Lucretius, Cicero, Pliny the
Elder, and possibly even Petronius. Like most of his
contemporaries he accessed the Roman (and some
Greek) classics through intermediaries, principally
Macrobius, Martianus Capella, Calcidius, Priscian,
and Isidore. His knowledge of Christian Latin writers
is noteworthy. He cited the poets Paulinus of Nola and
Avitus in his own poems, which also contain echoes
of Iuvencus, Corripus, and Venantius Fortunatus. A
thorough grounding in the Latin fathers would have
been expected in John’s day, and John was no excep-
tion. He read Augustine widely and deeply, knew
Ambrose well, and cited other well-known Latin
patristic authorities such as Jerome. However, the most
impressive aspect of John’s reading is the Greek
fathers. In addition to those fathers who could be
known from ubiquitous Latin translationsOrigen and
BasilJohn knew and used several Greek fathers in the
original Greek. He published translations of the corpus
of works of Pseudo-Dionysius, the Ambiguaand the
Quaestiones ad Thalassiumof Maximus the Confessor,ÉRIUGENA, JOHN SCOTTUS (fl. 848–870)