Chapter XV

Alcuin’s letters to Charlemagne’s sons.—Recension of the
Bible.—The “Alcuin Bible” at the British Museum.—Other supposed
“Alcuin Bibles”.—Anglo-Saxon Forms of Coronation used at the
coronations of French kings.

There is in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris a letter headed “In nomine Dei summi incipit scriptum Albini magistri ad Karolum imperatorem”. It is, however, held to be uncertain whether the letter is addressed to the emperor or to his son Charles, who died some three years before his father. The internal evidence appears to be decidedly against its having been addressed to the emperor. Alcuin could not have denied himself the pleasure of referring to the emperor when he mentions king David as the authority for his advice, and we have no letter of Alcuin to the emperor so completely free from honorific titles and phrases, with nothing but the simple _vos_ throughout. It is to be said on the other hand that the author of the _Life of the blessed Alchuin the Abbat_, with which we dealt fully in Chapters I and II, refers[226] to a _libellus_ which Alcuin wrote for Charlemagne, setting forth the psalms which he was to use according as penitence, tribulation, or joy, was his theme.

The interest of the letter in question fortunately lies in its advice, not in the person to whom the advice is given. This is the letter, with its ordinary heading:—

[Sidenote: Ep. 244.]

“Alcuin dedicates to Charles the Emperor a breviary[227] of prayer to God.

“The blessed David, the great king and servant of God most high, gave us the rule of singing, how man should pour forth prayers to God at certain stated hours. ‘Seven times a day,’ he says, ‘do I praise Thee,’—that is, at the first hour of the day, the second, third, sixth, ninth, the evening hour, and the twelfth. David the king, then, gave praise to God at these seven hours. The holy Daniel, the prophet, at the third, sixth, and ninth hour of the day, went into his chamber to pray to the Lord, and with hands stretched upward to Heaven entreated God for himself and for the people of Israel. The same David said[228] further, ‘I will make mention of Thy righteousness only.’ And again, ‘At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee,’ that is, at the hour of night. And again he says, ‘I have thought upon Thy name in the night season,’ that is, at cock-crow. And, ‘Have I not remembered Thee in my bed, and thought upon Thee when I was waking?’ Here are three courses of the office during the night, and seven by day, making the ten courses which we sing, following the number of the ten laws of Moses. But you have asked me to write to you in a net form the order in which a layman in active life should pray to God at the stated hours. You live after a Christian fashion, and you desire to do Christian deeds; you are not ignorant how prayer should be made to the Lord; but at your request I will briefly state my opinion. When you have risen from your bed, say first ‘O Lord Jesu Christ, son of the living God, in Thy name will I lift up my hands, make haste to deliver me.’ Say this thrice, with the psalm ‘Ponder my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. O hearken thou unto the voice of my calling, my king and my God, for unto Thee will I make my prayer. My voice shalt thou hear betimes, O Lord, early in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee.’ Then, ‘Our Father,’ and the prayers, ‘Vouchsafe O Lord to keep us this day,’ ‘Perfect my steps,’ ‘Praised be the Lord daily,’ ‘Direct and sanctify,’ ‘O Lord let Thy mercy lighten upon us.’ Then, rising, begin the verse ‘Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord’. When that is ended, with the Gloria, begin the psalm ‘Lord how are they increased’. Then follows ‘God be merciful unto me’. Then ‘O come, let us sing unto the Lord’. Then psalms, as many as you will.”

We have two letters of Alcuin which were certainly written to Charles the king, the eldest son of Charlemagne. The first was written in 801 to congratulate Charles on his anointment as king by Leo III on the same day (Christmas Day, 800) that saw his father crowned as emperor.

[Sidenote: Ep. 162.]

“I have heard from the lord apostolic [Leo III] that with the consent of the most excellent Lord David [Charlemagne] the title of king and the crown of kingly dignity have been conferred upon you. I greatly rejoice in the honour both of the title and of the power. I pray that your dignity and nobleness may be for the safety of many peoples, nations, and churches of Christ; may be glorious in the world and terrible to the adversaries of the Christian religion; may be vigorous and strong through a long season of prosperity; and with the blessing of God may always follow after better things, ascend to higher, and grow even unto the perfect day of eternal blessedness.

“Do justice, my best-loved son, and mercy, among Christian people, for it is these, as Solomon testifies, that exalt the throne of a kingdom and render the kingly power laudable and pleasing to God. Have as counsellors men good, pious, prudent, and god-fearing; men in whom truth reigns, not covetousness, for the gift blindeth the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous.[229] Never allow the dishonesty of others to sully the name of your dignity, nor permit others to do with wicked mind in covetousness that which you would not yourself do; the fault of the subject is often imputed to the ruler. Let not the impious will of some, under the name of thy beatitude, fill their money-bags with the mammon of unrighteousness.

“Good examples are not far to seek. In the home in which you were brought up you have the best examples of all goodness. You may have perfect confidence that you will by the gift of God attain to the blessing of that most excellent and in all honour most noble father of thine, ruler and emperor of a Christian people, if you strive to imitate the manner of his nobility and piety and complete discretion; and will most fully obtain the mercy of God, which is better than all the glory of the world.

“Wheresoever your way may lead, may the footsteps of piety ever follow thee, that you may have praise of men and eternal reward with God.”

Alcuin must needs end a congratulatory letter to a royalty with hexameter and pentameter:—

Prosperous even for ever be thou great hope of the nations.
Be to thee Christ as love, light, way, and safety, and life.

The next letter to King Charles was probably later. It seems to indicate some anxiety on the part of Alcuin, and, indeed, Charles was not as fine a character as his brother Louis, who is mentioned in this letter. Alcuin would appear to have kept a copy of the former letter, and to have made a good deal of it do service a second time.

[Sidenote: Ep. 245.]

“I rejoice, my dearest son, in the devotion of your good will which Osulf your attendant has narrated to me, whether as regards the largeness of your alms-giving, or as regards the gentleness of your rule. Know of a surety that all this is greatly pleasing to God, and deserves at the hand of His mercy perpetual blessing. Do thou, my son, my dearest son, always to the utmost of your power work for the honour of God Almighty in all goodness and piety; following the example of your most excellent father in all honesty and sobriety, that the divine clemency of Christ the God may grant to thee to possess his blessing by right of inheritance.

“Be a pious hearer of the wretched, and judge their cause with the utmost justness. Do not permit the judges who are under you to judge for presents and gifts; for gifts, it is said in Holy Scripture, blind the hearts of the wise, and subvert the words of the just. Hold in honour the servants of Christ, those who are true servants of God, for some come in sheeps’ clothing but inwardly are ravening wolves. The Truth says, By their fruits ye shall know them. Have as counsellors wise men, who fear God; not flatterers, for a flatterer, as it is said, is a bland enemy and often seduces those who consent unto him. Be prudent in thought and cautious in speech; always setting your hope on God, for He never faileth them whose hope is set on Him.

“Would that it were allowed me more frequently to address a letter of advice to thy benignity, as the most noble youth Louis your brother has asked me to do frequently for him. This I have done, and, if God will, I shall continue to do; he reads my letters with great humility.

“My greatest joy is when I hear—as, indeed, it is right that I should hear—of a good manner of life on your part. For this is the gift of God, the prosperity of a kingdom, that the rulers of a Christian people live most strict lives, and have their conversation among men in a way pleasing to God. Thus a blessing from heaven is certain to come on the nation and kingdom, which may God vouchsafe to grant eternally to your nobility.

“May you flourish, grow, and be strong, advancing in all that is good and prosperous, to the exaltation of His Holy Church, my dearest son.”

We have only one of Alcuin’s letters to King Pepin, who died young, leaving a son Bernard who became king on his father’s death.

[Sidenote: Ep. 77.]

“To the most noble and beloved son Pippin Albinus sends greeting in the love of Christ.

“We give thanks to thy benevolence and to the piety of the lord King who has piously consented to our petition concerning the redemption of captives. I know that in such works of piety you earn blessing and a long and prosperous reign.

“And do thou, most excellent youth, study to adorn nobility of birth by nobility of conduct. Strive with all thy power to fulfil the will and the honour of the omnipotent God, that His ineffable piety may exalt the throne of thy kingdom and extend its bounds, and subject the nations to thy power. Be liberal to the wretched, good to foreigners, devout in the service of Christ, treating honourably His servants and His churches that their sedulous prayer may aid thee. Be clean in conversation, chaste in body. Rejoice with the wife of thy youth and let not other women have any part in thee, that the blessing granted unto thee may lead to a long posterity of descendants.

“Be strong against adversaries, faithful to friends, humble to Christians, terrible to pagans, affable to the wretched, provident in council. Use the advice of the old men, the service of the young. Let equity be the judgement in thy kingdom. Let the praise of God everywhere resound at the fitting hours, and especially in the presence of thy piety. This kind of devotion to the offices of the church will render thee loveable to God and honoured among men. Let thoughts of sobriety be in your heart, words of truth in your mouth, examples of honour in your conduct, that the divine clemency may in all ways exalt and preserve thee.

“I pray you let this letter go with you as a testimony of my love. Though it be not worthy to be hung at the girdle of thy veneration, yet let its admonition be worthy to be stored in the mind of thy wisdom.”

We must now say something on the part which Alcuin played in connexion with the revision of the manuscripts of the Bible.

Alcuin is credited with a revision of the whole of the Latin Bible, both the Old Testament and the New. We have a letter of his in which he states in precise terms that he had been commissioned by Karl to correct the corrupted text. The letter is addressed to Gisla, Abbess of Chelles, Karl’s sister, and Rotruda, Karl’s daughter, whom he addresses as Columba, the Dove.

[Sidenote: Ep. 136. A.D. 800.]

“I have sent for the solace of your sanctity a small book, written in short sections, that you may use it during these days[230] for your holy devotion. In such study you best spend these most holy days, and especially in the Gospel of the blessed John, wherein are the deeper mysteries of divinity, and the most holy words of our Lord Jesus Christ which He spoke on that night when He willed to be betrayed for the salvation of the world.

“I might have sent you an exposition of the whole Gospel, if I had not been occupied, by the command of the lord king, in the emendation of the Old and the New Testament. But if life last and God help, I will, when occasion serves, finish the task now begun, and dedicate the completed work to your name.”

[Sidenote: Ep. 137.]

Gisla and Rotruda sent him a delightfully affectionate and bright letter in reply. They liken Alcuin to Jerome sending the Scriptures from his cave in Bethlehem to Rome; and in begging him to send the rest of the commentary on St. John they remind him that the shallow Loire is crossed with less danger than the Tuscan Sea, and that a messenger gets more easily from Tours to Paris than from Bethlehem to Rome.

It is certain from the dedicatory verses of Alcuin’s which have been preserved, that at least four complete copies of the whole Bible had been corrected by him or under his direction, and sent to the emperor. Of these, not one is known to be still in existence. Of one of them Alcuin makes definite mention in the following letter:—

[Sidenote: Ep. 205. A.D. 801-3.]

“To the most desired and entirely loveable David the king Albinus wishes present prosperity and eternal beatitude in Christ.

“I have long deliberated upon the question what could the devotion of my mind think of as worthy to be given towards the splendour of your imperial power and the increase of your most rich treasury. I feared lest the poor intelligence of my mind should remain torpid in empty idleness, while others were offering various rich gifts, and the messenger of my littleness should come before the presence of your beatitude with empty hands. I have at length, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, found something which it is fitting that I should send and it may be agreeable to your prudence to receive.

“In the most sacred solicitude of your piety it is clear beyond doubt what the Holy Spirit works through you for the safety of the whole Church, and how earnestly all faithful people should pray that your empire be extended to full glory, and be loved at home by all God’s people, and terrible abroad to all the enemies of His Son. To my questioning and desiring mind, nothing seemed more worthy of your most peace-giving honour than a present of the divine books, which by the dictation of the Holy Spirit and the ministration of Christ God have been written by the pen of divine grace for the salvation of the whole race of man. These, brought together into the sanctity of one most clear body, and diligently emended, I have sent to your most lofty authority by this dearest son of ours and faithful servant of yours, that with full hands he may with most joyous service stand before your dignity. He has been ill for a long time, but now that by God’s mercy he has to some extent recovered, he has with the greatest satisfaction hastened to approach your piety.

“The small gifts of my tears I send by faithful promise in prayer to St. Martin for the ardently desired prosperity of your authority. Let my messenger serve the most pious lord as is fitting; I will pray for the most loved lord as the visitation of the Holy Spirit shall deign to illumine my heart. If the devotion of my mind could have found anything better, I would with ready will offer it towards the increase of your honour.”

The messenger was Nathanael, that is, Fredegisus. We learn this from