Sedulius Scottus was Irish teacher, grammarian and Scriptural commentator, who lived in the ninth century.
Sedulius is sometimes called Sedulius the Younger, to distinguish him from
Coelius SeduliusCoelius Sedulius, was a Christian poet of the first half of the 5th century. He is termed a presbyter by Isidore of Seville and in the Gelasian decree....
also, probably, an Irishman, the author of the
Carmen Paschale, and other sacred poems. The Irish form of the name is Siadhal.
Sedulius the Younger flourished from 840 to 860.
Sedulius Scottus was Irish teacher, grammarian and Scriptural commentator, who lived in the ninth century.
Sedulius is sometimes called Sedulius the Younger, to distinguish him from
Coelius SeduliusCoelius Sedulius, was a Christian poet of the first half of the 5th century. He is termed a presbyter by Isidore of Seville and in the Gelasian decree....
also, probably, an Irishman, the author of the
Carmen Paschale, and other sacred poems. The Irish form of the name is Siadhal.
Sedulius the Younger flourished from 840 to 860. There are, altogether, six Siadhals mentioned in the
Annals of the Four MastersThe Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the deluge, dated as 2,242 years after creation to AD 1616.-Text:...
between the years 785 and 855. Of these, one was present at a council at Rome in 721, and another was Abbot of Kildare, and died in 828.
Life
The best known, however, and the most important, was neither of these, but a Siadhal who, during the reign of the Emperor Lothair (840-855) was one of a colony of Irish teachers at
LiègeLiège is a municipality and a city of Belgium. The term Liège or Liege may also refer to:* Liege, a party to the oath of allegiance in feudalism .* Liège Island, in the Antarctic...
. It appears from the manuscript records of the ninth century that there was a teacher at St. Lambert, Liège, who was known as Sedulius Scotus, and was a scribe and a poet. He was a student of Greek, and, according to
Montfaucon-Places:*In Switzerland**Montfaucon, Switzerland, in the canton of Jura*In France** Montfaucon, Aisne, in the Aisne département** Montfaucon, Doubs, in the du Doubs département** Montfaucon, Gard, in the Gard département...
, it was he who copied the
Greek Psalter (now no. 8047 in the "Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal", Paris). His poems, to the number of ninety, are published by
TraubeLudwig Traube was a paleographer and held the first chair of Medieval Latin in Germany . He was a son of the physician Ludwig Traube ....
in the
Poetae Aevi Carolini, which is a portion of the
Monumenta Germaniae Historica.
It is quite probable that, towards the end of his days, he went to Milan, following the example of his countryman,
DungalThe name Dungal can refer to:*Saint Dungal*Dúngal mac Selbaig*Dungal , an old Irish royal family that the Dungal Valley or the Dungal Bay was named for.*Dungal , an Indian wrestling competition....
, who established a school at Pavia. When and where he died is unknown.
Works
Sedulius's most important works are his treatise
De Rectoribus Christianis, a commentary on Porphyry's
IsagogeThe Isagoge or "Introduction" to Aristotle's "Categories", written by Porphyry in Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius, was the standard textbook on logic for at least a millennium after his death. It was composed by Porphyry in Sicily during the years 268-270, and sent to Chrysaorium,...
, or introduction to the logic of Aristotle, and a scriptural commentary
Collectanea in omnes beati Pauli Epistolas. The first of these is a noteworthy contribution to Christian ethics. It is the first, apparently, of a long line of treatises written during the Middle Ages for the instruction of Christian princes and rulers, a dissertation on the duties peculiar to that state of life, a
Mirror for Princes, as such works came to be called at a much later period.
Sedulius's work shows, among other traits, a deep moral feeling, a realization of the fact that the mission of the state is neither purely economic on the one hand nor exclusively ecclesiastical, on the other. The question of the relations between Church and State had, indeed, been raised, and Sedulius affirms the rights of the Church, to defend them. He is not on the side of those who, seeing in
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
the ideal of a
pontiffA pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests. The term was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop, and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".-Etymology:The English term derives through...
and ruler in one person, were in favor of the idea that the prince should in fact be supreme in matters religious. On the contrary, he is in favor of a division of temporal and spiritual powers and requires of the prince a careful observance of the Church's rights and privileges. The description of the qualifications of the Queen (pp. 34 sq. in Hellmann's ed.) is not only Christian in feeling and tone, but also humanistic, in the best sense of the word.
The commentary on the
Isagoge was known in Western Europe in the Latin version only.
Not the least interesting of the writings of Sedulius are his letters, some of which are published in the "Neues Archiv", II, 188, and IV, 315. In them are narrated the vicissitudes of the Irish exiles on the Continent, and an insight is given into the attitude towards those exiles by the authorities, civil and ecclesiastical, as well as by the people.
External links