Claudius of Turin (or Claude) ('' fl.'' 810–827)M. Gorman 1997, p. 279S. F. Wemple 1974, p. 222 was the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

bishop of Turin The Archdiocese of Turin ( la, Archidioecesis Taurinensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in Italy. He was a

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the official ...

of Louis the Pious and was a writer during the Carolingian Renaissance. He is most noted for teaching

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...

, a radical idea at that time in

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

, and for some teachings that prefigured those of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

. He was attacked as a heretic in written works by

Saint Dungal Dungal of Bobbio (floruit, fl. 811–828) was an Irish monk, teacher, astronomer, and poet. He was to live at Saint-Denis, Pavia, and Bobbio. He may be the same person as ''Hibernicus exul''. Biography Dungal was born in Ireland sometime in th ...

and

Jonas of Orléans Jonas (c. 760–843) was Bishop of Orléans and played a major political role during the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious. Jonas was born in Aquitaine. Probably a cleric by the 780s, he served at the court of Louis the Pious, who ruled as King ...

Early career and the imperial court (until 817)

Claudius is thought to have been from Spain. This belief may have its origins in the accusations of

, who claimed Claudius was a disciple of

Felix of Urgel Felix (died 818) was a Christian bishop and theologian. He served as the bishop of Urgell (783–99) and advocated the christology known as Spanish Adoptionism because it originated in the lands of the former Visigothic Kingdom in Spain. He was con ...

. Felix was a bishop in the foothills of the Spanish

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

whom Claudius may have known personally. The bishop had been condemned by

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

at the

Council of Frankfurt The Council of Frankfurt, traditionally also the Council of Frankfort, in 794 was called by Charlemagne, as a meeting of the important churchmen of the Frankish realm. Bishops and priests from Francia, Aquitaine, Italy, and Provence gathered in ''F ...

in 794 for teaching adoptionism. It is now certain that Claudius was not a disciple of Felix. If he was from Spain, it is uncertain whether or not he received his education there or in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

under the archbishop

Leidrad Leidrad (or Leidrat, as he spelled it) was the bishop of Lyon from 797 and its first archbishop from 804 until 814. He was a courtier of Charlemagne before he was a bishop. As bishop, he helped resolve the adoptionist controversy. He also began a ...

.M. Gorman 1997, p. 280. It was probably Leidrad and, as Claudius himself tells it, his schoolmates and the future

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

who convinced Claudius to study exegesis and concentrate on certain portions of

Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

. Claudius also studied the Church Fathers. When Louis the Pious was still

King of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine ( oc, Ducat d'Aquitània, ; french: Duché d'Aquitaine, ) was a historical fiefdom in western, central, and southern areas of present-day France to the south of the river Loire, although its extent, as well as its name, fluc ...

, he called Claudius to his court at

Chasseneuil Chasseneuil () is a commune in the Indre department in central France.Commune de Ch ...

sometime before 811. In 813, Emperor

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

called Louis, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him as his heir. The following year, Charlemagne died and Louis was made ruler of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. He brought Claudius to Aachen, the empire's capital city. There Claudius gave exegetical lectures to the emperor and the court and was even urged to put his lectures in writing by the emperor himself.M. Gorman 1997, p. 281. Claudius was a member of an elite circle of secular and ecclesiastic politicians and authorities and a ''creatura della corte di Aquisgrana'' ("creature of the court of Aachen"). In 817, he was sent by Louis to Turin to act as bishop. It has been suggested that the appointment of a theologian and scholar to a post such as

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, which had attendant military duties due to the threat of

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

raids, was largely based on the need for an imperial supporter in Italy in light of the rebellion of

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

. Bernard was the illegitimate son of King Pepin, the third son of

. Louis gave Italy to his eldest son Lothair when the empire was partitioned among his three sons in 817. Bernard rebelled against his uncle with the support of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Theodulf of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

nobility and it became important that the

bishop of Turin The Archdiocese of Turin ( la, Archidioecesis Taurinensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in Italy.

Episcopate (817–827)

As bishop of Turin, Claudius found that men were often directed to go on

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for penance and that worshippers were accustomed to venerate Christ and the saints by bowing before images and relics. Claudius, coming from an educated background, was not greatly exposed to such provincial modes of worship.M. Gorman 1997, p. 282. He made attacks on the use of images, relics, and crosses, he opposed pilgrimages to obtain absolution, and he had little regard for the authority of the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

due to his belief that all bishops were equal. Claudius was a heretic in the view of Dungal and

, who later wrote to refute some of his teachings at the request of the emperor. The last recorded act of Claudius is in a charter of the monastery of St Peter at Novalesa in May 827. He was dead by the time Dungal finished his ''Responsa contra peruersas Claudii Taurinensis episcopi sententias'' late in 827, so it can be presumed that he died that year.

Writings

Aachen Gospels, Folio 13r, Four Evangelists page

Claudius was both an author and a copyist. Although most of his extant works are simple biblical commentaries, his writings are very personal. He had a penchant for divulging detail in an age when brevity and anonymity were more common. Around 811, Claudius prepared an exhaustive and encyclopaedic commentary on the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...

at the request of the emperor. This commentary was edited by Johann Alexander Brassicanus in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

before it was first printed in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

Hieronymus Froben Hieronymus Froben (1501–1563) was a famous pioneering printer in Basel and the eldest son of Johann Froben. He was educated at the University of Basel and traveled widely in Europe. He, his father and his brother-in-law Nicolaus Episcopius we ...

in 1531. Claudius was influenced by the teachings of

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...

. Claudius also wrote commentaries on the books of Leviticus, the

historical books The historical books are a division of Christian Bibles, grouping 12 (or in some denominations more) books of the Old Testament. It includes the Former Prophets from the Nevi'im and two of the ungrouped books of Ketuvim of the Hebrew Bible togethe ...

of the Old Testament, the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

, and all Pauline epistles, of which the commentary on the

Epistle to Galatians The Epistle to the Galatians is the ninth book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul the Apostle to a number of Early Christian communities in Galatia. Scholars have suggested that this is either the Roman province of Galatia in sou ...

shows some of his views prefigure those expressed by both the

Waldensians The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...

and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

s centuries later. It was once thought that he had in fact founded the Waldensians, however this was disproved in the 19th century. His epistles on 1 and

2 Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author named Timothy, and is addressed to the church in Corinth and Christians in the ...

, however, dedicated to Theodemir, abbot of Psalmody, and a possible student of his, were sent to Aachen by the dedicatee to be condemned by the assembled bishops of the realm. The Corinthian commentaries were unpublished, though it was these commentaries that sparked the controversy concerning icons and pilgrimages. Claudius in his writings, maintained that faith is the only requirement for salvation, denies the supremacy of Peter, sees praying for the dead to be useless, attacked practices of the church and held the church to be fallible. Claudius introduced the "organic metaphor" of the state in his commentary on 1 Corinthians. He proposed that, as the church was the body of Christ, so the state was the body of the emperor. The imperial court would have been familiar with the work because Claudius later wrote that it had been well-received despite the attempts of his former friend, Theodemir of Nismes, to have it condemned as heretical. None of Claudius' works were ever condemned and he tried unsuccessfully to regain Theodemir's approval, but eventually had to pen a well known apology directed against Theodemir's persistent attacks.M. Gorman 1997, p. 283. Between 814 and 816, Claudius also wrote a ''Chronicle''. It begins with a letter to a priest named Ado. This is followed by a diagram of the genealogy of Jesus going back to Adam, accompanied by commentary. A final section, which was in fact composed first, chronicles the

Six Ages of the World The Six Ages of the World (Latin: ''sex aetates mundi''), also rarely Seven Ages of the World (Latin: ''septem aetates mundi''), is a Christian historical periodization first written about by Augustine of Hippo ''circa'' AD 400. It is based ...

based mainly on Bede. Claudius expends much effort in dating the events of the Old Testament according to the Christian calendar. In 1950, Claudius was identified by P. Bellet as the author of some works previously attributed to Pseudo-Eucherius.

Iconoclasm

Claudius found that Italian churches were full of images and "picture worshippers", though being told that people did not venerate the images themselves, but the saints they represent, Claudius still saw it as a heathenish practice and claimed that Pagans used similar arguments for image veneration. He saw the veneration of saints and claimed images as

Pelagian Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from t ...

, he argued that people need to only worship the creator and not the creation. Claudius also opposed the veneration of the cross, Claudius claimed that we need to "bear our own cross (Matt 16:24)" instead of adoring the cross. Claudius had no appreciation for religious symbolism and went with his iconoclastic zeal to a fanatical extreme.

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

*
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius Of Turin Bishops of Turin Italian Christian theologians 9th-century Italian bishops 827 deaths 9th-century Latin writers Medieval Italian theologians 9th-century Christian theologians 9th-century Italian writers Writers from the Carolingian Empire Proto-Protestants