Clement Scotus II ( fl. 820) was an Irish grammarian.
Life
Clement Scotus II arrived, according to tradition, from Ireland on the coast of
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, with another Irish scholar, around the time when
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 Holy ...
began his sole rule (i.e. after the death of Carloman in 771). The two men were received at the Frankish court, and Clement was entrusted with the education of a number of pupils. The account of Clement's appearance in the Frankish realm rests solely upon the authority of the monk of St. Gall, who wrote towards the end of the ninth century, and whose narrative contains an element of fable.
Clement is mentioned in a catalogue of the abbots of
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
:
Ratgar Ratgar was a controversial abbot at the famous Benedictine monastery of Fulda during the early ninth century.
Life
Ratgar was abbot of the monastery of Fulda from 802 until 817. He was from a noble family in Germania, and was sent by his parent ...
, who was abbot from 802 to 817, sent a certain Modestus and other monks to Clement the Scot to learn grammar. Clement was, then or later, resident at the Frankish court; there is a poem by him addressed to
Lothar
Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", a ...
as emperor (i.e. after 817), from which it appears that Lothar was his pupil; and another poem, by
Ermoldus Nigellus
Ermoldus Nigellus, or Niger—translated Ermold the Black, or Ermoald (), was a poet who lived at the court of Pippin of Aquitaine, son of Frankish Emperor Louis I, and accompanied him on a campaign into Brittany in 824. Ermoldus was a cultured m ...
, describes Clement as active in the festivities at
Ingelheim
Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein ( en, Ingelheim upon Rhine), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's west bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat ...
on the occasion of the baptism of the Danish king
Harald
Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to:
Medieval Kings of Denmark
* Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986)
Kings of Norway
* Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933)
* Harald Greycloak (died 970)
* Harald Hardra ...
in 826.
The year of Clement's death is not known, but the day is given as 29 March in a
necrology
An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...
preserved in a
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
manuscript of the ninth century. His character is celebrated in a poem by Prudens, otherwise unknown, who ranks him first among the teachers in the palace school.
Works
Two grammatical works exist in manuscript bearing Clement's name; one is an 'Ars Grammatica' (also described as 'De Partibus Orationis'), the other, which is possibly only a part of the same, 'De Barbarismo.'
Confusion of names
This Clement Scotus has been misidentified, firstly with Clement Scotus I, the opponent of St. Boniface, and secondly with Claudius,
bishop of Turin
The Archdiocese of Turin ( la, Archidioecesis Taurinensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in Italy.Nicolaus Antonius, 'Bibliotheca Hispana vetus,' i. 469-61 (Madrid, 1788).