Fridugisus, also known as Fredegisus or Fredegis of Tours (born in England towards the end of the 8th century; died in
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...
around 834), was a monk, teacher, and writer.
An
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
, he was a pupil of
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 ...
, first at York and afterwards at the court of
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 ...
in Aachen. The approximate date of his birth is determined by a reference to him as "a boy" (''puer'') in a letter of Alcuin dated 798. He was a favourite pupil of Alcuin and was one of the group of distinguished scholars who formed the ''Schola palatina'' in
Aachen
Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
, in which he was known by the name Nathaniel. At that time he was a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
.
When, in 796, Alcuin became abbot of
Marmoutier Abbey, Tours
Marmoutier Abbey — also known as the Abbey of Marmoutier or Marmoutiers — was an early monastery outside Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France. In its later days it followed the Benedictine order as an influential monastery with many dependencies.
Hi ...
, Fridugisus seems to have remained at the court.
According to some authorities he was Alcuin's successor as Master of the Palace School. This is, however, improbable. In 804 he succeeded his teacher as abbot of Marmoutier Abbey at Tours, retaining at the same time his relations with the emperor.
Among his contemporaries he enjoyed a reputation for great learning. He composed several poems. He also wrote a short treatise in epistolary form, which deals with the nature of nothing and darkness, ''De nihilo et tenebris''. The epistle was written probably during the author's residence at Tours. It is addressed "to all the faithful and to those who dwell in the sacred Palace of the most serene prince Charles". It dealt with the question, are nothing and darkness real things? (Some suggest that this was inspired by the Biblical use of the words in the first chapter of 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") ...
). If the Bible uses the words "nothing" and "darkness", it seemed that there must be things corresponding to those words. Fridugisus accepts this answer and defends it both by arguments from authority and by arguments from reason.
[In F. A. Lange’s '' History of Materialism'', First Book, Second Section, Chapter 2, he mentioned that Fridugisus confused "''subjective'' and ''objective'' elements in our conception of things." Lange wrote, "We find an interesting example of this onfusionin Fredegisus ic a pupil of ]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 ...
’s, who honoured Charles the Great
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
with a theological epistle 'De Nihilo et Tenebris f Nothing and Darkness
F, or f, is the sixth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet#Let ...
, in which that 'Nothing' out of which God created the world is explained as an actually ''existing entity'', and that for the extremely simple reason that every name refers to some corresponding thing." In this way, Fridugisus mistook a name (Nothing) that existed in his brain for something in the world outside his brain. That his solution, however, was not generally accepted is clear from the opening words of the treatise, in which he refers to the long prevailing divergence of opinion in the matter. The treatise makes use of the dialectical method which was afterwards developed into the
scholastic method by
Abelard
Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
,
Alexander of Hales
Alexander of Hales (also Halensis, Alensis, Halesius, Alesius ; 21 August 1245), also called ''Doctor Irrefragibilis'' (by Pope Alexander IV in the ''Bull De Fontibus Paradisi'') and ''Theologorum Monarcha'', was a Franciscan friar, theologian a ...
, and Saint
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
.
He also took part in controversies against
Agobard de Lyon.
Notes and references
References
;Attribution
*
Further reading
Biographyin the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes*
{{Authority control
Roman Catholic monks
Anglo-Saxon writers
9th-century Latin writers
834 deaths
Year of birth unknown
9th-century English writers
8th-century English writers
Writers from the Carolingian Empire
8th-century Latin writers
8th-century Frankish writers