Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel< OSB ( 770 – c. 840) was a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk of

Saint-Mihiel Abbey Saint-Mihiel Abbey is an ancient Benedictine abbey situated in the town of Saint-Mihiel, near Verdun in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department in Lorraine (region), Lorraine in north-eastern France. The benedictine abbey ...

near

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

. He was a significant writer of

homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

and commentaries.

Life

Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

ic heritage, Smaragdus was born in Spain around 770. He had moved to

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

by the first decade of the 9th century. Through a fellow immigrant Goth,

Theodulf of Orléans Theodulf of Orléans (Saragossa, Spain, 750(/60) – 18 December 821) was a writer, poet and the Bishop of Orléans (c. 798 to 818) during the reign of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. He was a key member of the Carolingian Renaissance and an im ...

, he was introduced to

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 ...

. After serving as principal of the convent school of the monastery on Castellion, he was elected abbot about 805. Around 814, he moved his monks a few miles away and founded the monastery of Saint-Mihiel on the banks of the river

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, in the

diocese of Verdun The Diocese of Verdun ( la, Dioecesis Virodunensis; french: Diocèse de Verdun) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolita ...

. Charlemagne employed him to write the letter to

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's position b ...

, in which was communicated the decision of the

Council of Aachen (809) A number of significant councils of the Latin Church were held at Aachen (also known in French as ''Aix-la-Chapelle'') in the early Middle Ages. In the mixed council of 798, Charlemagne proclaimed a capitulary of eighty-one chapters, largely a repe ...

respecting the adoption of the ''

filioque ( ; ) is a Latin term ("and from the Son") added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly known as the Nicene Creed), and which has been the subject of great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. It is a term ...

'' clause, and sent him to Rome with the commissioners to lay the matter before the pope. He acted as secretary, and drew up the protocol.

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 ...

showed him equal consideration, endowed his monastery, and in 824 appointed him to act with

Frothar of Toul Frothar of Toul was bishop of Toul from around 813 to his death in 847. He is known mainly for his surviving collection of letters. Before becoming bishop, he was abbot of St. Evre's Abbey, Toul. He undertook work for Louis the Pious Louis t ...

as arbitrator between Ismund, abbot of

Moyenmoutier Abbey Moyenmoutier (; german: Mittelmünster) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Inhabitants are called ''Médianimonastériens''. Geography The little town of Moyenmoutier is positioned along the lower part of ...

, and his monks. Smaragdus died about 840.

Works

His writings show diligence and piety. His published works in prose are: *''Collections of Comments on the Epistle and Gospel for each holy day in the year'', (''Collectiones in epistolas et evangelia de tempore et de sanctis''. Migne, CII. col 13-552. an uncritical but comprehensive compilation from numerous ecclesiastical writers, prepared for the use of preachers, and described by the author as a liber comitis. *''Diadema monachorum ''(''The Crown of Monks''), a collection in one hundred chapters of ascetic rules and reflections concerning the principal duties and virtues of the monastic life. It is for the most part a compilation. The sources are the ''Collectiones patrum'' of Cassian and the writings of

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I ( la, Gregorius I; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great, was the bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instigating the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregori ...

. Smaragdus made it after his elevation to the abbotship and enjoined its daily evening reading upon his monks (PL 102:693). It proved to be a very popular work, was widely circulated during the Middle Age, and was repeatedly published in the early modern period. *''Commentaria in regulam Sancti Benedicti''. A commentary upon the

Rule of St Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's R ...

undertaken in aid of the monastic reforms instituted by the

Council of Aachen A number of significant councils of the Latin Church were held at Aachen (also known in French as ''Aix-la-Chapelle'') in the early Middle Ages. In the mixed council of 798, Charlemagne proclaimed a capitulary of eighty-one chapters, largely a rep ...

. It is characterised by great strictness.Migne, PL, 102:689–932. A more recent Latin edition appeared in the 1970s. An English translation is David Barry, ''Commentary on the Rule of St Benedict'', CS 212, (Kalamazoo, MI, 2007) *''The Royal way'' (''Via regia'', ibid. col 933–970) dedicated to

while king of Aquitania. So Ebert, l.c. p. III, it consists of thirty-two chapters of moral and spiritual counsels, which if faithfully followed will conduct an earthly king into the heavenly kingdom. The work is really only an adaptation of the Diadem to the wants of the secular life. *''Acts of the Roman conference'' (''Acta collationis Romanae'') Migne, CII. col. 971–976, the protocol already mentioned. *Epistle of Charles the Great to Leo the Pope upon the procession of the Holy Spirit (''Epistola Caroli Magni ad Leonem Papam de processione Spiritus Sancti''), Migne, XCVIII. col. 923–929. the letter mentioned above. *Epistle of Frotharius and Smaragdus to the Emperor Louis (''Epistola Frotharii et Smaragdi ad Ludovicum Imperatorem''), Migne, CVI. col, 865–866. the report of the arbitrators. *''Liberin partibus Donati''. A larger grammar or a commentary upon Donatus (''Grammatica major seu commentarius in Donatum''). This is his earliest work, written at the request of his scholars, probably between 800 and 805. It is still unprinted, except a small portion in

Mabillon Dom Jean Mabillon, O.S.B., (; 23 November 1632 – 27 December 1707) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar of the Congregation of Saint Maur. He is considered the founder of the disciplines of palaeography and diplomatics. Early life Mabil ...

, ''Vetera analectam'', Nov. ed. (Paris, 1723) pp. 357, 358. There remain in manuscript a Commentary on the Prophets, and a History of the Monastery of St. Michael (cf. Mabillon, l.c.) Smaragdus also wrote poetry. Besides a hymn to Christ (Ebert, l.c. p. 112) there have been preserved his metrical introductions to his Collections and Commentary on the rule of St. Benedict, of which the first has twenty-nine lines in

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

, and the second thirty-seven

distich A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

References

* Text taken from

Philip Schaff Philip Schaff (January 1, 1819 – October 20, 1893) was a Swiss-born, German-educated Protestant theologian and ecclesiastical historian, who spent most of his adult life living and teaching in the United States. Biography Schaff was born ...

, ''History of the Christian Church'', Volume IV: Mediaeval Christianity. A.D. 590–1073, which is in the public domain
source at CCEL

Life

Works

References

Further reading