Martianus Hiberniensis

Martianus Hiberniensis

Martin Hiberniensis (Martin the Irishman), teacher, scribe, and master of the cathedral school at Laon, 819-875

Contents

Background

Martin has been called "one of the greatest of Irish Carolingian scholars." (Breen, p. 404). Annotations he wrote in a manuscript of the Annals of Laon (Annales Laudunenses) gives personal details, such as his date of birth and that he was an Irish exile. Nothing substantive seems to be known of his origins in Ireland.

Career

Martianus appears to have been a lay teacher all his adult life - there is no indication he was a monk - apparently settling at Laon in the late 840's, during the term of bishop Pardule. By the early 850's he was master of the cathedral school, which he remained till the end of his life. His students included Dido,[disambiguation needed ] Manno, Bernard and Hincmar. In this way he was responsible for the education of generations of pupils.

His intellectual interests were very broad, including computus, exegesis, medicine, history, grammar, Greek. He annotated the Annals of Laon, the compustical works of Bede, wrote a commentary on Martianus Capella's 'De nuptiis Philllogiae et Mercurii, and preserved fragments of a lost commentary on Virgil by Aelius Donatus.

Following the deposition of Hincmar, Martianus actively helped restore order in the cathedral chapter.

A copy of a letter from Martianus to Servatus Lupus of Ferrières has survived. The latter was a fellow humanist. Martianus is thought to have corresponded with Irish and continental scholars at the court of Charles the Bald, though no letters are extant.

Greek literature

"Martin is especially remarkable for his considerable knowledge of Greek, being particularly noted as the scribe of the most extensive Greek-Latin thesaurus then in existence in western Europe (Laon MS 444), which he may possibly have copied from an Irish exemplar. He has also been credited with a work known as 'Scholica graecarum glossarum', a series of notes on Greek words, and he copied some Greek verse by John Scottus Eriugena, with whom he appears to have been acquainted." (Breen, 2009, p. 405)

Scribal innovations

Martianus was an innovative calligrapher, contributing greatly to what is called the 'grammar of legibility' by use of word separation and punctuation, almost unheard of in his lifetime. In place of his native insular script, "in his role as teacher and supervisor of a school of scribes he cultivated the use of Carolingian minuscule of a very neat and legible type." (Breen, 2009, p. 405)

At least twenty-one manuscripts survive containing specimens of his autograph, now housed in Laon, Paris and Berlin.

Manuscripts

Martianus was an avid collector of manuscripts, which he bequeated to Laon.

Summation

Breen (2009, p. 405) summs up Martianus's legacy: "Martin's main legacy to late Carolingian culture (unlike that of his fellow countryman John) was not as an original thinker and translator of works in Greek, but as a humanist and educator of great distinction."

Notes and references

  • Moran, Dermot. The Philosophy of John Scottus Eriugena. Cambridge University Press, 1989.
  • Breen, Aidan. Martinus (Martin) Hiberniensis, in Dictionary of Irish Biography, Cambridge, 2009, pp. 404–05.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Martianus Capella — Martianus redirects here. For the Carolingian scholar, see Martianus Hiberniensis. Martianus Minneus Felix Capella was a pagan writer of Late Antiquity, one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early… …   Wikipedia

  • Columbanus — Saint Columbanus St. Columbanus. Window of the crypt of the Bobbio Abbey Born 540 Nobber, Kingdom of Meath Died 23 November 615 …   Wikipedia

  • Marianus Scotus — For other uses, see Máel Brigte (disambiguation). Marianus Scotus (1028–1082 or 1083), was an Irish monk and chronicler (who must be distinguished from his namesake Marianus Scotus, d. 1088, abbot of St Peter s, Regensburg), was an Irishman by… …   Wikipedia

  • Codex Usserianus Primus — Folio 149v contains the only surviving decoration in the Codex Usserianus Primus Codex Usserianus Primus (Dublin, Trinity College Library, 55) is an early 7th century Old Latin Gospel Book. It is dated palaeographically to the 6th or 7th… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Irish historians — A list of Irish historians is presented in this article, from the earliest times up to the present day, by historical periods and in alphabetically order for easier reference.Strictly speaking, this article should be titled Irish Men and Women of …   Wikipedia

  • Dicuil — For the saint of the same name, see Deicolus. Dicuil, Irish monk and geographer, born in the second half of the 8th century. Contents 1 Background 2 Astronomical computus 3 De mensura Orbis terrae …   Wikipedia

  • Chronicon Scotorum — is a medieval Irish chronicle. According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is a collection of annals belonging to the Clonmacnoise group , covering the period from prehistoric times to 1150 but with some gaps, closely related to the Annals of Tigernach .… …   Wikipedia

  • Martin of Laon — For the 9th century Irish scholar, see Martianus Hiberniensis. Martin was the count of Laon in the late 7th century. See also Caribert of Laon This biographical article of a European noble is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by …   Wikipedia

  • Donatus of Fiesole — For homonyms, see Donatus (disambiguation). Saint Donatus of Fiesole Madonna with Saints John the Baptist and Donatus of Fiesole (1475 83, Andrea del Verrocchio, Pistoia Cathedral) Bishop …   Wikipedia

  • Cú Chuimne — (died 747) was a monk of Iona. Cú Chuimne, along with Ruben of Dairinis, was responsible for the great compendium known as Collectio canonum Hibernensis (Irish collection of Canon law). Little is known of Cú Chuimne. He is credited with composing …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”