International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Isabela Stoian
University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania;
[e-mail]
The Veiled Influence of Byzantium on Alcuin of York Byzantium 
at the Frankish Court
The Byzantine influence on the West in the Early Middle Ages has been a topic that interested 
many scholars, especially concerning the Carolingian period. However, less attention has been given 
to the Byzantine influence on one of the most important persons that flourished at the Frankish 
Court during the VIII century – Alcuin of York. The purpose of this paper is to show how much 
of Alcuin’s ideas are due to Byzantine thinking, to analyze to what extent he was aware of their 
importance and to what degree he influenced others.
Alcuin was educated at York, in a century when the study of the classical authors was prosperous 
in the Anglo-Saxon environment. Therefore, he had the possibility of studying Latin and to some extent 
Greek, even though he was not a master of the later. However, he thus acquired not only a solid classical 
culture but he also had access to the writings of the Church Fathers. This made him one of the most 
influential scholars and theologians of the West, and determined Charlemagne to invite him to his 
Court. There, Alcuin became the main actor to fulfill Charles’ plans regarding education and religion.
Whereas education is concerned, one of the most important works of Alcuin is his Ars 
grammatica. Grammar was considered the most important liberal art to serve theology, because 
it ensured the correct use of Latin and thus the avoidance of erroneous liturgical and theological 
speech. Alcuin was the first to bring into use in the Frankish Kingdom Priscian’s Institutiones 
grammaticae (after a long period in which it was given to oblivion on the Continent) by abbreviating 

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and using it as a chief source for his own compiled Grammar. Having in view the fact that Priscian 
produced his work in Constantinople in the early sixth century, there can be traced some Byzantine 
influences that were bequeathed by Alcuin. One of the most beautiful passages that breathe the 
Byzantine spirit is the comparison of the vowel with the soul and of the consonant with the body. 
As far as theology is regarded, Alcuin got to know the works of some very important Eastern 
Church Fathers. For instance, there are references to John Chrysostom in Alcuin’s ‘York poem’ and 
quotations from the same Father’s Homilies in Contra haeresim Felicis. There are passages in Alcuin’s 
moral works (and not only) that remember of Gregory Nazianzus’ writings, such is the case of the 
passage from De virtutibus et vitiis that speaks of the ‘penitential shedding of tears’. Another patristic 
influence on Alcuin is that of Gregory the Great (especially his Homilies and his exegetical works) – 
and it can be argued that Gregory is representative of the Byzantine theological thinking. Nonetheless, 
it has to be mentioned that many of these works were known by Alcuin indirectly, either through 
translations into Latin or through the writings of other scholars and theologians, such as Bede. 
However, the important thing is that Alcuin used the Eastern teaching in educating the Franks and, 
what is very important, in the fight against the heresies that threatened Orthodoxy during that century. 
All in all, the thesis of my paper is that Byzantium influenced the West through Alcuin’s 
works too. Either it was in the field of education, in that of theology or to serve Charlemagne’s 
political plans, the influences come from East are traceable in Alcuin’s writings and they do not lack 
consequences in the social context of the Frankish Empire.