Claudius of Turin
Encyclopedia
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
810–827) was the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
bishop of Turin
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Turin
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Turin is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. Founded in the 4th century and elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on 21 May 1515, by Pope Leo X. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist...
from 817 until his death. He was a courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
of Louis the Pious and was a writer during the Carolingian Renaissance
Carolingian Renaissance
In the history of ideas the Carolingian Renaissance stands out as a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe occurring from the late eighth century, in the generation of Alcuin, to the 9th century, and the generation of Heiric of Auxerre, with the peak of the activities coordinated...
. He is most noted for teaching iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
, a radical idea at that time in Latin Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and for some teachings that prefigured those of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. He was attacked as a heretic
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
in written works by St Dungal
Saint Dungal
The Irish monk Dungal lived at Saint-Denis, Pavia and Bobbio. He wrote a poem on wisdom and the seven liberal arts and advised Charlemagne on astronomical matters. He died after 827, probably at the Monastery of Bobbio...
and Jonas of Orléans
Jonas of Orléans
Jonas was Bishop of Orléans and played a major political role during the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious.Jonas was born in Aquitaine. Probably a cleric by the 780s, he served at the court of Louis the Pious, who ruled as King of Aquitaine during the reign of his father, Charlemagne. In 817,...
.
Early career and the imperial court (until 817)
Claudius is thought to have been from Spain. This belief may have its origins in the accusations of Jonas of OrléansJonas of Orléans
Jonas was Bishop of Orléans and played a major political role during the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious.Jonas was born in Aquitaine. Probably a cleric by the 780s, he served at the court of Louis the Pious, who ruled as King of Aquitaine during the reign of his father, Charlemagne. In 817,...
, who claimed Claudius was a disciple of Felix of Urgel. Felix was a bishop in the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
whom Claudius may have known personally. The bishop had been condemned by Alcuin
Alcuin
Alcuin of York or Ealhwine, nicknamed Albinus or Flaccus was an English scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York...
at the Council of Frankfurt
Council of Frankfurt
The Council of Frankfurt in 794 was called by Charlemagne. This church council condemned the Adoptionist heresy and revoked decrees regarding the holy icons which were established in 787 at the Second Council of Nicaea...
in 794 for teaching adoptionism
Adoptionism
Adoptionism, sometimes called dynamic monarchianism, is a minority Christian belief that Jesus was adopted as God's son at his baptism...
. It is now certain that Claudius was not a disciple of Felix. If he was from Spain, it is uncertain whether or not he received his education there or in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
under the archbishop Leidrad. It was probably Leidrad and, as Claudius himself tells it, his schoolmates and the future emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
who convinced Claudius to study exegesis and concentrate on certain portions of Scripture. Claudius also studied the Church Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
.
When Louis the Pious was still King of Aquitaine, he called Claudius to his court at Chasseneuil
Chasseneuil
Chasseneuil is a commune in the Indre department in central France.It was the birth place of Louis the Pious.-Geography:The Bouzanne forms part of the commune's south-eastern border, then flows into the Creuse, which forms the commune's south-western border....
sometime before 811. In 813, Emperor Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
called Louis, his only surviving legitimate son, to his court. There he crowned him as his heir. The following year, Charlemagne died and Louis was made ruler of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. He brought Claudius to Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, the empire's capital city. There Claudius gave exegetical lectures to the emperor and the court and was even urged to put his lectures in writing by the emperor himself. Claudius was a member of a very elite circle of secular and ecclesiastic politicians and authorities and a creatura della corte di Aquisgrana ("creature of the court of Aachen"). In 817, he was sent by Louis to Turin to act as bishop. It has been suggested that the appointment of a theologian and scholar to a post such as Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, which had attendant military duties due to the threat of Saracen
Saracen
Saracen was a term used by the ancient Romans to refer to a people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia, and who were distinguished from Arabs. In Europe during the Middle Ages the term was expanded to include Arabs, and then all who professed the religion of Islam...
raids, was largely based on the need for an imperial supporter in Italy in light of the rebellion of Bernard
Bernard of Italy
Bernard was the King of the Lombards from 810 to 818. He plotted against his uncle, Emperor Louis the Pious, when the latter's Ordinatio Imperii made Bernard a vassal of his cousin Lothair...
. Bernard was the illegitimate son of King Pepin
Pippin of Italy
Pepin was the son of Charlemagne and king of the Lombards under the authority of his father.Pepin was the second son of Charlemagne by his then-wife Hildegard. He was born Carloman, but when his half-brother Pepin the Hunchback betrayed their father, the royal name Pepin passed to him...
, the third son of Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
. Louis gave Italy to his eldest son Lothair
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I was the Emperor of the Romans , co-ruling with his father until 840, and the King of Bavaria , Italy and Middle Francia...
when the empire was partitioned among his three sons in 817. Bernard rebelled against his uncle with the support of Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
Theodulf of Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
. The rebellion was put down, but the event reduced the emperor's prestige amongst the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
nobility and it became important that the bishop of Turin
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Turin
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Turin is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Italy. Founded in the 4th century and elevated to the dignity of an archdiocese on 21 May 1515, by Pope Leo X. Its mother church is the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist...
be a man who was loyal to the emperor.
Episcopate (817–827)
As bishop of Turin, Claudius found that men were often directed to go on pilgrimagePilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
for penance and that worshippers were accustomed to venerate Christ and the saints by bowing before images and relics. Claudius, coming from an educated background, was not greatly exposed to such provincial modes of worship. He made attacks on the use of images, relics, and crosses, he opposed pilgrimages to obtain absolution, and he had little regard for the authority of the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
due to his belief that all bishops were equal.
Claudius was a heretic
Christian heresy
Christian heresy refers to non-orthodox practices and beliefs that were deemed to be heretical by one or more of the Christian churches. In Western Christianity, the term "heresy" most commonly refers to those beliefs which were declared to be anathema by the Catholic Church prior to the schism of...
in the view of Dungal
Saint Dungal
The Irish monk Dungal lived at Saint-Denis, Pavia and Bobbio. He wrote a poem on wisdom and the seven liberal arts and advised Charlemagne on astronomical matters. He died after 827, probably at the Monastery of Bobbio...
and Jonas of Orléans
Jonas of Orléans
Jonas was Bishop of Orléans and played a major political role during the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious.Jonas was born in Aquitaine. Probably a cleric by the 780s, he served at the court of Louis the Pious, who ruled as King of Aquitaine during the reign of his father, Charlemagne. In 817,...
, who later wrote to refute some of his teachings at the request of the emperor. The last recorded act of Claudius is in a charter of the monastery of St Peter at Novalesa in May 827. He was dead by the time Dungal finished his Responsa contra peruersas Claudii Taurinensis episcopi sententias late in 827, so it is presumable that he died that year.
Writings
Johann Alexander Brassicanus
Johann Alexander Brassicanus was a German Catholic humanist, author and prominent professor.-Biography:He was born probably at Cannstatt, 1500, as a member of an ancient family of Konstanz, named Köl or Köll, Latinized Brassicanus , his father being Johannes Brassicanus, the Württemberg humanist...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
before it was first printed
Editio princeps
In classical scholarship, editio princeps is a term of art. It means, roughly, the first printed edition of a work that previously had existed only in manuscripts, which could be circulated only after being copied by hand....
in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
by Hieronymus Froben
Hieronymus Froben
Hieronymus Froben was a famous pioneering printer in Basel and the eldest son of Johann Froben. He was educated at the University of Basel and traveled widely in Europe....
in 1531.
Claudius also wrote commentaries on the books of Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
, the historical books
Nevi'im
Nevi'im is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. It falls between the Torah and Ketuvim .Nevi'im is traditionally divided into two parts:...
of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, the Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
, and all Pauline epistles
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, Epistles of Paul, or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen New Testament books which have the name Paul as the first word, hence claiming authorship by Paul the Apostle. Among these letters are some of the earliest extant Christian documents...
, of which the commentary on the Epistle to Galatians shows some of his views prefigure those expressed by both the Waldensians
Waldensians
Waldensians, Waldenses or Vaudois are names for a Christian movement of the later Middle Ages, descendants of which still exist in various regions, primarily in North-Western Italy. There is considerable uncertainty about the earlier history of the Waldenses because of a lack of extant source...
and Protestants centuries later. It was once thought that he had in fact founded the Waldensians, however this was disproven in the 19th century. His epistles on 1 and 2 Corinthians, however, dedicated to Theodemir, Abbot of Psalmody, and a possible student of his, were sent to Aachen by the dedicatee to be condemned by the assembled bishops of the realm. The Corinthian commentaries were unpublished, though it was they that sparked the controversy concerning icons and pilgrimages.
Claudius introduced the "organic metaphor" of the state in his commentary on 1 Corinthians. He proposed that, as the church was the body of Christ, so the state was the body of the emperor. The imperial court would have been familiar with the work because Claudius later wrote that it had been well–received despite the attempts of his former friend, Theodemir of Nismes, to have it condemned as heretical. None of Claudius' works were ever condemned and he tried unsuccessfully to regain Theodemir's approval, but eventually had to pen a well known apology directed against Theodemir's persistent attacks.