Clarembald (Clarembaud) of Arras (c. 1110 – c. 1187) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

theologian. He is best known for his ''Tractatus super librum Boetii De Trinitate'', a commentary on the ''Opuscula Sacra'' of

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman Roman Senate, senator, Roman consul, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middl ...

.John Marenbom, ''Boethius'' (2003) p. 172 dates it to the late 1150s, and describes it as influenced by Thierry of Chartres, but simpler than Thierry's work. He belonged to the

School of Chartres During the High Middle Ages, the Chartres Cathedral established the cathedral School of Chartres, an important center of French scholarship located in Chartres. It developed and reached its apex during the transitional period of the 11th and 12 ...

, of

William of Conches William of Conches (; ; ), historically sometimes anglicized as William Shelley, was a medieval Norman- French scholastic philosopher who sought to expand the bounds of Christian humanism by studying secular works of classical literature and fo ...

and Bernard Silvestris. He was a follower of

Thierry of Chartres Thierry of Chartres (''Theodoricus Chartrensis'') or Theodoric the Breton (''Theodericus Brito'') (died before 1155, probably 1150) was a twelfth-century philosopher working at Chartres and Paris, France. The cathedral school at Chartres promote ...

and Hugh of St. Victor, and an opponent of

Gilbert of Poitiers Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

Biography

Clarembald was educated by Thierry of Chartres, whom Clarembald describes as the most learned man in Europe, and by Hugh of St. Victor, whom Clarembald also cites as one of his masters. He was the

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

in the city of

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

in 1152. He may have been a

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

in Arras before his appointment as provost. In 1156 Clarembald was made

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

of Arras under Bishop Godescalc, a position he retained through the episcopacy of Godescalc's successor, Andrew of Paris. When Frombald, another Archdeacon of Arras, was named bishop in 1174, Clarembald appears to have either retired or left the city, for his name no longer appears in the church records from that date on. It is possible that Clarembald went to

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

, where the name ‘Clarembald’ appears in the church records along with ‘Simon’ as chaplains of the church of Sts Nicolas and James under the reigns of

Walter of Mortagne Walter of Mortagne (b. Mortagne, Flanders, c. 1100; d. Laon, 1174) was a Scholastic philosopher and Catholic theologian. Biography Walter was educated in the schools of Tournai, and studied under William of Champeaux. In 1120, he became a tea ...

(1152–74) and Roger de Rozoy (1174–1201). In his letter to Abbot Odo which precedes his commentary on Boethius’ ''De Trinitate'' in ms. Saint-Omer 142, Clarembald mentions that he served for a time as schoolmaster in Laon. This might have taken place around 1157–9 for the schoolmaster, Angotus, is not mentioned in records of Laon around that time. But exactly when Clarembald might have been schoolmaster in Laon is a matter of conjecture. There is one other interesting historical record of Clarembald. In his biography of

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

, the monk

William of Canterbury William of Canterbury (''floruit'' 1170–1177) was a medieval English monk and biographer of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury murdered in December 1170. He was present at the murder of the archbishop and admitted in his writings that ...

mentioned that Clarembald of Arras gave some

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of Becket to a convent in

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

, a town about fifteen miles from Arras. It is possible that Clarembald and Becket knew each other as they were students in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

at the same time and Becket stayed in Arras during part of his exile in 1164, when Clarembald was archdeacon there.

Works

Clarembald's. extant writings consist of three works: a commentary on

’ ''De Trinitate'', a commentary on Boethius’ ''De hebdomadibus'', and an unfinished ''Tractatulus'' on the

hexameron The term Hexaemeron (Greek: Ἡ Ἑξαήμερος Δημιουργία ''Hē Hexaēmeros Dēmiourgia''), literally "six days," is used in one of two senses. In one sense, it refers to the Genesis creation narrative spanning Genesis 1:1–2:3: ...

, in the course of which Clarembald comments briefly Boethius’ ''Contra Eutychen et Nestorium''.

Notes

References

* John R. Fortin (1995), ''Clarembald of Arras as a Boethian commentator'' * David B. George, John R. Fortin (2002), ''The Boethian commentaries of Clarembald of Arras'' *Nikolaus Häring (1965), ''The Life and Works of Clarembald of Arras, a Twelfth-Century Master of the School of Chartres'' *Wilhelm Jansen (1926), ''Der Kommentar des Clarembaldus von Arras zu Boethius de Trinitate. Ein Werk aus der Schule von Chartres im 12. Jhd.'' * Martello, C. (1998), ''Fisica della creazione. La cosmologia di Clarembaldo'' {{Authority control 1110s births 1187 deaths 12th-century French Catholic theologians People from Arras