Saint Clement of Ireland (Clemens Scotus) ( 750 – 818) is venerated as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Biography

Born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, he founded a school for boys under the patronage of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and figures in the

Carolingian Renaissance The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of three medieval renaissances, a period of cultural activity in the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne's reign led to an intellectual revival beginning in the 8th century and continuing throughout the 9th ...

of learning. A monk of St. Gall, usually identified as

Notker the Stammerer Notker the Stammerer ( – 6 April 912), Notker Balbulus, or simply Notker, was a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall active as a composer, poet and scholar. Described as "a significant figure in the Western Church", Notker made subst ...

, who wrote a ''Life of Charlemagne'' dedicated to

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

(d. 888), says that Clement with his unnamed companion, both "Scots of Ireland" travelling in the company of traders, arrived on the coast of

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

"in the moment when

had begun to reign as sole king" (i.e. ca 771); they set themselves up in the market as venders of learning. Word of them reached the ear of Charlemagne, who sent for them to come to his court. Ailbe, Clement's companion, was then given the direction of the "monastery of Saint Augustine" near

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

, identifiable as the Abbey of

San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro The Basilica of St. Peter in the Golden Sky () is an 8th-century Catholic Church, Catholic basilica and monastery church served for centuries by the Order of St. Augustine, Augustinian friars in Pavia, in the Lombardy region of Italy. The basilic ...

, "sometimes named after Saint Augustine, because it contained many of his relics".Lewis Thorpe, ed. ''Einhard and Notker the Stammerer: Two lives of Charlemagne'' :1969:189 note 3 on Notker, ''Life'', §1. Clement was requested to remain in France as the master of a school of learning for boys both noble and common, that was established and supported by Charlemagne. These events may have taken place in the winter of the year 774, after Charlemagne had been in Italy. Clement was regent of the palace school at Paris until his death. It was not until 782 that

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; ; 735 – 19 May 804), also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin, was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Ecgbert of York, Archbishop Ecgbert at Yor ...

became master of the royal school at

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

, but even the fame of Alcuin in no wise diminished the acknowledged reputation of Clement. Though St. Clement is no longer claimed as founder of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, the fact remains that this remarkable Scots-Irish scholar planted the seeds of learning at Paris. Many anecdotes are related of St. Clement's life, especially as regards his success as a teacher of youth. Among his pupils were Bruno, Modestus, and Candidus, who had been placed under his care in 803 by Ratgar, Abbot of

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

. When Alcuin retired to

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

in 796, his post as rector of the School of the Palace was naturally given to Clement. In 803, as an old man, Alcuin wrote from his retirement to Charlemagne, querulously commenting on "the daily increasing influence of the Irish at the School of the Palace". Alcuin died 19 May 804, and Charlemagne survived till 28 January 814.
The 17th-century hagiographer John Colgan, in his '' Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae'' (Louvain, 1645) says that he was living in 818, and gives the date of Clement's death as 20 March and the place as

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

, where he was interred in the church of Saint-Amator.

References

External links

CLEMENT of Ireland
at Patron Saints Index {{DEFAULTSORT:Clement Of Ireland Medieval Irish saints Saints from the Carolingian Empire 750s births 818 deaths Year of birth uncertain Irish expatriates in France Irish Christian missionaries Missionary linguists Irish schoolteachers Heads of schools in France 8th-century educators