Joseph or Josephus Scottus (died between 791 and 804), called the Deacon, was an Irish scholar, diplomat, poet, and ecclesiastic, a figure 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 ...

. He has been cited as an early example of "the scholar in public life".Garrison, citing D. A. Bullough, "Aula renovata: the Carolingian court before the Aachen palace," ''Carolingian Renewal: Sources and Heritage'' (1991), 141.

Life

His early life is obscure, but he studied first under Colcu, probably at

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise or Clonmacnois (Irish language, Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery in County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ciarán, ...

, and then under

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 ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, probably in the 770s. At York he met and befriended Liudger, a Frisian and future Bishop of Münster, whom he mentions in a poem requesting a "polished staff". Joseph eventually wound up at the court of the

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

king

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 ...

, probably after accompanying Alcuin to the continent in the 780s. Joseph was at the Frankish court during a period (790s) of rising

anti-Irish sentiment Anti-Irish sentiment, also Hibernophobia, is bigotry against the Irish people or individuals. It can include hatred, oppression, persecution, as well as simple discrimination. Generally, it could be bigotry against people from the island of Ire ...

(often expressed in verse), but he seems nonetheless to have established a bond of trust with both Alcuin and Charlemagne. In 787 or 788 Charlemagne sent Joseph and several others on a diplomatic mission to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to deal with the

Papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and to

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; ) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is south of Trevi, north of Terni, southeast of Perugia; southeast of Florence; and north of Rome. H ...

and

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

, the capitals of two Lombard duchies opposed to Frankish overlordship. While in southern Italy Joseph and his companions were separated by agents of the Lombard dukes and almost killed. In 790 Joseph took over Alcuin's position at court while the

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

n master was on unexpectedly extended business in his homeland. Thereafter his career is obscure. He eventually rose to become an

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

, but when and where are unknown. It has been suggested, on the basis of his experience in south Italian politics, that he was briefly abbot of

Montecassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient Roman town of Casinum, it is the first house ...

, but the evidence for this is slim.

Writings

Joseph participated in a revival of

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...

poetry fostered by Alcuin at Charlemagne's court. Four such poems of his are preserved in a collection of religious acrostics, including some by Alcuin and others by Theodulf of Orléans, in a manuscript (MS 212) now in the Burgerbibliothek in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. Addressed to Charlemagne, the acrostic '' carmina figurata''—on the similarity of

Eve Eve is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop through oral traditions and there ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, princely virtues, the

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

, and the names of Christ—imitate the late antique panegyrics Publilius Optatianus Porfyrius addressed to

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

. The poems, though never popular as literature, still demonstrate "technical virtuosity". The only other work which certainly belongs to Joseph is an abridgement of a commentary on

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

(''Abbreuiatio'' or ''Epitome commentarii (Sancti) Hieronymi in Isaiam''), which was apparently ordered by Alcuin. Two other works have been attributed to him, including a lost suite of riddles mentioned in a

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

manuscript before 903. These are more probably the work of Joseph, Bishop of Freising. He may also have written a '' voces animantium'' ("voices of animals") listing the sounds of animals in alphabetical order with glosses, now in the

Biblioteca Nacional de España The (National Library of Spain) is the national library of Spain. It is the largest public library in the country, and one of the largest in the world. Founded in 1711, it is an autonomous agency attached to the Ministry of Culture since 1 ...

(MS 19, folio 189v). This genre was common, but the alphabetisation is unusual. If it is indeed to be ascribed to Joseph, it was probably lifted from his personal notebook.

Sources

*Garrison, Mary (2004)
"Joseph Scottus (d. 791x804)."
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', vol. 30. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * *Silvers, Margaret. (2016) ''Josephus Scottus's Abbreviation of Jerome's Commentariorum in Esaiam: A Partial Edition with Apparatus''. University of York: Doctoral dissertation.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottus, Joseph Irish writers in Latin 8th-century Frankish writers Hiberno-Latin poets Italian abbots Irish scholars and academics Irish diplomats 8th-century Irish poets 9th-century Irish poets Irish expatriates in Germany Irish expatriates in England Irish expatriates in France Irish expatriates in Italy Irish male poets 8th-century writers in Latin Gaels