Remigius of Auxerre

Remigius of Auxerre (c. 841 – 908) was a Benedictine monk during the Carolingian period, a teacher of Latin grammar, and a prolific author of commentaries on classical Greek and Latin texts. He is also accredited with collecting and compiling other early medieval thinkers' commentaries on these works. Likely born in Burgundy, Remigius was a disciple of Lupus of Ferrières and Heiric of Auxerre. He taught at the Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre, becoming its school master after Heiric's death in 876. In 883, he was called to teach at the Cathedral School in Reims by Archbishop Fulk, and was made its headmaster in 893. When Fulk died in 900, Remigius left to teach in Paris, where he remained until his death. By this time, he had earned the reputation of "egregius doctor" and "in divinis et humanis scripturis eruditissimus." As a teacher, Remigius interested himself in the problem of universals, attempting a compromise between extreme Realism and Anti-Realism. He sought to interpret classical texts and Christian Scripture in a way that could be taught to his students, exploring how ancient philosophy could be applied to the Christianized world. His main commentaries were on the works of Boethius and Martianus Capella, finding flexible allegories that could co-exist with Christian theology. During his career, Remigius wrote numerous glossaries and marginal commentaries on classical and Christian texts. His commentary on the Bible includes work on Genesis and the Psalms. He also wrote on the grammar of Priscian, Donatus, Phocas, and Eutyches. His favored classical texts include works by Terence, Juvenal, and Caelius Sedulius. He is best remembered for his contribution to and collection of commentaries on the works of Boethius and Martianus Capella. Remigius wrote his commentaries mostly for his pupils, emphasizing grammatical structures and linguistic peculiarities. He respected philosophy, particularly Plato and the Neo-Platonists, and was an avid teacher of the Seven Liberal Arts, with an emphasis on music and dialectic. He was also a devout Christian, using philosophical texts to clarify Christian theology. His synthesis of Classical and Christian thought, by compiling commentaries of other thinkers, perpetuated the early medieval inclination towards this approach. Although church music was monophonic during his lifetime, Remigius's grammatical exegesis of philosophical texts on the mathematics of music laid the foundation for polyphonic music. He wrote and taught in the period following the Carolingian Renaissance, benefiting from the renewed interest in ancient thinkers and the emphasis on the seven liberal arts. His academic position as a grammarian reflects the ancient Roman educational model. His exposure to ancient Greek and Latin through contact with the Byzantine Empire allowed him to comment on philosophical texts. His works demonstrate the prevailing sentiment of the Carolingian Renaissance, that Platonism and Christianity could coexist. Initial studies accused Remigius of plagiarizing John Scotus Eriugena, but modern scholarship suggests these accusations are unfair and untrue, viewing the controversy as a matter of early medieval scholastic circumstance rather than intent.