Beihefte der Francia - Perspectivia.net · English activity was concentrated from the eighth Century onwards in the Carolin - gian heartland and the areas further to the east. One

Beihefte der Francia

Bd. 16,2

1989

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R O S A M O N D M C K I T T E R I C K

THE D I F F U S I O N O F I N S U L A R C U L T U R E I N N E U S T R I A BETWEEN 650 A N D 850:

T H E I M P L I C A T I O N S O F TH E M A N U S C R I P T E V I D E N C E

From the time of the marriage between Aethelbert of Kent and Bertha of Paris, and Augustine of Canterbury's missio n to the English, there are numerous instances of contact betwee n Englis h an d Frankis h ecclesiastic s an d political leaders 1. Tha t communications acros s th e Channel during th e seventh Century were primaril y between Neustria and Burgundy on one side and the kingdoms of East Anglia, Kent, Wessex, Merci a and Northumbri a o n the other is suggested by the careers of such figures a s Wilfrid, Benedict Biscop o r the Frank Agilbert 2, an d the pursuit o f the religious lif e b y English roya l an d noble ladie s a t such Neustrian house s a s Le s Andelys, Chelle s an d Faremoutiers 3. Knowledg e o f the establishment b y the Eng-lishman Boniface and his followers of bases for missionary activity at Fulda, Fritzlar, Hersfeld, Würzbur g an d elsewhere has , however, reoriente d ou r perception of Anglo-Saxon activity on the Continent4. In conséquence the possibility of continued association, o r communication, between Englan d an d Neustria ha s not been full y explored. On the contrary, there has been a tendency to assume that there were no more link s acros s th e Channel betwee n thos e area s doses t t o the coast, an d that English activit y wa s concentrated fro m th e eighth Centur y onwards in the Carolin-gian heartland an d the areas further to the east.

One of the purposes of this paper, therefore , i s to détermine whether any of the links formed in the sixth and seventh centuries between Neustria and the British Isles

1 Thes e are set out by Annette LOHAUS , Di e Merowinger un d England, Munich 1974 (Münchener Beiträge zu r Mediävistik un d Renaissance-Forschung, 19) . - Se e also the suggestive comment s and références made by Ian N. WOOD, Th e Merovingian North Sea , Alingsas 198 3 (Occasional Papers on Médiéval Topics 1) and Peter JOHANEK, De r »Außenhandel« de s Frankenreiches der Merowingerzei t nach Norden un d Oste n im Spiegel der Schriftquellen , in : Untersuchungen zu Handel un d Verkeh r der vor - und frühgeschichtlichen Zei t i n Mittel - un d Nordeuropa III. Der Hande l de s frühe n Mittelalters ed. , K.DÜWEL , H , JANKUHN, H.SIEMS , D.TIMP E (Abhandlunge n de r Akademi e de r Wissenschaften i n Göttingen, Phil.-Hist . Kl . Dr. Folge, 150 ) Göttingen 1985 , p. 214-54.

2 Bertra m COLGRAV E ed. , The Lif e of Bishop Wilfrid by Eddius Stephanus, Cambridge 1927 ; Charles PLUMMER ed. , Historia Abbatu m auctor e Baeda cc.5-17, in Baedae Opera Historical , Oxfor d 1896 , p. 389-394; Bertram COLGRAV E and R. A. B. MYNORS ed., Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Oxfor d 1969 , III, 7, p. 234-6, III, 25, p. 298-300, III, 28, p. 314-6, IV, 1, p. 330-2, V, 19, p. 522 .

3 Bede , Ecclesiastical History III, 8, p. 236-40; IV, 23, p. 407. The extent to which Gaul provided direct inspiration for the newly established English church has still to be fully assessed, but see the important article by James CAMPBELL , Th e firs t Centur y of Christianity in England, in: Ampleforth Journal 76 (1971) p. 12-29.

4 Largel y as a resuit of the classic works by Wilhelm LEVISON , England and the Continent in the Eighth Century, Oxford 1946 , and Theodor SCHIEFFER , Winfrid-Bonifatius un d die christliche Grundlegun g Europas, Freibur g 1954 . See the useful surve y b y Mauric e COENS , Sain t Bonifac e e t sa missio n historique d'aprè s quelques auteurs récents , in: Analecu Bollandian a 73 (1955) p. 462-95.

396 Rosamond McKitteric k

continued into the Carolingian period, and whether any traces of English présence in Neustria itsel f ca n be detected. Althoug h th e main focus i s on the English, ther e is some hin t o f Iris h présence in the extant évidence a s well. More often tha n not, however, Iris h learnin g o r religiou s practic e appear s t o hav e bee n transmitte d through the English, or eise it is not possible to differentiate precisel y betwee n the two5.

Any discussion of the >diffusion of insular culture< has to define the ways, if any, in which insular culture can in fact be regarded as distinctive. What precisely did the English and Irish contribute to Continental culture that had not been there before? Is their contribution to b e understoo d i n term s o f particula r institutions, religious observance, knowledge o f certain texts, asceti c an d monasti c practice , styles in décorative art or techniques in book production? Is it really possible to demonstrate any impact on >Frankish culture< by >insular culture< in a précise way? Is it, in short, justifiable t o speak in terms either of >insular influence on the Continents le t alone the >diffusion o f insular culture in Neustria<?

It is not feasible within the scope of one paper to explore ail the différent context s in whic h th e concept o f >insula r influence < need s t o be examined6. Instead , I shall concentrate on the manuscript évidenc e fro m Neustria betwee n 650 and 850 which bears witness , t o a remarkable degree , to English présenc e and activity i n the west Frankish région . Investigatio n o f the manuscripts can reveal bot h the limits of our knowledge and the matters on which it is possible to reach some degree of précision. Whereas the insular manuscript materia l fro m Austrasi a and Germany i s gradually being categorized, located to particular centres, and becoming more widely known , the correspondin g materia l fro m Neustria , admittedl y muc h mor e diffuse , ha s hitherto bee n neglecte d an d littl e appreciated . Wha t follow s therefor e ha s the character more of an exploratory opératio n tha n of a definitive study 7.

The manuscript s t o b e discusse d ar e those o f Frankis h provenanc e whic h are written i n one of th e scripts in the insular script System 8, o r eise reveal insular

5 The best guide to Irish activity on the Continent is still James F.KENNEY, Sources for the Early History of Ireland I. Ecclesiastical, New York 1929, reprint 1968. There has been in addition a spate of volumes of collecte d essay s concernin g th e Iris h i n Europe : Howar d CLARKE and Mary BRENNAN ed., Columbanus an d Merovingia n Monasticism , Oxford , 1981; Doroth y WHITELOCK, Rosamond MCKITTERICK an d David DUMVILL E ed., Ireland in Early Mediaeval Europe , Cambridge 1982; Heinz LÖWE, ed., Die Iren und Europa im früheren Mittelalter, Stuttgart 1982; Proinséas Ni CHATHAIN and Michael RICHTE R ed. , Irland und Europa. Die Kirche im Frühmittelalter, Stuttgar t 1984.

6 Se e for example, Alain DIERKENS ' article in this volume for a différent approach . 7 The best studies of insular script in the régions east of the Rhine are Bernhard BISCHOFF, Panorama der

Handschriftenüberlieferung au s der Zeit Karl s de s Großen, in : Karl de r Große, Lebenswer k und Nachleben: Da s geistige Lebe n 2 , Düsseldorf 1965, p . 233-54 a t p.247-8, Bernhar d BISCHOF F and Josef HOFMANN , Libr i Sanct i Kyliani , Würzbur g 1952 , W.M.LINDSAY an d Pau l LEHMANN , Th e (Early) Mayenc e Scriptorium , in : Palaeographi a Latina 4 (1925 ) p . 15-39 an d Herra d SPILLING , Angelsächsische Schrif t in Fulda, in: A.BRALL ed. , Von der Klosterbibliothek zu r Landesbibliothek: Beiträge zu m zweihundertjährigen Bestehe n der Hessischen Landesbibliothe k Fulda , Stuttgart 1978, p. 47-98. Se e als o th e man y usefu l comment s i n Herman n SCHULUNG , Di e Handbibliothe k de s Bonifatius. Ei n Beitrag zu r Geistesgeschichte de r ersten Hälft e de s 8.Jahrhunderts, in : Archiv für Geschichte de s Buchwesens 4 (1961-3) p . 285-347.

8 Julia n BROWN , The insular script System, unpublished Lyel l lectures delivered in Oxford in 1977. His new définitions of insula r script, to replace those o f E . A . L O W E , Codice s Latin i Antiquiores II, Oxford 1972 , p.XV-XVI , are summarized i n C.D.VEREY , T.J.BROW N an d E.COATSWORTH , Th e

The diffusion o f insular culture in Neustria betwee n 650 and 850 3 9 7

symptoms o f on e kin d o r another 9. Insular scripts writte n i n centre s o n th e Continent sometime s differ sufficiently fro m the types located to North or South of the Humber River in England for a Frankish origin also to be proposed. Only those for whic h ther e i s som e certaint y tha t the y reache d th e Frankis h kingdoms , an d Neustria i n particular , befor e c a 850 are include d i n th e survey . Other s o f earl y English origi n bu t late r Continenta l provenance , such as the Gospe l fragment s i n eighth Century uncial i n Leningra d an d Avranches 10, o r th e cop y o f Bede' s D e ratione temporu m i n Vienna , neithe r o f whic h appea r t o hav e reache d Neustri a before th e eleventh Century , are exclude d fro m considération 11. Determinin g th e origin, as distinct from the provenance, or even the place where the scribe responsi-ble for copyin g a particular manuscript was trained, is notoriously difficult . I n this period, when so many men and women were leaving their homes to work in foreign missionary areas , i t become s well nigh impossible . Bu t wha t th e codice s ma y establish nevertheles s i s the présence o f pilgrims or settlers, missionaries or visitors, from the British Isles, and whether or not particular centres were more hospitable to insular visitors tha n others.

In analysin g th e manuscript s an d fragment s an d endeavouring t o ascertai n ho w they may be assigned to a centre with insular connections of some sort in Neustria, a number o f criteri a ma y b e invoked 12. Firs t ther e i s th e codicology . Th e insular method of preparing membrane is sufficiently distinctiv e in the early middle âges for it to be possible to recognize membrane prepared in the insular, as distinct from the Continental, manner 13. Bot h side s o f th e insular membrane ten d t o hav e a slight , suede-like nap, and it is difficult t o distinguish the hair side from the flesh side. The insular quire of the seventh Century was very often a gathering of ten leaves; irregulär quiring and the use o f quinion s ar e often regarde d as an Irish characteristic eve n as late as the eighth or ninth centuries. In the practice of ruling the bifolia after folding insular use differed fro m that of the Continent. The bifolia, possibly as many as four at one time, were folded to form a quire, and usually arranged with ail the hair sides outwards, s o that flesh sid e faced hai r side throughou t th e quire . Onc e folded , th e quire's recto leaves were pricked in both margins to guide the ruling, and then ruled

Durham Gospel s (Durha m Cathédra l Library , MS A.II.17) Copenhage n 1980 (Early English Manu-scripts i n Facsimile , 20) and The Irish élémen t in the insular System o f script s t o circa A.D. 850 , in LÖWE (see n . 5), p. 101-19.

9 A usefu l summar y o f thès e i s t o b e foun d in LOWE , Codices Latin i Antiquiore s II, p.IX-XV. Hereafter thi s descriptive catalogue will be referred to in the abbreviated form CLA with the relevant volume number. Füll détails concerning most of the manuscripts discussed in this paper may be found in th e appropriate CL A entry .

10 Avranches, Bibliothèqu e Municipal e 48, ff. I—II + 66 , ff. I—II + 71 , ff. A- B + Leningrad, Saltykov -Schedrin Public Library O.v.I.l (CL A VI, 730). The fragments are written on insular membrane. On e initial in the insular style is preserved. Their later provenance is Mont St . Michel bu t it is not known when the y reache d there .

11 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothe k lat. 15298 (1511) (CLAX, 1511); hereafter Vienna lat. 12 Thes e are also usefully summarized by Julian BROWN , An historical introduction to the use of classical

Latin author s in the British Isles fro m th e fift h t o th e elevent h Century, in: L a Cultur a antic a nell'occidente Latin o dal VII alPXI secolo , Spolet o 1975 (Settimane d i studi o de l centr o italian o d i studi sull'alt o medioevo , 22) p. 283-7.

13 Full y described b y Julian BROWN , The oldest Irish manuscripts and their late antique background, in: Ni CHATHAIN and RICHTER (see n.5) , p . 311-27 at p . 322.


firmly with a hard point. The result would generally be a quire in which all the rectos have furrows and all the versos have ridges. Each opening of the quire would présent hair side facing fles h sid e an d ridge facing furrow. Th e treatment o f th e membrane would preven t suc h a n Opposition o f hai r and flesh side s presenting to o much o f a contrast, wherea s hai r an d fles h side s i n a quire o f membrane prepared i n th e Continental manner , wit h a hairside roughe r an d darke r tha n th e smoothe r an d white fles h side , woul d présent a stronger contrast . I n Continenta l manuscripts , moreover, th e bifoli a wer e generall y arrange d s o tha t hai r side face d hai r sid e an d flesh sid e face d fles h sid e withi n th e quire . Th e membrane, moreover, wa s rule d before folding , and , fro m c a 60 0 onwards , usuall y on the hai r side . Thu s th e prickings were made in the outer margin only o f a leaf, and furrowed hai r sides and ridged flesh side s faced each other on the openings within th e quires. The object o f this arrangement was, o f course, to giv e eac h openin g a more uniform appearanc e and reduce th e possibly unattractiv e contras t o f hai r side and flesh side .

A great many of the manuscripts discussed in the course of this paper were written on membran e prepared i n the Continenta l manne r but possess man y o f th e insula r palaeographical characteristics summarised below. A number, however, are comple-tely Frankis h i n every featur e sav e that they are written on insular membrane. The palace or Ada schoo l grou p of book s i s the most strikin g instance of thi s anomaly . No on e woul d disput e thei r Frankis h origin , ye t th e membrane of th e Godescal c Gospel Lectionary, for example , was prepared , pricke d an d rule d i n th e insula r manner14. The same can be said of other members of th e group, such as the Dagul f Psalter15, the Arsenal Gospels16, some leaves of the Ada Gospels17, and the Abbeville Gospels18. The Harle y an d Soisson s Gospels o n the othe r han d wer e writte n on Continental membrane19. One or two o f thes e codice s als o exhibi t othe r insula r features; insular abbreviations, for example, are used in the text of the Dagulf Psalter , and a number o f th e book s contai n initiais whose Ornamen t owes muc h t o insula r décorative modeis. More remarkably, the membrane of one member of the Corona-tion Gospels group is of the insular type20, and we find it also in a copy of Pete r the Deacon's Liber de diversi s quaestiunculis , written , according to a n inscription o n f. 1 , at the command of Charlemagne21. Where did this parchment come from? Was it prepared b y a n insula r scribe or wa s i t simpl y on e o f th e method s o f preparin g membrane taught i n th e Rhine-Mosell e région where scripts similar t o th e palace school typ e were written 22? I t is not difficult , for example , to associate Englishme n 14 Paris , Bibliothèque Nationale nouvelles acquisition s lati n 1203 (CLAV,681) . Hereafte r Pari s manu -

scripts wil l b e referre d t o i n th e abbreviate d form s B N Lat . o r B N n.a . lat . Compare CLA VI, p. XXVII. T. Julian BROWN , Th e distribution and significanc e o f membrane prepared i n th e insula r manner, in : La Paléographie hébraïque médiévale , Paris 197 4 (Colloques internationaux d u Centr e d e la Recherche Scientifique , 547), p . 127-35, has also drawn attentio n t o this .

15 Vienna, lat . 1861 (CLAX,1504). 16 Paris, Bibliothèque d'Arsena l 599 (CLAV,517) . 17 Trier, Stadtbibliothek 2 2 (CLA IX, 1366). 18 Abbeville, Bibliothèqu e Municipal e 4 (CLA VI, 704). 19 London , Britis h Library Harle y 2788 (CLA II, 198) and BN lat. 8850. 20 Vienna, Hofburg Geistlich e Schatzkamme r s.n. (CLAX , 1469). 21 Brüssels , Bibliothèque Royal e II, 2572 (CLA XI, 1553). 22 Se e BISCHOFF, Panoram a (se e n. 7) p. 234.1 consider the problem o f membran e i n a little more detail

below, p. 424—425 but i t is worth notin g that the reverse anomaly, a book writte n in insula r script o n

The diffusion o f insular culture in Neustria between 650 and 850 399

with Lorsch, or, indeed with the région as a whole23. The court itself in the person of Alcuin, was open to insular ideas. Symbolic of the court's English connections is the possible présenc e i n Charlemagne' s palac e librar y o f th e >Moor e Bede< , written i n Northumbria c a 735, which contains o n it s last page entries in a Caroline minuscule linked by Bischoff t o the court school. On the other hand, it could conceivably have belonged to one of the other centres in the northern part of the kingdom with insular connections24.

The occurrenc e o f insular membrane i n th e palac e schoo l manuscript s coul d b e dismissed as an instance of the inconclusiveness of such évidence. On the other hand, it ma y poin t t o a rather mor e pervasiv e insular présence i n th e lowe r Rhin e an d Moselle régio n and the deeper ingraining of insular habits of boo k production tha n we have been wont to recognize. Nevertheless, idiosyncracies in the préparation and arrangement o f membran e ar e ultimatel y les s reliabl e a n indicatio n o f insular présence o r influence tha n the script .

In their palaeography a s well as their codicology, insular books differ fro m thos e of th e Continent . Quit e apar t from th e characteristic scrip t types , - English uncial , insular half-uncial, an d th e hybrid, set, cursiv e an d curren t minuscule s - insula r scribes employe d a distinctive se t of abbreviations , signalle d omission s an d correc-tions with the symbols d and h, and often misspelt words with s and ss where ss and s should hav e bee n used 25. Décorativ e convention s also diverged fro m thos e o f th e Continental scribes , a t leas t a t first , bu t in the ninth Centur y one frequentl y encounters Frankis h scribe s an d artist s producin g re d dot s i n a décorative borde r round initiais , larg e fancy capitals , an d ornamented letter s with animal head finials , strap work, interlac e and spiral motifs in the insular manner26. Frank s seem rarely , however, t o have adopted the practice o f diminuendo, and in the eighth Century at least, insular décorative features are more likely to indicate the présence of an insular scribe o r artis t tha n not.

Given th e différen t set s o f abbreviation s an d th e unfamilia r lette r form s whic h could make a Frankish scribe mistake an >f< for a >p<, a n >r< for a >p<, a n >n< for an >r<, or an >s< for an >r<; tr y and reproduce an unfamilar symbol such as the hooked h (hr)

membrane prepare d in the Continenta l manner, is also very common. The insular hybrid minuscule copy of the Passiones Apostolorum in Brüssels, Bibliothèque Royale II, 1069, ff. 59-97 (CLA X, 1551) is written on palimpsested Continenta l membrane, and many of the codices discussed throughout thi s paper are also written on Continental membrane. So, too, however, were some of the members of th e Lindisfarne Gospel s grou p (BN lat. 9389, the Echternac h Gospel s an d som e leave s o f Durha m Cathédral Library , A.II.17) .

23 See , for example, Bernhard BISCHOFF, Lorsch im Spiegel seiner Handschriften, Munich 1974, p. 48-9 and the discussion of th e Echternac h group o f manuscripts , below, p . 422-429.

24 Cambridg e Universit y Library , Kk.5.1 6 (CL A II, 139) an d Bernhar d BISCHOFF , Di e Hofbibliothe k Karls de s Großen , Kar l der Große , Lebenswer k un d Nachleben: 2 : Das geistig e Lebe n (Düsseldor f 1965) p. 42-62 a t p. 56. For some important comments on the later provenance of this manuscript se e David MCKITTERICK , Cambridg e Universit y Library , 1710-1886 : A History, Cambridg e 1986 , p. 135-7 .

25 Th e best guide to insular abbreviations is still W. M. LINDSAY, Notae Latinae, Cambridge 1915. On the insular omission symbols see E. A. LOWE, The oldest omission signs in Latin manuscripts: their origin and significance , in : ID . Palaeographical Paper s 1907-196 5 II, ed. Ludwi g BIELER , Oxfor d 1972 , p. 349-80 .

26 G. L.MICHELI, L'enluminure du haut moyen âg e et les influences irlandaises , Brüssels 1939 .


sign for autem o r crossed parallel Unes (-H*) symbol for enim, or misunderstand other abbreviation symbols , i t i s ofte n possible to posi t a n insula r exemplar . A n eight h Century codex i n Leiden, for example , written in uncial and Caroline minuscule, and containing a miscellany o f texts , including pseudo-Dositheus , Eucheriu s an d Atha -nasius De ration e paschae, préserves such insular abbreviations as p, suggesting that the scribe, uncertain of their meaning, copied them faithfully27. Insula r abbreviations are also preserved in an eighth Centur y copy o f Vincen t o f Lérins' Contra Haereti -cos28, a volume containing Augustine's De civitate dei in Caroline minuscule29, and a copy of Isidore of Seville's Etymologiae in >a-b< minuscule30, Pelagius on the Epistles of Paul 31, a collection of Homilies, the Rule of Benedict and an Epitome of the Liber Pontificalis32, a volume containing canon law and some liturgical text s in Brüssels33, and a compilation of glossarie s i n Leiden34, indicating that these too were probabl y copied fro m insular exemplars .

Establishing th e existence of a n insular exemplar , however , doe s no t necessaril y point to th e introduction of thi s particula r tex t int o Neustri a b y traveller s fro m England or Ireland. The exemplar itself may have been written on the Continent by an insular scribe, a scribe trained a t a centre with insula r connections, or copied i n England fro m a Continental exemplar . Nevertheless , ther e are a number o f text s which may ow e thei r préservation, a s well their transmission, to insular efforts and interest.

The commentar y on Job by Philippus , for example , was a text known t o Bede 35. Its earlies t extan t copies have man y insula r features ; one , o f Cambrai provenance , written in English half uncia l o f th e second half of th e eighth Century, possesses th e füll gamu t o f insula r codicological an d scribal practice . But it also contains délicate initiais drawn in the Merovingian styl e an d some of it s leaves were prepared i n the Continental manner 36. Its date would permit it to be linked with the incumbency o f the see of Cambrai by Alberic (763/4-790), with whom a copy of the Irish canonical collection, the Canones Hibernenses , ca n also be linked37. Anothe r copy o f Philip -pus on Job was writte n i n a number o f Tours pre-carolin e minuscule hands o f th e mid-eighth Century , one of which occasionally prolong s the bow of the a in a thorn like extension in a manner which Lowe has observed in some Northumbrian manu-

27 Leiden , Universiteit s Bibliothe k Vos s lat . F.26 (CL A X, 1579). 28 B N lat . 13386 , ff. 1-10 2 (CL A V, 660). It s provenance is Corbie , see below , p. 412-418. 29 Brüssels , Bibliothèque Royale 964 1 (CLAX,1545) . 30 Brüssels , Bibliothèque Royale II, 4856 (CLAX , 1554), 31 B N lat . 185 3 (CLAV,537 ) an d compare BN lat . 1259 8 (CLAV,644a ) whic h als o préserves insular

abbreviations an d spellings . 32 Veron a L H (50 ) (CL A IV, 505); som e initiais in th e Liber Pontificalis section and th e use of uncia l

D,N,R an d S in th e minuscule scrip t suggest a n insula r exemplar . 33 Brüssels , Bibliothèque Royale 10127-4 4 (CLAX , 1548). 34 Leide n Bibl . Publ . lat . 67F (CLAX , 1575). 35 M . L . W . L A I S T N E R , Th e librar y o f th e Vénérable Bede, in: Bede : His Life , Time s an d Writing s ed. ,

A . H . T H O M P S O N , Oxfor d 1935 , p.237-66 . 36 Cambrai, Bibliothèqu e Municipal e 470 (441) (CLA VI, 740). 37 Cambrai, Bibliothèqu e Municipal e 679 (619) , (CLA VI, 791) and se e Rosamond MCKITTERICK,

Knowledge of canon law in the Frankish Kingdoms before 789: the manuscript évidence, in: Journa l of Theological Studie s 36 (1985 ) p. 97-117 at. p . 106. BISCHOFF, Panoram a (se e n.7 ) suggeste d thi s manuscript was written a t Péronne .

The diffusion o f insular culture in Neustria betwee n 650 and 850 401

scripts38. A furthe r copy , o f Corbi e provenanc e bu t unknow n origin , no w i n Leningrad, i s written in uncial and insular minuscule, and follows insular codicologi-cal an d scriba l practic e throughout . I t ma y hav e bee n writte n b y a scrib e calle d Peregrinus, a suggestive nam e fo r a n Englishma n o n th e Continen t i n itself , an d i n any case in the same scriptorium a s the abridged version of Jerome's commentary o n Isaiah wit h whic h i t was bound39. Thi s Jérôme tex t was written b y severa l hands i n either Northumbria itself , or on the Continent b y Northumbrian visitors 40. That th e three earlies t copie s o f Philippus' s commentar y shoul d hav e such strong insular features, an d Northumbria n connections , coupled wit h th e knowledge Bed e évince s of the text, reinforces th e possibility that it was the English who brought the work t o Neustria i n th e eight h century .

The Carmin a o f Paulinu s o f Nol a ma y also be a tex t wit h whic h th e Englis h reacquainted the Franks. One copy , no w i n th e Vatican , ha s some connectio n wit h Echternach41, whil e another , o f Corbi e provenanc e an d perhap s fro m th e sam e scriptorium a s th e Palatin e Paulinus , i s writte n in insula r minuscule o f th e eight h Century42. In addition i t may have been the English who added Servius to the corpu s of grammarian s use d i n Frankis h Gaul, for th e Leiden Servius, although writte n i n early Carolin e minuscule , préserve s man y insular abbreviations43; th e lat e nint h century cop y o f Servius ' D e finalibu s i n Pari s contain s a numbe r o f insular Symptoms which ma y indicat e tha t i t too ha d a n insular exemplar44. Servius , more -over, was part o f on e o f th e collection s o f grammatica l text s i n circulatio n o n th e Continent45. I n 831 his gramma r was recorded amon g th e gramma r book s i n th e library o f St . Riquier, a collection which included the Ars Tatuini, a grammar by th e Englishman Tatwine 46. Servius ' commentary o n Virgil' s Aeneid may also have been introduced b y th e English . Fragment s i n earl y Englis h minuscul e surviv e i n th e library a t Spangenburg, and Brown has conjecture d tha t the y ma y hav e corne fro m England via Boniface 47.

Determining whethe r o r not a text was introduced o r reintroduce d t o the Franks by th e Englis h o r Iris h i s naturally a n exercise fraugh t wit h difficulties , an d on e fo r which ultimately no certainty can be reached. Julian Brown and L. D. Reynolds hav e explored th e possibilities amon g the classical corpus . They hav e suggested that such texts a s Livy's fifth décade , Pompeius Trojus, Vitruvius' De Architectura , Columel -la's De Rustica , Ammianu s Marcellinus' Historiae, Tacitus ' Germania and Annales , the Tuscula n Disputation s o f Cicero, Suetonius' Live s o f th e Caesars, Statius, Lucretius, Valerius Flaccus , Porphyrius ' carmin a figurata, Pliny's Natural History,

38 The Hague , Meermanno-Westreenianum Museu m 10.A.1, ff. 1-41, 44-199 (CLAX, 1571). 39 Leningrad F.v.1.3 , ff . 1-38 (CLA XI, 1599). 40 Leningrad F.v.1.3 , ff. 39-108, (CLAXI, 1600). 41 Vat. pal . lat . 235 (CLA 1,87). 42 Leningrad Q.v.XIV. l (CLAXI , 1622). 43 Leide n Bibl. Publ . lat . 52 (CLAX, 1572). 44 B N lat. 7560, and se e n. 53. 45 Vivien LAW, The transmissio n o f th e Ars Bonifacii an d th e Ars Tatuini, in : Revu e d'Histoir e de s

Textes 9 (1979) p. 281-9. 46 F . L O T ed., Hariulf. Chroniqu e d e l'Abbaye d e Saint-Riquier, Pari s 1894, p.92. 47 Spangenburg , Pfarrbibliothe k s.n. (CLASuppl. , 1806) and BROWN (see n . 12) p. 287; associated wit h

Boniface, se e PARKES (n. 106).


Justinus, Petronius , Donatus ' commentar y on Terence an d on Vergil, an d th e grammar of Julian of Toledo may al l owe a crucial stage of their transmission to the English an d Irish 48. Mos t o f th e earlies t manuscript s o f thes e text s are in fac t Carolingian, but either the y contai n indications that the y coul d hav e bee n copie d from insula r exemplars , o r eis e earl y knowledg e o f thei r text s link s the m wit h Continental Anglo-Saxo n centres. Most o f these , however , are in eastern Austrasi a and Bavaria , an d thus , strictl y speaking , outsid e th e are a wit h whic h w e are concerned.

When text s b y insular authors are considered, on the other hand, we are on firm ground. Ther e i s ample évidenc e that man y insula r work s wer e brough t b y th e English an d Irish to the Continent and a good proportion of thes e to Neustria. I t is striking, for example, how many minor works by English writers, such as the Life of Pope Gregor y I by th e mon k o f Whitby , th e anonymou s Lif e o f St . Cuthbert , Alcuin's Yor k poem , th e Miracul a Ninia e writte n b y Alcuin' s pupil s a t York an d Cuthbert's lette r on the deat h o f Bede , are preserved onl y i n Continental , mostl y Frankish, manuscripts 49. A n important copy o f th e Canone s Hibernense s wa s tha t written for Alberic, Bisho p o f Cambrai, quite clearl y fro m a n Iris h exemplar 50. Pseudo-Anatolius, De Paschae, a computistical tex t well known to the Irish, appears to have reached the Continent via Echternach, for it is extant in one of the books that can be associated with this important Anglo-Saxon centre51. The Maihingen Gospels, also connecte d wit h Echternach , contai n th e oldes t cop y o f Ailerân of Clonard' s verses on the Eusebian canons52. English grammar s wer e als o brought to Neustria . The St . Riquier catalogue lists the on e b y Tatwine as part of a volume; Vivien Law has identified thi s book with the extant grammatical corpus in a late eighth centur y Caroline manuscript of St . Riquier provenance, now in Paris, which also contains the Ars Bonifacii53. Her discussion of the transmission and subséquent history of the Ars Bonifacii an d Ars Tatuini i n particular , usuall y a s par t o f composit e grammatica l codices, suggests that two well-defined grammatica l compilations were in circulation

48 BROW N (see n . 12) and L.D.REYNOLD S an d N . G . W I L S O N , Scribes an d Scholars . A Guid e t o th e transmission o f Gree k an d Lati n literature , Oxfor d 1974, p. 70-94. Their suggestion s shoul d b e compared with those of André VERNET, La transmission des textes en France, in: La cultura antica (see n. 12) p. 89-123. Their work i s based , however, o n LEVISO N (se e n.4) p . 143-7.

49 St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek 567 , discussed by Bertram COLGRAVE, The Earliest Life of Gregory the Great, Cambridge paperback édition 1985, p. 65-70: Rheims Bibliothèque municipale 426, discussed by Peter GODMAN, Alcuin . The Bishops , kings and Saints of York , Oxford 1982, p. cxiii-cxxx. I t is, however , possible tha t Alcuin' s Yor k poe m was no t known o n th e Continen t befor e th e lat e tent h century ; Miraculae sancti Niniae from Bamberg B.II.10 (s.X) ed. Karl STRECKER ed., MGH Poetae aevi Carolini 4, p. 943-62 and see Wilhelm LEVISON, An eighth-century poem on St. Ninian, in: Antiquity 14 (1940) p. 280-91. St. Orner 267 (s. 1X/X, provenance St. Bertin) éd. B. COLGRAVE. Two Lives of St. Cuthbert, Cambridge 1940; St.Gall, Stiftsbibliothek 254 , ed . C.PLUMMER , Baeda e Oper a Historica , Oxfor d 1896, p . clxi-clxiv; LEVISO N discusse s al l these texts , an d more (se e n. 4), p. 143-7.

50 Se e above n . 37 . 51 B N lat . 9527 , f.20 1 + lat . 10399 , ff.35-6 (CLAV,585) . Se e Däibhi Ö CRÖININ , A seventh Centur y

Irish computu s fro m th e circl e o f Cummianus , in : Proceedings o f th e Roya l Iris h Academy (C ) 8 2 (1982) p . 405-30.

52 Qua m i n primo speciosa quadriga, Harburg über Donauwörth, Schlo ß Harburg, Fürstlich Ottingen -Wallerstein'sche Bibliothe k Cod . I.2.4°. 2 (CLA VIII, 1215). Se e Däibhi Ö CRÖININ , Rat h Melsigi , Willibrord an d the earliest Echternach manuscripts , in : Peritia 3 (1984) p . 17-42 a t p.36 n . 1.

53 LA W (se e n.45) .


in the Frankish kingdoms by the end of the eighth century, one of which spread from an unknow n centr e t o St . Riquier an d possibl y Reichenau , an d th e secon d t o St. Riquier and , with additions , to Lorsch. While i t is possible tha t the first port o f call of Tatwine' s grammar , so to speak, could have been the court of Charlemagne , some other north Frankish, or Neustrian, centre could have been the place where the archetype for the two extan t compilations was compiled. While the Ars Bonifacii i s likely t o hav e begu n it s Continenta l disséminatio n i n th e Anglo-Saxon missionar y areas, on e observatio n ma y b e made . Som e o f th e hand s i n th e Pari s cop y o f Boniface's Ars Grammatica recal l the Maurdramnus scrip t of Corbie 54. Th e insular connection of Corbie, and, more particularly, its possible links with Boniface, will be considered more fully below . I t may be, however, tha t Law's north Frankish centre responsible fo r th e initia l distribution o f th e Ars Bonifacii an d the Ars Tatuini was Corbie itself .

A cop y o f Egbert' s Penitential , in insula r minuscule o f th e lat e eight h o r earl y ninth century, appears to have been on the Continent soon after it was written or to have bee n writte n o n th e Continent . I t was one o f a number o f penitentia l text s which foun d thei r way fro m th e British Isles to Frankis h Gaul in the course o f th e eighth an d ninth centuries 55.

Aldhelm's Aenigmat a wer e know n i n Neustri a b y th e mid-eight h Century56, s o were most of the works of Bede. While many of the early copies of his works can be linked to the Bonifacian circle of monasteries in Austrasia and Germany, a significant number of survivin g manuscripts can be traced to Neustrian centres . Two copie s o f his Commentary on St. Luke's Gospel, for example, are from the >a-b< scriptorium*7. A volume containing his De schematibus is from Fleury, and both the Leningrad and Cambridge copies of the Historia ecclesiastica appear to have been in Neustria by the end o f th e eight h century 58. The librar y catalogue s o f bot h St . Wandrille and St. Riquier lis t some o f hi s works. Unde r the direction o f Hardui n a t St. Wandrille, Bede's treatises De natura rerum and De temporibus were copied; Ansegisus' books included Bede' s commentar y o n Genesis, and hi s computistica l works ; an d a t Flavigny hi s exegetical works on the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospels o f Mark and Luke, the seve n Catholi c Epistle s an d th e Révélatio n o f St . John th e Divin e wer e among the books listed in 823-33. St, Wandrille also possessed the rule of Columba-

54 B N lat. 17959 (CLAV,672) . 55 Vat. pal. lat. 554, ff. 5-12 (CLA 1,95) of Lorsch provenance. BISCHOFF (see n. 23); p. 112 and Raymund

KoTTjE, Die Bußbüche r Halitgars von Cambra i und des Hrabanus Maurus , Berlin-New Yor k 1980, p. 101 n.56.

56 Leningrad Q.v.1.15 (CLAXI , 1618) and see below p.415 . 57 B N lat. 11681 and 17451 (CLA V,615 an d 669), and see below p.417 . 58 The Fleury manuscript, BN lat. 7520, ff. 1-2 0 + Berne, Stadtbibliothek 207 (CLA V 568) also contains

Alcuin's Grammar . The D e Schematibu s i s included with Bede' s D e arte metrica in St. Gall Stiftsbi-bliothek 876 ; it i s not certain tha t th e Leningra d Bed e (Leningra d Q.v.I . 18 [CLAXI, 1621]), the Moore Bede (Cambridg e Universit y Librar y Kk.5.1 6 [CL A II, 139]) was in Neustria i n the Carolin -gian period, though the case is strong for the Moore Bede. The provenance of both, however, makes it very likely , an d i t shoul d b e remembered tha t bot h Alcui n an d Paul th e Deaco n kne w th e Histori a Ecclesiastica. Doroth y WHITELOCK , Afte r Bede , Jarrow Lectur e 1960, makes some comments abou t Bede's disséminatio n o n th e Continent , an d a masterl y discussio n o f th e wor k o f th e Jarrow -Wearmouth scriptorium in producing Bede's works is provided by Malcolm PARKES, The scriptoriu m of Wearmouth-Jarrow , Jarrow Lectur e 1982.


nus, given b y Wand o betwee n 74 7 an d 754 , and Flavigny adde d Alcuin' s Liber de Trinitate and the passion of St. Columb a early in the following century59. St. Riquier's substantial collection of Bede' s work s include d hi s D e templ o Salamonis , hi s Quaestiones on the books of Kings , his expositions of the Proverbs, Tobias, Mark's Gospel, Luke's Gospel and th e Act s o f th e Apostles , th e Epistle s o f St . Paul, th e Pentateuch, Révélation, and Habaccuc, his sermons, and his treatises De natura rerum and De Temporibus60. Alcuin undoubtedly had much to do with the dissémination of Bede's works on the Continent. A letter dated 793-6 states he cannot lend a copy of Bede's treatise on the Catholic Epistles until Gisela, abbess of Chelles, has returned it to him, an d a number of hi s other letter s refe r to Bede' s works 61.

Both manuscrip t an d literar y sources, therefore, testif y t o th e introduction and dissémination of a number of Irish and English works to centres in Neustria, as well as the better known instances of their use in the centres further to the east. Whether the introduction of non-insular patristic works, such as the Philippus commentary on Job discussed above , o r the Lati n version of Theodore o f Mopsuestia's commentar y on Paul's Second Epistle t o Timothy ca n be credited t o the English or Irish is unclear . Brown regarde d Theodor e o f Mopsuesti a as traceable fro m Afric a t o Spai n an d Ireland, and from thence to the Continent62, though an early fragment of it i s in a very rapidly written form of Anglo-Saxon cursive minuscule63. It remains the case that the fact that the earliest extant manuscript o f a non-insular, that is, patristic or classical , author, is written in insular script or copied from an insular exemplar does not prove that it was th e English or Irish who introduce d tha t text t o the Franks . But it does suggest that the English and Irish played a part, conceivably a major one, in that text's survival and dissémination. It is necessary to recall in this context, for example, how many books were imported into England from Gaul in the seventh century64, and also Julian Brown' s informa l conjecture that part of th e proble m wit h regard to th e knowledge o f classica l work s i n Irelan d an d earl y Englan d ma y b e solve d i f w e acknowledge th e possibilit y o f th e surviva l o f text s fro m sub-Roma n Britain 65. Detailed investigatio n of th e classical , and , mor e crucially , th e patristic , text s wit h insular connections may be able to define the insular contribution to their transmis-sion more closely.

Among the manuscripts of Neustrian provenance with insular traits of some kind, many can be grouped roughly together and some may even be linked with a particular centre. 59 F.LOHIE R an d J. LAPORTE, ed. , Gest a sanctoru m patru m fontanellensi s coenobii , Rouen and Pari s

1936, p.90, 104 , 109-110 . 60 LO T (seen . 46) p . 91-2. 61 MG H Ep p IV, no. 88 and compare nos . 19, 155 , 216 and 259. 62 BROW N (se e n . 12 ) p.246 . 63 Vat . lat . 34 0 flylea f (CL A 1,4). I t form s th e flylea f o f a ninth centur y Corbi e cop y o f Jerome' s

commentary on the Epistle s o f St . Paul t o th e Galatians , see belo w p . 417 and n. 134. The tw o othe r extant manuscript s o f Theodor e o f Mopsuestia , London , Britis h Librar y Harle y 306 3 an d Amiens, Bibliothèque Municipal e 88, corne from Corbie .

64 Se e the accoun t o f Benedict Biscop's boo k gatherin g i n Bede' s Histori a Abbatum , c. 6 an d 9, éd. PLUMMER (see n . 2).

65 I n the Discussion e sull a lezione Brown (see BROWN n. 12) p. 297 and also, more formally i n his The oldest Iris h manuscripts and their late antique background, in: Ni CHATHAIN and RICHTER (see n. 5) p. 311-27.

The diffusion o f insular culture in Neustria betwee n 650 and 850 40 5

South o f th e Seine , onl y Tour s appear s t o hav e left insula r connections i n it s surviving codices . Insular scribes wer e activ e a t Tours bot h befor e an d during th e time o f Alcuin . Rand chose t o call his period II as that o f th e >Iris h a t Tours< bu t never justifie s hi s choic e o f Iris h rathe r tha n English , an d change s th e adjectiv e towards the end of hi s discussion t o the more neutral >insular<66. If, a s the surviving manuscripts of Period II, London, BL Egerton 2831, Vat.lat 1512, Florence Lauren-ziana XLV.1 5 an d Tours Bibliothèqu e Municipal e 22, suggest ther e wer e eithe r insular scribes active at Tours itself or Tours had contacts with a centre nearby where there wer e some , i t ma y b e on e reaso n wh y i t was the abbac y o f Tour s tha t was conferred o n th e Englishma n Alcui n rathe r than an y other . Hi s présenc e seem s t o have attracted others o f hi s countrymen; a famous passage in his Vita groans at the numbers of >Britons< who s warm to Alcuin like bées round a honey pot67. The script of thes e manuscript s howeve r i s Continental , heavil y influence d b y insular letter forms. The Donatus tex t in Florence is written partly in English and partly in early Caroline minuscul e an d its membrane was ruled and pricked in the insular manner though i t was prepared in the Continental way . The second half of th e same manu-script, on the other hand, has leaves of Continental membrane, ruled after folding as well as rule d befor e foldin g accordin g t o standar d Frankis h practice . Ye t th e Caroline minuscul e betray s insular influence i n th e form s o f th e a , d an d n . The Egerton cop y o f Jerome' s commentar y o n Isaia h i s fo r th e mos t par t writte n i n Frankish pre-Carolin e minuscule , apar t fro m ff . 110-143 which wer e writte n i n insular minuscule o f th e secon d half of th e eight h century 68. Epina l 72(7), the glossary writte n in hybri d minuscule o f th e first hal f of th e eight h century , wit h insular pricking and ruling69, Epinal 149 (68), a volume of Jerome's Letters commis-sioned by Abbot Aricus 70, and St. Gall 1396 II, pp. 1-12, a pre-Caroline manuscrip t but with a half uncial g of the insular type and prickings in both margins, may also be assignable to Tours71. From a later period, Bischoff has discovered traces of Alcuin's own handwriting , a Caroline minuscul e influence d b y insular script72. Generally , however, Tours scrip t o f a firm an d instantly recognizabl e typ e became establishe d early in the ninth century, an d continuing links with England are more likely to be evident in the texts copie d an d the exemplars used than in the scrip t itself 73.

66 Edward K. RAND, A Survey of the Manuscripts of Tours I, Cambridge, Mass 1929, p. 34-5. Compare, however, th e comment s b y BISCHOFF , Panoram a (se e n. 7) p. 240. Rand's dating was also somewhat awry.

67 Vita Alcuini , MGHSS XVI, p. 193. Some o f th e manuscript s in insula r script ma y ow e thei r production to these zealous students. They need not, moreover, have corne from Britain directly. It is conceivable that they moved from other centres where they were staying in the Paris Marne région or further north, attracted by the potential hospitality one of their countrymen could provide now that he had bee n elevated to a position o f grea t influence an d wealth.

68 Florence Laurenziana XLV.15 (ff. 1-56) (CLA III, 297a) ff. 57-160 (CLA III, 297b). See C. H. BEESON, Insular Symptoms in the commentaries o n Vergil , in : Studi Medievali , n . s. 5 (1932) p. 81.

69 CLA VI, 760. 70 CLA VI, 762. 71 CLA VII, 992. 72 Bernhar d BISCHOFF, AUS Alkuin s Erdentagen , in : Mittelalterliche Studien2, Stuttgart 1967, p. 12-19

and see also ID. , Paläographi e des römischen Altertums und des abendländischen Mittelalters , Berlin 1979, p . 64 .

73 RAND , for example (see n. 66) thought insular influence remerged at the end of the ninth century, p. 44.


A substantial cluster of manuscripts with insular Symptoms can be linked to the books variousl y ascribe d t o the scriptorium whic h produce d >nun' s minuscule < located b y Bischoff t o Chelles 74, an d t o the centre o r centres responsible for Zimmermann's >Nordos t Fränkische Gruppe< 75. The term >North-east< as used by Zimmermann is misleading, for one has no idea how fa r east he intended thi s to extend. Confusion has been compounde d b y Lowe's geographica l imprécision concerning the likely origin of many of the eighth Century Frankish uncial and half uncial scripts described i n Codices Latin i Antiquiores . Low e uses >North-east France< or even >Eas t France< as a term to embrace centres a s far apar t as Paris, St. Riquier, Liège and Cologne. A s far as the books writte n i n >N-unical< or >b-minuscule< or related scripts are concerned , however, it is clear that they are to be located to Neustria, and constitute, therefore, a massive body of material witnessing to the activity of Neustrian scriptoria in the eighth and early ninth century.

It is necessary to reassess the Chelles and >Nordost Fränkische Gruppe<, and to do so in the context of our investigation of insular influence.

Zimmermann grouped the following manuscripts together according to the simila-rities he observed in their décoration.

1. BN lat. 17654 Gregor y of Tours, Historia Francorum (C.L.A. V, 670) 2. Gotha Mbr.1.75 Goth a Landesbibliothek Mbr.1.75, ff . 70-122, Victorius,

Canon Paschalis; Canones Apostolorum (C.L.A . VII, 1208) 3. B N lat. 2706 Augustine, De Genesi ad litteram (C.L.A. V, 547) 4. B N lat. 2110 Eugippius, Excerpta ex operibus Augustini (C.L.A. V, 541) 5. Vat. reg. lat. 316 Gelasian Sacramentary (C.L.A. I, 105) 6. Laud mise. 126 Oxford, Bodieia n Library , Lau d misc.126 . Augustine , De

trinitate (C.L.A. II, 252) 7. Montpellier 3 Montpellier, Bibliothèqu e de la Ville 3, Gospels (C.L.A . VI,

791) 8. BN lat. 12240/1 Cassiodorus, In Psalmos (C.L.A. V, 639) 9. Douce 176 Oxford, Bodieia n Librar y Douc e 176, Gospel Lectionar y

(C.L.A. II, 238) 10. Cologne 67 Augustine, Commentary on Psalms (C.L.A. VIII, 1152)

When palaeographical criteria are applied to this group, however, it would appear that its members can be assigned to two, and possibly three différent scriptoria 1,2, 3 and 4 were produced in the same centre. It had insular connections as well as links with th e scriptori a responsibl e fo r the othe r book s i n the group, an d will be discussed in detail below. Of the remainder, 5 and 6 were written in >N-uncial<, that is, a n uncial script the second upright of whose N leans towards the left which is found i n a number of books a s the text script , an d as the display scrip t in many others whose text script is >b-minuscule<76. >N-uncial< is also used for the headings in the manuscript s belongin g t o the larg e grou p Bischof f ha s assigne d to Chelles. Bischoff indeed, was inclined to see Vat. reg. lat. 316 and Laud mise. 126 as examples 74 Bernhar d BISCHOFF, Die Kölner Nonnenhandschriften un d das Skriptorium von Chelles, in: Mittelal-

terliche Studie n I, Stuttgart 1966 , p. 16-34. 75 E . Heinric h ZIMMERMANN , Vorkarolingisch e Miniaturen , Berli n 1916 , p. 78-84, plates 127-143. 76 BISCHOF F (see n . 74) and E . A . L O W E , in : CLA VI, p.XXI-XXII .

The diffusio n o f insular culture in Neustria between 650 and 850 4 0 7

of the work produced by Chelles in the first half of the eighth century, but there are still some uncertaintie s t o résolve 77.

To Vat . reg. lat. 316 and Lau d mise . 126 in >N-uncial < ca n be adde d thre e mor e books and fragments: Gonville and Caius 820(K), BN lat. 6413 + Karlsruh e 339, and BN lat. 10399 ff. 4-5,46 + B N lat. 10400, f. 27. Does this group constitute a separate one78? Can it be assigned to the >nun's minuscule< scriptorium? Or is the sciptorium a différent, bu t related one nearby ?

Further, is Zimmermann's No. 7, Montpellier 3, written in >b-minuscule< with >N-uncial< headings, scripts which i t shares with Autun 20, Oxford, Douce f . 1 and BN lat. 4808 f. 121, also to be assigned to Chelles, or to another scriptorium in the area79? If the latter, is it the same scriptorium as the one in which the Vat. reg. lat. 316 group was produced (i f tha t grou p itsel f i s not to b e attribute d t o Chelles) ? Th e >b -minuscule< présent s problem s i n itself . Lowe thought i t coul d represen t a n earlier stage in the development of the so-called >Corbie a-b minuscule< 80. This curious and anomalous script, however , ha s now bee n described as an articifial an d reactionar y création, possibly encouraged and promoted by Abbot Adalhard of Corbie81. Rather than th e >b-minuscule < bein g a stage i n the development o f >a-b < minuscule, there -fore, i t ha s mor e th e characte r o f a n independent an d conscious developmen t o f a script whose ancestors are the Merovingian charter hands and the cursive script used for glosses and annotation s i n many Merovingia n manuscripts 82. I t may be the case that Chelles developed this script, but subsequently discarded it in the course of the formation o f th e >nun' s minuscule s

Let u s consider , however , th e other manuscript s o f Zimmermann' s grou p to se e whether any further light on the problem may be shed. Nos. 8, 9, and 10, that is, BN lat. 12240/1, Douce 176 and Cologn e 67, are straightforward , fo r the y ar e also included in Bischoff's Chelle s group. They are written in >nun's minuscule< with >N-uncial< headings . Bu t th e remainin g 4, nos. 1, 2 , 3 and 4 (B N lat. 17654, Gotha Mbr.1.75, BN lat. 2706 and BN lat. 2110), are the oldest members of Zimmermann' s group. To them should be added BN lat. 12207 and BN lat. 152, ff. 1-883. They could

77 BISCHOFF, ibid., p. 31. Se e also Ulla ZIEGLER, Das Sakramentar Gelasianum, Bibl. Vat. reg. lat. 316 und die Schule von Chelles , in : Archiv fü r Geschichte de s Buchwesens 16 (1976) col. 1-142. More récent surveys such as the Lexikon des Mittelalters aeeept Vat. reg. lat. 316 and Laud mise. 126 as part of the Chelles canon o n ar t historical grounds .

78 CL A II, 130 (Gallican Mass Book); CLA V, 567 (Isidore of Seville , De Natura Rerum and Sententiae); CLAV,594 (Eusebius-Rufinus , Histori a Ecclesiastica) .

79 CL A VI, 71 9 (Gregory, Dialogues and Augustine, Enchiridion); CLA II, 239 (Gelasian Sacramentary); CLAV,558 (Symphosius , Aenigmata) .

80 LOWE , CL A VI , p . XXII. 81 Th e views on >a-b< script are summarized in my article (see n. 37) and compare BISCHOFF, Paläographie

(seen.72) p . 136, n.93 . 82 On the Merovingia n scripts generally se e Rosamon d MCKITTERICK, The scriptori a o f Merovingia n

Gaul: a survey o f th e évidence, in: Howar d CLARK E an d Mar y BRENNA N ed. , Columbanu s an d Merovingian Monasticism , Oxfor d 1981 , p. 173-207.

83 B N lat . 152 , ff. 1- 8 (CL A V, 522) fragment of Ezekiel . The leaves are arranged so that hair side faces flesh side within the quire. To the leaves of B N lat . 12207 , ff. a, b, 145,146 , should be added BN lat . 12238 f . 128 + 12243 , ff. A, B (CLAV,634) . Th e leaves al l come from th e same codex originall y an d comprise four bifolia belongin g to two consécutive quires in 12207 , one folio in 1223 8 and one inner bifoüum i n 12243 . The tex t i s Gregory' s Homilie s on Exechiel an d is written on insular membrane ruled and pricked in th e insular manner .


represent a n even earlie r phase of developmen t withi n a scriptorium tha n th e Vat . reg. lat. 316 group. They were written in a strong, heavy uncial (BN lat . 152, ff. 1-8 , and 17654 ) an d a n equall y fir m hal f uncia l (B N lat . 2110, 2706 , 12207 , an d Goth a Mbr. 1.75) o f th e early eighth century. These reveal marked réminiscences of insula r script in, for example , the form o f th e a , the dee p Shoulde r of th e r, an d th e tai l o f unicalg, as well as insular abbreviation s an d spellings . Al l six also betra y insula r methods i n the préparation of th e membrane for writing, for their leaves were ruled after foldin g an d there are prickings i n both margins . The bifoli a were rule d on the hair sid e an d th e leave s arrange d withi n th e quir e s o tha t th e hai r side s fac e fles h sides. B N lat . 12207 i s actuall y writte n on insular membrane. It i s wort h noting , moreover, tha t thi s peculiarl y insula r habit has bee n note d i n a number o f th e manuscripts i n bot h th e >N-uncial < an d >N-uncial < heading s wit h >b-minuscule < groups, as well as in som e o f thos e ascribe d t o Chelles . More curiously i t i s t o b e observed i n some other manuscripts, not attributed to the same writing centres, but writing a firm Frankis h uncia l tha t show s itsel f influence d b y insula r lette r forms . Vat. reg . lat . 11, for example , the Psalteriu m Duplu m whic h ma y have belonged t o Eberhard of Friuli, and Vat. reg. lat. 257, the Missale Francorum, were written in the same scriptorium84. Low e suggested tha t Harley 5041 , ff. 79-100, a copy of th e Vita Sancti Fursei , written i n Frankish pre-Caroline minuscule bu t containing a number of insular abbreviations , could have corne from the same atelier, for it has its leaves prepared and ruled on the hair side and arranged in the quire in the same way85. It s text, o f course, reinforces th e insular connection, fo r Fursey wa s the firs t abbo t o f Péronne and founded Lagn y nea r Paris, and Bischoff think s the Harley copy o f th e life wa s mad e fro m a n Irish exemplar 86. Anothe r pair of manuscript s whos e script suggests knowledg e o f Englis h writin g i s tha t forme d b y th e Missal e Gallicanu m Vetus, Vat. pal. lat. 493, ff. 19-99 , and BN n. a. lat. 2334, ff. 3, 4, 8, 37-38, 60-64,122, 129. Thei r décoration, moreover, suggest s link s wit h Zimmermann' s >Nordos t Fränkische Gruppe< 87.

Such a large group o f manuscripts , man y o f the m quit e clearl y revealin g insula r connections, cannot b e ascribe d t o on e centre. A possibl e solutio n woul d b e t o ascribe them to a constellation of centres connected in some way. They could ail owe their foundation to members of the same family, share a patron, or be known to have links wit h England or Ireland . I n Chelles , th e brightes t star , w e hav e a conven t refounded an d endowed b y the English Queen Balthild, widow o f th e Merovingian King Clovi s II, in 657-664, and presided over in the eighth an d nint h centuries b y female member s o f th e Carolingia n house 88. On e o f these , Charlemagne' s siste r Gisela, a woman of some learning, borrowed books from Alcuin and appears to have

84 CLAI, 101 and 103 and see BISCHOFF , Palaographi e (seen. 72) p.246. 85 CLA II, 202b. 86 BISCHOFF, Panoram a (se e n.7) p . 237, n.30. British Library Cotto n Caligul a A . XV, ff.3-38, 42-64,

73-117, a miscellany whic h include s Jerome's D e viri s Ulustribus an d written in pre-Caroline north Frankish minuscule also retains insular abbreviations and was written on leaves arranged in the quires in the same peculiar way (CL A II, 183).

87 CLA 1,93 and V,693b. The eight h centur y leave s i n th e latter manuscript, th e famous Ashburnha m Pentateuch, ar e restorations o f th e origina l seventh-centur y text .

88 Se e BISCHOFF (n. 74), and the Vitae A e t B sanctae Balthildis, MGH Script , rer. Merov. 2, p. 475-508.


learnt o f Bede' s biblica l exegesi s throug h him 89. A t Chelles , moreover , amon g it s magnificent reli e collection wer e relie s of bot h Oswald and Boniface. I t is hardly a coincidence tha t the labels for eac h of thes e relie s is written in insular script of th e late eighth century90. I n Chelles, therefore, we have the clue to the rest of the group. Balthild was assisted in her new enterprise by Bertila of Jouarre and a group of nuns from Jouarre91. Bertila became th e firs t abbes s of th e newly refurbishe d conven t a t Chelles, to which Balthild herself retired in 677. If Chelles was linked to Jouarre by its personnel , abbes s an d patron , Jouarre itsel f was one o f a group o f monasterie s consisting of Brie, Rebais and Jouarre, ail close together, founded by members of the same family. Suspec t as the Généalogie des Fondateurs of Jouarre may be in some of its détails, it seems generally agreed that Ado, founder of Jouarre, was a cousin of its first abbess , Theudlecheldis, and of her brother Agilbert, and that ai l were members of a noble Soissonai s family 92. Bu t di d thes e monasteries , Chelles , Jouarre, Rebai s and Faremoutier s o r Brie have any links with England?

Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English people, completed ca 731, records that in the time of Eorconberht of Kent (640-674) many people from Britain used to enter Frankish monasterie s t o practise the monastic life , and they sen t their daugh-ters >to be taught in them and to be wedded to the heavenly bridegroom<. Bede adds that the monasteries mos t favoured b y these Englishwomen were Brie , Chelles and Les Andelys-sur-Seine , an d records tha t Eorcongota, daughte r o f th e king o f Ken t entered the monastery of Brie, as did the daughter and stepdaughter of Anna, king of the East Angles, Saethryth and Aethelburh93. Hild, later abbess of Whitby, wished to join her sister Hereswith who was living at Chelles94. The English connection wit h Jouarre i s establishe d throug h Agilbert , brothe r o f it s first abbess , Theudlecheldis , and his nephew Leuthere95. Both Agilbert and Leuthere acted as bishops to the West

89 MGH Epp . IV, no. 88, compare abov e p. 11,404. 90 Hartmut ATSM A an d Jean VEZIN , Authentique s d e reliques provenant d e l'ancien monastèr e Notre -

Dame d e Chelle s (VII e-VIir siècles) , in: Chartae Latina e Antiquiores XVIII, Zürich 1985 , no. 669, p. 84-108, items XXIII, de barba s(an)c(t)i Bonifatii; an d XC, s(an)c(t)i osuualdi régis. The scrip t of the latter i s much mor e cramped a script an d closer to pre-Caroline minuscul e tha n the former .

91 The best account of the early history of Jouarre is by Jean GUÉROUT , Le s origines et le premier siècle de l'abbaye, in: Y. CHAUSSY ed., L'Abbaye Royale Notre Dame de Jouarre, Paris 1961, p. 1-67, and see the Vita Bertilae , MGH Script , rer . Merov.6 , p . 95-109.

92 Compare th e accounts b y Jonas, Vita Columbani , 1.26, MGH Script , rer . Merov.4, p. 99-100; Vita I Audoini episcop i Rotomagensis , MG H Script , rer . Merov . 5, p. 554-6; Vita sanct i Agil i abbati s Resbacensis primi, AA SS OSBII, s. II (1669) p. 321 ; Vita Faronis episcopi Meldensis, AA SS OSBII, s. II (1669) p. 612. Se e als o the valuabl e an d sensitive comments o n th e whol e contex t o f thes e foundations b y Janet NELSON, Queens as Jezebels: the careers of Brunhild and Balthild in Merovon-gian History, in: D. BAKER ed., Médiéval Women, Oxford 1978, Studies in Church History Subsidia 1, p. 31-77 esp. 31-9 and 46-52. GUÉROUT (se e n.91 ) discusse s th e Généalogi e an d its information i n some detail.

93 Bede, Histori a Ecclesiastic a (se e n.2) III.8 . 94 Ibid. , IY.23. Jonas of Bobbi o (se e n.92 ) IV.36 , record s a n Englishwoma n a t Faremoutier s calle d

Willesuinda (= O. E. Wilswith). 95 Ibid . III, 7, 25, 28; IV, 1, V, 19, and compare the discussion of two Anglo-Saxon charters attested by

Leuthere i n LEVISO N (se e n.4 ) p. 226-7. The charter s wer e printe d b y W.BIRCH , Cartulariu m SaxonicumI, Londo n 1885 , nos. 37 and 107. The latte r charter , whic h survive s i n th e Shaftesbur y cartulary, London, Britis h Library, Harle y 61, contains th e Frankis h formul a Et hoc quod repetit vindicare non valeat (Compar e Marculf II.6, ed. ZEUMER, p . 79).


Saxons, Agilbert wa s i n th e se e fro m 649/50-66 4 befor e th e kin g becam e tire d o f trying to understand his uncouth speech and got rid of him in favour of a native West Saxon, Wine, who was, nevertheless, consecrated in Gaul. Agilbert became bishop of Paris in about 66 8 an d apparently propose d hi s nephe w Leuther e as a successor t o Wine. Agilber t maintaine d hi s connection with Jouarre ; h e ha s bee n regarde d as responsible for the construction of th e cryp t o f St . Pau l a t Jouarre i n whic h h e himself i s burie d i n a splendid monumenta l sarcophagus 96. Bertil a o f Jouarr e an d Chelles, moreover, sent, according to her Life, both saints' relies and many volumes of books to England, and bearing them, devout men and woman who might help to establish monasterie s i n England 97. Patric k Sims-William s ha s suggeste d tha t Bat h may have been one of th e monasteries establishe d b y Bertila's helpers, for it was on the West Saxon border of the Hwicce an d probably therefore unde r the Jurisdiction of Leuther e whe n h e wa s bisho p t o th e Wes t Saxons. He argues the case fo r the foundation o f Bat h monastery i n 675 b y a sub-king o f th e Hwicce wit h a Frankish abbess, Berta , a t its hea d an d a t least on e othe r Frankis h woman , Folcburg , i n th e Community98. Such links with Chelles make the insular connections evident in some of it s manuscript s readil y explicable. Bu t the stron g connections between Jouarr e and England, and Jouarre and Chelles , suggest that in the group of six manuscripts, comprising B N lat . 152, ff . 1-8 , 2110 , 2706, 1220 7 an d 1765 4 an d Goth a Mbr.1.75 , and possessing palaeographical link s with bot h Chelles and England we may in fact have a remnant o f Jouarre's scriba l activit y i n the earl y eighth century , a period o f that convent's histor y otherwis e lamentabl y obscure.

One furthe r pièce of évidence may b e o f relevance . Th e beautifu l tom b o f Theudlecheldis i n the cryp t o f Jouarre i s famous for the fineness o f it s carving an d the élégance of it s inscription. The letter s are fine , narrow capitals , sav e for the plump an d pleasingl y broa d bow s o f theO , Q andD . Detectin g an y similaritie s between capital letter forms and those of uncial and half-uncial scripts is not usually a fruitful exercise, bu t in th e case of th e >Jouarre < manuscript s an d th e Jouarr e inscription there are some results . There is a similar treatment of theB, with a small upper bow an d slightly backwards-leaning large lower bow, and a peculiarX with a wavy lowe r lef t bar , particularl y i n Goth a Mbr.1.7 5 an d B N lat . 2110 an d 270 6 respectively. Th e curl y bo w on the A in B N lat . 17654 bear s som e relation to th e curly flourish added to the A of the inscription. It is at least possible that manuscripts and inscription can be counted as produets o f th e same atelier. Given th e original , Columbanian, inspiration of th e founde r o f Jouarre , it s adoption of th e Rul e o f Columbanus, an d th e likelihoo d tha t Jouarr e an d it s kindre d house s ha d som e contact with the Columbanian foundations a t Luxeuil, Annegray and Fontaines, the similarities betwee n th e A and X of th e inscription and Luxeui l displa y capital s i s

96 Jean HUBERT, Les Crypte s de Jouarre, Melu n 1952 , an d th e Marquise de MAILLÉ, Le s Crypte s de Jouarre, Paris 1971 . Jean COQUET , Pou r une nouvelle date de la Crypte Saint-Paul de Jouarre, Ligugé 1970, is sceptical about the original date of the tomb. The sarcophagi of Jouarre are superbly illustrated in Jea n HUBERT , Jea n PORCHE R an d W.F.VOLBACH , Europ e i n th e Dar k Ages , London 1969 , plates 77-91.

97 Vita Bertilae (se e n.91) c.6 . 98 Patrick SIMS-WILLIAMS, Continenta l influenc e a t Bath monastery i n the seventh century , in : Anglo-

Saxon England 4 (1975) p. 1-10.

The diffusion o f insular culture in Neustria betwee n 650 and 850 41 1

hardly surprising99. Bischoff has also noted that the epitaph copied in the first half of the eight h centur y int o Bern Burgerbibliothe k 611, f . 86v, itsel f a manuscript wit h such insula r peculiarities a s the insular form of th e abbreviatio n fo r enim, irregulär arrangement of parchment within the quire (with either hair side or flesh side on the outside) and an oc form of >a < strongly reminiscen t of insular half uncial, could well have bee n taken from the inscription l0°. I f indeed the verses of this inscription were composed a t Jouarre , the n they , wit h th e >Jouarre < manuscript s testif y t o som e measure o f literar y an d scriba l activit y a t Jouarre i n th e firs t half of th e eight h century. On e may , therefore, b e able to envisage Jouarre in the early eighth century as an active scriptorium and one of a group of closely related monasteries in the Paris région producing manuscripts. Jouarre itself, in the course of the eighth century, was succeeded a s the mai n centr e o f activit y b y it s daughter house , Chelles .

Whether o r not the Missale Francorum group, o r th e Missale Gallicanum Vêtus group shoul d b e assigned t o Jouarre, or Chelles , or to anothe r atelier in the régio n cannot b e ascertaine d a t présent . Bu t th e links provide d b y variou s feature s o f th e books, codicological , palaeographica l an d ar t historical , sugges t tha t i t i s t o th e Jouarre, Rebais , Faremoutier s an d Chelle s constellatio n tha t the y ca n b e credited . One furthe r conjectur e ma y b e added . Amon g thes e book s ar e liturgica l volume s crucial fo r th e developmen t o f th e liturg y i n th e Frankis h kingdom s unde r th e Carolingians, fo r ther e ar e tw o copie s o f th e Gelasia n Sacramentary , th e Missale Francorum an d th e Missale Gallicanum vêtus 101. A concer n t o establis h wha t ma y have been understood as the Roman form of the liturgy and the growing tendency to recognize th e Gelasian Mass Book as the one used by the English may indicate that the Englis h wis h t o follo w Roma n liturgica l an d canonica l practic e ha d som e

99 For the identification o f the Luxeuil corpus because of its distinctive display capitals see E. A. LOWE, The >scrip t of Luxeuil< : a title vindicated, in: Palaeographical Papers II, éd. L.BIELER , Oxford 1972, p. 389-398; and se e especially plate s 75 and 76, from London British Library Add. 11878, f. l v an d Verona Biblioteca Capitolar e X L (38) f. 65r, respectively, fo r the distinctive forms o f A an d X.

100 CLA VII, 604 and Bernhard BISCHOFF, Epitaphienformeln fü r Äbtissinnen (VIII. Jahrhundert), in: Anecdota Novissima . Texte de s vierten bis sechzehnten Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart 1984 , p. 150-3.

101 T o the manuscripts already cited should be added Rome, Vallicelliana B. 62, produced in a centre (in mid-eighth-century uncial ) with traditions of boo k makin g an d decorating simila r to thos e whic h produced Vat . re g lat 257, 316 , 317< (CLA IV, 433). Th e text in this manuscript i s Justus of Urgel' s Commentary on the Song o f Songs ; there is also an acrostic poem ff.214v-215v i n which the name Basinus i s included. Low e conjecture d tha t thi s was a référence to Basinus o f Trier (671-95) whos e sole connection with an insular foundation appear s to have been his participation in the foundatio n charter of Echternach: C. WAMPACH ed., Geschichte der Grundherrschaft Echternach im Frühmittel-alter 1.2. Quellenband, Luxembourg 1930, No. 1. Lowe's own attributions of al l these manuscripts , however, are various, and point to a number of related centres in proximity rather than to one highly productive atelier. Other relevant liturgical codices and fragments ar e Cologne, Historisches Archi v GB Kaste n B Nos. 24 + 12 3 + 12 4 (CLA VIII, 1165) a fragment of the Gelasia n Sacramentary, and two manuscripts associated with Meaux, the Sacramentary of Gellone, BN lat . 1204 8 (CLA V, 618) a Gelasian Sacramentar y modifie d i n a minor way for local use (Rebais i s mentioned i n the Martyro-logy on f. 272) and written by the scribe David who also corrected Cambrai, Bibliothèque Municipale 300 (CLA VI, 739). One of the female scribes or, possibly, patrons, of this codex, however (a copy of Augustine's De Trinitate, the same text as in Laud. mise. 126 from Chelles) was Madalberta; her name is recorded in the initial on f. 155r . Bischoff suggested that this might indicate that the manuscript was written i n a convent nea r Meaux , suc h as Jouarre or Faremoutiers , whic h accords nicely wit h th e other évidence I have adduced . Se e BISCHOFF , Panoram a (n . 7) p. 236.


influence in the région through the centres with which it had contact102. It would be difficult t o understand liturgical developments as entirely remove d from the context of an épiscopal church. Can Jouarre and its sister houses be accorded récognition for performing a similar functio n for the bishop s o f Pari s o r Meau x as the nun s o f Chelles wer e late r t o do fo r the bisho p o f Cologne? Did the y produc e book s no t only for their own private édification, but also for the practical use of the diocèses to which the y belonged ? I t i s possible furthermore, tha t th e initia l impulse fo r such work could have been provided by the connection between Jouarre and Chelles and Agilbert o f Paris , a bishop who, unlik e many of hi s colleagues in the hierarchy, had been expose d t o Englis h an d possibly Iris h liturgical practic e durin g his sojour n i n Britain, an d wh o ha d staunchl y defende d Roma n observance at th e Syno d o f Whitby103. Faro , bisho p o f Meau x (626-672 ) ma y als o hav e bee n involved , bot h because o f hi s kinshi p wit h th e founde r o f Faremoutier s an d th e hospitalit y h e accorded Hadrian, who was accompanying Archbisho p Theodore o f Canterbur y t o England104. The written sources provide woefully meagre shreds of information, but one thing is clear: there were divers but strong links between England an d the Paris région of Neustri a durin g the late r seventh an d the whole o f th e eighth centuries.

Some of its extant manuscripts suggest that Corbie, further to the north, but also a foundation o f Balthild , had links with the missionary Bonifac e an d his followers as

102 O r did the Franks communicate their zeal for the Roman liturgy to the English? On the development of the liturgy in the Frankish kingdoms see Rosamond MCKITTERICK , The Frankish Church and the Carolingian Reforms , 789-895 , Londo n 1977 , p . 123-30 an d th e références there cited . T o whic h should b e adde d Ull a Ziegle r (se e n . 77) an d Bernar d MORETON , Th e Eight h Centur y Gelasia n Sacramentary. A Study in Tradition, Oxford 1976 . A further possible indication that the English had something t o do with th e transmission of th e Gelasia n Sacramentar y i s Londo n Britis h Librar y Add. 29276, ff. 1,16 9 (CLA II, 172), a pre-Caroline minuscule fragment of the Gelasian Sacramentary from Neustri a whos e leave s wer e rule d afte r foldin g an d pricke d i n bot h margin s i n th e insula r manner. All these comments should, or course, be set against the background of the debate on which Sacramentary wa s use d b y St . Boniface : Hieronymus FRANK , Di e Brief e de s hl . Bonifatius un d das von ih m benutzt e Sakramentar , an d Christophe r HOHLER , Th e typ e o f Sacramentar y use d b y St. Boniface, i n : Sankt Bonifatius. Gedenkgabe zum zwölfhundertsten Todestag, Fulda 1954, p. 58-88 and 89-93 . For a fascinating argument from a différen t perspective on the liturg y se e Èamonn Ö CARRAGÄIN , Liturgica l innovations associated with Pop e Sergiu s an d th e iconograph y o f th e Ruthwell an d Bewcastl e Crosses, in: R.T.FARREL L ed. , Bed e an d Anglo-Saxo n Englan d (Oxfor d 1976), p. 131-47. Another fragment in insular script of th e Gelasia n Sacramentary i s Berlin Lat . fol. 877 + Regensburg , Gräflich Walderdorffsche Bibliothek , whic h includes a Calendar. It is written on insular membrane and ruled after folding i n the insular manner and the script is Northumbrian; the entries i n th e Calenda r are in a number o f différent hands, italian , insula r influence d pre-Carolin e minuscule, and early Caroline minuscule as well as one sample of a French (?Neustrian) pre-Caroline hand. On this fragment see Bernhard BISCHOFF , Die südostdeutschen Schreibschulen und Bibliothe-ken in der Karolingerzei t I. Die bayrische n Diözesen , Wiesbade n 31974, p. 183-4.

103 Bede , Histori a Ecclesiastic a (se e n . 2) III.25. 104 Ibid. , IV. 1 : Theodorus profectus est ad Agilberctum Parisiorum episcopum, de quo superius diximus, et

ab eo benigne susceptus et multo tempore habitus est; Hadrianus perrexit primum ad Emme Senonum etpostea ad Faronem Meldorum episcopos, et bene sub eius diutiusfuit. I t is hardly to be doubted that Theodore and Hadrian communicated some of their information concerning the situation in England, what they hoped to achieve and their enthusiasm to their hosts. It should be remembered, moreover, that Benedict Biscop, no less, accompanied Theodore and Hadrian from Rome to England; see Bede, Historia Abbatum (n . 2) c . 3 p. 366-7.

The diffusio n o f insular culture in Neustria betwee n 650 and 850 41 3

well as direct link s with England and Irelan d itself 105. Traube, for example , connec-ted Leningrad Q . v. 1.15 with Péronne, but it has since been recognize d not only as a volume writte n in southern England, but on e of it s main scribe s has been identifie d as Bonifac e himself 106. The boo k i s written in insula r minuscule fo r th e mos t part , but fro m f . 7 1 the work was continued i n the Corbi e e N script . As the use of e N i s usually date d t o th e mid-eight h century , th e boo k mus t hav e bee n a t Corbi e b y then107. I t was again Traube who dre w attentio n t o th e lat e eighth-century cop y o f Boniface's Aenigmata . I t was written b y thre e scribes , two o f who m wrot e insular minuscule whil e the thir d a minuscule reminiscen t o f the eN type bu t influence d b y insular letter forms. Traube suggested that it could represent the work of three pupils of Boniface 108. I f i t does , then i t suggests that these three had som e connection wit h Corbie, an d ma y eve n hav e writte n th e manuscrip t there . Anothe r Bonifacia n tex t with a Corbie connectio n i s the lat e eighth-centur y cop y o f hi s grammar . Whil e i t cannot be shown to be from Corbi e itself, its script suggests that it is from th e Corbie area. I t use s insular abbreviations an d misuses s and ss in the insular way. Its severa l hands revea l bot h insular influences an d trait s reminiscen t o f th e Maurdramnu s script109.

How ca n this apparent link between Bonifac e an d Corbi e be explained? I t i s not, perhaps, the centr e where one would hav e expected a Bonifacian connection , even if the insular links can more readily be accounted for . Som e of the insular connections may o f cours e predate th e Bonifacian missio n an d therefore hav e rendered Corbi e a monastery wher e an y Englishma n migh t coun t o n a sympathetic réception . Ganz, however, ha s suggeste d a mor e direc t link between Bonifac e an d Abbo t Grimo , whom h e identifie s wit h th e Grim o wh o was appointed archbisho p o f Roue n i n 744110. Grimo appear s t o hav e been th e mos t favoure d o f th e new appointées , for i t

105 Corbie, Abbaye Royale, Lille 1963. We await the publication of T.A.M Bishop's Lyell lectures on the script of Corbie , delivere d in Oxford i n 1975, and the forthcoming boo k on Corbie by David Ganz with kee n anticipation . See, in th e meantime , Davi d GANZ, The literar y interest s o f th e abbe y o f Corbie in the first half of the ninth century, Oxford D . Phil . thesis 1980, BISCHOFF in Panorama (see n. 7) p. 237, T. A. M. BISHOP, Th e scrip t o f Corbie : A Criterion , in : Vari a codicologica : Essays presented t o G.LLieftinck 1, Amsterdam 1972, p. 9-16, O. DOBIAS-ROZDESTVENSKAJA, Histoir e d e Patelier graphiqu e d e Corbi e d e 651 à 830 reflétée dan s le s Corbeiense s Leninpolitani , Leningra d 1934, and L.W.JONES , Th e scriptorium a t Corbie, II The Script and the Problems, in: Spéculum 22 (1947) p. 375-94.

106 CLAXI, 1618. Se e Malcol m PARKES , The handwritin g o f St.Boniface : a reassessment o f th e pro -blems, in: Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 98 (1976) p. 161-79. Boniface was probably responsibl e for ff. 57r-63v, an d perhaps also ff . 15v , 17 v and 37.

107 Corbi e eN i s discussed briefly by E. A. LOWE in CLA VI, p. XXIV-XXV and compare the interesting hypothesis o f A . MUNDO, Sur l'origine de Pécriture dit e »eNa « d e Corbie : A Propo s d e Péditio n diplomatique d u Pari s lat . 12205, in: Scriptoriu m 11 (1957 ) p. 258-60. The e N scrip t was first identified b y P . LIEBAERT, Some early scripts of th e Corbie scriptorium, in: Palaeographia Latin a 1 (1922) p. 62-6.

108 B N lat. 13046 f.A an d 118 v (CLAV,648) Ludwig TRAUBE , Die ältest e Handschrif t de r Aenigmata Bonifatii, in : Vorlesungen un d Abhandlungen III, Munich 1920, p. 164-7.

109 B N lat , 17959 , ff.34-86 (CLAV,672) . 110 Davi d GANZ , The Merovingian library of Corbie , in: CLARKE and BRENNAN ed., (see n. 5) p. 153-72,

at p . 163. Compare the contrar y vie w abou t thi s identification by J . SEMMLER, Zu r pippinidisch -karolingischen Sukzessionskrise , 714-23 , in : Deutsches Archi v fü r Erforschung de s Mittelalters 3 3 (1977) p . 17 n. 117.


was on him alon e tha t th e palliu m wa s finall y conferred , t o th e exclusion of th e bishops o f Rheim s an d Sens111. Establishing direct acquaintance betwee n Bonifac e and Grimo , however , i s difficult . I t i s clea r tha t Bonifac e attende d th e Conciliu m Germanicum convene d b y Carloman 112. There is no indication in the reports of th e proceedings o f th e related synod s a t Estinnes and Soissons , however , tha t Bonifac e was présent. Boniface himsel f alway s refer s t o th e support he ha d gaine d fro m Carloman, not Pippin, and there are other indications that Pippin was less amenable to Boniface's direction113. Boniface may have attended both the Concilium Germani -cum and the subséquent meeting at Estinnes, one of Carloman's résidences and near Soissons, th e venue of Pippin' s synod 114. I t i s conceivabl e tha t Boniface , i f i n th e Soissons are a at this time an d i f Grim o als o attende d th e synods , could hav e mad e contact with Grimo . Boniface' s intellectua l interest s may wel l hav e induced hi m t o sample, o r a t leas t view , th e delight s o f Corbie' s library , an d Grim o himsel f ma y even hav e invite d hi m there . Th e Bonifacia n text s coul d therefor e hav e bee n presented as gifts. One or two manuscripts, moreover, are actually possible candida-tes for an exchange of gift s betwee n Grim o an d Boniface .

A late sixth centur y Gospel Book, for example , written i n northern France , with Merovingian notes and lections, and the original text occasionally touche d u p by an insular scribe, has the appearance of someone's persona l copy o f the gospels115. It is the sort of book that could have been given to a person of conséquence, presumably one in an insular milieu at some stage in the eighth Century. Its connection with the Bonifacian circle, however, is of the slightest, for it is only attested at Würzburg with any certainty from the eleventh century. Another north Frankish codex of the eighth Century, containin g th e homilie s o f Caesariu s of Arles, could als o have reache d the Bonifacian missionar y are a throug h it s connections with th e Sein e an d Marn e monasteries, o r Corbie , for it ha s textua l affinitie s wit h th e so-calle d Homiliariu m Burchardi associate d wit h Burchar d o f Würzburg 116. I t shoul d no t b e forgotten ,

111 Bonifati i Epistula e ed. R. RAU, Ausgewählt e Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters IVb, Darmstadt 1968 , nos. 57 and 58.

112 Ibid. , p. 378. For the most récent comment on the date of this meeting, arguing in favour of 743 rather than 742 , se e Alai n DIERKENS , Superstitions, christianism e et paganisme à l a fi n d e Pépoqu e mérovingienne. A Propo s d e Plndiculus superstitionu m e t paganiarum, in : Laïcité: Magie, Sorcelle -rie, Parapsychologi e éd . Herv é HASQUIN , Brüssels 1984 , p. 9-26. This dat e woul d the n plac e th e synods hel d a t Estinne s unde r Carloman and Soissons unde r Pippin thre e days , rathe r tha n a year apart, and ail three synods part of the same effort a t reform. It would certainly make the présence of Boniface mor e likely , an d it should b e noted that Theodor SCHIEFFER favoured th e 743 date as well (see n.4 ) p. 208-215, but LEVISO N 742 (see n.4 ) p . 83-6.

113 Bonifatii Epistula e (se e n . 111) nos. 77, 9 3 and 107 and compar e Rosamond MCKITTERICK, Th e Frankish Kingdom s unde r the Carolingians , 751-987, Londo n 1983 , p. 56-7.

114 Euge n EWIG , Chrodegang e t l a réform e d e Péglis e franque , in : Sain t Chrodegang , Met z 1967, p. 25-53, has convincingl y delineate d th e mai n sphère s o f activit y an d influenc e o f Bonifac e an d Chrodegang. Fo r the text o f th e Syno d o f Soisson s se e RA U (n . 111) p. 384-8.

115 Würzbur g Universitätsbibliothe k M.p.th.q.19 (CL A IX, 1429) I make the followin g suggestion s o n the assumption of the importance of the rôle of books in gift exchange and as symbols of status, quite apart fro m th e enormou s wealt h eac h boo k coul d represent . Fo r a fulle r discussio n o f thi s se e Rosamond MCKITTERICK, Th e Carolingian s an d the Written Word, Cambridg e 1988.

116 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek , Clm 14123 (CLA IX, 1330) in uncia l o f th e firs t half of th e eighth century . Compar e Würzburg M.p.thi.28 (CL A IX, 1408) and G.MORIN , L'Homéliair e d e Burchard de Würzburg, in: Revue Bénédictine 13 (1896) p. 97-111 who concludes that the Würzburg

The diffusion o f insular culture i n Neustri a betwee n 650 and 850 41 5

however, tha t it was Burchard, the English bishop of Würzburg, who accompanie d the Frank Fulrad of St. Denis to Rome on behalf of Pippin in 749117. It may also have been throug h thi s sort o f contac t tha t th e earl y Chelle s codex , Lau d mise . 126, reached Würzburg, for it is on the last leaf of this exubérant copy of Augustine's D e trinitate tha t th e Würzburg library catalogu e o f c a 800 wa s copied b y a n insular scribe118. Ye t one codex traditionally associate d with Boniface, which could be seen in th e context o f possibl e link s between th e north Neustrian monasterie s an d those of th e English missionary région , i s the famous Ragyndrudi s codex . I t is reputedl y one with which the aged saint defended hi s head from his murderers119. As Haseloff has pointed out, this manuscript, a copy of the Synonyma of Isidore of Seville , while mostly in Luxeuil minuscule, could have been written after the sack of Luxeuil in 732 and the conséquent dispersai of the brethren120. Corbie would have been one obvious haven fo r such refugees, fo r th e cor e o f th e foundin g communit y ha d com e fro m Luxeuil. Yet the codex also contains insular Symptoms. On ff . 115 v and 117r, capital letters are decorated with dots in what has come to be regarded as a typically insular >jeu d'esprits an d from f . 117r there are défini te essays a t the diminuendo effect a t a number o f Un e beginnings . Haseloff envisages a centre i n whic h a n insular scribe could work side by side with one trained at Luxeuil. Corbie would appear to be one such centre. Th e Leningra d manuscrip t writte n partl y b y Bonifac e also contained Isidore's Synonyma121. It is also necessary to remember Würzburg M. p. th. f. 79, the southern Englis h copy o f th e same text associated with the English missionary area by the ninth century but whose ff . 1-8 were written in uncials manifestly influence d by th e north Frankish uncia l letter forms of the eighth century. Investigatio n o f th e transmission o f th e tex t o f Isidore' s Synonyma may well yield furthe r indication s that English scribes played a crucial rôle. Even if the Corbie-Boniface connection for the Ragyndrudis code x cannot be substantiated, th e other strong possibilities are at least unanimou s in the link between thi s codex an d Boniface 122.

manuscript i s Burchard's own compilation o f sermons from earlie r Caesarian collections , and other s such as we know abou t fro m Cl m 14087, which he made to serve his épiscopal work i n the diocèse.

117 Annales regn i francoru m s.a. 74 9 ed . R . R A U , Quellen zu r karolingischen ReichsgeschichteI, Darmstadt 1974 , p. 14.

118 E . A . L O W E , An eight h centur y Lis t o f book s i n a Bodieia n manuscrip t fro m Würzburg and it s probable relatio n t o th e Laudia n Acts, in : LOW E (see n.99) I, p.239-50.

119 Fulda , Codex Bonifatianu s 2 (CLA 1197). 120 Günthe r HASELOFF , De r Einban d de s Ragyndrudis-Code x i n Fuld a - Code x Bonifatianu s 2 , in :

BRALL (see n. 7) p. 1-46. Furthe r manuscript évidence of a link between Luxeui l and Corbi e has been posited b y E . A . L O W E , A Note on the Code x Corbeiensi s o f th e Histori a Francoru m an d it s connection with Luxeuil , Scriptorium 6 (1952) p.284-6, who discusses B N lat . 1765 5 (CLAV,671) , the famou s lat e seventh-century tex t o f Gregor y o f Tours .

121 Above , p. 413. 122 Apar t fro m m y own an d Haseloff s suggestions, there are also the arguments of SCHULUN G (se e n. 7)

p. 302-3 , for Boniface's acquisition of thi s code x a t Pfalze l whe n on the famou s visit ther e durin g which h e encountered th e boy Gregory , late r to becom e Bishop of Utrecht , an d quizze d hi m on his knowledge of the Psalter (Vita Gregorii, MGH S S XV). He suggests that Ragyndrudis was connected with on e o f th e Nort h Frankis h monasterie s whic h ha d link s with Luxeuil , suc h as St. Omer unde r Audomar, a former pupi l of Abbot Eustasiu s of Luxeuil , and that she was the sister of Adela , abbes s of Pfalzel. Many of these north Frankish monasteries were connected by family ties as well as those of a common source of religiou s inspiration. This i s mad e clea r i n th e wor k o f Nanc y GAUTHIER, L'évangélisation des pays de la Moselle, Paris 1980, Karl Ferdinand WERNER , Le rôle de Paristocracie


The suggestions made above concerning the links between Bonifac e an d Corbi e are extremely tentative, and i t wil l b e acknowledge d tha t th e évidence available merely make s the context I have sketched on e possibility . That ther e were insula r links generall y a t Corbie , and men an d women fro m th e British Isle s active in th e Corbie area , on the othe r hand , i s absolutel y clea r fro m th e numbe r o f book s of Corbie provenance and Neustrian origi n which betra y thei r présence. The Luxeui l Martyrology i n a mixtur e of Frankis h scripts, uncial, hal f uncia l an d a cursive minuscule of th e firs t hal f o f th e eighth century , wa s written on parchment rule d after folding , with prickings in bot h margins , and, for ff. 51-58, insular membrane was used 123. Th e Leide n Pliny , whil e almos t entirel y Frankis h i n appearance , contains some script of a mixed type which includes an insular form o f hal f uncia l g124. Whethe r th e Northumbrian fragment of Paul' s Second Epistle t o th e Corin -thians was at Corbie itself i s unknown, but the liturgical notes in Luxeuil script on the recto, and the cursive Merovingian note on the verso suggest that this particular manuscript wa s a t a centr e with Luxeui l connections by th e eight h Century ; it s subséquent connections make it most likely that this centre was Corbie125. Référence has already bee n made above to the Leningrad Paulinus , possibly produced i n the same scriptorium as the Palatine Paulinus, in insular minuscule of the second half of the eight h century , whic h ha d title s adde d i n Carolin e minuscule in th e nint h century, and is of Corbie provenance126. Insular présence at Corbie is also hinted at by th e Leningra d cop y o f th e Regul a sanct i Basilii 127. I t wa s writte n i n Frankis h uncial an d hal f uncia l but some o f th e leave s wer e rule d afte r foldin g an d hav e prickings in both margins . The Leningrad Philippu s an d the manuscript o f Jerome on Isaiah bound with it written in insular minuscule of the second half of the eighth Century als o belonge d a t som e stage to Corbie , thoug h i t canno t b e establishe d whether thi s wa s as early as the Carolingia n period 128. Som e insula r influence is discernible i n a grammatical fragmen t copied i n a script recalling th e e N typ e i n Karlsruhe. Lowe suggested that the form of the a, with its downstroke tapering off in a hair line reminiscent of insular >a < could mean that the manuscript from whic h this

dans la christianisation du nord-est de la Gaule, in: Revue de Phistoire de PÉglise de France 62 (1976) p. 45-73 , and Martin HEINZELMANN, L'aristocracie et les évêchés entre Loire et Rhin, jusqu'à la fin du VIP siècle , ibid., p. 75-90. The movement s o f th e Ragyndrudi s code x i n thi s contex t ar e a timely reminder that the extent to which manuscripts reflect insular présence in the région also reflects thei r contacts with the aristocratie families an d their monastic foundations. Wolfenbüttel, Herzo g Augus t Bibliothek, Weissenbur g 9 9 (CL A IX, 1396) a Luxeuil manuscrip t o f Weissenbur g provenance, fo r example, may b e th e outcom e o f th e earl y lin k betwee n Luxeui l an d the founder o f Weissenburg . Judging fro m suc h volumes a s Würzburg M.p.th.f.64a , Augustine , Ennaratione s i n Psalmo s (CLA IX, 1419) writte n a t Luxeui l but in Würzbur g i n th e eight h Century , moreover , th e Luxeui l monks wandere d fa r and wide an d appea r to have taken their books an d skill s with them .

123 B N lat . 1408 6 (CLAV,664) . 124 Vat . lat. 3861 + Leide n Voss lat. F. 61 (CLA X, 1580). This manuscript should not be confused wit h

the Pliny, copied in northern England from a late antique exemplar, in insular half uncial o f the firs t half of the eighth century, Leyden Voss lat. F. 4 (CLA X, 1578). This latter is a composite volume, the Pliny text is on ff. 4-33, and the St. Denis shelfmark at the beginning of the volume may have nothing to do with thes e leaves .

125 B N lat . 9377 , f.3 (CLAXI , 1746). 126 Seen . 41 an d 42. 127 Leningra d F.v.1. 2 (CLAXI , 1598). 128 Leningra d F.v.1.3 , ff. 1-38 (CL A XI, 1599) and see p. 401 above .


fragment come s was made i n a Frankish centr e >wit h a n insular tradition<129. Th e précise meanin g o f thi s phras e i s not clear, bu t i t ma y impl y th e work o f a scribe trained t o writ e pre-Caroline minuscul e eithe r by a n insular scribe who ha d learnt it o r b y th e pupi l o f such a scribe. Thu s th e fragmen t ma y conve y som e sens é o f the way i n which individua l o r nationa l trait s could be transmitted in the teachin g and learnin g process . Basi c lette r form s woul d b e learn t b y ail , bu t a distinctiv e style woul d b e acquired (by copyin g an d adaptation) an d evolved b y eac h scribe.

The présenc e o f insular exemplars i n th e Corbi e régio n ma y b e surmise d fro m the Vincen t o f Lerin' s Contr a Haeretico s codex , probabl y copie d fro m a n English exemplar130, a Caroline minuscul e cop y o f Augustine' s D e civitat e de i o f th e lat e eighth o r earl y nint h century , no w in Brüssels , which contain s som e insular abbreviations131, an d th e Leiden Servius132. Ther e i s a fain t trac e o f a n insular connection i n th e Corbi e cop y o f Gennadius 5 D e ecclesiastici s dogmatibu s an d Jerome's Letters, now i n Leningrad , fo r th e leave s o f it s firs t quir e wer e rule d after foldin g in the insular manner 133. Of les s certai n Corbi e provenanc e bu t wit h many insular features i s th e survivin g fragmen t o f Theodore of Mopsuestia' s Commentary o n th e Epistle s o f St . Paul . Th e Vatica n portion , Vat . lat . 340, constitutes a fly lea f t o a ninth-centur y Corbi e code x o f Jerome' s Commentar y on th e St . Paul's Epistl e t o th e Galatians . The scrip t of i t an d of th e Pari s portion , BN lat. 17177, ff. 5-12, has been judged t o b e a very cursiv e EngUs h minuscule o f a Continenta l type . Th e rulin g was done befor e foldin g bu t th e membran e was prepared in the insular manner . Some insular abbreviations wer e use d b y th e scribe, an d th e initiais , thoug h o f a n insular type, d o posses s som e Frankis h éléments134.

Although th e scriptoriu m responsibl e fo r th e >Corbi e a-b < scrip t i s n o longe r thought t o b e tha t o f St . Peter' s monaster y Corbi e itself , bu t i s rathe r t o b e attributed t o a conven t o f nun s nearby , som e o f th e >a-b < manuscript s revea l insular présence ther e a s well135. The cano n law collection in B N lat. 3836, for example, largel y writte n i n a-b , ha s a small portio n o f Carolin e minuscul e whos e y i s dotte d an d ha s it s firs t stfok e curvin g t o th e right i n wha t i s claime d b y Lowe as a n insular feature136. A lat e eighth-centur y cop y o f Isidor e o f Seville' s Etymologiae i n a- b scrip t uses , amon g others , th e insular hooked h symbo l fo r autem1*7. Fragment s o f Isidore' s Lette r t o Masson a an d othe r text s ar e i n a mixture o f Englis h an d pre-Carolin e minuscule . Th e Englis h section s recal l th e

129 Karlsruh e Landesbibliothe k Fragm. Aug. 13 3 (CLA VIII, 1128). 130 B N lat. 13386, ff. 1-102 (CLAV , 660) . 131 Brüssels, Bibliothèque Royal e 9641 (CLAX, 1545). 132 Leide n Universiteits Bibliothek Bibl. publ. lat . 52 (CLAX, 1572). 133 Leningrad Q.v.I. 13 (CLAXI, 1616). The Corbi e area , or perhaps further eas t i s also the suggeste d

provenance of Vat. pal. lat. 216, ff. 2v-133 (CLA 1,86) in which the Life of Lampert of Liège is given prominence.

134 B N lat. 17177, ff. 1-12 + Vat. lat . 340 flyleaf (CL A 1,4). Compare the comments b y Patrick SIMS -WILLIAMS, An unpublished seventh-o r eighth-centur y Anglo-Lati n lette r in Boulogne-sur-Mer M S 74 (82), in: Medium Aevum 48 (1979) p. 3, and above p. 404 and n. 63.

135 Seen.81 . 136 CLAV,554 an d MCKITTERIC K (se e n.37 ) p . 108. 137 Brüssel s Bibliothèque Royal e II, 4856 (CLAX, 1554).


Theodore o f Mopsuestia fragment and the Continental ones reminded Lowe, i f on e can put it no more strongly, o f th e a- b script138.

The traces of insula r >influence < a t Corbi e are faint indee d an d ca n hardl y b e considered i n term s o f influence in an y effective us e of th e word . The y witnes s nevertheless t o som e continuin g willingnes s o f th e Englis h t o visi t thi s part of Neustria, an d th e hospitalit y accorde d them . Whe n considerin g th e network of communications and widespread we b of contact between the différent religious and cultural centres of th e Frankis h kingdoms , i t seems t o b e the case that the English , whether i n thei r homelan d or o n the Continent were considere d t o b e participa -tors139. Certainl y instances of insula r connections from othe r centres north o f th e Seine reinforc e thi s impression. Among th e >Lao n a-z< manuscripts , probabl y th e work of another convent of nuns, for example, is a text of Origen written in an >a-z< minuscule contaminated b y insula r lette r form s H0. There i s a single line o f insula r minuscule o n ff.4v an d 5 v o f Düsseldor f Lande s un d Stadtbibliothe k A.14 , a pre-Caroline minuscule copy o f th e Epistle s o f Paul . On e o f th e scribes wrote a transitional sort of script between th e >Lao n a-z < an d Carolin e minuscule141. The Salaberga Psalter on the other hand, possibly written in Northumbria, judgin g from its script, spelling, abbreviations , membrane, the ruling after foldin g an d the prick -ings, and dating t o th e firs t hal f o f th e eighth century , belonge d late r (though ho w much late r i s no t known ) t o th e monaster y o f St . John a t Laon . Th e tradition, an unfounded one , Connecting this boo k t o St . Salaberg a (d.665 ) ma y nevertheles s indicate an arrivai of this codex at Laon very early in its history142. The St. Bertin area has a number o f manuscript s whic h coul d hav e bee n brough t b y Englis h o r Iris h visitors143. Boulogne-sur-Me r 58 , a copy o f th e Letter s of Augustine and written in insular minuscule of th e second half o f th e eight h Century , wa s writte n on both insular and Continental membrane and the hand on ff. 20v-21 évinces a knowledge

138 Cologne, Dombibliothek s.n . (CL A VIII, 1164). 139 On this network see MCKITTERIC K (n . 113) p. 210-5. 140 Cambridge , Corpu s Christ i College , 33 4 (CL A II, 128). On f.97v th e followin g inscription is o f

interest: Fortunatus scripsit istum librum oratepro illum. I t is written in crude capitals and minuscule, and some o f thes e letter s are insular in character .

141 CL A VIII, 1182. Some o f th e leaves of thi s manuscript were ruled afte r folding . 142 Berli n Hamilto n 55 3 (CL A VIII, 1048). Thi s lovel y boo k mus t hav e bee n writte n for someone o f

some social conséquence and wealth, Two other books which i t may be possible to link with Laon in this early stage of its history are Laon, Bibliothèque Municipale 40 (CLA VI, 763) containing Lathcen and possibl y fro m a n Iris h exempla r judgin g fro m it s abbreviations , an d Wolfenbüttel , Herzo g August Bibliothek Helmstadt 455, flyleaf to a ninth-century volume of Bede's commentary on Mark, (CLA IX, 1380) whic h ha s sign s o f insula r influence in it s chapte r headings , abbreviation s an d it s script. In th e nint h century , o f course, Laon wa s wel l know n for its Iris h scholars , se e Joh n J. CONTRENI'S excellent study, The Cathédral School o f Lao n from 85 0 to 930. It s Manuscripts an d Masters, Munich 1978 (Münchene r Beiträg e zu r Mediävisti k un d Renaissance-Forschung , 29 ) p. 81-111.

143 For St . Bertin's connections with Englan d se e th e références gathered b y Phili p GRIERSON , Th e relations between England and Flanders before the Norman Conquest , in : Transactions of the Royal Historical Societ y 4t h séries 23 (1941 ) p. 71-112, publishe d i n a revised an d abbreviate d for m in : R.W. SOUTHER N ed. , Essay s i n médiéval history selecte d fro m th e Transaction of th e Roya l Historical Society , Londo n 1968 , p. 61-92.

The diffusio n o f insular culture i n Neustria betwee n 650 and 850 41 9

of Carolin e lette r forms 144. Anothe r Boulogn e manuscript , a fin e earl y eighth -century sout h Englis h cop y o f Aponius ' Commentar y o n th e Song of Songs and perhaps copied by the Englishwoman Burginda , to which she added her own >quasi-poetic< épilogue , i s o f St . Berti n provenance , an d ma y constitut e a n exampl e o f a book importe d b y one o f the many Englishwome n who mad e a pilgrimage to Gaul or who journeye d t o assis t Boniface i n the mission field 145. Iris h présence in the St. Bertin région i s suggested by a fragment i n St. Orner, BM342 bis , fol.B, containin g Irish glosses 146. Another impor t i s the Gospel fragmen t i n St . Orne r 257, probably written in Northumbria147, while a settler may give us a tantalizing glimpse of his or her existence i n St . Orne r 279, ff. 1-2, a tiny portio n o f Isidor e o f Seville' s Diffe -rentiae, written in a crude insular half uncial b y a scribe >o f modest ability< 148.

Signs o f insular présence ca n also be observe d i n a handful o f Neustria n manu -scripts of no certain origin. An Englishman in the late eighth or early ninth century corrected hi s or her copy o f Augustine' s Tractatus in evangelium Johannis149, there are hints of English uncial in the headings used in the copy of Alcuin's Vita Vedasti, and th e fragmen t o f a commentary o n Leviticus , i n eighth-centur y insular cursive minuscule, was written o n Continenta l membrane 150. Bern 219, moreover, i s also a Frankish manuscript , bu t insular letter form s ar e used i n th e lette r squar e fo r th e name Pelagiu s o n f . 76v 151. Tw o manuscripts , possibly fro m th e same scriptorium , Bern 599 and Berlin Phillipps 1667, are wholly Frankis h in appearance save for th e

144 CLA VI, 737 and compar e Boulogne-sur-Me r 106 (127 ) fragm. (CL A Suppl . 1678) a fragmen t o f Gregory the Great' s Homilie s o n Ezechie l whos e scrip t ha s som e resemblanc e t o on e han d o f Boulogne 58. The membran e o f Boulogn e 58 is partl y insular and partl y Continental . Brown observed of this manuscript that its small minuscule is similar to that of Boulogne 74 (CLA VI, 738) as well as to London, British Library Cotto n Tiberius A.XV ff . 175-80 (CLA II, 189) a text of Junilius, and tha t ai l three ar e o f a similar date , viz . the firs t half of th e eight h century ; se e SIMS-WILLIAMS (n. 133) p. 1 recording a personal communication fro m Professor Brown .

145 Boulogne 74 (CLA VI, 738) SIMS- WILLIAMS, ibid., gives a füll discussion o f th e contex t o f thi s manuscript an d provide s a n éditio n o f an d commentar y o n Burginda' s poem . Thi s i s th e earlies t surviving Aponius manuscript ; SIMS-WILLIAMS argue s tha t its textual affinities ar e >not with the tex t used i n Northumbri a b y Bed e an d a t Luxeui l b y Angelomus , an d preserve d i n th e Nonantol a M S (Rome, Bibliotec a Nazional e 1572 fSess. 12] - ss. XI/XII ) bu t wit h a recensio n attested i n nort h eastern Gaul from th e ninth century onwards with which i t shares a lost common source of the early eighth century o r earlier< . He suggest s that Boulogne 74 could have been written in the monastery o f Bath an d tha t this , recallin g hi s hypothesi s concernin g Bath' s continenta l association s (se e n . 98) would accoun t fo r th e manuscript' s Frankis h links .

146 CLA VI, 628. I am grateful t o Davi d Dumvill e for confirming tha t thes e glosses are Irish rathe r tha n >Celtic<. Insular membrane is used, as are insular abbreviations, and there is some diminuendo at Une beginnings.

147 St. Orner 257, ff. 1-7 (CLA VI, 826); membrane, ruling , pricking and abbreviations ar e of the insular type.

148 CLA VI, 827. The leaves were also ruled after folding and insular membrane was used. The initiais are also ornamented wit h re d dots . A furthe r insular manuscript o f St . Bertin provenance , a t leas t fro m the fourteenth century , is BN lat. 9561 (CLA V, 590) an insular half uncial copy of Isidore of Seville's De ordin e creaturaru m an d Gregory' s Regula Pastoralis . The uncia l i s o f th e lat e typ e showin g Frankish influence bu t ai l other characteristics are insular; it may be a codex brought to St. Bertin at a later stag e in th e histor y o f relation s betwee n tha t monaster y an d England.

149 B N lat. 1959 (CLAV,538) . Some initiai s also show insular influence. 150 Merseberg, Bibliothek des Domkapitels 105 , ff. 85-105 (CLA IX, 1232) and Bern, Bürgerbibliothe k

756 No. 76 (CLA VII, 869). 151 A tex t o f Eusebius-Jerome , Chronicon , i n lat e seventh-century uncia l (CL A VII, 860).


use of th e insula r hal f uncia l g , an d th e re d dots round th e initiais of th e Berli n Martyrology. Saints included in the Martyrology are Genovefa, Arnulf and Praxedis, which may indicate a connection with Nivelles152. Another insular corrector used the enim symbo l customar y t o hi m on f. 6 o f a Carolingian manuscrip t o f th e Vita e Patrum153. It s provenance of St . Maur-des-Fosse s i s onl y atteste d fro m th e twelft h Century, but the possible insular connection at St . Maur-des-Fosse s i s perhap s enhanced by another volume of the same provenance. It is a copy of the four Gospels for which several différent insular hands were responsible. On f. 177, however, som e of thi s hal f uncia l recall s pre-Çaroline script 154.

Some manuscript s manifestin g insula r éléments may record the visi t to , o r conceivably th e membership o f a particular Community, on the part of an individual from th e British Isle s or the acquisition of a book fro m a centre harbouring suc h a person. The famous St. Amand Commentarium Notarium Tironianum, for example, contains a note o n f. 1 i n lat e eighth - o r earl y ninth-centur y Englis h script, and a collection of Christia n hymn s i n BN lat . 1304 7 contains margina l notes in Englis h script o n f. 161r 155. Ther e i s a n occasional us e of insula r abbreviation s i n B N lat . 1820, a volume containing Jerome's commentary on Isaiah, and the insular hooked h symbol for autem i s to be seen on f. 9 of a n Oribasius manuscript whic h was a t St. Denis b y th e first hal f of th e ninth Century, and on f. 92 of th e late seventh-centur y Frankish cursive minuscule copy of Gregory of Tours* Historiarum Libr i Decem156.

Such teasin g sighting s o f thes e Britis h wil l o ' th e wisps ca n b e multiplie d man y times, within the broad catégories already suggested in this paper, in a large number of ou r Neustrian manuscript s fro m th e early Carolingia n period . My références d o not constitute a comprehensive list , but they do provide some idea of th e range and character o f thi s évidence fo r insular activit y i n Neustria . Ther e are those, for example, written in insular minuscule but either of Continenta l provenance or with indications that they were written on the Continent by an insular scribe, such as the Leningrad Bede, BN n . a. lat. 1587, or a fragment of Jeremiah in Weimar157. Or there are those whose script, while Frankish, is clearly reminiscent of insular script, such as

152 Ber n 599 , a copy o f th e Liber Historiae Francoru m (CL A VII, 865). Berli n Phillipp s 166 7 (CLA VIII, 1056) also has som e initiais ornamented wit h red dots.

153 B N lat . 13756 , ff . 1-11 8 (CLAV,663) . Th e tex t i s writte n i n bot h pre-Carolin e an d Carolin e minuscule of th e late eighth Century.

154 Leningra d F.v.1.8 (CLAXI, 1605), but even here it is simply a later provenance which may provide a guide to origin .

155 Kasse l Hessische Landesbibliothe k Philol . fol. 2 (CLA VIII, 1132) from St. Amand. See the facsimile édition by F . REUSS, Di e Kassle r Handschrif t de r Tironische n Note n sam t Ergänzunge n au s de r Wolfenbüttler Handschrift , Leipzig-Berli n 1914 . BN lat . 1304 7 (CLA V, 649) also has some insula r abbreviations. The marginal notes are of the ninth Century but the manuscript itself i s written in pre-Caroline minuscule of th e Neustria n type of th e second half o f th e eight h Century .

156 B N lat . 182 0 (CLAV, 536) i n minuscule of th e second half of the eighth Century; BN n. a. lat. 161 9 (CLAV,688) i n eighth-century hal f uncial ; BN lat . 1765 5 (CLA V,671) whose insula r abbreviatio n was attribute d b y LOW E (se e n . 120) to a connection with Luxeuil .

157 Leningra d Q.v.1.1 8 (CLAXI , 1621); B N n.a . lat . 158 7 (CLAV,684) , usuall y know n as the St. Gatien Gospels, which BISCHOFF , Panorama (seen. 7) p. 239, has assigned to a Breton scriptorium. Brittany ma y in fact account fo r mor e of th e insular Symptoms an d apparent insular links tha n w e realize a t présent. Weimar Staatsarchiv, Sammlung des Freiherrn Carl von Hardenburg No. 1 (CL A Suppl. 1811 ) i s describe d as a >curious, regulär , somewhat stiff pre-Carolin e minuscule showing insular influence, Written doubtles s i n France<.

The diffusion o f insular culture i n Neustri a betwee n 650 and 850 42 1

Vienna 277158. Oxfor d Douc e 140, a cop y o f Primasius' commentary o n th e Apocalypse, is a fairly typical spécimen of this type of hybrid script. Lowe described it a s a >curiou s imitatio n o f Frenc h half uncial verging on minuscul e b y scribe s accustomed t o th e insular manne r of usin g th e pen<. I t i s indeed a puzzling codex . The script préserves some insular letter forms, such as the half uncial g and the deep shouldered r , an d ther e ar e man y correction s an d margina l annotation s in insular , South English , scrip t o f th e eight h an d nint h century , amon g whic h th e han d o f Boniface i s agai n apparent . Rathe r tha n witnessing to insular présence o n th e Continent, it s curiou s scrip t ma y poin t t o Frankis h présenc e i n Wessex , an d a Frank's attemp t t o lear n insular script. Ther e i s certainl y n o hin t i n th e volume' s provenance that i t ever left England 159.

The instance s o f manuscript s writte n o n th e Continen t bu t containin g insular abbreviations ca n also be multiplied . BN lat. 1853 als o has insular orthography, Cotton Caligul a A.X V ha s decorate d initiai s in the insular manne r in additio n t o insular abbreviations as has BN lat. 1784 and Leiden lat. 67.F160. Some codices betray insular présence i n their initial Ornament alone, such as BN lat. 1959. Others sho w signs o f havin g bee n read by insular scholars, fo r the y contai n correction s an d annotations in insular script. Leiden 67D o r Kassel Theol. Oct . 5 are among these , and the Kassel codex is of particular interest161. Written in pre-Caroline minuscule in a poo r Neustria n scriptorium , i t contain s th e tex t o f th e Book of Révélatio n an d Caesarius o f Arles * commentar y o n it . I t ha s correction s i n lat e eighth-centur y insular minuscule an d Old Hig h Germa n glosse s entered at about the same date. I t appears to have been in Fulda by the tenth century. It provides a further example of a Neustrian code x use d by a n Englishman an d either sent to the German missionar y area or taken in the baggage o f a n English traveller bound thither .

So far I have been dealin g with individual, o r groups of , manuscript s tha t can be linked to centres without any well-documented insular connections other than those provided b y th e manuscripts themselves . Considératio n o f a group fro m a known, and nearby, insular centre may permit us to observe the sort of circumstances which

158 Vienna lat . 277, ff. 53-73, a codex whic h include s Ovi d an d Martia l (CLAX, 1474). Lowe suggested that BN lat. 8071 a Carolingia n cop y o f th e nint h century , appear s t o hav e bee n mad e fro m th e Vienna manuscript .

159 This i s th e oldes t extan t cop y o f Primasiu s (CL A II, 237) and compar e PARKES (see n. 106) p. 70. 160 Leide n Bibl. publ . lat . 67 F (CLAX , 1575). Low e suggested a n insular, or eve n a Welsh exemplar .

Ff. 129-158v, th e cree d section s i n whic h insular symbols occu r wer e apparentl y penne d b y a Gaustmarus who ends his contribution wit h two Greek alphabet s an d the transliterated subscriptio n Gaustmarus fecit isto greco. BN lat. 1784 (CLA Suppl. , 1743) contains homilies by John Chrysosto m and London Cotton Caligul a A. XV, ff. 3-38, 42-64, 73-117 (CLA II, 183) was apparently copied (i n the secon d half of th e eight h century ) fro m a n exempla r date d 743 (compare n . 86).

161 Leide n Bibl. publ. lat. 67D ff. 13,14 (CLAX, 1574), is the bottom text , a Lectionary, of a palimpsest. The to p tex t i s a ninth centur y Libe r glossaru m wit h addition s an d correction s in what Lowe calls Jrish minuscule s H e suggest s i t i s a n Iris h manuscrip t rewritte n i n a Frankis h scriptorium . Th e original scrip t was insula r hal f uncial o f th e late-eight h century . BN lat. 1959 (CLAV,538 ) and compare the red dots ornamenting the initiais in BN lat. 2034 (CLA V, 540) a pre-Caroline minuscul e copy o f Augustine' s Enchiridion . On e furthe r oddit y i s t o b e foun d in B N lat. 9488, ff.2-4 (CLA V, 581), a Sacramentary. I t confuse s c i and ti , an unusua l mistak e fo r a n insular scribe a s thi s undoubtedly was . Some insular abbreviations an d spellin g ar e also to b e foun d in B N lat. 1853 (CLAV,537) a copy o f Pelagiu s o n th e Epistle s o f Paul , and BN lat. 12598 (CLAV, 644a).


brought the English, the Irish, their books and their writing skill s to the Continent and whic h itsel f ma y hav e provide d a vital base fo r the Englis h an d Irish . Suc h a group, that of Echternach, although associated with a centre outside the geographica! and politica l are a recognized as Neustria, needs , indeed , t o b e considere d i n som e detail. Not onl y is it quintessentially représentative in the issues of historical context, insular connections and palaeographical associations it raises. I t is also, above all, in the contex t o f th e establishment and maintenance of contact between Englan d an d Neustria, an d against the background of other manuscripts considered in this paper, that th e grou p o f Codice s an d fragments that on e ma y lin k wit h th e Englis h missionary Willibror d an d hi s circle , an d wit h hi s foundatio n a t Echternach , ma y best b e understood 162.

Willibrord set out for Frisia fro m Egbert' s Englis h colon y a t Rat h Melsig i i n Ireland in about 690, when he was, supposedly, abou t thirty-two year s old. He wa s accompanied, according to Bede, by the usual twelve companions, and among these, no doubt , wer e som e o f Willibrord' s ow n countryme n fro m Northumbria . On e o f them was Swithberht, who was sent back from Frisia to Mercia to be consecrated b y Wilfrid. W e kno w th e name s no r nationalitie s o f non e o f th e res t o f Willibrord' s original familia. Willibrord's mentors were Wilfrid, under whom he had been during his earl y trainin g a t Ripon , an d Egbert , th e abbo t o f Rat h Melsigi . Bot h wer e champions of Roman rites and observance. From the start, Willibrord was under the Carolingians' protection , firs t unde r Pippi n II, who sent him t o Rome to b e consecrated (i n 695) and afterwards Charle s Martel. Utrecht was allotted Willibrord as his se e an d becam e th e centre of Willibrord' s ecclesiastica l province. The mona -stery o f Echternac h wa s give n t o Pippi n b y Irmina , Pippi n II' s mother-in-law , i n 697-9 an d take n unde r Pippin' s protectio n i n 706 . Willibrord die d i n 739 . To thi s lean account , especiall y o f Echternach , it s personnel and it s activities , th e vita l évidence of th e manuscript s ca n be added .

Considération of the >Echternach group< is bedevilled by the many, and contradic-tory, opinions from palaeographer s an d art historians concernin g thei r origins . I propose to conside r al l thos e Codice s or fragment s which hav e a claim t o b e associated with the circle of Willibrord, and to suggest one possible solution which at least accords with th e historica l évidence of th e writte n sources and make s sens e within th e framewor k o f th e materia l presente d i n thi s pape r as a whole. Th e manuscripts i n question ar e as follows (short forms o f thei r signatures ar e provided for ease of subséquent référence ; a füll description of each manuscript i s available in C.L.A.).

162 Th e histor y o f th e foundation o f Echternac h i s culle d fro m th e charter s edite d b y WAMPAC H (se e n. 101) an d compare Gabriel H . VERBIST, Sain t Willibror d Apôtre des Pays-Bas et fondateur d'Echternach, Louvai n 1938 . Bede , Histori a Ecclesiastic a (se e n.2 ) V, 10 an d 11, and Alcuin , Vit a Willibrordi (se e n . 174) provide some information about Willibrord' s caree r but neither mentions Echternach. The clearest summary o f Willibrord's career is by Wilhelm LEVISON , St . Willibrord and his place in history , in : Aus rheinische r un d fränkischer Frühzeit , Düsseldor f 1948 .


1. Echternach Gospels .

2. Cambridge Gospels .

3. Cologne 213.

4. Maihingen Gospels.

5. Freiburg fragment.

6. Martyrology 7. Calendar 8. Easter Tables 9. Trier Gospels .

10. Gotha Gospels .

11. Stuttgart Psalter (fragment)

12. Paulinus

13. BN lat. 9382 14. BN lat. 9527 15. BN lat. 9538 16. BN lat. 10399, ff. 42-3 17. BN lat. 10400, ff. 107-8 18. BN lat. 9528 +

BN lat. 10399, ff. 5-̂ 6 19. BN lat. 9529, ff. 1- 2 20. Maeseyck Gospel s 21. BN lat. 9530 22. BN lat. 9565 23. Gent , Taio 24. Vat. reg. lat. 1209 25. Stuttgart HB XIV.l

26. BN lat. 9529

BN lat. 9389 (C.L.A. V, 578) Corpus Christi College , Cambridge 197B , ff. 1-36 + Londo n BL Cotton Oth o C. V (C.L.A . II, 125) Cologne. Dombibliothek 213 . Canon law collection (C.L.A. VIII, 1163) Harburg über Donauwörth, Schloß Harburg, Fürstlic h Ottingen-Wallerstein'sche Bibliothe k Cod . I.2.4°. 2 (C.L.A. VIII, 1215) Freiburg-im-Breisgau Universitätsbibliothe k Cod . 702 . Gospels. (C.L.A. VIII, 1195) BN lat . 10837 , ff . 2-33 (C.L.A . V, 605) BN lat . 10837 , ff . 34-41 + 4 4 (C.L.A . V, 606a) BN lat . 10837 , ff . 42-43 (C.L.A . V, 606b) Trier Domschatz, Code x 6 1 (C.L.A . IX, 1364) Gotha Landesbibliothek Cod . Mbr. 1.18 (C.L.A . VIII, 1205) Stuttgart, Württemburgisch e Landesbibliothe k Cod . Bibl. 12a- c (C.L.A . IX, 1353) Vatican, Bibliotheca Apostolic a palatinu s latinu s 235 , ff. 4-25, Paulinu s o f Nol a (Carmina ) (C.L.A . I, 87) Prophets (C.L.A . V, 577) Jerome I n Esaiam (C.L.A . V, 584) Augustine, D e Trinitat e (C.L.A . V, 588) Augustine, I n evangelium Iohanni s (C.L.A . V, 595) Bede, In Apocalypsim (C.L.A . V, 598) Dionysius, Easte r Tables; Anatolius, Cano n Paschali s (C.L.A. V, 585) Paul, Epistl e to th e Hebrews (C.L.A . V, 586) Maeseyck, Church of St. Catherine Trésor s.n. ff. 6-13 2 Jerome, I n ep. Pauli , »Liber Adonis abbati« (798-817 ) Taio, Sententia e Gent, Universiteit s Bibliothe k # 3 1 0 , Taio , Sententia e Alcuin, De dialectica , D e rhetoric a Stuttgart, Württemburgisch e Landesbibliothe k HB XIV. l Alcuin , Vita sancti Willibrord i Jerome, In Mattheum (se e n . 187 )

The claims of some of these manuscripts to be included in the >Echternach group< are mor e tenuous tha n others . Smalle r group s withi n i t are formed b y scribes, décoration, form o f citation marks , form o f quir e marks, or the use of th e insula r symbols i an d h being commo n t o tw o or more manuscripts . But there are Connecting links between one subgroup and another. The problem of locating insular manuscripts on the Continent and determining what they have to tell us concerning insular activity , i s i n man y way s exemplifie d b y th e controversia l Echternac h Gospels. Let us therefore conside r thi s codex first .

The Echternac h Gospels belong i n term s o f bot h script and décoration to th e


Lindisfarne Gospels Group, about whose origin - Northumbria , Eastern Scotland or Pictland, Iona, Ireland - n o agreement has been reached 16\ Th e Echternach Gospels share a master scribe with th e Durham Gospels (Durham Cathédral Library, A.II.17). This master scribe was, in Julian Brown's opinion, an older contemporar y of Eadfrith , scribe of the Lindisfarn e Gospels. The lac k of consensus, or at least consistency, regardin g the palaeography i s apparent if one remember that the script of St. Gall Stiftsbibliothek 139 4 is close enough to that of the writing of the Durham-Echternach calligrapher to make it possible that he or she was a member of the same writing centre. Lowe, however , describe s th e script as Irish164.

The script of the Echternach Gospels, is, according to Julian Brown's new criteria, partly Phase I and partly Phase II half uncial, though most of the text is written in a large set minuscule o f Phase I by a highly accomplishe d scribe , and the préfaces are written in a high grade hybrid minuscule with well marked serifs and the oc form of a. The script may be dated to the early eighth century. Gatherings in the manuscript are of ten leaves , there ar e prickings in bot h margins an d the rulin g was done afte r folding. Insular abbreviations are used for -bus, -que an d pro by the scribe of the text and th e corrector use s th e insular hooked h symbo l fo r autem. The elegant, if somewhat austère , décoration i s in the füll insular style and closely resemble s that of the Lindisfarn e Gospel s (B L Cotto n Nero D.IV) th e Book of Durrow (Dublin , Trinity College 57 , A.IV.5) an d th e Cambridg e Gospels 165. Not only th e capita l letters, moreover, but even the holes in the parchment, are surrounded with red dots. One ca n only applau d the aplomb of an artist who ca n thus transform a defect int o an ornament. Th e relativ e restrain t in terms of both th e rang e of pigments an d th e amount of décoration in the Echternach Gospels in comparison with the others with which i t is linked, however , sugges t tha t w e ma y b e dealin g wit h a master scrib e doing his best with limited resources in a new environment166. Could this new setting be a n insular centre o n th e Continent ? On e featur e o f an overwhelmingly insular manuscript whic h makes this a stronger possibility i s that the membrane, althoug h ruled an d quire d in the insular manner , wa s prepared accordin g t o Continenta l

163 I do not attempt t o cite ai l th e contribution s t o the debat e bu t th e followin g ma y b e consulted for their exper t an d cogen t arguments ; ai l of the m lis t othe r work s o n the subject: T . D. KENDRICK , T.Julian B R O W N , R. L. A. B R U C E - M I T F O R D e t al. ed., Evangeliorum quattuo r code x Lindisfarnensis , Olten an d Lausann e 1956 and 1960; T.Julian B R O W N , Northumbria an d th e Book of Kells, Jarro w Lecture 1971 and printe d i n a revised versio n in : Anglo-Saxo n England 1 (1972 ) p. 219-46; Isabe l H E N D E R S O N , Pictis h A n an d th e Book of Kells , i n WHITELOCK , MCKITTERIC K an d D U M V I I X E (se e

n. 5) p. 79-105; VEREY, B R O W N and COATSWORT H (se e n . 8); J. J. G. ALEXANDER, Insula r Manuscripts

6th t o the 9t h century , London 197 8 (A Survey o f Manuscripts illuminated i n the British Isles, 1); Däibhi Ö C R Ö I N I N, Prid e and Préjudice , in : Peritia l (1982) p. 352-62 and I D . , Rath Melsig i (se e n.52).

164 H e dubbed hi m th e >Durham-Echternac h calligrapher < i n his introduction t o KENDRIC K e t al. (se e n. 163) and compare CL A II , 149. Yet some réservation s hav e t o be kept concemin g th e date of Echternach Gospels . Th e turn of the seventh centur y ma y b e to o early , and a date during th e firs t half of th e eight h centur y i s possible. Th e datin g of the whol e Lindisfarn e group , indeed , a s Ö C R Ö I N I N has commented , i s ripe fo r reassessment (se e Pride and Préjudice , n . 163). St. Gall Stiftsbibliothek 1394 (CLA VII, 979).

165 Cotton Nero D . IV (CLA II, 187) and Book of Durrow (CLA II , 173). 166 O n pigment s se e Roosen-Runge' s contributio n t o KENDRICK e t al. (se e n. 163) and hi s comments on

the Lindisfarn e Gospel s colour s an d thos e of others i n th e group , includin g th e Echternac h Gospels .

The diffusion o f insular culture in Neustria between 650 and 850 42 5

practice. So, incidentally, wer e som e o f th e leaves o f Durha m A.II.17 . I t ha s bee n suggested tha t th e us e o f Continenta l membran e i n thes e tw o book s coul d b e understood a s >isolated experiments at Jarrow and Wearmouth with the Continental method o f preparation< 167. O n thi s argument , thos e book s though t t o hav e bee n written on the Continent, bu t on insular membrane, could represent insular scribes continuing familiär practice in their new home. Yet the use of Continental membrane in som e o f th e codice s linke d wit h Echternac h shoul d warn us not to exclud e th e possibility o f th e Continenta l origi n o f thes e manuscript s too readily .

A further possibility, naturally, relates to the sources of good parchment or vellum in the early médiéval period, about which we are so lamentably ignorant . I t may be that included in Benedict Biscop's baggage on his return from Gaul was not only the new texts for his proposed foundation, but also the wherewithal to make copies from them in the form of a suppl y o f parchment 168. Nevertheless , th e appearanc e o f membrane prepared in the insular manner in manuscripts written on the Continent , is more readil y explicabl e tha n th e appearance o f Continenta l membran e i n manu-scripts whose origin cannot be established with certainty, even if some would wish to maintain that it is the British Isles. The use of Continental membrane has therefore to be assesse d i n th e ligh t o f ai l othe r informatio n concernin g th e book s i n question . There i s a wide variet y o f opinio n o n th e origin o f th e Echternach Gospels . I t has been ascribe d t o Northumbria , t o Lindisfarn e itself , t o a >Continental centr e wit h close Anglo-Saxo n connections < and , mos t recently , t o Rat h Melsig i (mode m location uncertain ) in Ireland 169. Julian Brown has suggested, for example , tha t the Gospels were written and decorated in a hurry at Lindisfarne du e to the need to get the boo k read y fo r Willibror d t o tak e wit h hi m o n hi s missio n t o th e Frisian s i n 69017°. Th e sna g wit h thi s conjectur e i s tha t th e boo k i f so understood woul d constitute th e only extant évidence for a link between the monastery o f Lindisfarn e and Willibrord . Willibrord' s Northumbria n connection s ar e mor e likel y t o hav e been wit h Ripon , Hexha m an d perhap s York . Th e par t Northumbri a playe d i n Willibrord's initia l departure fo r Frisia is far from clear . Fro m Bede we know onl y that it was from Egbert, at Rath Melsigi in Ireland, that Willibrord set out, and that he was one o f man y Englishme n wh o wen t int o voluntar y exil e i n Irelan d an d subsequently venture d ont o th e Continent 171. O Cröinin, indeed, ha s reminded u s forcefully o f th e Englis h colon y i n Rat h Melsig i i n Ireland , bu t i t i s necessar y t o acknowledge the limitations of our knowledge of this settlement. Bede, for instance, gives us little notion o f th e extent to which Rath Melsigi was more than an English settlement in a foreign land. That is, geographical location does not necessarily mean it was an Irish settlement, no r can strong Iris h influence b e assumed. O n th e other hand it may be somewhat perverse t o suppose tha t Rath Melsigi did not form links with any Irish figures o r religious communities i n the vicinity. O Croinin' s conclu -sions concerning the conséquences of the Rath Melsigi connection with Willibrord in terms of book production, however, présent a number of difficulties. His view is that

167 BROW N (see n . 13) p. 323. 168 Bede, Historia Abbatum (see n.3, ce.4, 5, 6, 9, 11). 169 Ö CRÖINI N (see n . 163). 170 BROW N i n LOW E (see n.5 ) p . 111-114. 171 Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica (see n.2), 111,27 and V,9 and 10.


>the scriptorium i n whic h th e firs t génération of Echternac h scribes received thei r formation was a t Rat h Melsig i i n Ireland< 172. Whil e h e make s som e important observations concerning th e datin g of th e Calenda r an d the Irish origin o f som e o f the text s containe d i n th e earlies t book s associate d wit h Echternach 173, hi s wis h t o give Ireland the credit for the earlier Echternach corpus does not take account of the clear évidence, brief thoug h i t be , tha t Englishmen joine d th e Communit y a t Rat h Melsigi a t relatively advance d stages in thei r éducation, and usuall y as grown men . Willibrord, for example , was abou t twenty year s old 174; Cynefrid wa s the abbot o f the monaster y o f Gillin g befor e handin g ove r th e monaster y administration of hi s Community t o hi s younge r brothe r Ceolfri d >i n orde r t o stud y th e Scripture s i n Ireland<175; Egbert and his contemporaries appea r from Bede' s account als o to hav e gone t o Irelan d as adults176. Ther e i s n o indication that youn g boy s wen t t o Rat h Melsigi. It is unlikely therefore that the Englishmen who joined the Community there were unabl e t o writ e already . The y ma y o f course have bee n taugh t t o writ e i n Northumbria b y Irishmen, have brought thei r skills to Ireland, and employed the m in copyin g th e text s neede d for their stud y and , i n th e case of Willibror d an d hi s companions, thei r evangelical work. My point is simply that from the palaeographi-cal point of view the appearance of Rath Melsigi i n the lists makes little différence to the outcome . Certaint y stil l éludes us . Scribe s undoubtedly travelled . Traube' s coining o f th e ter m >insular < to describ e a type of script from th e Britis h Isle s an d from insula r centres on the Continent has, when al l is said and done, everythin g t o recommend it . Willibrord's familia must have included Englishmen from Northum -bria, Englishmen who had spent some time in Ireland, and Irishmen. Ö Cröini n has rightly stresse d th e importance of th e Iris h connections, bu t the English , an d especially Northumbrian , one s wer e vita l as well. Wh y eis e shoul d Bede b e s o interested in Willibrord's career , and how eis e are we to account for the continuing Communications betwee n th e English churc h an d the Anglo-Saxon missionarie s on the Continent?

Whether written in Northumbria, Rat h Melsigi or Echternach, the provenance of the Echternach Gospels is acknowledged t o be Echternach. This does not altogether résolve the proble m o f th e origi n or provenanc e of th e othe r member s o f th e Echternach group , but it doe s mak e th e Willibrordian connection mor e likely an d accounts for at least some of the similarities to be noted in many of the other books.

Linked b y thei r décoration and initia l ornamen t t o th e Echternac h Gospels, fo r example, is the group comprising the Cambridge, Freiburg and Maihingen Gospels, Cologne 213 and Willibrord's Martyrology an d Calendar. The Freiburg Gospels are also related palaeographically t o the Echternach Gospels; its leaves were rule d afte r folding, ther e are prickings in both margins , but the membrane was prepared in the Continental manner . The uncial script is manifestly influence d b y insular half uncial letter forms . Th e splendi d Cambridg e Gospel Book i s als o largel y insula r i n it s features, save that, of the two scribes responsible for the book, one closely resembles

172 Ö CROÎNÎN (see n . 163) Rat h Melsigi , p.42 . 173 Se e below p . 427. 174 Alcuin , Vita Willibrordi, c. 4 e d W. LEVISON, MG H Script , rer . Merov.V, VII, p. 118. 175 Anon , Vit a Coelfridi , ed . PLUMME R (se e n.2) I, p.388. 176 Bede , Historia Ecclesiastic a (se e n.2) 111,27 , p.313.


Laurentius, one of the scribes responsible for both charters and manuscripts associa-ted with Echternach 177. One characteristic of his script is the thêta shaped e usually conjoint with the next letter. A poem is addressed to him on f. 157v of the Maihingen Gospels, another of this group written on Continental membrane 178. The half uncial script closel y resemble s tha t o f Willibrord' s Martyrology , writte n b y Laurentius , and that , wit h th e verses >suggest < tha t the scribe was a pupil o f Laurentius . The verses may, on the other hand, be a purely arbitrary insertion and be nothing to do with th e ownershi p o r productio n o f th e manuscript a t ail , eve n i f Echternac h provenance be accepted. The initiais in the Martyrology credited to Laurentius' hand closely resemble those in both the Echternach and Maihingen Gospels, as do those of Willibrord's Calendar , the script of which is very similar to that of the half uncial of the Maihingen Gospels. I t is possible , a s O Cröinin has suggested, tha t bot h the Martyrology, Calenda r an d Easter Table s wer e writte n befor e Laurentiu s an d hi s fellow scribe s arrived at Echternach, though one would have to account for the fact that th e Easte r Table s ar e writte n o n Continenta l parchment . O Cröinin has remarked on the significance of the Irish saints included in the Calendar and on the omission o f Wilfrid (d.709 ) whic h woul d surel y sugges t a date for compilation of before tha t year , thoug h not necessarily i n Ireland itself 179. Hi s arguments fo r the early date for the Easter Table portion are rather more compelling. On his reading, both Calenda r an d Easter Table s provid e u s wit h valuabl e due s concernin g the membership o f Willibrord's famili a an d the différent cultura l influence s présen t in the ne w foundation. Tw o other leave s i n this manuscrip t reinforc e th e Northum-brian link s o f th e Willibrordian enterprise . Th e Easter Table s wer e continued t o cover the years between 760 and 797 in a stylish insular minuscule related to that in the res t o f the Calendar. Th e prayers however , ar e written i n the capitular uncia l developed a t th e monasterie s o f Wearmout h an d Jarrow180. Th e Cologn e 213 canonical collectio n on the other hand, closely associate d throug h its minor initiais with bot h th e Echternach Gospel s an d Durham A II17 and written b y Sigibert , provide us with a tantalizing glimpse of the relations subsisting between Willibrord's monastery and the see of Cologne181. A more solid witness to the Irish connection is BN lat. 9382, a half uncial codex containing the Books of the Prophets written by the scribe Virgilius. If this Virgilius, a common rendering of the Irish name Fergil , is to be identifie d wit h th e Virgilius wh o wrote a charters fo r Echternach i n 709 and 721-2, then thi s boo k ca n be attributed t o the same centr e a s the Calendar and Maihingen Gospels182.

Another pai r of manuscripts i n this Echternac h grou p appear s to document the

177 Charter s ed. C. WAMPACH, Geschichte der Grundherrschaft Echternach im Frühmittelalter, Luxem-bourg 1929^30, Nos. 8, 17, 28 and ?32 dated 704, 710 , 711 .

178 The acrostic and telestich of the verses read: Laurentius uiuat senio. The gatherings of this manuscript are signed in the lower lef t hand corner of the last page, Some ruling of the leaves was done before , and some after , folding .

179 Ö CRÖININ , Rath Melsigi (see n. 163) p. 30-1. 180 PARKE S (see n.58) . 181 MCKITTERICK (se e n . 37) p. 109-15. 182 WAMPACH (se e n. 177) Nos. 16, 31, ?32 dated 709 and 721-2. Charter 32 is attributed to Laurentius-

Virgilius, henc e the queries in notes 177 and hère. I find it difficult t o believe that Laurentiu s and Virgilius wer e one and the same. The corrections in this manuscrip t are in both insular and early


recruitment o f Franks t o Willibrord's ne w foundation . Th e Trier Gospels manifests throughout a mixture of Continenta l Frankis h an d insula r styles. It appear s t o hav e been writte n b y two scribes working sid e by side ; one was Frankish writin g a clear north Frankish uncial , and the other, an Englishman named Thomas and responsibl e for only smal l portions of th e boo k (ff.5v-9r , 10-14 , 19-20r , 141-144) , who wrot e insular hal f uncial 183. There are some liturgica l entrie s i n eighth-centur y uncia l an d cursive minuscule, and, as well as insular interlace d initiais there are some fis h an d bird initiais of Merovingian type. Clearly this is a book written on the Continent bu t within a n insula r tradition whose expression can b e observe d i n bot h Englis h an d Irish books (where it is possible to be sure which is which). It witnesses furthermor e to the close coopération that could develop between a Frankish and an English scribe in the second quarter o f th e eighth century . Eac h in such a situation must have been interested t o observe the other' s practice . Thomas ma y als o have bee n th e scribe of the Goth a Gospels, fo r its initiais ar e very lik e thos e o f th e Trie r Gospels. In th e Gotha Gospels, however, h e worked withou t Frankis h collaboration. The Stuttgar t Psalter fragment o n the other hand , was written withou t insula r help but by a scribe inspired an d excite d b y th e insular décorative motifs he has seen to insti l a dynamic sense o f movemen t t o hi s illumination, fo r which h e uses the fül l range of th e Merovingian décorative vocabulary184. Whethe r o r no t th e volume from whic h thi s fragment comes was produced a t Echternach canno t be ascertained. It s heavy uncia l is o f th e Nort h Frankis h type, bu t it contain s additions in insula r minuscule of a rather roug h kind , was written on greasy membrane prepared i n th e insular manne r and wa s a t Echternac h b y th e nint h Century .

A thin threa d o f association may b e discerned , in th e form o f distinctiv e citation marks, between th e Echternac h Gospels and a further trio of manuscripts , B N lat. 9527,9538 and 10400 , ff. 107-8 , whose Echternach provenance can only be traced back with an y certainty t o th e fifteenth Century . Two of these , BN lat . 9527 and B N lat. 9538, have a scribe in common. The form o f e with the lower bow reversed is also to be observed in a fragment in insular minuscule, BN lat. 10399, ff. 42-3, taken fro m an Echternac h binding . Othe r fragments in insula r script used i n Echternac h bindings an d perhap s representin g insula r Codice s once possessed b y Echternach' s library in the eighth or ninth Century are BN lat. 9528 + 10399 , ff. 35-6, BN lat . 9529, ff. 1-2 , an d th e unidentifie d patristi c fragment palimpsested i n B N lat . 9555, f . 1 . Evidence is al l thes e cases however i s to o sligh t t o insis t on an Echternac h association, even if these fragments remai n irréfutable witness to the présence, or th e import, o f insula r books , b y whateve r means , t o th e Willibrordia n an d Rhine -Moselle région.

The account of the lives of Harlindis and Reglindis, founders o f Aldeneyk, records

Caroline minuscule. The insciption by one of the scribes is on f. 45v, where he addresses the reader falso qui fungor vergili nomine.

183 Compare the Luxembourg fragment , Bibliothèqu e Nationale 68 , a late eighth-centur y cop y o f Augustine on the Psalms, written in early Caroline minuscule. If it came to Echternach as early as the late eighth century it may be a small remnant of the contacts Willibrord and his Community had with the surrounding région (CLAXI, 1592).

184 Compare J.J. G.ALEXANDER (seen . 163) p. 54-5 and Plates 140-2 who regards the codex as the work of a n English artis t working on the Continent using Merovingian décorative vocabulary.


a visit paid by the English missionaries Willibrord and Boniface, presumably durin g the short period in which Boniface rendered his older countryman some assistance in his work. Harlindi s and Reglindis were also, according to this account, producers of fine manuscripts , and it may be to their hands that the Maeseyck Gospel s ar e to be attributed185. Th e foundatio n o f Aldeney k itself , moreover , ma y b e a n instance, i n the Willibrordian context, of the sort of foundation by female helpers with which we are familiär in the Bonifacian missionary areas in Germany. Harlindi s and Reglindis and thei r spiritua l sister s ma y eve n hav e serve d Willibror d a s th e nun s o f Chelle s served th e diocès e o f Cologne . Bu t i n th e fac e o f th e uncertai n attributio n o f thi s Gospel fragment , thi s must remain mère conjecture .

That Echternac h retaine d it s Englis h connectio n afte r Willibrord' s deat h i s clear from th e fact that an account of hi s life was commissioned from his kinsman Alcuin by anothe r relativ e o f Willibror d an d hi s successo r a s abbot o f Echternach , Arch -bishop Beornra d o f Sens 186. The extan t earl y manuscript o f thi s Vita , Stuttgar t HB XIV.l, i s in a mixed style of script with clear insular éléments which appears to be of Echternach provenanc e o r origi n i n th e earl y nint h century . Bischof f ha s also proposed a small grou p of manuscript s in a late insular script as possibly writte n at Echternach i n th e earl y nint h century : BN lat. 9530, B N lat. 9565, Ghent 310 and Vat. reg. lat. 1209187. I t i s possibl e tha t BN lat. 9529, with Anglo-Saxo n liturgica l annotations, i s also to b e counte d a s a produc t o f thi s monastery . Thu s th e manuscript évidenc e to o witnesse s t o th e maintenanc e o f link s wit h th e forme r homeland o f it s later abbots and some members o f th e Community.

Anyone familiär with these manuscript s will realize fully bot h th e complication s and contradictions within the group and assessments of it, and the slenderness of the connections proposed . Echternac h origi n ma y well be to o muc h t o propose , bu t early Echternac h provenanc e an d a deliberate assemblin g o f text s neede d fo r th e missionary wor k an d consolidation o f Christianit y ca n be suggested by the codice s in the group and the very narrow range of texts they contain. Most of the m are the basic text s on e woul d expec t i n th e >missionary < contex t - Gospel Books , Easte r Tables, Canon law, a Martyrology, and a few carefully selected key commentaries on the nature of Go d and the Incarnation .

There appea r in this group, moreover, to be well over twenty scribe s at work. I f not at Echternach itself , the n it is arguable that they were working a t other centres with insular connections i n th e area . Willibror d himself , a s well as his colleagues , formed link s with variou s members o f th e Frankish nobility, an d Echternach may , therefore, hav e provide d on e essentia l bas e fro m whic h text s an d personne l fro m England may hav e move d westward s int o Neustri a an d eastward s int o Austrasia , Hesse and Thuringia.

185 AA S S III, p. 348. Some Anglo-Saxo n embroiderie s hav e also been associate d wit h Maeseyc k b y Mildred BUDN Y an d Domini c TWEDDLE , Th e Maasei k embroideries , in : Anglo-Saxo n England 13 (1984) p. 65-96, and Mildred BUDNY , The Anglo-Saxon embroideries at Maaseik: their historical and art-historical context , in : Mededelingen van de Kononklijke Académi e voor Wetenschappen, Lette -ren en Schone Künste n von België4 5 (1984) p. 57-133.

186 Alcuin, Vita Willibrordi (se e n. 174) p. 113-4. 187 BISCHOFF, Panoram a (see n. 7) n. 7. There appears to be some confusion concernin g the shelf marks

for BN lat. 9529 and 9530. Bischoff note s >no t 9525!< for 9530 and >no t 9530!< for 9S29 3. For nos . 21-26 I follow him .


The extant manuscript évidence surveyed in the course of this paper thus constitu-tes the key witness to the présence of a great many Englishmen and Englishwomen in Neustria between 650 and 850188. While it has been all too apparent that the nature of the survivin g évidence militâte s against knowledg e o f al l th e Neustria n centres fo r which an English or Irish connection may be posited, it does reveal the maintenance of a wide network of communication and the préservation of religiou s and intellec-tual links from the seventh Century well into the Carolingian period and beyond. The very lac k o f précision concerning man y o f th e manuscript s discusse d i s i n itsel f a crucial indicatio n of th e exten t o f uncharte d insula r activity . Further , th e greate r difficulty i n chartin g insula r participation in Neustri a i n th e nint h Centur y ma y largely b e due to th e homogenizin g effec t o f Carolin e minuscule. Only i n th e décoration of th e late r Carolingia n period , as the émergence of th e Franco-Saxon school o f boo k paintin g indicates , i s insular >influence< reall y apparent189.

But it i s no t jus t i n th e religiou s an d intellectua l sphère that th e manuscrip t évidence is o f significance ; i t als o provides some backgroun d for the politica l an d diplomatie relations between England and the Frankish kingdoms of which we have, very occasionally , record in th e writte n sources. Quite apar t fro m th e famous , i f somewhat acrimoniou s correspondenc e betwee n Off a an d Charlemagne , an d th e haven many political refugees from Northumbria, Kent, Mercia and Wessex found at the Frankis h court190, there i s th e significan t participation of th e Franks , i n th e person of th e Francophile and émigré bishop George of Amiens, formerly o f Ostia , and Abbot Wigbald, sent to England in 786 on behalf of the Pope. The report of the legates, moreover , i s date d accordin g t o th e régnai year o f Charlemagne , an d subscribed t o b y man y Englis h bishops an d noblemen 191.

Yet if we return to the question of >insular culture< and its diffusion, the overriding impression from the material and the texts considered is of two very similar societies in touch with each other. The English and Irish can be recognized by their peculiar writing and the wonderful intricaey and beauty of the Ornament in their books. They added, as we hav e seen , som e olde r Christian , an d perhap s on e o r tw o classical , works t o th e common pool, a s well as contributing grammar s and biblical exegesis , quite apar t from a magnificent pièce of Christia n historiography, o f thei r own. But certainly as far as the Englis h are concerned, w e are not dealin g wit h a strikingly distinctive religiou s culture. The Channe l doe s no t represen t a great divide . Th e Franks an d the English ha d much in common. As with the Echternach material , s o with th e Neustria n manuscript s w e hav e évidence of me n an d women o f différent

188 I t is extraordinary how many of thes e insular connections can be made with either convents of nuns or with doubl e monasterie s an d how man y Englishwome n are involved. The subjee t merit s furthe r investigation.

189 Se e th e pioneering but much neglected wor k o f MICHEL I (se e n.26) . Th e publication of Florentine MÜTHERICH'S volume on the Franco-Saxon school, in the Karolingische Miniaturen séries, is eagerly awaited.

190 Muc h o f thi s wa s discusse d i n J.M. WALLACE-HADRILL, Charlemagn e an d England , in : Earl y Médiéval History, Oxfor d 1975 , p . 155-80, firs t publishe d i n H.BEUMAN N ed. , Kar l de r Große , Lebenswerk un d Nachleben , I.Persönlichkei t un d Geschichte , Düsseldor f 1965 , p.683-98, an d se e also, and above all , Wilhelm LEVISO N (se e n.4 ) esp . p.94-131.

191 Arthu r West HADDA N an d William STUBBS , Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents relating to Great Britain an d Ireland, Oxford 1871 , III, p. 447-62.


>nationalities< working side by side for a common cause, preserving what they could of th e Roma n past , propagatin g th e Christia n faith , an d transformin g Germani e society. Althoug h i t may b e possibl e t o demonstrat e a greater >diffusion o f insular culture< i n th e Bonifacia n missionar y area s i n German y (thoug h eve n ther e th e missionaries impor t th e Christia n text s use d b y Fran k an d Anglo-Saxo n alike ) i n Neustria such a phrase cannot be justified. The contribution of the English may have been in the sphère that it is most difficult for historians to document. Corning from a newly establishe d church , i t ma y hav e bee n zea l an d energ y an d enthusiasm , a n avidity fo r ne w knowledge , an d a fervent désir e t o b e linke d wit h th e res t o f th e Christian church, which made them so effective in the newly evangelised areas east of the Rhine . Perhap s thi s to o was what ensure d the m a welcome in th e man y well -established centre s i n Neustria wit h which the y ha d contact .

Despite th e somewha t negative conclusions concernin g th e exten t t o whic h >insular culture < eithe r ca n b e identified , o r was diffused, th e implication s o f th e manuscript évidenc e ar e of grea t importance. The y witnes s t o a far more extensive network o f communication , exchang e an d friendship , and , abov e ail , a unit y o f purpose, fro m eithe r side of th e Channel and the North Sea than has hitherto been imagined, and add a new dimension to our knowledge of the history of Neustria and England192.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Es wird untersucht, inwiewei t engere Beziehungen übe r den Kana l hinweg zwischen den englischen und neustrischen Franke n bestanden , di e vom 6. und 7 . Jahrhundert bis in die Karolingerzeit andauerte n und ob Spure n englische r Anwesenhei t i n Neustrie n selbs t i m ganze n 8 . Jahrhundert gefunde n werde n können. Es wird bestimmt, welche Beweise hierfür mit den Handschriften von England auf den Kontinent hinüber getragen wurden, zum Beispiel Handschriften fränkische n Ursprungs, die nach einem der auf der Insel übliche n Schreibsystem e abgefaß t wurde n ode r ander e Anzeichen fü r Inseleinflu ß aufweisen . Di e Kriterien fü r di e Erkennun g solche r Züg e ode r Charakteristik a werde n nac h de r Paläographi e un d Kodikologie diese r Handschriften festgelegt . Di e Handschriften werde n verschiedenen Kategorie n zuge-ordnet: solche, von dene n es nachweislich Inselexemplar e gegebe n hat; Texte, deren Instandhaltung und Überlieferung insulare n Bemühunge n un d Interesse n z u verdanke n ist ; Texte vo n Inselautoren , Hand -schriften i n insulare r Minuske l abe r kontinentale n Ursprungs , ode r mi t Angaben , da ß si e au f de m Kontinent von einem Schreiber aus England abgefaßt wurden, oder Texte in einer fränkischen Schrift , die Elemente insularer Minuskel aufweist; auf dem Kontinent geschriebene Handschriften mi t Abkürzungen, Orthographie, Auslassungszeichen , verschnörkelt e Initiale n wi e i n England üblich ode r mit Anmerkun -gen un d Korrekture n i n insularer Schrift .

Einige dieser Codize s neustrische n Ursprungs , die den Einfluß von Inselkultur aufweisen , lasse n sich zu einer Gruppe zusammenfassen ode r gar einem bestimmten scriptorium zuordnen. Hier wird vor allem auf di e zahlreiche n Büche r eingegangen , di e Zimmerman n aufgrun d ihre r Ausschmückun g al s de r »Nordost-fränkischen Gruppe « zugehöri g identifizier t hat , sowi e au f solch e Handschriften , di e i n de r sogenannten N-unzia l un d b-minuske l Schrif t abgefaß t wurden . Si e werde n i m Zusammenhan g mi t

192 I should like to thank Dr Alain Dierkens for his encouragement, and Professor Bernhard Bischoff for the help he gave me at the outset of this paper. Professor Michael Wallace-Hadrill died on November 3rd, 1985 ; in gratitude and affection I dedicate thi s paper to hi s memory .


möglichen Inseleinflüssen un d -kontakten neu untersucht. Di e Autorin vertrit t die Meinung, daß es sich hierbei um die Arbeiten einer ganzen Reihe von scriptoria handelt, die im Pariser Becken und im Marnetal angesiedelt waren, darunter das berühmte Chelles , und widmet sich insbesondere der Identifizierung vo n Büchern au s de r Werkstat t i n Jouarr e au s de r erste n Hälft e de s 8 . Jahrhunderts. Di e Beziehunge n zwischen Corbi e un d den scriptoria in seine r Umgebung zu m Inselmilie u werden untersucht , besonder s die offensichtliche Verbindun g mit Bonifatius i n Mainz, aber auch Kontakte nördlich der Seine, wie zu m Beispiel mi t Saint-Berti n un d Laon . Obwoh l e s außerhalb des geographisc h un d politisch al s Neustrie n definierten Gebiete s liegt , biete t Echternac h schließlic h Gelegenheit , di e Fallstudi e eine s scriptoriums durchzuführen, das höchst repräsentativ ist für diesen historischen Zusammenhang, di e Inselbeziehungen und die paläographischen Assoziationen, die dadurch geweckt werden. Dem Verständnis der Handschrif-ten des Willibrord und aus dem Kreis um ihn wird man am besten gerecht, wenn man sie in den Kontex t der englischen Kontakt e mit Neustrien stell t und sie vor dem Hintergrund der anderen hier behandelte n Handschriften sieht .

Die bemerkenswerte Zahl der in Handschriften überlieferten Zeugnisse sind ein Schlüsselfaktor für den Nachweis, daß ein ausgedehntes Kommunikationsnet z bestande n hat und die religiösen und intellektuel -len Beziehunge n zwische n Englan d un d Neustrie n vo m 7 . Jahrhundert bi s wei t i n di e Karolingerzei t reichten. Si e liefer n zude m Hintergrundinformatione n übe r di e politischen , diplomatische n un d wirt -schaftlichen Verbindungen zwischen England und den fränkischen Königreichen , von denen wir gelegent-lich aus schriftlichen un d archäologischen Quellen erfahren. Im Zusammenhang mi t den hier behandelten Zeugnissen wird der Begriff der »Inselkultur« untersuch t und seine klare Abgrenzung in Frage gestellt; es wird betont, daß Franken und Inselbewohner viel miteinander gemeinsam hatten. Die Handschriften sind , kurz gesagt, Zeugen von sehr viel intensiveren Kommunikations- , Handels- und Freundschaftsbeziehun -gen und einer sehr viel größeren Interessengemeinschaft diesseit s und jenseits des Kanals und der Nordsee als man bislang gemeinhin annahm.