PARALLEL LIVES Alcuin of York and Thiofrid of Echternach on Willibrord, Sanctity and Relics PARALLELLE LEVENS Alkwin van York en Thiofried van Echternach over Willibrord, heiligheid en relieken (met een samenvatting in het Nederlands) Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof.dr. H.R.B.M. Kummeling, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op 19 september 2018 des namiddags te 12.45 uur door Jelle Willem Visser geboren op 16 januari 1988 te Smallingerland Promotor: Prof.dr. M.B. de Jong Copromotor: Dr. J.E. Raaijmakers Voor Gabi Contents Contents ......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... 11 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 13 Points of departure .......................................................................................................................... 13 Research questions and method .................................................................................................... 18 Chapter structure ............................................................................................................................. 25 PART I. ALCUIN ...................................................................................................................................... 29 1. Alcuin’s Vita Willibrordi ......................................................................................................................... 31 1.1. Willibrord’s Cult before Alcuin .............................................................................................. 31 1.2. Context of Production of Alcuin’s Vita Willibrordi ............................................................. 44 1.3. An opus geminum and moral education .................................................................................... 47 1.4. The structure and contents of Alcuin’s Vita Willibrordi ...................................................... 51 1.5. Alcuin’s sources ........................................................................................................................ 58 1.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 63 2. Alcuin on sanctity ................................................................................................................................... 65 2.1. Predestination ........................................................................................................................... 65 2.2. Saintly habits and the saintly life ............................................................................................ 72 2.3. Sanctitas, preaching, and monastic values .............................................................................. 77 2.4. Sanctitas in Alcuin’s letters ....................................................................................................... 83 2.5. Inclusive sanctity and monastic virtues in De virtutibus et vitiis ........................................... 89 2.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 92 3. Alcuin on relics ....................................................................................................................................... 95 3.1. Relic vocabulary (i). Functional descriptors ......................................................................... 95 3.2. Relic vocabulary (ii). Corpus and material descriptors ....................................................... 100 3.3. Relics and miracles ................................................................................................................. 106 3.4. Relics and prayer..................................................................................................................... 113 3.5. Criticism of the abuses of relics ........................................................................................... 120 3.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 126 PART II. THIOFRID ............................................................................................................................. 129 4. Thiofrid’s Vita Willibrordi .................................................................................................................... 131 4.1. Willibrord and Echternach after Alcuin ............................................................................. 131 4.2. Alcuin and Willibrord in Echternach manuscripts (800-1200) ........................................ 145 4.3. Thiofrid and his Vita Willibrordi ........................................................................................... 151 4.4. Thiofrid and Alcuin’s Vita Willibrordi .................................................................................. 153 4.5. Thiofrid’s intended audience ................................................................................................ 159 4.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 161 5. Thiofrid on sanctity ............................................................................................................................. 163 5.1. Sanctity in Thiofrid’s works on Willibrord ......................................................................... 164 5.2. Sanctity in the Vita Liutwini .................................................................................................. 176 5.3. Sanctity in the Flores Epytaphii Sanctorum ............................................................................. 180 5.4. Macrocosmos, mycrocosmus and predestination ................................................................... 183 5.5. The monastery and the outside world in Thiofrid’s hagiography ................................... 191 5.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 197 6. Thiofrid on Relics ................................................................................................................................ 199 6.1. The Flores Epythaphii sanctorum............................................................................................... 200 6.2. The body of the saint (Flores 1) ............................................................................................ 203 6.3. Beyond the body (Flores 2-4) ................................................................................................. 209 6.4. Relics and the body of Christ ............................................................................................... 216 6.5. Relics in practice ..................................................................................................................... 221 6.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 226 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 229 Appendix. Translated sections of Alcuin’s works ............................................................................... 237 Alcuin, Vita Vedasti 3 .................................................................................................................... 238 1.2. Alcuin, Epistola 290 ................................................................................................................ 242 1.3. Alcuin, Epistola 291 ................................................................................................................ 244 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 247 1. Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. 248 2. Sources ........................................................................................................................................ 249 3. Secondary literature ................................................................................................................... 255 Summary .................................................................................................................................................... 305 Samenvatting ............................................................................................................................................. 309 Curriculum vitae ....................................................................................................................................... 313 Acknowledgements One of the pleasures of finishing writing a dissertation is being able to thank all those who contributed to the process of writing it. Firstly and