Historical Setting: 793 C.E. Lindisfarne
As the messenger, I told Alcuin only that the Norse raiders had a ready market for fine fabrics.
The scholar wrote, “Do not glory in the vanity of dress; that is cause for shame, not boasting, in priests and servants of God.”[footnote]
The richly dressed patrons seated in the front take no offense in this because they don’t consider themselves priests and servants of God. But Alcuin’s words set the monks atwitter with gossip over the ostentatious outfits of a few who chose not to return after the raid. Apparently, this had been an issue.
With the wine cellar raided, and barrels of ale taking my place on the longship returning to the fjords, drunkenness is not an immediate problem on this particular day, but the scholar chastises:
“Do not blur the words of your prayers by drunkenness. Do not go out after the indulgences of the flesh and the greed of the world, but stand firm in the service of God and the discipline of the monastic life, that the holy fathers whose sons you are may not cease to protect you. May you remain safe through their prayers, as you walk in their footsteps. Do not be degenerate sons, having such fathers. They will not cease protecting you, if they see you following their example.” [Ibid.]
I know Alcuin was working through the issue of human sin and God’s love, thoughtfully and prayerfully taking so many hours for the essence of this message. Alcuin binds love with sin, not as in the Pagan, superstitious way, but more as a touch point for God to humankind to open the channel for relationship.
“Do not be dismayed by this disaster. God chastises every son whom he accepts, so perhaps he has chastised you more because he loves you more. Jerusalem, a city loved by God was destroyed, with the Temple of God, in Babylonian flames. Rome, surrounded by its company of holy apostles and countless martyrs, was devastated by the heathen, but quickly recovered through the goodness of God. Almost the whole of Europe has been denuded with fire and sword by Goths and Huns, but now by God’s mercy is as bright with churches as the sky with stars and in them the offices of the Christian religion grow and flourish.” [Ibid.]
footnote: Alcuin of York, Letter to Higbald, trans. by S. Allott, Alcuin of York (York, 1974). Reprinted in Paul Edward Dutton, Carolingian Civilization: A Reader (Ontario, 1993). Scanned and proofread by Eric C. Knibbs, 2006.
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© 2006 Anders Winroth
(Continues tomorrow)
Lazarus Ink 