Saint Alcuin of York
Saint Alcuin presents his scholarly work to Charlemagne in Aachen, circa 782 — a pivotal moment in the Carolingian Renaissance and the revival of sacred learning in medieval Europe.
Alcuin († 804)—also Ælcuin, Albinus, Albin—was born in Northumbria and educated at York’s cathedral school. Already renowned for learning and holiness, he was summoned to Charlemagne’s court (c. 781) and became magister of the palace school at Aachen.
• Reformed the liturgy and revised the Vulgate
• Promoted Carolingian minuscule, ensuring clearer copies of Scripture and the Fathers
• Authored biblical commentaries, poetry, and hundreds of pastoral letters
• Retired as abbot of Saint-Martin at Tours, continuing to guide the emperor by correspondence
Medieval calendars in Britain, France, and Germany kept 20 May as Sanctus Albinus (Alcuin). Modern canon lawyers would call him Blessed; tradition simply called him Saint—a reminder, as St John Paul II observed (General Audience, 25 Aug 1999), that “holiness is more ancient than any formal canon list.”
Alcuin is now invoked by teachers, students, librarians, and all who love the wisdom of the Word.