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Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans
VIII/IX Centuries
Born c. 750/60 in Spain, Theodulf was of Visigothic descent; he came to
Charlemagne's kingdom in 788 and joined the circle of scholars at the
Carolingian court. The emperor appointed him abbot of Fleury and later
bishop of Orléans.
Theodulf also was abbot of St-Benoît-sur-Loire and a
number of other monasteries. He was interested in education and promoted
the establishment of parochial schools in his diocese. A gifted satirist,
Theodulf wrote poetry of great technical accomplishment. He emended the
text of the Vulgate by using the Hebrew texts as well as those of the
Septuagint.
Theodulf defended the filioque in De spiritu sancto (On the
Holy Spirit)
and wrote a treatise on baptism. He may have written about
the creed and the mass as well. His
"Gloria, laus, et honor" became the
Palm Sunday processional in the Western church. Theodulf was also
interested in ecclesiastical art and architecture. Stephen IV/V gave him
the pallium in 816, but Theodulf's episcopal career ended two years later,
when Louis the Pious, having charged him with conspiracy, deposed him.
Theodulf was exiled to a monastery at Angers, where he died in 821.
Karen Rae Keck
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