Smaragdus of Saint-Mihiel
Emerald of Saint- Mihiel (* 2nd half of the 8th century, † October 29th at 830), a monk, headmaster and finally abbot, had the time of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious as exegete, grammarian and exhortation ( ethical- ermahnender ) writer. He is best known to posterity as the author of the first Carolingian ruler mirror Via Regia ( Royal Road ) to 810
Life
Emerald is born in the second half of the 8th century, and probably comes from Spain or the oriented area of Spain, perhaps as a descendant of a noble family from Visigothic Septimania. Even as head of a convent school he had contact with the Aachen Charlemagne's court. In Karl's last years of reign he was appointed abbot of the monastery of Saint- Mihiel near Verdun (around 805, attested sure from 812 ). 809/10 asks Charlemagne Emerald plus Theodulf of Orléans for an opinion in the theologically and politically important issue of the Filioque ( Trinity doctrine, which was one of the reasons for the separation between the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholic Christianity ). Emerald supported the Aquitanian aspirations of monastic reformer to Benedict of Aniane, wanted to organize which 816, with the help of Louis the Pious, all monasteries in the Frankish Empire of the strict rectidudinis norma ( norm of correctness ). Emerald wrote about 817 a comment to this set of rules. The close ties to Louis the Pious gave him 816, 824 and 826 five documents for the house of Saint -Mihiel. The great ecclesiastical reform synod of 816 in Aachen was well prepared with him, is secured his participation. In terms of the Aquitanian reforms Emerald moved to 820 's own monastery of Saint-Mihiel from Castellion mountain resort in the valley to the place Godinécourt.
His most famous work via regia ( Royal ) he wrote 811-814 for Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, at that time still under the King of Aquitaine. This document is the first fully executed mirror of princes in the west. It is simple in structure (20 virtues, vices 12 ) and was later used as a general virtue book due to their clarity. This was possible because the virtues of the rulers are all removed from the rules applicable to all Christians morality fundus, therefore the Bible is the main source. The Christians duties of the king arising from the Emerald for baptism. Therefore, specific ruler virtues are inseparable even in details of the duties of a Christian monk and are mentioned by Emerald also only marginally. Whole passages of the via regia can be found consequently in the little work published later Diadema monachorum (Monk crown, a kind of monk levels ) again. As models for the king especially David, besides also Solomon and Job are called from the Old Testament in Via regia. That despite all the harmony ideas between church and kingdom, the king through the freeing of slaves ( servi ), primarily of prisoners of war, to prove himself as a redeemed Christian, shows that for the circumstances of the time critical potential of parts of the Christian tradition.
In his writings on language and form of training of Latin, Emerald used in addition to the pagan authors of antiquity and early Christian works. Priscian following he formed continued the Latin language on the principle of analogy.