CENT. dict, abbot of Aniane, in reforming the monasteIX. ries first in Aquitaine, and afterwards throughout PART II. the whole kingdom of France, and in restoring, Canons and canonesses, by new and salutary laws, the monastic discipline, which was absolutely neglected and fallen into decay. This worthy ecclesiastic presided, in the year 817, in the council of Aix-la-Chapelle, where several wise measures were taken for removing the disorders that reigned in the cloisters; and in consequence of the unlimited authority he had received from the emperor, he subjected all the monks, without exception, to the rule of the famous Benedict, abbot of Mount Cassim, annulled that variety of rites and customs that had obtained in the different monasteries, prescribed to them all one uniform method of living, and thus united, as it were, into one general body or society, the various orders which had hitherto been connected by no common bond [f]. This admirable discipline, which acquired to Benedict of Aniane, the highest reputation, and made him be revered as the second father of the western monks, flourished during a certain time; but afterwards declined through various causes, until the conclusion of this century, when, under the calamities that oppressed both the church and the empire, it almost entirely disappeared. 1 XII. The same emperor, who had appeared with such zeal, both in protecting and reforming the monks, gave also distinguished marks of his favour to the order of canons, which Chrodegangus had introduced in several places during the [f] Jo. Mabillon, Acta Sanctor. Ord. Benedict. Sæc. iv. part I. Præf. p. xxvii. and Præf. ad Sæc. v. p. xxv. Ejusdem, Annales Ordin. S. Benedict. tom. ii. p. 430. Calmet. Hist. de Lorraine, tom. i. p. 596. For a particular account of Benedict of Aniane, and his illustrious virtues, see the Acta Sanctor. tom. ii. Febr. 606: and the Histoire Litteraire de la France, tom. iv. p. 447. IX. PART II. the last century. He distributed them through CENT. all the provinces of the empire, and instituted also an order of canonesses, which was the first female convent known in the Christian world [g]. For each of these orders the zealous emperor had a rule drawn up, A. D. 817, in the council of Aixla-Chapelle, which he substituted in the place of that which had been appointed by Chrodegangus, and this new rule was observed in most of the monasteries and convents of the canons and canonesses in the west until the twelfth century, notwithstanding that it was disapproved of by the court of Rome [h]. The author of the rule that was appointed for the canons was, undoubtedly, Amalarius, a presbyter of Metz; but it is not so certain whether that which was drawn up for the canonesses was composed by the same hand [i]. Be that as it may, the canonical order grew into high X 4 [g] See Mabillon, Annal. Ordin. S. Benedicti, tom. ii. p. 428. [h] This rule was condemned in a council held at Rome, A. D. 1059, under the pontiff Nicholas II. The pretexts used by the pontiff and the assembled prelates, to justify their disapprobation of this rule, were, that it permitted the canons to enjoy the possessions they had before their vows, and allowed to each of them too large a portion of bread and wine; but the true reason was, that this order had been instituted by an emperor without either the consent, or knowledge of the Roinan pontiff. For an account of the rule and discipline of these canons, see Fleury's Eccles. Hist. tom..x. p. 163, 164, &c. Brussels edition in 12mo. [i] Lud. Thomassin, Disciplin. Eccles. Vet. et Nova, part I. lib. iii. cap. xlii, xliii. Muratori Antiq. Ital. medii ævi, tom. v. p. 186, 540. No accounts of the Canons are less worthy of credit, than those that are given by writers, who have been themselves members of that order, such as Raymond Chapponel's Histoire des Chanoines, published at Paris in 8vo, in the year 1699; for these writers, from fond prejudices in favour of their institution, and an ambitious desire of enhancing its merit, and rendering it respectable, derive the origin of canonical order from Christ and his apostles, or trace it up, at least, to the first ages of the Christian church. PART II. CENT. high repute; and from this time a great number IX. of convents were erected for them through all the western provinces, and were richly endowed by the liberality of pious and opulent Christians. But this institution degenerated in a short time, like all others, from its primitive purity, and ceased to answer the laudable intention and design of its worthy founders [k]. The principal Greek writers. XIII. Of the theological writers that flourished among the Greeks, the following are the most remarkable: Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, a man of most profound and universal erudition, whose Bibliotheca [1] Epistles, and other writings, are yet valuable on many accounts. Nicephorus, also a patriarch of the above mentioned city, who, among other productions, published a warm defence of the worship of images against the enemies of that idolatrous service [m]. Theodores Studites, who acquired a chiefly by his warm opposition to the Iconoclasts, and by the zeal with which he wrote in favour of image worship [n]. name The same cause has principally contributed to transmit to after-ages the names of Theodorus Graptus, Methodius, who obtained the title of Confessor for his adherence to image-worship in the [k] Calmet, Hist. de Lorraine, tom. i. p. 591. Hist. Lilleraire de la France, tom. iv. p. 536. [] See Camusat, Histoire des Jounaux, tom. i. p. 87. [m] Acta Sanctor, tom. ii. Martii ad d. xiii. p. 293. Ou◄ dinus, Scriptor. Eccles. tom. ii. p. 2. [n] Theodore Studites was one of the most voluminous writers of this century, and would certainly have been known as a man of genius and learning in after-ages, though the controversy concerning images had never existed. There are of his writings, yet extant, 265 letters, several treatises against the Iconoclasts, 124 epigrams in Iambics, and a large manuscript, which contains a course of catechetical instruction concerning the duties of the monastic life. IX. PART II. the very face of persecution, Theodorus Abuca- CENT. ra. [o], Petrus Siculus, Nicetas, David, and others, who would probably have been long since buried in oblivion, had not the various contests between the Greek and Latin churches, and the divisions of the former among themselves upon the question concerning images excited the vehemence of these inconsiderable writers, and furnished them with an occasion of making some noise in the world. Moses Barcepha, a Syrian bishop, surpassed by far all whom we have now been mentioning, and deserved the shining reputation which he has obtained in the republic of letters, as what we have yet extant of his works discover several marks of true genius, and an uncommon acquaintance with the art of writing [p]. XIV. Nabanus Maurus, archbishop of Mentz, Latin is deservedly placed at the head of the Latin wri- writers. ters of this age; the force of his genius, the extent of his knowledge, and the multitude of productions that flowed from his pen, entitle him to this distinguished rank, and render improper all comparison between him and his contemporaries. He may be called the great light of Germany and France, since it was from the prodigious fund of knowledge he possessed; that these nations derived principally their religious instruction. His writings were every where in the hands of the learned [q], and were held in such veneration, that, during four centuries, the most eminent of the Latin divines appealed to them as authority in religious [o] See Bayle's Dictionary, vol. i. at the article Abu gara. ii. [p] Jos. Sim. Assemanni Biblioth. Orient. Vatican. tom. p. 127. [q] See, for a particular account of the life and writings of Rabanus Maurus, the Histoire Litteraire de la France, tom. v. p. 151; as also the Acta Sanctor. tom. i. Febr. p. 500, CENT. religious matters, and adopted almost universally PART II. Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, a man of wis- Hilduin, abbot of St. Dennis, who acquired no Eginhard, abbot of Selingestat, the celebrated Claudius, bishop of Turin, whose Exposition of [r] See Colonia, Hist. Litter. de la ville de Lyon, tom. ii. [s] Hist. Litteraire de la France, tom. iv. p. 607. [t] Hist. Litteraire de la France, tom. iv. p. 550. See also 1711. [u] [This prelate, who was famous for his knowledge of |