Paulinus of Aquileia

Paulinus of Aquileia (c.730–802), archbishop. Born in the Fruili area north east of Venice, Paulinus worked on the family farm in early years but later studied successfully for the priesthood under unknown masters. At the age of about fifty he came to the notice of Charlemagne who, after his conquest of Friuli, invited him in 776 as a grammarian to the court school at Aachen, where he won the respect of Alcuin, its director. Charlemagne appointed him Patriarch of Aquilea in 787, a title which gave him jurisdiction in Austrian Lombardy (Padua, Verona, etc.) and added weight in dealing with the Byzantine Church and with the refutation of Adoptianism, an error which had arisen among Christians living in Moorish Spain. Both sides appealed to the Emperor, who deputed Paulinus to deal with the matter at the synods of Frankfurt (794) and Regensburg (796). He was also active in the adoption of the ‘Filioque’ clause in the Creed, again under pressure from Charlemagne.

Although he sometimes seemed too compliant to Charlemagne, calling him (as some others did) Rex et sacerdos, he objected strongly to the policy of compulsory conversion in Saxony and of baptism before proper instruction. He was also concerned with the pastoral effectiveness of the clergy. Under Paulinus Cividale (where he convoked a council) and Aquileia reached a zenith of importance in Church matters.

Paulinus was also a poet of considerable skill. Feast: 11 January, the day of his death at Cividale, where he was buried in the cathedral. Alcuin, his friend and admirer, composed his epitaph.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

• Works in P.L. 99; letters in M.G.H. Epistolae (ed. Dummler) 4, 516–27; Dict. Sp. 12 (584–8); B.L.S. i, 74–5; Bibl. SS. 10, 144–8