Alcuin et la gestion matérielle de Saint-Martin de Tours

Résumé Fr En

Avec Saint-Martin de Tours, Alcuin reçoit de Charlemagne non seulement une abbaye très riche, mais aussi très importante à cause de saint Martin, un des plus fameux saints du monde carolingien. Mais Alcuin reçoit également au moins cinq autres abbayes comme Ferrières, Flavigny, Saint-Loup de Troyes, Saint-Josse-sur-Mer, ainsi que Berge située près de Liège. Il a visité ces monastères régulièrement et en a probablement contrôlé la gestion. Malheureusement, à ce sujet, nous n’avons pas de sources de l’époque d’Alcuin, mais des sources plus tardives. Nous savons en outre que ses amis à la cour de Charlemagne, comme Angilbert de Saint-Riquier ou Adalhard et Wala de Corbie par exemple, et ses élèves comme Arn de Salzbourg, Leidrade de Lyon ou Raban Maur ont instauré dans leurs diocèses ou monastères une administration qui recourait à l’écrit. On propose ici d’admettre que c’était Alcuin qui leur avait enseigné cela et qui avait eu une certain influence sur Charlemagne en ce sens.

With Saint-Martin in Tours Alcuin received form Charlemagne not only a very rich abbey but also a very famous one, because saint Martin had been one of the most popular saints of the Carolingian world since Merovingian times. It is because of this prominent and wealthy monastery that we forget very easily that Alcuin also received from the king not less than five other abbeys, namely Ferrières, Flavigny, Saint-Josse-sur-Mer, Saint-Loup in Troyes and Berge near Liège. Alcuin visited them all from time to time in order to control whether the administration and the religious life were in order. Unfortunately we have very few sources from Alcuins lifetime about his administration of all his monasteries, but we can see from later sources that he did his “home work” in administrating these abbeys. We can also see this by analysing the activities of his scholars in these fields like bishop Arn of Salzburg, bishop Leidrad of Lyon or Hrabanus Maurus for example, or of his friends at the court like Angilbert of Saint-Riquier or Adalhard and Wala of Corbie. Perhaps Alcuin exercised a special influence on Charlemagne in showing him how to establish a well-working administration in every church and every monastery of his regnum in order to support the Carolingian Renaissance, which required material sources.