Joseph orJosephus Scottus[1] (died between 791 and 804), calledthe Deacon, was anIrish scholar, diplomat, poet, and ecclesiastic, a figure in theCarolingian Renaissance. He has been cited as an early example of "the scholar in public life".[2]
His early life is obscure, but he studied first underColcu, probably atClonmacnoise, and then underAlcuin atYork, probably in the 770s. At York he met and befriendedLiudger, aFrisian and futureBishop of Münster, whom he mentions in a poem requesting a "polished staff". Joseph eventually wound up at the court of theFrankish kingCharlemagne, probably after accompanying Alcuin to the continent in the 780s.
Joseph was at the Frankish court during a period (790s) of risinganti-Irish sentiment (often expressed in verse), but he seems nonetheless to have established a bond of trust with both Alcuin and Charlemagne. In 787 or 788 Charlemagne sent Joseph and several others on a diplomatic mission toRome to deal with thePapacy and toSpoleto andBenevento, the capitals of twoLombard duchies opposed to Frankish overlordship. While in southern Italy Joseph and his companions were separated by agents of the Lombard dukes and almost killed.
In 790 Joseph took over Alcuin's position at court while theNorthumbrian master was on unexpectedly extended business in his homeland. Thereafter his career is obscure. He eventually rose to become anabbot, but when and where are unknown. It has been suggested, on the basis of his experience in south Italian politics, that he was briefly abbot ofMontecassino, but the evidence for this is slim.
Joseph participated in a revival ofacrostic poetry fostered by Alcuin at Charlemagne's court. Four such poems of his are preserved in a collection of religious acrostics, including some by Alcuin and others byTheodulf of Orléans, in a manuscript (MS 212) now in the Burgerbibliothek inBern. Addressed to Charlemagne, the acrosticcarmina figurata—on the similarity ofEve and theVirgin Mary,princely virtues, theCross, and thenames of Christ—imitate the late antique panegyricsPublilius Optatianus Porfyrius addressed toConstantine the Great. The poems, though never popular as literature, still demonstrate "technical virtuosity".
The only other work which certainly belongs to Joseph is an abridgement of a commentary onIsaiah byJerome (Abbreuiatio orEpitome commentarii (Sancti) Hieronymi in Isaiam), which was apparently ordered by Alcuin. Two other works have been attributed to him, including a lost suite of riddles mentioned in aPassau manuscript before 903. These are more probably the work ofJoseph, Bishop of Freising. He may also have written avoces animantium ("voices of animals") listing the sounds of animals in alphabetical order with glosses, now in theBiblioteca Nacional de España (MS 19, folio 189v). This genre was common, but the alphabetisation is unusual. If it is indeed to be ascribed to Joseph, it was probably lifted from his personal notebook.
