Editing Ratramnus

{{Reformation|expanded=Precursors}}
'''Ratramnus''' (died {{c.|868|lk=no}})<ref>[https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?method=simpleSearch&cqlMode=true&query=nid%3D118787926 Ratramnus, Corbiensis] Deutsche Nationalbibliothek</ref> was a [[Franks|Frankish]] monk of the [[Corbie Abbey|monastery of Corbie]], near [[Amiens]] in northern France, and a [[Carolingian]] theologian known best for his writings on the [[Eucharist]] and [[predestination]]. His [[Eucharistic]] treatise ''De corpore et sanguine Domini'' (''On the Body and Blood of the Lord'') was a counterpoint to his abbot [[Paschasius Radbertus]]’s realist Eucharistic theology. Ratramnus was also known for his defense of the monk [[Gottschalk of Orbais|Gottschalk]], whose theology of [[double predestination]] was the center of much controversy in 9th-century [[France]] and [[Germany]]. In his own time, Ratramnus was perhaps best known for his ''Against the Objections of the Greeks who Slandered the Roman Church'', a response to the [[Photian schism]] and defense of the [[filioque]] addition to the [[Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed]].<ref>G.E. McCracken, ed. ''Early Medieval Theology'', Library of Christian Classics 9 (Louisville: KY, 1957), pp. 109-47, here 109.</ref> The writings of Ratramnus influenced the [[Reformation|Protestant reformation]] of the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ratramnus {{!}} Benedictine theologian {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ratramnus|access-date=2021-11-21|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref>

==Biography==
Little is known of Ratramnus’ life, but some have suggested that he became the teaching master at the [[Benedictine]] [[Corbie Abbey|monastery of Corbie]] in 844, when [[Paschasius Radbertus]] was made [[abbot]].<ref>James Ginther, ''Westminster Handbook to Medieval Theology'', (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 155-6.</ref> Additionally, he appears to have had a reasonably close relationship with King [[Charles the Bald]].<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 109.</ref>

==The Eucharist==
Sometime around 831-833, Paschasius Radbertus, in his role as a teacher in the monastery at Corbie, wrote ''De corpore et sanguine Domini'' (''Concerning the Body and Blood of the Lord''), articulating the view that in the moment of consecration, the bread and wine on the altar became identical with the [[Body of Christ|body]] and [[Blood of Christ|blood]] of [[Jesus Christ]].<ref>Willemien Otten, "Between Augustinian sign and Carolingian reality: the presence of Ambrose and Augustine in the Eucharistic debate between Paschasius Radbertus and Ratramnus of Corbie," ''Nederlands archief voor kerkgeschiedenis'' 80, no. 2 (2000): 137-156, here 140.</ref> Paschasius was clear that the body and blood on the altar are precisely the same natural body and blood as Christ’s incarnate body on earth. In his description of the Eucharist, Paschasius drew a distinction between ''figura'' (figure) and ''veritas'' (truth), which he understood to mean “outward appearance” and “what faith teaches”, respectively.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 92.</ref> No controversy seems to have arisen as a result of Paschasius’s treatise, which he first composed likely as a teaching aid and dedicated to one of his former students. Later, probably in 844, Paschasius also composed a revision of his book on the Eucharist, dedicated to Charles the Bald.<ref>Patricia McCormick Zirkel, "The Ninth-Century Eucharistic Controversy: A Context for the Beginnings of Eucharistic Doctrine in the West," ''Worship'' 68, no. 1 (1994): 2-23, here 5.</ref>

When [[Charles the Bald]] visited Corbie in 843, he apparently met Ratramnus and requested an explanation of the Eucharist. It was to the emperor, then, that Ratramnus addressed his work, also entitled ''De corpore et sanguine Domini''. In this book, Ratramnus advocated a spiritual view in which the bread and the wine of the Eucharist represent Christ’s body and blood figuratively and serve as a remembrance of him, but are not truly (perceptible by the senses) Christ’s body and blood.<ref>Otten, "Between Augustinian sign and Carolingian reality," 140.</ref> Ratramnus used the same two terms (''figura'' and ''veritas'') to describe the Eucharist as Paschasius, but used them differently. For him, ''veritas'' meant “perceptible to the senses”, so the Eucharist could not ''truly'' be Christ’s body and blood, as it – according to the senses – did not change in appearance, but remained bread and wine, nor was it literally Christ’s historical incarnate body.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 111.</ref>

No condemnations were issued as a result of the debate, and neither of the two monks quoted or referred to the other in his work.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 110-11.</ref> On account of this, Willemien Otten has challenged the traditional interpretation of Paschasius's and Ratramnus’s different positions as a “controversy”.<ref>Otten, "Between Augustinian sign and Carolingian reality," 143.</ref>

==Predestination==
In the 840s and 50s, Ratramnus became involved in the controversy over the teachings of [[Gottschalk of Orbais]] (ca. 803-68). Ratramnus probably first encountered Gottschalk during the wandering teacher’s stay at the monastery of Corbie around 830, and later supported him in his conflict with archbishop [[Hincmar of Rheims]].<ref>Ginther, ''Westminster Handbook to Medieval Theology'', 75.</ref> Gottschalk taught a form of [[double predestination]], teaching that God predestined the fates of both the elect and the damned.

In 851, [[John Scotus Eriugena]] was commissioned to oppose Gottschalk’s teaching, but his work, ''Treatise on Divine Predestination'', essentially denied any form of [[predestination]] whatsoever, a denial which raised the ire of Ratramnus and [[Florus of Lyon]].<ref>Ginther, Westminster Handbook to Medieval Theology, 153.</ref> In response, Ratramnus composed the two-book work ''On the Predestination of God'' (''De Praedestinatione Dei''),<ref>J.P. Migne, ed. ''Patrologia Latina'' 121:11-80</ref> in which he defended double predestination, while objecting to the relation of predestination to sin.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 109.</ref>

==Filioque==
Late in Ratramnus’ life, he responded to the [[Photian schism]] of 863-7 between [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]] and [[Western Christianity]] over the appointment of [[Photius]] as [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]]. This wide-ranging controversy spanned various East-West disagreements, such as the appointment of the patriarch, ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Bulgaria, and the Western addition of ''[[filioque]]'' to the [[Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed]]. Ratramnus’ defense of Western theology and practice in his ''Against the Objections of the Greeks who Slandered the Roman Church'',<ref>PL 121:223-346.</ref> is largely occupied with proving the ''filioque'', although the final section of the work deals with other disagreements, such as the monastic [[tonsure]] and [[priestly celibacy]].<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 109-10.</ref>

==Other works==
In another show of support for Gottschalk, Ratramnus composed a short collection of [[patristic]] texts in favor of Gottschalk’s [[Trinity|Trinitarian]] formulation of ''trina deitas''<ref>Giulio D’Onofrio, ed., ''History of Theology II: The Middle Ages'' (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2008), 80.</ref> against [[Hincmar of Rheims]]’ proposed ''summa deitas''.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 110.</ref>

Ratramnus also wrote a ''Letter on the Dog-headed Creatures''.<ref>Ratramnus, ''Epist. de cynocephalis ad Rimbertum presbyterum scripta'', PL 121:1153-6; Dutton, "Ratramnus and the Dog-headed Humans"</ref> This was in response to a question from [[Rimbert]], then working as a [[missionary]] in Scandinavia, who asked whether the [[Cynocephaly|cynocephali]] believed to live nearby were human, because if they were Rimbert would be expected to attempt to convert them. Ratramnus argued that because Rimbert’s sources described the cynocephali as living in villages and engaging in agriculture and crafts, they must be rational and therefore human.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 110; Steel, ''How to Make a Human'', 145-50</ref>

Ratramnus wrote another treatise, ''The Birth of Christ'',<ref>PL 121:81-102</ref> possibly as a response to Paschasius’ ''De Partu Virginis''.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 109.</ref> In this work, Ratramnus defended the idea that [[Birth of Christ|Christ’s birth]] from the [[Virgin Mary]] occurred in the natural human way, so as to not detract from Christ’s real human nature.<ref>D’Onofrio, ''History of Theology II: The Middle Ages'', 80.</ref>

Ratramnus wrote two treatises on the soul, upholding traditional [[Augustine|Augustinian]] psychology.<ref>Ginther, ''Westminster Handbook'', 156.</ref> The first, ''On the Soul'', was written against someone named Macarius Scotus,<ref>[[A. Wilmart]], “L’opuscule inedité de Ratramne sur la nature de l’âme” ''Revue Bénédictine'' 43 (1931): 207-223.</ref> and the second, ''The Book on the Soul'', addressed to bishop [[Odo I of Beauvais]], challenged an idea raised by an anonymous monk of [[Saint-Germer-de-Fly Abbey|Fly Abbey]] – that all human beings participate in a universal soul. In ''The Book on the Soul'', Ratramnus argued that a soul cannot be universal, only individual.<ref>D’Onofrio, ''History of Theology II: The Middle Ages'', 81.</ref>

On a whole, Ratramnus’ works have been described by medieval scholar [[Giulio D'Onofrio]] as marked by a careful methodological clarity and consistency possibly modeled on [[Boethius]]’ ''Answer to Eutyches''.<ref>D’Onofrio, ''History of Theology II: The Middle Ages'', 79.</ref>

==Later reception==
At some point, Ratramnus’ Eucharistic work ''De corpore et sanguine Domini'' came to be identified as the work of [[John Scotus Eriugena]]. In the 11th century, [[Berengar of Tours]] seized upon “Scotus’” book as a source for his view of the Eucharist in his debate with [[Lanfranc of Bec]], and was summarily condemned by the local Council of [[Vercelli]] in 1050. Around 1100, further confusion arose when Ratramnus’ name was mistakenly copied in some works as Bertramus, a mistake which endured even into the 19th century.<ref>McCracken, ''Early Medieval Theology'', 112-13.</ref>

In the 16th century, Ratramnus’ work once more became the center of controversy. After ''De corpore et sanguine Domini'' was [[editio princeps|printed in 1531]], [[Protestant]] reformers seized upon the book as a counterpoint to the Catholic doctrine of [[transubstantiation]]. It was especially influential in England, where [[Thomas Cranmer]] claimed to have been finally convinced against transubstantiation by Ratramnus.

== See also ==
* [[Augustinian soteriology]]

==References==
'''Citations'''
{{Reflist|30em}}

'''Sources'''
{{refbegin}}
*Chazelle, C. “Exegesis in the Ninth-Century Eucharistic Controversy.” In ''The Study of the Bible in the Carolingian Era''. Ed. C. Chazelle and B. van Name Edwards. pp.&nbsp;167–87. Turnhout: Brepols, 2003.
*Chazelle, C. “The Eucharist in Early Medieval Europe,” in ''A Companion to the Eucharist in the Middle Ages,'' ed. Ian Levy, Gary Macy, and Kristen Van Ausdall. Leiden: Brill, 2011, pp. 205–49.
*Dutton, Paul Edward, ed. and trans. "Ratramnus and the Dog-Headed Humans." In ''Carolingian Civilization: A Reader''. 2nd Ed. Readings in Medieval Civilization and Cultures 1. pp.&nbsp;452–55. Ontario: Broadview Press, 2004.
*Fahey, John J. “The Eucharistic Teaching of Ratramnus of Corbie.” Unpublished PhD diss. (St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, 1951).
*Ginther, James. ''Westminster Handbook to Medieval Theology'', Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.
*McCracken, G.E., ed. ''Early Medieval Theology'', Library of Christian Classics, vol. 9. Louisville: KY, 1957.
*Otten, Willemien. "Between Augustinian sign and Carolingian reality: the presence of Ambrose and Augustine in the Eucharistic debate between Paschasius Radbertus and Ratramnus of Corbie." ''Nederlands archief voor kerkgeschiedenis'' 80, no. 2 (2000): 137-156.
*Phelan, Owen M. "Horizontal and Vertical Theologies: "Sacraments" in the Works of Paschasius Radbertus and Ratramnus of Corbie" Harvard Theological Review 103:3 (2010) 271-289.
*Ratramnus, ''De corpore et sanguine Domini: texte original et notice bibliographique,'' ed. J. N. Bakhuizen Van Den Brink, 2nd ed. Amsterdam and London: North-Holland, 1974.
*Roberts, Timothy Roland. “A translation and critical edition of Ratramnus of Corbie's ''De Predestinatione dei''. Unpublished PhD diss. (University of Missouri, Columbia, 1977).
*Steel, Karl. ''How to Make a Human: Animals and Violence in the Middle Ages'', Columbia: Ohio State University Press, 2011.
*Tanghe, W.V. “Ratramnus of Corbie’s Use of the Fathers in his Treatise De corpore et sanguine Domini.” ''[[Studia Patristica]]'' 17, no. 1 (1982): 176-80.
*Zirkel, Patricia McCormick. "The Ninth-Century Eucharistic Controversy: A Context for the Beginnings of Eucharistic Doctrine in the West." ''Worship'' 68, no. 1 (1994): 2-23.
{{refend}}

==External links==
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=Hfu7AQAACAAJ The Body And Blood Of The Lord] by Ratramnus in English translation.
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Ratramnus|short=x}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Ratramnus|short=x}}
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Ratramnus|short=x}}
{{Proto-Protestantism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:860s deaths]]
[[Category:Frankish Benedictines]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Corbie Abbey]]
[[Category:9th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:Writers from the Carolingian Empire]]
[[Category:9th-century people from West Francia]]
[[Category:Filioque]]
[[Category:9th-century Christian theologians]]
[[Category:9th-century French philosophers]]
[[Category:Proto-Protestants]]