Eriugena, , an Irish teacher, theologian, philosopher, and poet, who lived in the ninth century.
.—Eriugena's contemporaries invariably refer to him as Joannes Scottus or Joannes Scottigena. In the manuscripts of the tenth and subsequent centuries the forms Eriugena, Ierugena, and Erigena occur. Of these, the oldest and most acceptable, philologically, is Eriugena, which, as it was perhaps sometimes written Eriygena, was changed into Erigena. It means "a native of Ireland". The form Ierugena is evidently an attempt to connect the first part of the name with the Greek word hieros, and means "a native of the Island of Saints"; the combination Joannes Scotus Erigena cannot be traced beyond the sixteenth century.
.—At one time the birthplace of Eriugena was a matter of dispute. Eriuven in Wales and Ayre in Scotland claimed the honour, and each found advocates. Nowadays, however, the claim of Ireland to be considered the birthplace of John is universally admitted. All the evidence points that way, and leads us to conclude that when his contemporaries tauntingly referred to his having come to France from Ireland they meant not only that he was educated in the Isle of Saints but also that Ireland was his birthplace. Whatever doubt there may have been about the meaning of Scotus, there can be none as to the signification of the surname Eriugena.
.—What is known of the life of Eriugena is very soon told. About 847 he appeared in France at the court of Charles the Bald, was received with special favour by that prince, appointed head of the palace school, which seems to have had some kind of permanent location at Paris, and was commissioned by his royal patron to translate the works of Pseudo-Dionysius into Latin. This translation brought him into prominence in the world of letters and was the occasion of his entering into the theological controversies of the day, especially into those concerning predestination and the Eucharist. His knowledge of Greek is evident from his translations, and is also proved by the poems which he wrote. It is doubtful, on the other hand, whether he possessed the knowledge of Hebrew and other Oriental languages which is sometimes ascribed to him. In any case there is no evidence of his having travelled extensively in Greece and Asia Minor. After leaving Ireland he spent the rest of his days in France, probably at Paris and Laon. There was, as we know from the manuscripts, an important colony of Irish scholars at the latter place. The tradition that after the death of Charles the Bald he went to England at the invitation of Alfred the Great, that he taught a school at Malmesbury, and was there put to death by his pupils, has no support in contemporary documents and may well have arisen from some confusion of names on the part of later historians. It is probable that he died in France, but the date is unknown. From the evidence available it is impossible to determine whether he was a cleric or a layman, although it is difficult to deny that the general conditions of the time make it more than probable that he was a cleric and perhaps a monk.
.—I. Translations of the works of Pseudo-Dionysius: "De Coelesti Hierarchia"; "De Ecclesiastica Hierarchia"; "De Divinis Nominibus"; "De Mystica Theologia"; "Epistolae"; translations of the "Ambigua" ofSt. Maximus. — 2. Commentaries: "Homolia in prologum S. Evangelii sec. Joannem", and a commentary on the Gospel of St. John, of which few fragments only have come down to us; commentaries on the "Celestial Hierarchy"and the "Ecclesiastical Hierarchy" of Pseudo-Dionysius; glosses on the work of Martianus Capella (still in manuscript), and on the theological opuscula of Boethius (Rand ed., Munich, 1906), with which is connected a brief "Life" of Boethius (Pieper ed., "Consolatio Philos.", Leipzig, 1871). — 3. Theological works: "Liberde Praedestinatione", and very probably a work on the Eucharist, though it is certain that the tract "De Corpore et Sanguine Domini", at one time believed to be Eriugena's, is the work od Paschasius Radbertus. — 4. Philosophical works: "De Divisione Naturae", his principal work, and a treatise, "De Egressu et Regressu Animae ad Deum", of which we possess only a few fragments. — 5. Poems: These are written partly in Latin and partly in Greek. Many of them are dedicated to Charles the Bald. The most complete edition of Eriugena's works is that of Dr. Floss, which is printed as Vol. CXXII of Migne's P.L. A new edition embodying the results of recent discoveries of manuscripts is often spoken of, and will doubtless be forthcoming before long.