\ 167. RABANUS MAURUS. 715
the same year in which Raban returned to Fukla (804), and so what would doubtless have been a most interesting correspond ence was limited to a single interchange of letters.1
Raban w,as appointed principal of the monastery's school. In his work he was at first assisted by Samuel, his fellow-pupil at Tours, but when the latter was elected bishop of Worms Raban carried on the school alone. The new abbot, Ratgar, quickly degenerated into a tyrant with an architectural mania. He begrudged the time spent in study and instruction. Accord ingly he chose very effective measures to break up the school. He took the books away from the scholars and even from their principal, Raban Maur.2 In 807 the monastery was visited with a malignant fever, and a large proportion of the monks, espe cially of the younger ones, died, and many left. Thus by death and defection the number was reduced from 400 to 150, but those who remained had to work all the harder. It was pro bably during this period of misrule and misery that Raban made his journey to Palestine, to which, however, he only once alludes.3 On December 23, 814, he was ordained priest.4
In 817 Ratgar was deposed and Rabau's friend Eigil elected in his place.5 With Eigil a better day dawned for the mon astery. Raban was now unhampered in teaching and able once more to write. The school grew so large that it had to be divided. Those scholars who were designed for the secular life were taught in a separate place outside the monastery. The library was also much increased.
In 822 Eigil died and Raban was elected his successor. He
1 Only one of the two, Alcuin's, has been preserved (Migne, C. col. 398). That Raban wrote first is a reasonable conjecture from Alcuin's letter. Cf. Mullinger, p. 139.
2 In a poem (Migne, CXII. col. 1600) addressed to Ratgar, he gently pleads for the return of his books and papers. In another longer poem he describes the defection caused by Ratgar' s tyranny (ibid. col. 1621).
3 In his comment on Joshua xi. 8 (Migne, CVIII. col. 1053, 1. 38). * Migne, CVII. col. 15.
6 See p. 700.
716 FOUKTH PEEIOD. A. D. 590-1049.
proved a good leader in spiritual affairs. He took personal interest in the monks, and frequently preached to them. He paid particular attention to the education of the priests. He compiled books for their especial benefit, and as far as possible taught in the school, particularly on Biblical topics. The prin cipal of the school under him was Candidus, already mentioned as the biographer of Eigil.1 His most famous pupils belong to this period: Servatiis Lupus, Walahfrid Strabo (826-829) and Otfrid. He showed his passion for collecting relics, which he enshrined in a very costly way. He also built churches and extended the influence of Fulda by colonizing his monks in different places, adding six affiliated monasteries to the six teen already existing.
In the spring of 842 Raban laid down his office and retired to the " cell " on the Petersberg, in the neighborhood of Fulda. There he thought he should be able to end his days in literary activity undisturbed by the cares of office. To this end he called in the aid of several assistants and so worked rapidly. But he was too valuable a man to be allowed to retire from active life. Accordingly on the death of Otgar, archbishop of Mainz (April 21, 847), he was unanimously elected by the chap ter, the nobility and the people of Mainz his successor. He reluctantly consented, and was consecrated June 26, 847. In October of that year he held his first synod in the monastery of St. Alban's, Mainz. It was a provincial council by com mand of Louis the German. Among the notables present were his suffragans, Samuel of Worms, his former fellow-teacher, Ebo of Hildesheim, Haymo of Halberstadt, his fellow-student under Alcuin, and also Ansgar of Hamburg, who had come to plead for the Northern mission. This synod renewed the com mand to the priests to preach. In this act Raban is recog nized. On October 1, 848, a second synod was held at Mainz, which is memorable as the first in which the Gottschalk matter
1 See p. 701.