De abbatibus

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De abbatibus (Carmen de abbatibus) is a Latin poem of 819 hexameters by the ninth‑century English monk Æthelwulf (Ædiluulf), whose name means “noble wolf” and is sometimes Latinised as Lupus Clarus. It tells the history of his monastery (likely at Bywell, or less probably Crayke near York) from its foundation through its first six abbots and ends with Æthelwulf’s two visions. The poem is addressed to the Bishop of Lindisfarne, Ecgberht, and dates to between 803 and 821. It survives in three manuscripts.

The poem’s text has a long critical history. It was first edited in 1881 by Wilhelm Wattenbach and Ernst Dümmler for the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, but their edition relied on a poor text from Mabillon. Thomas Arnold produced a superior edition in 1882, but from only two manuscripts. Ludwig Traube issued another edition based on Dümmler’s bad text. The definitive edition appeared in 1967, prepared by Alistair Campbell; it uses all three manuscripts, reinterprets the manuscript history, and includes an English translation with a critical analysis of Traube’s version.

De abbatibus, like other Anglo‑Latin poetry, uses borrowings and imitations, but it is not merely derivative and has its own eloquence. It shows influence from Virgil, and Dümmler noted echoes of Ovid and Cyprianus Gallus. The leading Anglo‑Latin poets who helped shape Æthelwulf were Aldhelm, Bede, and Alcuin, whose Versus de Sanctis Euboricensis Ecclesiae may have inspired the De abbatibus. The eighth‑century Miracula Nyniae Episcopi was also an influence.