Established by Archbishop Fulcon (822-900), the actual cathedral school attracted great names such as Hincmar, the Archbishop of Reims between 845 and 882, the chroniclerFlodoard (c. 893–966), Richerus, monk of Saint-Remi (died after 998), and Gerbert d'Aurillac (c.946–1003), who went on to become Archbishop of Reims and later Pope Sylvester II. Soon after Gerbert left the school declined in prominence and there is little record of it in the first half of the 11th century. It was restored mid-century under the leadership of Chancellor Herimann. None of Herimann's writings survive, but contemporaries describe him as a great scholar. Teaching at the school while Herimann was master was Bruno of Cologne, also a noted scholar who would later found the Carthusians after was ousted from the school in a dispute with Archbishop Manasses I of Reims. From about 1076 to 1094 the next chancellor of the school was the poet Godfrey of Rheims who maintained its high reputation.[1]
After Godfrey the school again declined. The next Chancellor, Odalric, was much involved in political disputes in the area. He rose to become a cardinal but has no record of positive impact on the school. At the same period the nearby school at Laon led by the scholar Anselm eclipsed the school at Reims in regional prominence. Reims reemerged when Anselm died in 1117 and his most prominent student Alberich returned to his native Reims to lead the school.[2]
References
^"The Cathedral School of Rheims in the Eleventh Century". John R. Williams Speculum. Vol. 29, No. 4 (Oct., 1954), pp. 661-677 (17 pages) Published by: The University of Chicago Press
^John R. Williams. “The Cathedral School of Reims in the time of Master Alberic, 1118 - 1136.” Traditio, vol. 20, 1964, pp. 93–114. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27830770. Accessed 27 Jan. 2021.