What an eccentric scene was beheld by the people of Paris in AD 792: two Scotsmen called out daily to passers-by with their rough accents: ‘Whosoever covets wisdom, let him come to us and get it, for we have it for sale.’ News of these two strange monks came to the ears of King Charles the Great, or Charlemagne, and being a lover of learning, he invited them to his court. ‘We not only have wisdom,’ they said to the king, ‘but are ready to give it to those who seek it in the name of the Lord.’ Intrigued, he cross-examined them, and found them indeed to have great knowledge. He appointed Clement to establish his school in Paris, and John, or Albinus, to pioneer his other school at Pavia in Italy. From this foundation a great movement of education grew in France.
The above account is taken from Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish Nation, volume one, written in 1363, but he himself cites from Vincent of Beauvais, a 13th century historian, who quotes from the tenth century Chronicles of Arles. The earliest historian to record this extraordinary event was Notkerus Balbulus, a French monk of St Gall, who wrote the Life of Charlemagne in 883/4. He tells us that ‘two Scots came from Ireland to the coast of Gaul along with certain traders of Britain. These Scotchmen were unrivalled for their skill in sacred and secular learning’. Fordun says they were ‘from Scotland’ and were ‘two Scottish monks.’
Now herein lies the confusion! Were they Scots from Ireland, or from Scotland? This problem appears quite frequently in Scottish history for Alba (later called Scotland) was made up of Britons, Picts and Scots. When the Scots came from Ireland, they settled on the western coast of this nation in an area known as Dalriada – which was part of Ireland’s expansion. John, who came with Clement, was known as Albinus after his native country, Alba. As the Britons, Picts and Scots fought for dominance, the Scots rose to the top of the pile, and so this nation was called Scotland. Despite this, for centuries the Scots living in our nation were called Irish – just to confuse everyone. If we are confused about it, I’m not surprised the French were too!
The wonderful point about this history is that it shows the Scottish Christians in Ireland and Alba raising the standard of education to such prominence, that a king like Charlemagne would grasp this opportunity with all of his might. From the seeds of this Scottish foundation the famous University of Paris would be born in 1150.