Angilbert

Frankish poet
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Quick Facts
Born:
c. 740,, Aachen, kingdom of the Franks [now in Germany]
Died:
Feb. 18, 814, Centula, Picardy [now in France]

Angilbert (born c. 740, Aachen, kingdom of the Franks [now in Germany]—died Feb. 18, 814, Centula, Picardy [now in France]) was a Frankish poet and prelate at the court of Charlemagne.

Of noble parentage, he was educated at the palace school at Aachen under Alcuin and was closely connected with the court and the imperial family. In 800 he accompanied Charlemagne to Rome and was one of the witnesses to his will. He was made abbot of Centula (Saint-Riquier), Picardy, in 794. Angilbert’s Latin poems show the culture and tastes of a man of the world. A fragment of an epic, probably by him, describes life at the palace and the meeting between Charlemagne and Pope Leo III and earned him the nickname of “Homer” from Alcuin. His shorter poems show skill in versification and present a picture of the imperial circle.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.