Forming Orthodoxy through Friendship : Alcuin, Guarnarius, and Benedict of Aniane’s Munimenta verae fidei

Abstract

This article endeavors to examine how a network of friendship between Alcuin of York, Benedict of Aniane, and Guarnarius contributed both to the creation of the Munimenta verae fidei, a little studied collection of original and borrowed materials composed by Benedict of Aniane, and to the formation of orthodoxy in the Carolingian period. In the Munimenta verae fidei, Benedict of Aniane provided his own theological response to the threat of Felicianism or Adoptionism in concert with the work of Alcuin, particularly the De fide sanctae Trinitatis, in order to persuade a wayward friend, Guarnarius, back into Carolingian orthodoxy. The Munimenta verae fidei thus stands as a history of the relationship between these three figures and a testament to how orthodoxy is not just achieved through the mastery of theology but also through the negotiation of relationships.