A ninth-century monk’s forgotten treatise became a surprise weapon for the Protestant Reformation

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Ratramnus of Corbie was a Carolingian theologian whose nuanced views on the Eucharist and predestination sparked debates that spanned centuries. Though he lived in relative obscurity, his writings were later rediscovered and used by reformers like Thomas Cranmer to challenge the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation during the sixteenth century.

Ratramnus, a monk at the monastery of Corbie, became a central figure in several ninth-century intellectual conflicts. His most famous work, De corpore et sanguine Domini, was written at the request of King Charles the Bald in 843. In it, Ratramnus argued that the bread and wine of the Eucharist were figurative representations of Christ’s body and blood, rather than a literal, physical transformation. This spiritual interpretation stood in contrast to the realist theology of his abbot, Paschasius Radbertus, who believed the elements became identical to Christ’s incarnate body.

Beyond the Eucharist, Ratramnus was deeply involved in the controversy surrounding the monk Gottschalk of Orbais, who taught double predestination—the idea that God preordained both the elect and the damned. Ratramnus defended Gottschalk against archbishop Hincmar of Rheims and later challenged John Scotus Eriugena’s denial of predestination. His intellectual range was vast, extending to questions of anthropology, such as whether the mythical dog-headed cynocephali were rational humans, and defense of Western theology against Eastern critics during the Photian schism.

The legacy of Ratramnus is marked by historical confusion and unexpected influence. His Eucharistic treatise was sometimes misattributed to John Scotus Eriugena, and his own name was occasionally corrupted to 'Bertramus' for centuries. Despite this, his work remained potent; when printed in 1531, it provided a crucial intellectual foundation for Protestant reformers. Thomas Cranmer, a key figure in the English Reformation, cited Ratramnus as the decisive influence that convinced him to reject transubstantiation, proving that a ninth-century monk’s logic could still shape the religious landscape of the sixteenth century.

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