If William of Malmesbury is to be believed, the king, when John [John Scotus Eriugena, philosopher, scholastic — note by Astartsky] was dining with him, asked: “What separates a Scot from a sot?” and John replied, “Only the dinner table.”
A History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell (Book II, ch. VIII, “John the Scot”)
The 9th century. The king of the Franks, Charles the Bald, decides to make a joke over dinner at the learned Irishman’s expense. A play on words: Scottus (Scot/Irishman) and sottus (fool). “What separates a Scot from a fool?” asks the king, expecting embarrassment.
John, without blinking, points to the table between them. The philosopher has just called the king a fool — and did it so elegantly that the king could only laugh.
Eriugena was a rare person for his time: he knew Greek (almost lost in the West), translated the Neoplatonists, and wrote that reason and faith are not enemies. His treatise on predestination was condemned by two church councils in his own lifetime (855 and 859); only the king’s favour kept him out of trouble. His main work, the Periphyseon, was condemned centuries after his death, in 1225.
Russell uses the story to show that even in the “Dark Ages” there were people with bright minds and sharp tongues. And, apparently, with very thick skin — trolling kings over dinner was an occupation for the brave.
