rəbāˈnəs môˈrəs măgnĕnˈshəs, c.780–856, German scholar and theologian. His name appears also as Hrabanus and Rhabanus. A student under Alcuin, he was later abbot of Fulda (822–42); his zeal for learning and his excellent administration made the school and library at Fulda an outstanding source of intellectual light. He retired from Fulda but in 847 was made bishop of Mainz. His immense stock of knowledge was encyclopedic rather than original. Among his works are De universo, an encyclopedic dictionary, and De institutione clericorum, a course of study for clerics. Rabanus had an eminent role in spreading the Carolingian revival. Gottschalk and the poet Walafrid Strabo were his students.

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