Paschasius had an interesting history, starting with his finding as an orphan in 785, left on the steps of the convent of Notre-Dame de Soissons, where he was raised by nuns and their abbess Theodara. Theodara had two brothers who were monks—Adalard and Wala—and visits to the convent by Adalard inspired Paschasius to follow Adalard to Corbie, where he met Wala.
When Paschasius was in his 30s, he followed Adalard to Saxony to help found the monastery of New Corvey. Adalard died in 826, and Paschasius supported Wala as his successor as abbot there. Wala was succeeded in 836 by Heddo, then Heddo by Isaac, but in 843 with Isaac's death, Paschasius became abbot.
During this time Paschasius wrote a few works on theology. De Corpore et Sanguine Domini was given to Charles the Bald of West Francia, a grandson of Charlemagne, in 844. As it turns out, Charles did not quite understand what he was reading, and he visited New Corvey and asked someone to explain the Eucharist to him. That person was Ratramnus.
Ratramnus was a member of New Corvey, possibly the teaching master there, and he wrote a work also entitled De Corpore et Sanguine Domini. Ratramnus explained that the bread and wine represent the body and blood of Jesus in a. spiritual way, not physically transformed in any way that is perceptible by human senses. Any so-called "controversy" over the two views was non-existent at the time, only boiling over years later into a theological fight because of Berengar of Tours.
As for Paschasius, he wrote various other works and signed his position in 853 to go to Saint-Riquier to live quietly. He returned to Corbie near the end of his life and died there in 865. Miracles were reported at his tomb, which caused them to move his body to a prominent place in the Church of St. Peter, Corbie.
Meanwhile, Ratramnus was also writing, including about mean with heads of dogs, but let me go into that tomorrow.
