Although recent studies have shed important light on the broader political and social context in which Lupus worked, this interesting figure’s literary activities continue to merit further examination within the cultural milieu of his own day
Sources of Spirituality in the Writings of Archbishop Hincmar of Reims
March 7, 2012 By
Archbishop Hincmar of Reims (845–882) was perhaps one of the most influential authors in Carolingian history. He donned the humble cloth of a monk only to transcend that humble destiny in his mission to bring spiritual perfection to an errant temporal sphere.
Boniface’s Booklife: How the Ragyndrudis Codex Came to be a Vita Bonifatii
March 6, 2012 By
The most recent addition to the family of literary genres may be the booklife. Finding its origin in Roland Barthes’s Roland Barthes and now taught in English departments, the booklife proposes a union of sorts of writing and living. Whether the genre will be long-lived is an open question, that it can be fruitful is not in doubt. But medievalists already knew that the dividing line between book and life is always thin, especially if that life has been lived in and among books.
The Rebirth of a Communications Network: Europe at the Time of the Carolingians
February 26, 2012 By
This paper attempts to explain the accelerated economic growth of medieval Europe by incorporating communications technologies in the analysis. During the reign of Charlemagne, written and spoken Latin was effectively standardized which reduced the cost of information storage relative to transmission.
Theological Works of the Venerable Bede and their Literary and Manuscript Presentation, with Special Reference to the Gospel Homilies
February 19, 2012 By
Bede’s theology is complex and closely interwoven; as we can observe, the different themes are interleaved within the homilies. Though Bede was profoundly influenced by Gregory, Augustine and the other Church Fathers, he combined their theologies in a new way that has had a lasting influence.
‘Viking Empires’? Scandinavian Kingship and the nature and orchestration of Viking raids, c.800-c.950
February 16, 2012 By
To what extent were Viking raids part of a more general process of expansion by Scandinavian rulers? Were the Franks simply receiving a taste of their own medicine in the ninth and tenth centuries?
Charters as weapons. On the role played by early medieval dispute records in the disputes they record
January 25, 2012 By
This paper seeks to shed more light on how written records were used during the Carolingian period by examining the role played by records of property disputes in the disputes they record.
In the Guise of a Christian: the Early Medieval Preliminary Stage of the Portrait Historie
January 22, 2012 By
A fine example of the belief in the existence of early portraits is the well-known gilt bronze Barbarossakopf in Cappenberg, Westphalia.
Sales, swindles and sanctions: Bishop Salla of Urgell and the counts of Catalonia
December 19, 2011 By
Salla moved in a world in which churchmen and lay magnates could be hard to distinguish. They did not just share families, and sometimes offices, but outlooks…
“What If … Charlemagne’s Other Sons had survived?” Charlemagne’s Sons and the Problems of Royal Succession
November 20, 2011 By
On January 28th 814, Charlemagne died at the age of 72. His son Louis the Pious succeeded his father into kingship and empire.
Hincmar and Anastasius: Lying, Treacherous Villains
November 5, 2011 By
Did Anastasius help kidnap and murder the wife and daughter of Pope Adrian II?
Poetry, Patronage, and Politics: Epic Saints’ Lives in Western Francia, 800-1000
October 31, 2011 By
t: Monastic authors in western Francia during the central Middle Ages composed and exchanged Latin verse saints’ lives (vitae metricae) to create communities of saints, emperors, bishops, teachers, and students
Unwilling Pilgrimage: Vikings, Relics, and the Politics of Exile during the Carolingian era
October 12, 2011 By
Unwilling Pilgrimage: Vikings, Relics, and the Politics of Exile during the Carolingian era By Daniel C. DeSelm PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan, 2009 Abstract: This dissertation investigates the flight and exile of Christian clergy during the Viking attacks along Europe’s Atlantic coasts during the ninth and early tenth centuries. These displaced clerics invariably brought the […]
Volcanoes and the Climate Forcing of Carolingian Europe, A.D. 750–950
September 25, 2011 By
Revolutionary advances of the natural sciences will transform our understanding of the human past. This case study supports that thesis by connecting new data arising from the last decade’s scientific work in palaeoclimatology with the history of the Carolingian empire.
Digging Ditches in Early Medieval Europe
September 19, 2011 By
Digging Ditches in Early Medieval Europe By Paolo Squatriti Past and Present, Vol.176:1 (2002) Introduction: In the Royal Frankish Annals the year 793 is an odd one. In the first place, it marks the point at which a major change in the chronicle’s composition begins, the place where one author left off and another took […]
Episcopacy and apostolic succession according to Hincmar of Reims
September 12, 2011 By
Episcopacy and apostolic succession according to Hincmar of Reims By George Tavard Theological Studies, Vol. 34 (1973) Introduction: Hincmar, a monk from the Abbey of St. Denys on the outskirts of Paris, was elected archbishop of Reims in 845 by the bishops of the province meeting at Beauvais. Since the conversion of Clovis (482-511), and […]
Viking Age Arms and Armor Originating in the Frankish Kingdom
September 12, 2011 By
In the examination of material remains, illustrations, and capitularies, the reason why Carolingian arms and armor were prized amongst the Viking nations can be ascertained and evidence found as to how the Vikings came to possess such valued items.
Germanic Women: Mundium and Property, 400-1000
September 7, 2011 By
Germanic Women: Mundium and Property, 400-1000 Dunn, Kimberlee Harper (University of North Texas) M.A. Thesis (Science), University of North Texas, August (2006) Abstract Many historians would like to discover a time of relative freedom, security and independence for women of the past. The Germanic era, from 400-1000 AD, was a time of stability, and security […]
Warranty and good lordship in twelfth century England
September 4, 2011 By
Warranty and good lordship in twelfth century England Hyams, Paul (California Institute of Technology University of Oxford) California Institute of Technology, January (1986) Abstract Already in the twelfth century, men canvassed different views on the ways in which they thought lordship ought to be exercised. They used their picture of how an idealised “Good Lord” — a […]
Lex Salica and the Carolingian ‘Frankish’ Past
August 14, 2011 By
Lex Salica and the Carolingian ‘Frankish’ Past Turnbull, Anna Revealing Records II Conference, King’s College London (2010) Abstract The year 751 is regarded by historians of the early medieval period as a fundamental turning point in the history of the Frankish world, marking the official and final transfer of power, and of the Crown, from […]
Currency Change in Pre-millennial Catalonia: Coinage, Counts and Economics
August 5, 2011 By
Currency Change in Pre-millennial Catalonia: Coinage, Counts and Economics Jarrett, Jonathan Numismatic Chronicle, No.169 (2009) Abstract Barcelona in the late tenth century was on the verge of becoming a commercial as well as a political capital. The wealth of the four counties that its ruler, Count-Marquis Borrell II (945–93), controlled had been growing throughout his reign. […]
Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europe
July 15, 2011 By
Viking Trade and Settlement in Continental Western Europe Edited by Iben Skibsted Klæsøe Museum Tusculanum Press, 2011 ISBN: 978-87-635-0530-7 Publisher’s Synopsis: The European coastal areas and the lands around the rivers had great importance for the local populations, but also for the Vikings. The chapters presented in this volume, written by distinguished scholars in the […]
Almsgiving and the Formation of Early Medieval Societies, A.D. 700-1025
July 7, 2011 By
This dissertation undertakes an investigation of a behavior practiced by kings and commoners alike: charity to the poor or, to adopt the term favored then, almsgiving (eleemosina).
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