After Soissons: The Last Years of Charles the Simple (923-929)
In August 923, Charles the Simple was imprisoned by Count Heribert II of Vermandois, spending the rest of his life in prison. The six years between his imprisonment and his death, however, have never been the focus of a sustained study.
Under the ‘Romans’ or under the Franks? Venice between Two Empires
At the beginning of the ninth century, the Venetian duchy ran the risk of losing the autonomy that it had recently obtained from its former overlords, the Byzantine emperors.
Historian explores the Viking connection to Frisia
Frisia, the coastal region between the Zwin (near Bruges) and the Weser (near Bremen), was linked to the Viking world around the North Sea more closely in the Viking age (c. 800-1050) than we supposed – particularly to England and Denmark.
How did the Merovingian Kings wear their hair?
We must accept, I think, that the Franks, like all Germans, attached a particular importance to the hair
Medieval Books for Christmas
It’s that time of year again – the mad scramble for the perfect Christmas gift for the historian, nerd, avid reader on your list. Here are a few suggestions for you – new releases for December and January!
Charlemagne’s Denarius, Constantine’s Edicule, and the Vera Crux
In 806 a much-discussed silver denarius bearing the likeness of Charlemagne was issued. This is called the “temple-type” coin due to the (as yet unidentified) architectural structure illustrated on the reverse side, and which is explicitly labeled as representing the epitome of “Christian Religion.”
Hagiography and the Experience of the Holy in the Work of Gregory of Tours
The rich literature associated with the Desert Fathers provides convincing evidence of the important role played by charismatic figures in the transformation of Late Antiquity.
Competition and tradition: Carolingian political rituals, 751-800
In 751, the Carolingians supplanted the traditional ruling dynasty of Francia. This article surveys Carolingian political rituals between 751 and 800, and argues that ritual was one means through which this new royal family sought to construct and legitimate its authority against its dynastic competitors.
Hungary’s Conversion to Christianity: The Establishment of Hungarian Statehood and its Consequences to the Thirteenth Century
The Carpathian Basin occupies a peculiar place in history. It was the ground where Roman-Germanic world met that of the Slavs and mounted nomad peoples, where no group had achieved sustained unity before the state of Hungary was founded.
The Birth of the Monarchy out of Violent Death
There were many motives for murdering a king.
The Uses Made of History by the Kings of Medieval England
The kings of medieval England, besides using history for the entertainment of themselves and their courts, turned it to practical purposes. They plundered history-books for precedents and other evidences to justify their claims and acts. They also recognised its value as propaganda, to bolster up their positions at home and strengthen their hands abroad.
The Tale of Bealhildis or how an Anglian slave became a saintly French Queen
It is not every day England gives a home girl to be worshipped as a Saint by enthusiastic Gallic crowds.
The original Frenglish
When France was speaking English without the prompting of a war or was it England who was speaking French….
Making a difference in tenth-century politics: King Athelstan’s sisters and Frankish queenship
In the early years of the tenth century several Anglo-Saxon royal women, all daughters of King Edward the Elder of Wessex (899-924) and sisters (or half-sisters) of his son King Athelstan (924-39), were despatched across the Channel as brides for Frankish and Saxon rulers and aristocrats. This article addresses the fate of some of these women through an analysis of their political identities.
Advocating change: monasteries, territories and justice between East and West Francia, 11th-12th centuries
This article looks at the question of the formation of territorial principalities in western Europe through the issue of ecclesiastical advocacy.
Ibn Wāṣil: An Ayyūbid Perspective on Frankish Lordships and Crusades
Ibn Wāṣil (604/1208-697/1298) was a relatively prominent scholar and administrator who had close links with the political and military elites of Ayyūbid- and early Mamlūk-period Egypt and Syria throughout his career.
Under the aegis of the saints. Hagiography and power in early Carolingian northern Italy
This article gives an overview of the features, choices, tastes and models of sanctity characteristic of Italian hagiography, against the background of local contexts and political competition.
Charlemagne: A Frank Analysis of Imperialism in the 8th and 9th Centuries
Charlemagne has been approached by historians because of the pivotal role he fills as the Father of a Continent. His kingdom spread across Europe and renewed the culture of the Western World; a “mini-Renaissance” that shifted the focal point of Europe away from crumbling Rome.
Feeding the micel here in England c. 865-878
Feeding the micel here in England c. 865-878 Shane McLeod Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, Volume 3 (2007) Abstract With the…
Behind the Veil: The rise of female monasticism and the double house
In this thesis I aim to restore the contemporary views of female monasticism that have been marginalized in current historiography. By evaluating the primary source material on women in monasticism, I intend to recapture the complex links between female religious communities and the wider social, cultural and political world of the Frankish kingdoms.
Frankish involvement in the Gregorian mission to Kent
This article re-examines the primary documents relating to the sixth century Gregorian Mission to Kent in light of the modern historiographical tradition which claims Frankish hegemony existed over the Kentish Kingdom under Aethelberht’s rule.
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence
The Liber Historiae Francorum – a Model for a New Frankish Self-confidence Philipp Dörler Networks and Neighbours, Volume One, Number One (2013) The…
Absoluimus uos uice beati petri apostolorum principis. Episcopal authority and the reconciliation of excommunicants in England and Frankia c. 900-c.1050
No mention is made of any rite being followed by Bishop Wulfstan on this occasion, but services for the reconciliation of excommunication are first recorded in the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Louis the Pious and the Conversion of the Danes
This paper was part of a very interesting session on the Early Middle Ages. The papers covered Eastern European Infant Burial, the archaeology of medieval feasting and conversion. This paper contrasted the conversion policies of Charlemagne versus those of Louis the Pious.
Tenebrae Refulgeant: Celestial Signa in Gregory of Tours
Celestial portents appear frequently in the Historiae of Bishop Gregory of Tours (ca. 539–94). Gregory carefully distinguished between the interpretation of celestial signs and horoscopic astrology by describing signs as natural, albeit miraculous, elements of God’s Creation.