Rulers of the Carolingian Empire
Who were the Carolingians? Here is a look at 17 rulers from one of the most important empires of the Middle Ages.
New Medieval Books: The Emperor and the Elephant
A book on medieval diplomacy, it is a case study of Carolingian relations with the Islamic world, particularly the Abbasids in the Middle East and the Umayyads in Iberia. It is a fascinating account of political relations revealing a more complex situation than has previously been thought.
Medieval Advice from a Mother to a Son
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle catches us up on what’s been happening lately, and reads some advice written by Dhuoda, a Carolingian woman, for her teenaged son.
Was Charlemagne a Mass Murderer?
This entry for the year 782 in the Royal Frankish Annals is one of the most debated topics of Charlemagne’s reign. Did the ‘Massacre of Verden’ actually happen with 4500 people being killed in a single day?
The Irish at the Carolingian Court and the Europeanization of Europe
During the eighth and ninth centuries, Irish clergymen and theologians such as Virgil of Salzburg, Dicuil, Sedulius Scottus, and John Scottus Eriugena were drawn to the courts of the Carolingian kings and emperors.
Embodying the Soul with Meg Leja
This week on The Medieval Podcast, Danièle speaks with Meg Leja about the relationship between bodies and souls in medical thought in the early Middle Ages, why people were meant to care deeply for both, and where medieval people believed the soul to be located in the body.
Carolingian and Byzantine practices of empire compared, with Jennifer Davis
A conversation with Jennifer Davis on the study of empire in a medieval context, contrasting the different ways in which Charlemagne and the Byzantine emperors ran theirs. What do we mean by empire after all?
The Scholar and the King: The story of Alcuin and Charlemagne
Charlemagne saw a trusted adviser in Alcuin, and besides his teachings, he also had a vast influence on political issues.
New book examines early medieval hunting
In the Manner of the Franks: Hunting, Kingship, and Masculinity in Early Medieval Europe, by Eric Goldberg examines the history of hunting in Europe from the years 300 to 1000.
The contours of disease and hunger in Carolingian and early Ottonian Europe (c.750-c.950 CE)
This thesis is the first systematic examination of the textual and material evidence for disease and hunger in Carolingian and early Ottonian Europe, c.750 to c.950 CE
Illuminating the Carolingian era: new discoveries as a result of scientifc analyses
We examined this production, especially six manuscripts created in West Francia between the end of the eighth century and the first quarter of the ninth century.
Pepin, Power and the Papacy: The True First Holy Roman Emperor
Pepin has been greatly underestimated and undervalued by many historians of the modem world. In his time, he was renowned as a great ruler and Church reformer.
The Standing Contest between King Charles and Redbad
Can win a medieval kingdom by being able to stand very still (and with just a little bit of scheming)?
Watch a medieval scholar work: Florus of Lyon reads Augustine
Only every once in a while, does enough material remain to truly bring to life a person who is long gone. This is the real deal, and when it comes along, historians, paleographers, and editors alike rejoice.
The career of the Empress Judith, 819-843
This thesis examines the career of Judith (819-843), the second wife of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious (814-840).
The City of God on Earth: Augustine at Charlemagne’s Court
While the notion of the ‘dark’ Middle Ages is – thankfully – no longer fashionable, the Carolingian Renaissance, its reform efforts, educational system, book production, continue to inspire. It will come as no surprise that Augustine was, once again, at the center of this intellectual riches.
Writing the Life of Charlemagne
For the last few years I have been really preoccupied with writing a biography of Charles, King of the Franks, born in 748, King of the Franks in 768, died 813. So I’m going to spend the next little bit talking about biographies and Charles as a subject of them.
Imperium et Credo: Frankish-Byzantine Rivalry over Leadership of the Roman-Christian Credo-State in the Ninth Century
The years 869-871 saw the onset of the last major diplomatic dispute between the two great powers of Christendom, the Franks in Western Europe and the Byzantines in the East. Louis
Cross-Channel Marriage and Royal Succession in the Age of Charles the Simple and Athelstan (c. 916-936)
This article discusses the marriages of four Anglo-Saxon princesses to Continental kings and princes between the years 917 and 930.
The World of Paul the Deacon and the Lombards: Geopolitical Perspectives in an Early Medieval Account
The Lombard settlement of Italy has reached us through Paul the Deacon, a monk and tutor of the 8th century. He has provided us with the only extant discursive history on the Lombards until the invasion of the Carolingians in 774 and has thus crucially marked our knowledge of the history of the region.
Starvation Under Carolingian Rule. The Famine of 779 and the Annales Regni Francorum
How vulnerable was the Frankish society to famines in the Early Middle Ages?
Carolingian Experiments – 2017 Annual Marco Symposium begins on Friday
The Carolingian era—best known for Emperor Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor—and its lasting impact on Europe will be the topic of the 14th annual Marco Symposium taking place on March 24–25.
The Social World of Alcuin: Nicknames at York and at the Carolingian Court
In almost every book on the Carolingian world, and even in most textbooks on medieval history, there is some mention of the nicknames in use among the members of Charlemagne’s entourage
Imperial Electioneering: The Evolution of the Election in the Holy Roman Empire from the Collapse of the Carolingians to the Rise of the Ottonians
This election set the Holy Roman Empire apart from the Carolingian Empire and the rest of Europe. This strange political development would define the Holy Roman Empire and central Europe for centuries to come.