Why Eastern Women Matter: The Influence of Byzantine Empresses on Western Queenship during the Middle Ages
My research proposes that the imperial women of the east had an important and discernable influence on the royal women of the west. In order to show this influence I examine the nature of western queenship by analyzing the Merovingian, Carolingian, and Ottonian dynasties.
The role of Frankish and Papal missi in diplomatic exchanges in the eighth century
The eighth century marked a change in the relationship between the papacy and the Frankish monarchs, allying the two foci of spiritual and temporal power.
Karlsgrab: The Site and Significance of Charlemagne’s Sepulcher in Aachen
Karlsgrab: The Site and Significance of Charlemagne’s Sepulcher in Aachen By John F. Moffitt Quidditas, Vol. 30 (2009) Abstract: The intention of what…
The recruitment of armies in the early middle ages: what can we know?
The recruitment of armies in the early middle ages: what can we know? By Timothy Reuter Military Aspects of Scandinavian Society in a…
Study: Charlemagne was very tall, but not robust
According to a recently published study, the Carolingian Emperor Charlemagne (ca. 747–814) was taller than most of his subjects, but not overweight. The…
The Court of Charlemagne: Lay Participants in the Aula Renovata
The Court of Charlemagne: Lay Participants in the Aula Renovata Session: Carolingian Studies: Secular Culture II – May 13th By Jennifer Davis, Catholic…
The Mystery of the Octagon: Aachen Cathedral
Aachen is in Western Germany, near the border with the Netherlands and Belgium. Charles the Great, King of the Franks, began the construction…
Central Places in un-central Landscapes. The Tuscany of “weak-Towns” between Lombards and Carolingians (AD 600- 900)
Central Places in un-central Landscapes. The Tuscany of “weak-Towns” between Lombards and Carolingians (AD 600- 900) By Carlo Citter Medieval Europe Paris 2007,…
Editorial practice in Smaragdus of St Mihiel’s commentary on the Rule of St Benedict
Editorial practice in Smaragdus of St Mihiel’s commentary on the Rule of St Benedict By Matthew D. Ponesse Early Medieval Europe, Vol.18:1 (2010)…
The Saxons within Carolingian Christendom: post-conquest identity in the translationes of Vitus, Pusinna and Liborius
The Saxons within Carolingian Christendom: post-conquest identity in the translationes of Vitus, Pusinna and Liborius By Eric Shuler Journal of Medieval History, Vol.36:1…
Quentovic defined
Quentovic defined By David Hill et al. Antiquity, Vol.64 (1990) Abstract: Some of the major sea-ports of medieval Europe still continue and flourish…
Pont-de-l’Arche or Pitres? A location and archaeomagnetic dating for Charles the Bald’s fortifications on the Seine
Pont-de-l’Arche or Pitres? A location and archaeomagnetic dating for Charles the Bald’s fortifications on the Seine By Brian Dearden and Anthony Clark Antiquity,…
Interview with Jeff Sypeck
One of most interesting medieval books to come out in 2006 was Becoming Charlemagne by Jeff Sypeck. His account of how a Germanic…
Private Bodies and the Body Politic in the Divorce Case of Lothar II
Private Bodies and the Body Politic in the Divorce Case of Lothar II By Stuart Airlie Past and Present, No. 161 (1998) Introduction: ‘A…
The Illusion of Royal Power in the Carolingian Annals
The Illusion of Royal Power in the Carolingian Annals By Rosamond McKitterick The English Historical Review, Vol. 115, No. 460. (2000) Synopsis: Medieval…
Angulus et Christus in the Five‐fold Division and Unification of the World and Nature in Eriugena and Maximus the Confessor
Angulus et Christus in the Five‐fold Division and Unification of the World and Nature in Eriugena and Maximus the Confessor Kim, Jaehyun Medieval…
Men and Women in Early Medieval Serfdom: The Ninth-Century North Frankish Evidence
Men and Women in Early Medieval Serfdom: The Ninth-Century North Frankish Evidence By Jean-Pierre Devroey Past and Present, No. 166. (2000) Introduction: ‘The…
The Battle of Tours-Poitiers Revisited
What motivated the Muslims to move north of the Pyrenees? What do the Latin and Arabic sources reveal about what transpired in the course of the battle?
A Fifteenth-Century Florentine Community of Readers and the Romances of Chivalry
A Fifteenth-Century Florentine Community of Readers and the Romances of Chivalry Allaire, Gloria Essays in Medieval Studies, vol. 15 (1998) Abstract A persistent…
How Popular Was Early Medieval Devotion?
How Popular Was Early Medieval Devotion? Wood, Ian Essays in Medieval Studies, vol. 14 (1997) Abstract At the end of a seminal paper…
Elites in the reign of Charlemagne
Elites in the reign of Charlemagne By Jinty Nelson Conference Paper (2009) Introduction: Thanks above all to Régine Le Jan and her colleagues,…
Security and insecurity of identity and status in the Frankish elite
Security and insecurity of identity and status in the Frankish elite By Stuart Airlie Conference Paper (2009) How neurotic were members of the…
The role of Frankish and Papal missi in diplomatic exchanges in the eighth century
This article now turns to this collection of letters in order to examine diplomacy between pope and king by looking at the frequently-mentioned missi, the men who carried their correspondence and in doing so represented them abroad.
The epic tradition of Charlemagne in Italy
The epic tradition of Charlemagne in Italy By Jane E. Everson Cahiers de recherches médiévales, Vol.12 (2005) Introduction: From the late thirteenth century to the…
The Pursuit of Knowledge in Carolingian Europe
Alcuin, an Anglo-Saxon born around 730 and educated at York, represents part of that transformation. Many like him who had been educated in the cathedral and monastic schools of England, Ireland, Spain, and Italy no doubt had been destined to replace their own masters. Instead, as adults they found themselves transplanted to the kingdoms of the Franks, where their learning, pedagogical skills, and books were put to a new task.