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Carolingian Era (Medieval Studies)

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. The almost mythical character of Charlemagne (b. 748–d. 814)—Carlo Magno, Charles the Great, Karl der Grosse—has ensured that his age and dynasty would always receive attention. Charlemagne’s courtier, Einhard (b. c. 770– d. 840) prepared in about 828 The Life of Emperor Charles, one of the most successful medieval biographies. During Charlemagne’s reign—as king from 768 to 800 and as emperor from 800 to 814—writers began to explore the genealogy of the Carolingian (from Carolus) family, tracing it back to an alliance between the powerful families of Arnulf of Metz (d. c. 640) and Pippin I (d. 640). In older scholarship the family is sometimes called Arnulfing or Pippinid. The family rose to power as mayors of the palace, sort of prime ministers, to the Merovingian kings of the Franks. Pippin II decisively defeated his rivals in 687 at Tertry and consolidated power until his death in 714. His son, Charles Martel, overcame opposition and ruled as mayor until 741, sometime without a king on the throne. Charles’s sons, Pippin III and Carloman, shared the mayoral office until Carloman retired to a monastery in 747. In 751 Pippin III became king of the Franks and reigned until 768. His kingdom was divided between two sons, Charlemagne and Carloman, but the latter died in 771. Charlemagne was succeeded by only one legitimate son, Louis the Pious, who reigned until 840. Louis’s three surviving sons, Lothair (d. 855), Louis the German (d. 876), and Charles the Bald (d. 877) divided the Carolingian realm at Verdun in 843, and they and their heirs divided it again on several subsequent occasions. The east Frankish Carolingians died out in 911 and the West Frankish branch of the family alternated with the Robertian family, formerly counts of Paris, after 888. In 987 the last living Carolingians were bypassed, and Hugh Capet, a Robertian, ascended the throne that his descendants would hold until 1328.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
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  7. To some historians the Carolingian era marks the end of late Antiquity, the final resolution of Rome’s centuries-long transformation (Folz, et al. 1972, Schneider 1995). To others, the era is the first Europe, the beginning of the Middle Ages (Ehlers 2004, Fried 1991, Schulze 1987). Others still see it as a distinctive period that was transitional between Antiquity and the Middle Ages (McKitterick 1995, Mühlbacher 1959, Schieffer 2000). Hence one might cite overviews treating the 8th and 9th centuries or the entire period ranging from about 600 to 1000. Scholarship has continually revolved around basic themes such as centralization versus regionalism, the effectiveness of royal/imperial institutions, social structures, the reform of the church, economic life, and intellectual life. The volumes gathered here are broad in approach and contents. Studies that address specific aspects of the Carolingian era will be found below under separate categories.
  8.  
  9. Ehlers, Joachim. Das westliche Europa. Munich: Siedler, 2004.
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  11. Essentially a political narrative, this book sees the Carolingian era as foundational for the states of western Europe.
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  13. Folz, Robert, André Guillou, Lucien Musset, and Dominique Sourdel. De l’antiquité au monde medieval. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1972.
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  15. Largely a political narrative this readable volume attaches the Carolingian era to late Antiquity.
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  17. Fried, Johannes. Die Formierung Europas 840–1046. Oldenbourg Grundriss der Geschichte 6. Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 1991.
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  19. Rigorous, thematic, and historiographical, this work sees the Carolingian era as preparatory to Europe.
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  21. McKitterick, Rosamond. The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
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  23. The chapters by Paul Fouracre, Janet Nelson, and Johannes Fried constitute a connected narrative; the other chapters take up themes.
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  25. Mühlbacher, Engelbert. Deutsche Geschichte unter den Karolingern. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1959.
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  27. Remains unsurpassed as a narrative political history.
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  29. Schieffer, Rudolf. Die Karolingern. 3d ed. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2000.
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  31. An excellent brief narrative history by a master historian.
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  33. Schneider, Reinhard. Das Frankenreich. 3d ed. Oldenbourg Grundriss der Geschichte 5. Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 1995.
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  35. Like Fried 1972, which is part of the same series, this volume is rigorous, thematic, and historiographical. The “kingdom of the Franks” in the title encompasses the Merovingians and the Carolingians.
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  37. Schulze, Hans K. Vom Reich der Franken zum Land der Deutschen. Berlin: Siedler, 1987.
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  39. Readable and comprehensive this volume situates the Carolingians within a broad historical sweep.
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  41. Exhibition Catalogues and Summations
  42.  
  43. In 1965 at Aachen (Braunfels, et al. 1965–1968) and then in Paderborn in 1999 (Steigemann and Wemhoff 1999a) two massive exhibitions were held and accompanied by volumes containing both superb scholarship and stunning illustrations—in color in the Paderbon volumes. The former exhibition breathed the spirit of the new Europe inaugurated in the 1950s. The latter, commemorating the meeting of Charlemagne and Pope Leo III at Paderborn in 799, reflected the more self-confident and larger Europe of the Maastricht Treaty era.
  44.  
  45. Braunfels, Wolfgang, ed. Karl der Grosse: Lebenswerk und Nachleben. 4 vols. Dusseldorf, Germany: L. Schwan, 1965–1968.
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  47. This monumental, trans-European collaborative work summed up Carolingian scholarship in the post–World War II period. Volume 1, Persönlichkeit und Geschichte, Helmut Beumann, ed.; Volume 2 Das geistige Leben, Bernhard Bischoff, ed.; Volume 3, Karolingische Kunst, Wolfgang Braunfels and Hermann Schnitzler, eds.; Volume 4, Das Nachleben, Wolfgang Braunfels and Percy Ernst Schramm, eds.
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  49. Stiegemann, Christoph, and Matthias Wemhoff, eds. 799: Kunst und Kultur der Karolingerzeit. Beiträge zum Katalog der Ausstellung. Mainz, Germany: Philipp von Zabern, 1999a.
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  51. An outstanding international set of brief essays by major scholars on many aspects of the Carolingian period. Designed to complement the 1999 Paderborn exhibition. Superbly illustrated.
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  53. Stiegemann, Christoph, and Matthias Wemhoff, eds. 799: Kunst und Kultur der Karolingerzeit: Karl der Grosse und Papst Leo III in Paderborn—Katalog der Ausstellung. 2 vols. Mainz, Germany: Philipp von Zabern, 1999b.
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  55. Meticulous, comprehensive, lavishly illustrated, and brilliantly presented.
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  57. Historiogaphical Orientations
  58.  
  59. After the 1965 Aachen exhibition Bullough prepared a review essay (Bullough 1970) on the volumes that also reflected some of his own views. Two decades later Sullivan 1989 once again assessed the period in its broad contours.
  60.  
  61. Bullough, Donald. “Europae Pater: Charlemagne and His Achievement in the Light of Recent Scholarship.” English Historical Review 85 (1970): 59–105.
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  63. Prompted by but not confined to Braunfels, et al. 1965–1968 (cited under Exhibition Catalogues and Summations), this article is one of two (see Sullivan 1989) broad historiographical reflections on the period.
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  65. Sullivan, Richard E. “The Carolingian Age: Reflections on Its Place in the History of the Middle Ages.” Speculum 64 (1989): 267–306.
  66. DOI: 10.2307/2851941Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  67. Along with Bullough 1970, a major discussion of the scholarship on the whole period.
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  69. Reference Works
  70.  
  71. Those interested in the Carolingian era have at their disposal some of the basic reference tools available to all medievalists. Two encyclopedic works can be recommended: the Lexikon des Mittelalters (Auty, et al. 1977–1999) and the Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages (Bjork 2010). Brunhölzl 1991, Manitius 1911, and Wattenbach 1952 are useful for identifying and characterizing sources. Orbis Latinus (Grässe 1971) is essential for place names. Two registers, Böhmer and Mühlbacher 1908 for imperial documents and Jaffé 1885 for papal documents, are critical resources.
  72.  
  73. Auty, Robert, et al., eds. Lexikon des Mittelalters. 9 vols. Zurich, Switzerland, and Munich: Artemis Verlag, 1977–1999.
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  75. All articles in German. Articles are extensive and scholarly—also has brief bibliographies.
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  77. Bjork, Robert E., ed. Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages. 4 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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  79. The most recent medieval encyclopedia.
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  81. Böhmer, Johann Friedrich, and Engelbert Mühlbacher, eds. Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter den Karolingern. 2d ed. Regesta Imperii 1. 1908. Innsbruck, Austria: Universitätsverlag Wagner, 1908.
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  83. Organized chronologically, this valuable tool calendars most events and virtually all known documents. Reprinted in 1966 (Hildesheim, Germany: Olms).
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  85. Brunhölzl, Franz. Histoire de la literature latine du moyen âge. Vol. 1, Part 2, L’époque carolingienne. Translated by Henri Rochais. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1991.
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  87. Translated from the 1975 edition of Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters (Munich: Fink). Rarely superior to Manitius 1911 but a more recent bibliography.
  88. Find this resource:
  89. Grässe, Johann Georg Theodor, ed. Orbis Latinus: Lexikon lateinischer geographischer Namen. 4th rev. ed. Braunschweig, Germany: Klinkhardt and Biermann, 1971.
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  91. Fundamental for identifying Latin place names.
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  93. Jaffé, Philipp, ed. Regesta Pontificum Romanorum. Vol. 1. 2d ed. Revised by W. Wattenbach, S. Loewenfeld, F. Kaltenbrunner, and P. Ewald. Lepizig, Germany: Veit, 1885.
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  95. This tool calendars all known papal documents.
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  97. Manitius, Max. Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters. Vol. 1, Von Justinian bis zur Mitte des zehnten Jahrhunderts. Munich: Beck, 1911.
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  99. Old but still the best reference for Carolingian authors and what they wrote with editions (as then available) and some manuscripts. Reprinted in 1965.
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  101. Wattenbach, Wilhelm. Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter: Vorzeit und Karolinger. 6 vols. Revised by Wilhelm Levison and Heinz Löwe. Weimar, Germany: Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1952–.
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  103. Still the fundamental guide to the sources for Carolingian history with lengthy scholarly discussions. Strongest for narrative sources.
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  105. Textbooks
  106.  
  107. McKitterick 1983, Reuter 1991, and Riché 1993 are widely used in American and British university teaching. Goetz 2003 is an excellent example of a German book addressed to university-level audiences. Lebecq 1990, Le Jan 1996, and Werner 1984 are addressed to university-level audiences but also to the discerning general audience.
  108.  
  109. Goetz, Hans-Werner. Europa im frühen Mittelalter. Handbuch der Geschichte Europas 2. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, 2003.
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  111. Excellent résumé addressed to German university students. Sees the Carolingians within the sweep of early medieval history.
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  113. Lebecq, Stéphane. Les origines franques, Ve–IXe siècle. Nouvelle histoire de la France médiévale 1. Paris: Editions du Seuil, 1990.
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  115. Lively, readable, and well-balanced narrative.
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  117. Le Jan, Régine. Histoire de France: Origines et premier essor 480–1180. Paris: Hachette, 1996.
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  119. Brief and lively, this book places the Carolingians within the flow of early medieval history.
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  121. McKitterick, Rosamond. The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987. London: Longman, 1983.
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  123. Dense and difficult for the uninitiated, this book is comprehensive and excellent on intellectual history.
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  125. Reuter, Timothy. Germany in the Early Middle Ages, 800–1056. London: Longman, 1991.
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  127. The best introduction to Carolingian and post-Carolingian Germany in any language.
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  129. Riché, Pierre. The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe. Translated by Michael Idomir Allen. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.
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  131. The most readable, accessible survey by a great historian.
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  133. Werner, Karl-Ferdinand. Histoire de France. Vol. 1, Les origins (avant l’an mil). Paris: Fayard, 1984.
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  135. “France” here is treated as more than the boundaries of the modern nation-state, and the vantage point is continuity from pre-Roman times to the millennium.
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  137. Bibliographies
  138.  
  139. There are no bibliographies devoted exclusively to the Carolingian era, but the more general bibliographies of the Bibliographie annuelle de l’histoire de France, International Medieval Bibliography, and Medioevo Latino can be consulted. There are excellent annual bibliographies in a number of journals, especially Deutsches Archiv and Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique.
  140.  
  141. Bibliographie annuelle de l’histoire de France. Paris: CNRS, 1956–.
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  143. Quarterly serial bibliography for all of French history.
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  145. Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters.
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  147. The journal of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica, the German institution charged with editing and publishing medieval sources. Important articles, reviews, and excellent annual bibliographies.
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  149. International Medieval Bibliography. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 1967–.
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  151. Published by the International Medieval Institute of the University of Leeds, this annual tool covers the Middle Ages in virtually all aspects.
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  153. Medioevo Latino. Spoleto, Italy: Centro Italiano di Studi Sull’alto Medioevo. 1979–.
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  155. Excellent and comprehensive but perhaps somewhat “literary” in emphasis.
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  157. Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique. 1900–.
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  159. Belgian journal, the premier ecclesiastical history journal with a rich annual bibliography.
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  161. Journals
  162.  
  163. There are no journals devoted exclusively to Carolingian history. Most major medieval journals, such as The Journal of Medieval History, Le Moyen Age, Speculum, Studi Medievali, and Viator: Medieval and Renaissance Studies contain articles on the Carolingian era, and Speculum, in particular, contains extensive book reviews. Two journals focus on the early Middle Ages and always contain important Carolingian material: Early Medieval Europe and Frühmittelalterliche Studien. The annual Settimane volumes almost always contain Carolingian material and sometimes focus on the period.
  164.  
  165. Early Medieval Europe. 1992–.
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  167. Interesting, original articles and good reviews, including frequent review essays.
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  169. Frühmittelalterliche Studien. 1967–.
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  171. Articles, often lengthy, in German and occasionally other languages.
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  173. Le Moyen Age. 1888–.
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  175. Belgian journal with articles in French; also covers literature.
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  177. Settimane di Studio del Centro Italiano di Studi sull’alto medioevo. 1954–.
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  179. The Centro Italiano holds annual conferences in Spoleto and publishes two stout volumes of proceedings. The Carolingian period proper has been the focus of several conferences but there are almost always numerous articles each year of interest to Carolingianists.
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  181. Speculum. 1926–.
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  183. America’s premier medieval journal; excellent reviews.
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  185. Studi Medievali. 1928–.
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  187. Italy’s premier medieval journal, containing articles in all fields and periods.
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  189. Viator: Medieval and Renaissance Studies. 1969–.
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  191. Published by the University of California, Los Angeles; excellent articles, sometimes quite lengthy.
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  193. Political History
  194.  
  195. The Carolingian era did not witness mass political movements, coherent factions, or deep ideological struggles. Nevertheless, scholars have been able to discern some of the dynamics that operated during the period. The following sections take up individual reigns, political dynamics, and political ideas. The only area where there has been significant controversy concerns the nature of Carolingian government.
  196.  
  197. The Early Carolingians
  198.  
  199. The works collected here cover the late 7th century and the first half of the 8th when the Carolingians moved from being mayors of the palace to Merovingian kings to becoming kings themselves. Gerberding 1987 is especially good on the rise of the family. Fouracre 2000 and Jarnut, et al. 1994 cover the decisive era of Charles Martel, while Becher and Jarnut 2004 is solid and up to date on Pippin III. Oelsner 1871 is still valuable as a narrative.
  200.  
  201. Becher, Matthias, and Jörg Jarnut, eds. Der Dynastiewechsel von 751: Vorgeschichte, Legitimationsstrategien und Erinnerung. Münster, Germany: Scriptorium, 2004.
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  203. In the absence of a modern monograph on Pippin III this volume, which treats much more than just the year 751, must suffice. Expert articles in English, French, and German.
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  205. Fouracre, Paul. The Age of Charles Martel. Harlow, UK: Longman, 2000.
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  207. Excellent and up to date.
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  209. Gerberding, Richard A. The Rise of the Carolingians and the Liber Historiae Francorum. Oxford: Clarendon, 1987.
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  211. Especially good on the years 650 to 725.
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  213. Jarnut, Jörg, Ulrich Nonn, and Michael Richter, eds. Karl Martell in seiner Zeit. Papers presented at a symposium held 26–29 February 1992 in Bad Homburg, Germany. Sigmaringen, Germany: Thorbecke, 1994.
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  215. A superb collection of essays, mostly in German, some in English or French, covering all aspects of the reign.
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  217. Oelsner, Ludwig. Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches unter König Pippin. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot, 1871.
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  219. A volume in the famous German “yearbooks” series, this one, like the others, retains its value as a straightforward narrative.
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  221. Charlemagne
  222.  
  223. After the “yearbooks” of Abel and Simson 1888 there were surprisingly few attempts to write a life of Charlemagne. Recent years have seen a spate of books that are either short (Collins 1998), or life-and-times approaches (Barbero 2004, Favier 1999, Hägermann 2000, and McKitterick 2008), although among these McKitterick’s is the most analytical and penetrating.
  224.  
  225. Abel, Sigurd, and Bernhard Simson. Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches unter Karl dem Grossen. 2 vols. 2d ed. Leipzig: n.p., 1888.
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  227. Literally a year-by-year account of the reign in a famous German series devoted to almost all German rulers up to the 13th century. Meticulously detailed and still a valuable reference. Not the place to look for interpretations. Reprinted in 1969 (Berlin: Duncker and Humblot).
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  229. Barbero, Alessandro. Charlemagne: Father of a Continent. Translated by Allan Cameron. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
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  231. Comprehensive, readable and very much a life-and-times approach. Originally published as Carlo Magno: un padre dell’Europa (Rome and Bari, Italy: Laterza, 2000).
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  233. Collins, Roger. Charlemagne. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
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  235. Brief and written close to the sources, about which the author is skeptical.
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  237. Favier, Jean. Charlemagne. Paris: Fayard, 1999.
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  239. Lively and very wide ranging, this history of the era sometimes loses sight of the titular character.
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  241. Hägermann, Dieter. Karl der Grosse: Herrscher des Abendlandes; Biographie. Berlin: Propyläen, 2000.
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  243. A detailed, chronologically organized narrative that is strong on institutions.
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  245. McKitterick, Rosamond. Charlemagne: The Formation of a European Identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
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  247. A thematic presentation that does not add up to a biography; but it does make important contributions to explaining what the sources actually reveal.
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  249. Louis the Pious
  250.  
  251. Charlemagne’s only surviving legitimate son originally fared poorly at the hands of historians. With Godman and Collins 1990 new, more positive, and more sensitive interpretations began emerging. Depreux 1997 is a crucial research tool. Booker 2009 and De Jong 2009 offer penetrating new interpretations based on novel readings of familiar sources. Boshof 1996 is a brief narrative, while Simson’s “yearbooks” (Simson 1874) remain fundamental as a complete narrative.
  252.  
  253. Booker, Courtney. Past Convictions: The Penance of Louis the Pious and the Decline of the Carolingians. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009.
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  255. A revisionist study that traces tropes in the interpretation of Louis from his own time down to the mid-20th century.
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  257. Boshof, Egon. Ludwig der Fromme. Darmstadt, Germany: Primus Verlag, 1996.
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  259. Careful, traditional political narrative.
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  261. De Jong, Mayke. The Penitential State: Authority and Atonement in the Age of Louis the Pious, 814–840. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
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  263. A deeply sensitive reading of the “penitential discourse” in the sources for Louis’s reign.
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  265. Depreux, Philippe. Prosopographie de l’entourage de Louis le Pieux (781–840). Sigmaringen, Germany: Thorbecke, 1997.
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  267. An absolutely essential aide de recherche.
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  269. Godman, Peter and Roger Collins, eds. Charlemagne’s Heir: New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious. Oxford: Clarendon, 1990.
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  271. Thirty-one frequently revisionist studies of almost all aspects of Louis’s reign.
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  273. Simson, Bernhard. Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches unter Ludwig dem Frommen. 2 vols. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot, 1874.
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  275. A contribution to the famous “yearbooks” series, this remains the fullest narrative treatment of Louis’s reign.
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  277. From the Treaty of Verdun to the End of the 9th Century
  278.  
  279. Louis the Pious’s sons divided the empire at Verdun in 843 and thereafter two or three major Carolingian realms emerged. Lot and Halphen 1909, a treatment of Charles the Bald, inaugurated what would have been the French “yearbooks.” Nelson 1992 and Nelson and Gibson 1990 are excellent on Charles. Dümmler 1887 produced the yearbooks for the East Frankish Carolingians. Louis the German was long understudied and then came the substantial treatment of Goldberg 2006, a brief one in Hartmann 2002, and Hartmann 2004, a fine collection of essays. MacLean 2003, a study of Charles the Fat, provides a tour d’horizon of the late 9th century.
  280.  
  281. Dümmler, Ernst. Geschichte des Ostfrankischen Reiches. 3 vols. 2d ed. 1887.
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  283. In the German Jahrbücher series, these volumes cover the reigns from Louis the German to Conrad I. Reprinted in 1960 (Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft).
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  285. Goldberg, Eric J. Struggle for Empire: Kingship and Conflict under Louis the German, 817–876. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006.
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  287. A masterful analysis of the process of state building in East Francia.
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  289. Hartmann, Wilfried. Ludwig der Deutsche. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2002.
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  291. A political narrative complemented by thematic chapters.
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  293. Hartmann, Wilfried, ed. Ludwig der Deutsche und seine Zeit. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2004.
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  295. Eleven excellent studies of various aspects of the reign.
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  297. Lot, Ferdinand, and Louis Halphen. Le règne Charles le Chauve. Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, 1909.
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  299. Incomplete, treating only the years 840 to 851, this volume appeared in a French series, Annales de l’histoire de France à l’époque carolingienne, designed to run alongside the German Jahrbücher.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. MacLean, Simon. Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the End of the Carolingian Empire. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
  302. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  303. Not a biography but an acute analysis of the era of Charles the Fat.
  304. Find this resource:
  305. Nelson, Janet L. Charles the Bald. London: Longman, 1992.
  306. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  307. Superb and insightful treatment by a master historian.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Nelson, Janet L., and Margaret Gibson. Charles the Bald: Court and Kingdom. 2d rev. ed. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 1990.
  310. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  311. Twenty-one excellent studies covering a wide array of topics.
  312. Find this resource:
  313. The Late Carolingians in the West Frankish Kingdom
  314.  
  315. The Carolingian line persisted in the West Frankish kingdom until 987, and actually a potential Carolingian heir was passed over in that year. The essential books remain the old contributions to the French “yearbooks” beginning with Eckel 1899 and running through the volumes of Lauer 1900, Lauer 1910, and Lot 1891. Dunbabin 2000 is a sound and readable English narrative.
  316.  
  317. Dunbabin, Jean. France in the Making, 843–1180. 2d ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
  318. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319. The first five chapters of this book constitute the best narrative and thematic history of 10th-century France.
  320. Find this resource:
  321. Eckel, Auguste. Charles le Simple. Paris: Librairie Émile Bouillon, 1899.
  322. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  323. A volume in the Annales series that remains the only full study of Charles.
  324. Find this resource:
  325. Lauer, Philippe. Le règne de Louis IV d’Outre-Mer. Paris: Librairie Émile Bouillon, 1900.
  326. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327. A volume in the Annales series.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Lauer, Philippe. Robert I et Robert de Bourgogne, rois de France (923–936). Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, 1910.
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. A volume in the Annales series; excellent narrative.
  332. Find this resource:
  333. Lot, Ferdinand. Les dernier carolingiens: Lothaire, Louis V, Charles de Lorriane, 954–991. Paris: Librairie Émile Bouillon, 1891.
  334. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  335. The final volume in the Annales series.
  336. Find this resource:
  337. Government and Institutions
  338.  
  339. The basic structure of Carolingian government and institutions was traced in the 19th century. Subsequent work clarified particular institutions: Bachrach 2001 on the army, Metz 1960 on the fisc, Fleckenstein 1959 on the royal chapel, and Werner 1980 on the counts. Innes 2005 offers a fine introduction while Nelson provides an insightful orientation. Ganshof 1968 is the fullest survey in English, and Davies 2002 does a good job explaining the difficult idea of the state.
  340.  
  341. Bachrach, Bernard S. Early Carolingian Warfare: Prelude to Empire. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001.
  342. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  343. A fine study of military institutions.
  344. Find this resource:
  345. Davies, R. R. “The Medieval State: The Tyranny of a Concept?” Journal of Historical Sociology 16 (2002): 280–300.
  346. DOI: 10.1111/1467-6443.00206Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  347. Important implications for Carolingian statecraft.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. Fleckenstein, Josef. Die Hofkapelle der deutschen Könige. Vol. 1, Grundlegung: Die karolingische Hofkapelle. Schriften der Monumenta Germaniae Historica 16.1. Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1959.
  350. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  351. The fundamental study of the nerve center of the Carolingian government.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Ganshof, François Louis. Frankish Institutions under Charlemagne. Translated by Bryce Lyon and Mary Lyon. New York: Norton, 1968.
  354. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355. Still the best introduction to the subject, albeit controversial in light of recent scholarship.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. Innes, Matthew. “Charlemagne’s Government.” In Charlemagne: Empire and Society. Edited by Joanna Story, 71–89. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2005.
  358. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  359. A wonderful introduction.
  360. Find this resource:
  361. Metz, Wolfgang. Das karolingische Reichsgut: Eine verfassungs- und verwaltungsgeschichtliche Untersuchung. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1960.
  362. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  363. The basic study of the material foundations of the Carolingian government.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Nelson, Janet L. “Kingship and Royal Government.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 383–430. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  366. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  367. Excellent survey by a leading historian.
  368. Find this resource:
  369. Werner, Karl-Ferdinand. “Missus-Marchio-Comes: Entre l’administration central et l’administration locale de l’empire carolingien.” In Histoire comparée de l’administration IVe–XVIIIe siècles. Edited by Werner Paravicini and Karl-Ferdinand Werner, 191–239. Beiheft der Francia 9. Munich: Artemis, 1980.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. The best and clearest presentation of the structure of local government.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Political Dynamics
  374.  
  375. Although some historians have become reluctant to speak of government and the state, almost all have agreed that complex social and political dynamics inside the ruling class and between the elite and the Carolingians were crucial. Whether these dynamics worked alongside government and institutions or in place of them has been controversial. Fried 1982 is perhaps most skeptical about a state as opposed to more informal social organizations. Airlie 1990, Airlie 2005, Althoff 2004, Innes 2000, and Le Jan 1995 stress social bonds as the basis for political action. Brunner 1979 offers the only study to date of political opposition. Nelson deals with the court as a center of power and influence.
  376.  
  377. Airlie, Stuart. “Bonds of Power and Bonds of Association in the Court Circle of Louis the Pious.” In Charlemagne’s Heir: New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious. Edited by Peter Godman and Roger Collins, 191–204. Oxford: Clarendon, 1990.
  378. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379. Airlie has done more than anyone in recent years to explain the politics of the aristocracy.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Airlie, Stuart. “Charlemagne and the Aristocracy: Captains and Kings.” In Charlemagne: Empire and Society. Edited by Joanna Story, 90–102. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2005.
  382. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. Excellent on relations between Carolingians and political/social elites.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Althoff, Gerd. Family, Friends, and Followers: Political and Social Bonds in Early Medieval Europe. Translated by Christopher Carroll. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  386. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  387. This book stresses social and political over institutional and governmental bonds.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Brunner, Karl. Oppositionelle Gruppen im Karolingerreich. Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung 25. Vienna: Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1979.
  390. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  391. A penetrating analysis of the people and groups who contested the Carolingians.
  392. Find this resource:
  393. Fried, Johannes. “Der karolingische Herrschatfstverband im 9. Jahrhundert zwischen “Kirche” und “Königshaus.” Historische Zeitschrift 235 (1982): 1–43.
  394. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  395. A stimulating, controversial study arguing against the idea that there was a state in the Carolingian era.
  396. Find this resource:
  397. Innes, Matthew. State and Society in the Early Middle Ages: The Middle Rhine Valley, 400–1000. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. A penetrating analysis of authority, power, and government at the local level.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. Le Jan, Régine. Famille et pouvoir dans le monde franc (VIIe–Xe siècle): Essai d’anthropologie sociale. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1995.
  402. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  403. A remarkable study of the structure and behavior of the Carolingian elite.
  404. Find this resource:
  405. Nelson, Janet L. “Was Charlemagne’s Court a Courtly Society?” In Court Culture in the Early Middle Ages: The Proceedings of the First Alcuin Conference, Edited by Catherine Cubitt, 39–57. Studies in the Early Middle Ages 3. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2003.
  406. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  407. This study opens up important perspectives on the royal/imperial court.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Political Ideas
  410.  
  411. Carolingian political ideas owed most to the Bible and to the writing of certain of the church fathers, especially Augustine. Some Germanic ideas persisted. The period actually saw a lot of practical and theoretical writing on political ideas. Nelson 1988 provides the beast introduction, while Ullmann 1969 and Wallace-Hadrill 1971 are classic treatments. Morrision 1964 is strong on theology. Anton 1968 deals with a crucial type of source material. Garipzanov 2008 and Schramm 1954–1956 are important for material sources ranging from coins to regalia. McCormick 1986 explores the ideology of war and the persistence of Roman ideas.
  412.  
  413. Anton, Hans Hubert. Fürstenspiegel und Herrscherethos in der Karolingerzeit. Bonner historische Forschungen 32. Bonn, Germany: Lugwig Rohrscheid, 1968.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. Still the fundamental study of the “Mirrors for Princes.”
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Garipzanov, Ildar H. The Symbolic Language of Authority in the Carolingian World (ca. 751–877). Brill Studies on the Early Middle Ages 6. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2008.
  418. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  419. Creatively using numismatic and liturgical sources, the author explores how Carolingians articulated their ruling ethos in ways measured to the expectations of their audiences.
  420. Find this resource:
  421. McCormick, Michael. Eternal Victory: Triumphal Rulership in Late Antiquity, Byzantium, and the Early Medieval West. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
  422. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  423. A remarkable study of, among other things, the persistence of Roman ideals in the Carolingian era.
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Morrison, Karl F. The Two Kingdoms: Ecclesiology in Carolingian Political Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1964.
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. An investigation of theology’s contribution to political thought with particular emphasis on dualist theories—secular and divine.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. Nelson, Janet L. “Kingship and Empire.” In The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought. Edited by J. H. Burns, 211–251. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
  430. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. An excellent introduction to the key issues.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Schramm, Percy Ernst. Herrschaftszeichen und Staatssymbolik: Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte vom dritten bis zum sechzehnten Jahrhundert. 3 vols. Schriften der Monumenta Germaniae Historica 13.1–3. Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1954–1956.
  434. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. Fundamental study of medieval regalia with much material on the Carolingian era.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Ullmann, Walter. The Carolingian Renaissance and the Idea of Kingship. London: Methuen, 1969.
  438. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  439. An attempt to bring classical and biblical themes to bear on the religious dimensions of royal ideology; emphasizes baptismal themes.
  440. Find this resource:
  441. Wallace-Hadrill, J. M. Early Germanic Kingship in England and on the Continent. Oxford: Clarendon, 1971.
  442. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  443. Important perspectives from a major historian; takes Germanic themes as seriously as Christian ones.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. SOCIETY
  446.  
  447. The most prominent areas of research have concentrated on the aristocracy and on women. Although there has been a good deal of solid work on agriculture and the rural economy, there has not been a corresponding body of work on the peasantry. For peasants, therefore, see Rural Economy and Society. Depreux 2002, Le Jan 2003, and Toubert 2004, all in French, effectively open up the range of issues: class, rank, status, lifestyle, behavior, and ideology.
  448.  
  449. Depreux, Philippe. Les societies occidentals du milieu di VIe à la fin du IXe siècle. Rennes, France: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2002.
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. Self-conscious in its exploration of methodology and source criticism.
  452. Find this resource:
  453. Le Jan, Régine. La société du haut moyen âge VIe–IXe siècle. Paris: Armand Colin, 2003.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. Argues for a distinctive society between antiquity and feudalism, marked by rural estates and Christianization.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Toubert, Pierre. L’Europe dans sa première croissance: De Charlemagne à l’an mil. Paris: Fayard, 2004.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. A delightful, readable, wide-ranging study by a major historian; particularly good on demography and marriage.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. The Elite
  462.  
  463. The elite ruled the Carolingian world and therefore command attention. Airlie 1995 and Werner 1998 are excellent orientations. Goetz 1983 and Schmid 1959 address the structure of the nobility and the terminology of the sources. From different vantage points, Barthélemy 2009, Fleckenstein 1981, Leyser 1984, and Nelson 1989 take up the fascinating issue of the origins of knighthood.
  464.  
  465. Airlie, Stuart. “The Aristocracy.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 431–450. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467. An excellent introduction and orientation.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Barthélemy, Dominique. “Carolingian Knighthood.” In The Serf, the Knight, and the Historian. By Dominique Barthélemy, 154–175. Translated by Robert Graham Edwards. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009.
  470. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  471. To be taken with the articles of Fleckenstein, Leyser, and Nelson on the Carolingian roots of knighthood.
  472. Find this resource:
  473. Fleckenstein, Josef. “Adel und Kriegertum und ihre Wandlung im Karolingerreich.” In Nascità dell’Europa carolingia: un’equazione da verificare. Edited by Centro Italiano sull’alto Medioevo, 67–100. Settimane di Studio del Centro Italiano sull’alto Medioevo 27. Spoleto, Italy: Centro Italiano sull’alto Medioevo, 1981.
  474. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  475. To be taken with Barthélemy 2009, Leyser 1984, and Nelson 1989 on the Carolingian roots of knighthood.
  476. Find this resource:
  477. Goetz, Hans Werner. “Nobilis: Der Adel im Selbstverständnis der karolingerzeit,” Vierteljahrsschrift für Sozial- und Wirtschaftgeschichte 70 (1983): 153–191.
  478. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  479. Good discussion of the terminology in the sources.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. Leyser, Karl. “Early Medieval Canon Law and the Beginnings of Knighthood.” In Institutionen, Kultur und Gesellschaft im Mittelalter: Festschrift für Josef Fleckenstein zu seinem 65. Geburtstag. Edited by Lutz Fenske, Werner Rösener, and Thomas Zotz, 549–566. Sigmaringen, Germany: Thorbecke, 1984.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. To be taken with Barthélemy 2009, Fleckenstein 1981, and Nelson 1989 on the Carolingian roots of knighthood.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Nelson, Janet L. “Ninth-Century Knighthood: The Evidence of Nithard.” In Studies in Medieval History Presented to R. Allen Brown. Edited by Christopher Harper-Bill, Christopher J. Holdsworth, and Janet L. Nelson, 255–266. Woodbridge, UK: Boydell and Brewer, 1989.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. To be taken with Barthélemy 2009, Fleckenstein 1981, and Leyser 1984 on the Carolingian roots of knighthood.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Schmid, Karl. “Über die Struktur des Adels im früheren Mittelalter.” Jahrbuch für fränkische landesforschung 19 (1959): 1–23.
  490. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491. Schmid’s studies open up perspectives on the “Tellenbach” or “Münster School” and its structural studies based on prosopographical analysis.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Werner, Karl-Ferdinand. Naissance de la Noblesse: L’essor des élites politiques en Europe. 2d rev. ed. Paris: Fayard, 1998.
  494. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  495. A fundamental study by the most prolific author in this area of research.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Women and Gender
  498.  
  499. A fairly recent area of historical investigation but burgeoning in recent years. The earliest studies (see Wemple 1981) basically sought to discover the women, and then historians employed gender as a tool of analysis (Nelson 2004, Smith 2004, Smith 1998). Garver 2009 explores the culture of noblewomen, while Heene 1997 and De Jong 2004 examine how the sources portray women. McKitterick 1994 tackles the difficult question of women’s literacy.
  500.  
  501. De Jong, Mayke. “Bride Shows Revisited: Praise, Slander, and Exegesis in the Reign of Empress Judith.” In Gender in the Early Medieval World. Edited by Leslie Brubaker and Julia M. H. Smith, 257–277. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  502. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  503. A fascinating look at, among other things, the role of biblical exegesis in social discourse.
  504. Find this resource:
  505. Garver, Valerie L. Women and Aristocratic Culture in the Carolingian World. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009.
  506. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  507. The first serious attempt to produce a cultural history of elite women in the period.
  508. Find this resource:
  509. Heene, Katrien. The Legacy of Paradise: Marriage, Motherhood, and Woman in Carolingian Edifying Literature. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang, 1997.
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511. Broader than the title suggests.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. McKitterick, Rosamond. “Women and Literacy in the Early Middle Ages.” In Books, Scribes, and Learning in the Frankish Kingdoms, 6th–9th Centuries. By Rosamond McKitterick. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 1994.
  514. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515. An important study that asks what women may have written, and the extent to which manuscripts inform us about women’s literacy. First published in German (1991).
  516. Find this resource:
  517. Nelson, Janet L. “Gendering Courts in the Early Medieval West.” In Gender in the Early Medieval World. Edited by Leslie Brubaker and Julia M. H. Smith, 185–197. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. Brilliant account of the work and influence of women in royal courts.
  520. Find this resource:
  521. Smith, Julia M. H. “Introduction: Gendering the Early Medieval World.” In Gender in the Early Medieval World. Edited by Leslie Brubaker and Julia M. H. Smith, 1–19. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  522. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523. Superb introduction to gender theory and its application to the early medieval period.
  524. Find this resource:
  525. Smith, Julia M. H. “Gender and Ideology in the Early Middle Ages.” Studies in Church History 34 (1998): 51–73.
  526. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  527. Superb introduction to gender theory and its application to the early medieval period.
  528. Find this resource:
  529. Wemple, Suzanne Fonay. Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1981.
  530. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  531. A pioneering study, now somewhat dated.
  532. Find this resource:
  533. The Economy
  534.  
  535. Although some collections of surviving documents lend themselves to quantitative analysis, most economic history for the early medieval period is qualitative rather than quantitative. Questions have turned around whether the period saw the beginnings of a serious spike in economic activity or whether conditions were relatively stagnant. Some scholars have wondered whether Carolingian rulers were alert to economic activity and tried consciously to promote growth. Recent enhancements of both knowledge and interpretation have come from archaeology. Studies listed here range from the old fashioned, empirical, and document based (Dopsch 1969), to the archaeological and theoretical (Hodges 1982, Hodges and Whitehouse 1983), to the empirical and synthetic (McCormick 2001). In order to bring the period into context, scholars still deal with the famous work of Pirenne 1957. Duby 1974 and Verhulst 2002 are fine general introductions.
  536.  
  537. Devroey, Jean-Pierre. Économie rurale et société dans l’Europe franque (VIe–IXe siécles). Vol. 1, Fondements matériels, échanges et lien social. Paris: Belin, 2003.
  538. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  539. Excellent treatment of demography, diet, landscape, etc.—the essential backgrounds.
  540. Find this resource:
  541. Dopsch, Alfons. The Economic and Social Foundations of European Civilization. New York: Howard Fertig, 1969.
  542. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  543. This is a reprint of the 1937 English translation of the author’s magisterial 1924 work in German. Dopsch remains relevant for contemporary discussions both for his rich details and for his insistence on long-term continuity from the time of Caesar to the reign of Charlemagne. Neither the “fall” of Rome not the rise of Islam seemed to him decisive.
  544. Find this resource:
  545. Duby, Georges. The Early Growth of the European Economy: Warriors and Peasants from the Seventh Century to the Twelfth. Translated by Howard B. Clark. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1974.
  546. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  547. A marvelous summary by a master historian.
  548. Find this resource:
  549. Hodges, Richard. Dark Age Economics: The Origins of Towns and Trade, AD 600–1000. London: Duckworth, 1982.
  550. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  551. One of the first books to depart from a strictly documentary approach and include archaeology and also anthropological theory.
  552. Find this resource:
  553. Hodges, Richard, and David Whitehouse. Mohammed, Charlemagne, and the Origins of Europe. London: Duckworth, 1983.
  554. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  555. Based largely on archaeological data, this book argues that Pirenne was wrong to argue for continuity in economic life and rejects the interpretations of historians who embrace the late antique paradigm of gentle transformation.
  556. Find this resource:
  557. McCormick, Michael. The Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce, AD 300–900. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
  558. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  559. A monumental achievement both methodologically and in its specific details. The author tabulates 828 verifiable contacts across the Mediterranean world and goes to work on what this can tell us about connections of every sort; astonishingly creative use of sources.
  560. Find this resource:
  561. Pirenne, Henri. Mohammed and Charlemagne. Cleveland, OH: Meridian, 1957.
  562. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  563. One of the most influential history books of the 20th century. Published posthumously in 1937 in French, in English translation in 1939, and continuously in print. Pirenne argued that the ancient world persisted until the Arab conquests of the 7th century closed the Mediterranean.
  564. Find this resource:
  565. Verhulst, Adriaan. The Carolingian Economy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  566. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  567. The best starting point for further investigations with a fine historiographical orientation.
  568. Find this resource:
  569. Towns and Trade
  570.  
  571. Absent documentary records, it is impossible to measure the volume or value of trade, but much is known about items traded, trade routes, and major trading centers. Once again archaeology has been helpful in filling in gaps in the written sources. Verhaeghe, et al. 2005, Hodges 2003, and Verhulst 1999 are excellent on towns and also on commerce generally. Bruand 2002 and Lebecq 1983 are important for merchants. Grierson’s is a masterful survey of coinage. The wics, semipermanent trading centers that appeared all over northwestern Europe and Britain, have been controversial: Are they towns? Pre-towns? Hill and Cowie 2001 opens up the subject, while Henning 2007 is more up to date and thorough.
  572.  
  573. Bruand, Olivier. Voyageurs et marchandises aux temps carolingiens: Les reseaux de communication entre Loire et Meuse au VIIe et IXe siècles. Brussels: De Boeck and Larcier, 2002.
  574. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  575. Interesting historiographical reflections and a comprehensive, textbooklike presentation; solid bibliography, slanted toward French works.
  576. Find this resource:
  577. Grierson, Philip, and Mark Blackburn. Medieval European Coinage. Vol. 1, The Early Middle Ages (5th–10th Centuries). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
  578. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  579. A masterpiece by one of the 20th century’s greatest numismatists. A knowledge of coinage is indispensable to understanding commerce and any potential links between trade and government.
  580. Find this resource:
  581. Henning, Joachim, ed. Post-Roman Towns: Trade and Settlement in Europe and Byzantium. 2 vols. New York: de Gruyter, 2007.
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583. Volume 1, covering the West, contains papers that are learned and alert to controversial problems of definition, continuity, and change.
  584. Find this resource:
  585. Hill, David, and Robert Cowie, eds. Wics: The Early Mediaeval Trading Centres of Europe. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001.
  586. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  587. Wide-ranging collection of papers that deal with the issues as they stood in 1991, which was the date of the conference the volume is based on.
  588. Find this resource:
  589. Hodges, Richard. Towns and Trade in the Age of Charlemagne. London: Duckworth, 2003.
  590. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  591. Brief but valuable for historiography and archaeology. Also has a good bibliography.
  592. Find this resource:
  593. Lebecq, Stéphane. Marchands et navigateurs frisons du haut moyen âge. 2 vols. Lille, France: Presses Universitaires de Lille, 1983.
  594. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  595. Volume 1 is text and Volume 2 consists of sources in this masterful treatment of the legendary Frisian merchants.
  596. Find this resource:
  597. Verhaeghe, Frans, with Christopher Loveluck and Joanna Story. “Urban Developments in the Ages of Charlemagne.” In Charlemagne: Empire and Society. Edited by Joanna Story, 259–287. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2005.
  598. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  599. A wonderful introduction with excellent historiographical reflections.
  600. Find this resource:
  601. Verhulst, Adriaan. The Rise of Cities in North-West Europe. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  602. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  603. A good overall survey from late Roman times to the 11th century. Puts the Carolingian period in perspective. Fairly traditional in its approach.
  604. Find this resource:
  605. Rural Economy and Society
  606.  
  607. Wealth, and thus power, was fundamentally tied to the land. Estates generated the wealth that made the war, politics, and patronage of the elite possible. Elites controlled the peasants, free or bonded, who lived on the estates. Loveluck 2005 and Wickham 1995 are solid introductions. Devroey 2006 is magisterial. Davies 1988 and Kuchenbuch 1978 open perspectives on three very different regions. Catteddu 2009 provides a fine orientation to the discoveries of archaeology, and Davies 1988 is a superb introduction to the results achieved in the study of one small region. Distinctive developments in Italy are discussed in Francovich and Hodges 2003.
  608.  
  609. Catteddu, Isabel. Archéologie médiévale en France: Le premier moyen âge, Ve–XIe siècle. Paris: Découverte, 2009.
  610. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  611. A lively and readable introduction to the most important result of archaeological investigations, primarily but not exclusively investigating the countryside.
  612. Find this resource:
  613. Cuisenier, Jean and Rémy Guadagnin. Un village au temps de Charlemagne: moines et paysans de l’abbaye de Saint-Denis du VII siècle à l’an mil; Musée National des Arts et Traditions Populaires, 29 novembre 1988–30 avril 1989. Paris: Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1988.
  614. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  615. Based on excavations of three small settlements just north of Paris that once belonged to the monastery of St.-Denis, the volume is a catalogue of the museum exhibition devoted to the work and a series of expert essays.
  616. Find this resource:
  617. Davies, Wendy. Small Worlds: The Village Community in Early Medieval Brittany. London: Duckworth, 1988.
  618. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  619. Lively study of one distinctive region based on records of the monastery of Redon.
  620. Find this resource:
  621. Devroey, Jean-Pierre. Puissants et misérables: système social et monde paysan dans l’Europe franque (VIe–IXe siècles). Mémoires de la Classe des Lettres 3.40. Brussels: Académie royale de Belgique, 2006.
  622. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  623. Likely to be the definitive study by the reigning master of Carolingian rural studies.
  624. Find this resource:
  625. Francovich, Riccardo, and Richard Hodges. Villa to Village: The Transformation of the Roman Countryside in Italy, ca. 400–1000. London: Duckworth, 2003.
  626. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  627. Whereas Italian hilltop villages were long thought to derive from attacks and unsettled conditions in the 10th century, this book shows that they evolved from late Roman villas. The book also shows how written and archaeological evidence differ.
  628. Find this resource:
  629. Kuchenbuch, Ludolf. Bäuerliche Gesellschaft und Klosterherrschaft im 9. Jahrhundert: Studien zur Sozialstruktur der Familia des Abtei Prüm. Wiesbaden, Germany: Steiner, 1978.
  630. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  631. Careful study of the Rhineland region.
  632. Find this resource:
  633. Loveluck, Christopher. “Rural Settlement Hierarchy in the Age of Charlemagne.” In Charlemagne: Empire and Society. Edited by Joanna Story, 230–258. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2005.
  634. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  635. A sophisticated but accessible introduction to both the techniques and discoveries of rural historians.
  636. Find this resource:
  637. Wickham, Chris. “Rural Society in Carolingian Europe.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 510–552. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  638. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  639. The best introduction with rich bibliography in many languages, albeit stronger on society than on agrarian economy.
  640. Find this resource:
  641. The Carolingian Church
  642.  
  643. The Carolingian attempt to implement an Augustinian City of God on earth meant that the church as an institution and as an intellectual and ideological resource was going to be fundamental to almost everything that the dynasty did, or tried to do. The church was constantly an agent and an object of reform. The church was also a major landowner and, therefore, deeply implicated in the Carolingian social and economic life. There have not been major areas of scholarly disagreement. In recent decades scholarship on the period, as on the Middle Ages generally, has tended to move away from the institutional church toward religion and spirituality. Whereas in other periods heretics and dissenters have attracted a good deal of attention, this is not the case for the Carolingian period, as there was remarkably little dissent. Some older works (Amann 1937) can still be recommended, and the most recent general account is Wallace-Hadrill 1983. McKitterick 1977 remains a fine introduction to the basic source and what they reveal. De Jong 2005 is a sparkling introduction to the whole topic. Noble and Smith 2008 treats virtually all aspects of early medieval church history.
  644.  
  645. Amann, Émile. Histoire de l’église depuis les origins jusqu’à nos jours. Vol. 6, L’époque carolingienne. Edited by Augustin Fliche and Victor Martin. Paris: Bloud et Gay, 1937.
  646. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  647. A classic survey: comprehensive, readable, and still durable in its main outlines.
  648. Find this resource:
  649. De Jong, Mayke. “Charlemagne’s Church.” In Charlemagne: Empire and Society. Edited by Joanna Story, 103–135. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2005.
  650. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  651. An excellent introduction to the essential themes of reform and of secular/spiritual relations.
  652. Find this resource:
  653. McKitterick, Rosamond. The Frankish Church and the Carolingian Reforms, 789–895. London: Royal Historical Society, 1977.
  654. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  655. An excellent presentation of the major kinds of sources that reveal the history of the Carolingian church, with careful discussions of each.
  656. Find this resource:
  657. Noble, Thomas F. X., and Julia M. H. Smith, eds. Early Medieval Christianities, 600–1100. The Cambridge History of Christianity 3. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
  658. DOI: 10.1017/CHOL9780521817752Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  659. Thematically structured, most of these chapters address the Carolingian period in some way. Massive bibliography.
  660. Find this resource:
  661. Wallace-Hadrill, J. M. The Frankish Church. Oxford: Clarendon, 1983.
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  663. The first half of the volume treats the Merovingian era, the second half the Carolingian. Occasionally quirky, the work is also sometimes brilliant.
  664. Find this resource:
  665. Law and Institutions
  666.  
  667. Reynolds 1995 is a fine introduction to the law and institutions as well as to the sources. The article also has massive bibliography. Imbert 1994 is also a lengthier introduction. Hartmann 1989 is fundamental on the councils. Van Rhijn 2007 is a fine study of priests and the sources that reveal their activities.
  668.  
  669. Hartmann, Wilfried. Die Synoden der Karolingerzeit im Frankenreich und in Italien. Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schöningh, 1989.
  670. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  671. A thorough, systematic treatment of all the church councils in the period.
  672. Find this resource:
  673. Imbert, Jean. Histoire du droit et des institutions de l’Église en Occident. Vol. 5, Les temps carolingiens: 741–891. Paris: Éditons Cujas, 1994.
  674. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  675. A solid, systematic presentation of basic institutional structures.
  676. Find this resource:
  677. Reynolds, Roger E. “The Organization, Liturgy, and Law of the Western Church, 700–900.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 587–621. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  678. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  679. A concise presentation of institutional structures, liturgical books and practices, and law and law books.
  680. Find this resource:
  681. Van Rhijn, Carine. Shepherds of the Lord: Priests and Episcopal Statutes in the Carolingian Period. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2007.
  682. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  683. The first major study of the Carolingian priesthood to make use of the episcopal statutes in their modern editions.
  684. Find this resource:
  685. Monasticism
  686.  
  687. There is no comprehensive and up-to-date history of Carolingian monasticism despite a general acknowledgment of the importance of the subject. De Jong 1995 is the best introduction. Horn and Born 1979 is a masterpiece of architectural and general history. Claussen 2004 limns the boundary between monks and canons while Sullivan 1998 traces the boundary between monks and the world. Constable 1982 explores the pastoral work of monks. Schilp 1998 studies legislation on women’s monasticism.
  688.  
  689. Claussen, Martin A. The Reform of the Frankish Church: Chrodegang of Metz and the Regula Canonicorum in the Eighth Century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  690. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  691. The fullest treatment of a major figure, document, and development in Carolingian history.
  692. Find this resource:
  693. Constable, Giles. “Monasteries, Rural Churches, and the Cura Animarum in the Early Middle Ages.” In Cristianizzazione ed organizzazione ecclesiastica delle campagne nell’alto Medioevo: espansione e resistenze, 10–16 aprile 1980. Edited by Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 349–389. Settimane di studio dell’Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo 28. Spoleto, Italy: Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 1982.
  694. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  695. An interesting study by a master historian treating the perhaps unsuspected pastoral role played by monks.
  696. Find this resource:
  697. De Jong, Mayke. “Carolingian Monasticism: The Power of Prayer.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 622–653. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  698. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  699. The best introduction to the overall subject of Carolingian monasticism.
  700. Find this resource:
  701. Horn, Walter, and Ernest Born. The Plan of St. Gall: A Study of the Architecture of, and Life in a Paradigmatic Carolingian Monastery. 3 vols. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979.
  702. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  703. Basing themselves on the Plan of St. Gall, the authors reconstruct the hypothetical monastery and then study it in many contemporary contexts.
  704. Find this resource:
  705. Schilp, Thomas. Norm und Wirklichkeit religiöser Frauengemeinschaften im Frühmittelalter. Veröffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts für Geschichte 137. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 1998.
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  707. A careful analysis of the 816 legislation on nuns. One of the only significant studies of female monasticism in the Carolingian world.
  708. Find this resource:
  709. Sullivan, Richard E. “What was Carolingian Monasticism? The Plan of St. Gall and Carolingian Monasticism.” In After Rome’s Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History. Essays Presented to Walter Goffart. Edited by Alexander C. Murray, 251–287. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
  710. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  711. From a study of the famous St. Gall plan. The author draws conclusions about the relationships between monasteries and the world around them.
  712. Find this resource:
  713. Popes, Papacy, and Papal Relations
  714.  
  715. The Carolingian period was important in the history of the papacy, and the Carolingians themselves were closely involved with the popes throughout. Noble 1995 provides a clear introduction to the main issues. Noble 1984 describes Carolingian relations with the popes.
  716.  
  717. Noble, Thomas F. X. “The Papacy in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 563–586. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  718. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  719. Carolingian relations with the papacy were important throughout the period and the papacy itself developed dramatically in the era.
  720. Find this resource:
  721. Noble, Thomas F. X. The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680–825. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984.
  722. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  723. A detailed discussion of the origins of papal temporal rule and of the inception and nature of the Frankish-papal alliance.
  724. Find this resource:
  725. Religion and Lay Society
  726.  
  727. As historians have moved away from studying the church as an institution, they began turning to the religious life of ordinary people. Smith 1995 offers a good introduction on the subject. Chelini 1991 provides vastly more detail. Heitz 1980 connects faith, practice, and the built environment.
  728.  
  729. Chélini, Jean. L’aube du moyen âge: Naissance de la Chrétienté occidentale: La vie religieuse des laics dans l’Europe carolingienne (750–900). Paris: Picard, 1991.
  730. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  731. Massive and dense, this book’s rich details tell much about the sacramental and spiritual life of the laity.
  732. Find this resource:
  733. Heitz, Carol. L’architecture religieuse carolingienne: Les formes et leurs fonctions. Paris: Picard, 1980.
  734. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  735. A classic study that stresses connections between buildings and liturgy.
  736. Find this resource:
  737. Smith, Julia M. H. “Religion and Lay Society.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 654–678. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  738. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  739. A superb introduction to the religious life of the people as far as it can be gleaned from the sources.
  740. Find this resource:
  741. Mission and Evangelization
  742.  
  743. The Carolingian desire to Christianize the people living along their frontiers has long been a focus of scholarship. Fletcher 1997 is a readable and wide-ranging introduction. Sullivan 1956 treats the ideas behind Carolingian activity and Sullivan 1953 studies the encounter between Carolingian and pagans. Wood 2001 is a brilliant treatment of the key sources.
  744.  
  745. Fletcher, Richard. The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity. New York: Henry Holt, 1997.
  746. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  747. The best overall treatment of the spread of Christianity beyond Rome’s frontiers, from late Antiquity to the dawn of the millennium.
  748. Find this resource:
  749. Sullivan, Richard E. “Carolingian Missionary Theories.” Catholic Historical Review 42 (1956): 273–295.
  750. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  751. Still unsurpassed as a discussion of this important topic.
  752. Find this resource:
  753. Sullivan, Richard E. “The Carolingian Missionary and the Pagan.” Speculum 28 (1953): 705–740.
  754. DOI: 10.2307/2849201Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  755. A finely nuanced treatment of the nature of Carolingian encounters with pagans.
  756. Find this resource:
  757. Wood, Ian N. The Missionary Life: Saints and the Evangelisation of Europe, 400–1050. Harlow, UK: Longman, 2001.
  758. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  759. The title is a double entendre: the book is about the lives of missionaries and about the vitae that reveal those lives.
  760. Find this resource:
  761. Intellectual History
  762.  
  763. Since Jean-Jacques Ampère christened “The Carolingian Renaissance” in 1839 the intellectual history of Charlemagne’s era has been a staple of historical research. Studies have emphasized schools and schoolmasters, libraries, and manuscripts. Major figures have attracted attention. Problems of definition—renaissance, renewal, reform, etc.—have had wide discussion. Literacy and the culture of the laity have been recent interests. Carolingian art and architecture have also been central concerns. Contreni 1995 and Ganz 1995 are the best places to start. McKitterick 1994 is an excellent overall introduction. Riché 1976 and Laistner 1957 are classic surveys. Godman 1987 opens up the age’s considerable poetic corpus as McKittrick 2004 does with historical writing. Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo 1954 represented the second of the Spoleto Settimane.
  764.  
  765. Contreni, John J. “The Carolingian Renaissance: Education and Literary Culture.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 709–757. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
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  767. Superb introduction to the whole range of relevant topics. The author is a master of his subject matter.
  768. Find this resource:
  769. Ganz, David. “Theology and the Organization of Thought.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 758–785. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  770. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  771. An excellent introduction to an important subject that as of yet has no useful synthetic study; includes a fine bibliography.
  772. Find this resource:
  773. Godman, Peter. Poets and Emperors: Frankish Politics and Carolingian Poetry. Oxford: Clarendon, 1987.
  774. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  775. In addition to penetrating insights into the era’s poetry, the book connects that poetry to the central political and ideological discussions of the day.
  776. Find this resource:
  777. Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo. I problem della civiltà carolingia: atti della settimana di studio 26 marzo–1 aprile 1953. Settimane di studio dell Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo 2. Spoleto, Italy: Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 1954.
  778. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  779. An important collection of papers by some of the greatest scholars of the first half of the 20th century.
  780. Find this resource:
  781. Laistner, M. L. W. Thought and Letters in Western Europe, AD 500 to 900. 2d ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1957.
  782. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  783. Although superseded in parts, this remains the best overall survey.
  784. Find this resource:
  785. McKitterick, Rosamond. History and Memory in the Carolingian World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  786. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  787. Makes a case for the importance and originality of Carolingian historical writing.
  788. Find this resource:
  789. McKitterick, Rosamond, ed. Carolingian Culture: Emulation and Innovation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
  790. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  791. Eleven fine essays that survey the field: from books and schools to art and music.
  792. Find this resource:
  793. Riché, Pierre. Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: Sixth through Eighth Centuries. Translated by John J. Contreni. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1976.
  794. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  795. A fundamental study on its own terms and offers a good background on the Carolingians. Originally published as Éducation et culture dans l’Occident barbare, VIe–VIIIe siècles (Paris : Éditions du Seuil, 1962).
  796. Find this resource:
  797. Problems of Terminology and Definition
  798.  
  799. Scholars have debated whether to call the Carolingian period a Renaissance (Trompf 1973) or a reform (Morrison 1967). Ganshof 1954 looks at the options. Contreni 1980 is skeptical. Bullough 1991 questions the Roman roots, and Nelson 1977 raises doubts about the idea of a renaissance when law was relatively unimportant.
  800.  
  801. Bullough, Donald A. “Roman Books and Carolingian Renovatio.” In Carolingian Renewal: Sources and Heritage. By Donald A. Bullough, 1–38. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1991.
  802. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  803. Lively discussion of the authenticating dimension of classical works as bearers of texts and as physical objects.
  804. Find this resource:
  805. Contreni, John J. “Inharmonious Harmony: Education in the Carolingian World.” Annals of Scholarship 1 (1980): 81–96.
  806. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  807. An intriguing study of how diverse centers and masters participated in a common movement.
  808. Find this resource:
  809. Ganshof, François L. “La discussion sul tema: Il problema del rinascimento carolino.” In I problem della civiltà carolingia: atti della settimana di studio 26 marzo–1 aprile 1953. By Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 309–377. Settimane di studio dell Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo 2. Spoleto, Italy: Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 1954.
  810. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  811. A classic earlier statement of the varying points of interpretation.
  812. Find this resource:
  813. Morrison, Karl F. “The Church, Reform, and Renaissance in the Early Middle Ages.” In Life and Thought in the Early Middle Ages. Edited by Robert S. Hoyt, 143–159. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1967.
  814. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  815. An elegant argument for emphasizing reform over renaissance.
  816. Find this resource:
  817. Nelson, Janet L. “On the Limits of the Carolingian Renaissance.” Studies in Church History 14 (1977): 51–67.
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  819. Notes areas, especially law, where the Carolingians lagged.
  820. Find this resource:
  821. Trompf, G. W. “The Concept of the Carolingian Renaissance.” Journal of the History of Ideas 34 (1973): 3–26.
  822. DOI: 10.2307/2708941Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  823. Interesting if slightly naïve attempt to defend the term “renaissance” by drawing comparisons with the Italian renaissance.
  824. Find this resource:
  825. Schools, Books, Libraries, and Literacy
  826.  
  827. The studies listed here take up the “infrastructure” of Carolingian learning, the dissemination of learning, and issues pertaining to access to learning. Ganz 1995 and Bischoff 1994 open fascinating perspectives on the production of books. Contreni 1978, Jones 1932, and Hildebrand 1992 introduce schools. Ganz 1990 and Rand 1934 treat two important schools with particular attention to their manuscripts.
  828.  
  829. Bischoff, Bernhard. Manuscripts and Libraries in the Age of Charlemagne. Translated by Michael M. Gorman. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
  830. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  831. Several essays by the 20th century’s greatest paleographer.
  832. Find this resource:
  833. Contreni, John J. The Cathedral School of Laon from 850 to 930: Its Manuscripts and Masters. Münchener Beiträge zur Mediävistik und Renaissance-Forschung 29. Munich: Arbeo-Gesellschaft, 1978.
  834. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  835. A model study of one important school.
  836. Find this resource:
  837. Ganz, David. Corbie in the Carolingian Renaissance. Beihefte der Francia 20. Sigmaringen, Germany: Thorbecke, 1990.
  838. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  839. Comparable to Contreni’s work on Laon, a model study of one key intellectual center.
  840. Find this resource:
  841. Ganz, David. “Book Production in the Carolingian Empire and the Spread of Caroline Minuscule.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 786–808. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
  842. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  843. A fine survey with a particularly important presentation of Carolingian script.
  844. Find this resource:
  845. Hildebrand, M. M. The External School in Carolingian Society. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1992.
  846. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  847. The only complete study of the monastic and cathedral schools intended for lay boys.
  848. Find this resource:
  849. Jones, Leslie Webber. The Script of Cologne from Hildebald to Hermann. Cambridge, MA: Medieval Academy of America, 1932.
  850. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  851. Exemplary study of one school based on a paleographic analysis of its manuscripts.
  852. Find this resource:
  853. Rand, Edward Kennard. The Earliest Book of Tours, with Supplementary Descriptions of Other Manuscripts. Cambridge, MA: Medieval Academy of America, 1934.
  854. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  855. Comparable to Jones 1932 on Cologne, a study of one key center.
  856. Find this resource:
  857. Literacy
  858.  
  859. Although Richter 1994 would still argue for a largely illiterate Carolingian world, others take a different view. McKitterick 1989 is the most optimistic, but Nelson 1990 shows the importance of literacy for Carolingian government. Literacy is closely connected to communication, which means that it is also connected to language. Banniard 1995 has interesting things to say about the Latinate and Germanic realms, while Wright 1982 discusses the mutual intelligibility of Latin and Romance. The essays in Wormald and Nelson 2007 look at literacy and learning in wide contexts.
  860.  
  861. Banniard, Michel. “Language and Communication in Carolingian Europe.” In The New Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. 2. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 695–708. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
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  863. Summarizing the author’s vast oeuvre, mostly in French, this study discusses the problems of a polyglot realm.
  864. Find this resource:
  865. McKitterick, Rosamond. The Carolingians and the Written Word. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
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  867. Important and controversial study concluding that, on the basis of a wide array of sources, literacy was more widespread than heretofore believed.
  868. Find this resource:
  869. Nelson, Janet L. “Literacy in Carolingian Government.” In The Uses of Literacy in Early Mediaeval Europe. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 258–296. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  870. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  871. Takes up the important subject of all the written materials produced by the Carolingian government, who used them, and why they mattered.
  872. Find this resource:
  873. Richter, Michael. The Formation of the Medieval West: Studies in the Oral Culture of the Barbarians. Dublin, Ireland: Four Courts, 1994.
  874. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  875. Countering tendencies to emphasize early medieval literacy, the author is skeptical about the extent and impact of writing.
  876. Find this resource:
  877. Wormald, Patrick, and Janet L. Nelson, eds. Lay Intellectuals in the Carolingian World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
  878. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  879. The first eight essays in this book take up the important subject of learning beyond clerical circles.
  880. Find this resource:
  881. Wright, Roger. Late Latin and Early Romance in Spain and Carolingian France. Liverpool, UK: Francis Cairns, 1982.
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  883. Controversial study of the implications of Latin’s transformation into Romance.
  884. Find this resource:
  885. Individual Figures
  886.  
  887. The studies listed here form a selection of the best work on some of the most important figures; many titles have excellent bibliographies. Boshof 1969 and Kasten 1986 come close to being biographies. Generally, however, surviving materials only permit thematic studies. Carabine 2000 and O’Meara 1988 are strong on philosophy. Dahlhaus-Berg 1975 is strong on theology. Devisse 1975 is excellent on law, ecclesiology, and political thought. Freeman 2003 is a collection of articles. Bullough 2004 shows especially what one can do with manuscripts.
  888.  
  889. Boshof, Egon. Erzbischof Agobard von Lyon. Kölner historische Abhandlungen 17. Cologne, Germany: Böhlau, 1969.
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  891. Full study of an engaged, controversial, learned figure.
  892. Find this resource:
  893. Bullough, Donald A. Alcuin: Achievement and Reputation. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2004.
  894. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  895. Published posthumously, this was the author’s lifework—magisterial but dense and difficult. Strongest on manuscripts.
  896. Find this resource:
  897. Carabine, Deirdre. John Scottus Eriugena. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
  898. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  899. Delightful introduction to the most complex thinker of the period.
  900. Find this resource:
  901. Dahlhaus-Berg, Elisabeth. Nova Antiquitas et Antiqua Novitas: Typologische Exegesis und isidorisches Geschichtsbild bei Theodulf von Orléans. Kölner historische Abhundlungen 23. Cologne, Germany: Böhlau, 1975.
  902. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  903. The fullest study of a Carolingian polymath.
  904. Find this resource:
  905. Devisse, Jean. Hincmar, Archevêque de Reims, 845–882. 3 vols. Geneva, Switzerland: Librairie Droz, 1975.
  906. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  907. A monumental study of the greatest legal mind of the age.
  908. Find this resource:
  909. Freeman, Ann. Theodulf of Orléans: Charlemagne’s Spokesman against the Second Council of Nicaea. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate/Variorum, 2003.
  910. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  911. Eight of Freeman’s essential studies of Theodulf.
  912. Find this resource:
  913. Kasten, Brigitte. Adalhard von Corbie: Die Biographie eines karolingischen Politikers und Klostervorstehers. Studia Humaniora 3. Dusseldorf, Germany: Droste, 1986.
  914. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  915. Study of a long-influential figure who was a cousin of Charlemagne.
  916. Find this resource:
  917. O’Meara, John J. Eriugena. Oxford: Clarendon, 1988.
  918. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  919. Intellectual portrait of a difficult thinker with excellent summaries of his major works.
  920. Find this resource:
  921. Art, Architecture, and Music
  922.  
  923. In each of these areas of scholarship the Carolingian period has been signaled as original, creative, and important. Most of the works listed here have extensive bibliographies. Conant 1966 remains the classic treatment of architecture, but McClendon 2005 is original and important. Nees 2002 is an outstanding survey of art, while Goldschmidt 1914–1926 and Koehler 1958–1971 are essential repertoires. Rankin 1994 is a readable introduction to Carolingian music, while Levy 1998 is an accessible study of chant. Noble 2009 discusses how the Carolingian talked about art.
  924.  
  925. Conant, Kenneth John. Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture, 800–1200. 2d ed. Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1966.
  926. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  927. Long the reigning survey, this study portrays Carolingian architecture less as an heir of classicism than as the precursor to the Romanesque.
  928. Find this resource:
  929. Goldschmidt, Adolf. Die Elfenbeinskulpturen. Vols. 1–2. Berlin: B. Cassirer, 1914–1926.
  930. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  931. Dated in some interpretations, the work contains representations of almost all surviving Carolingian ivories. Reprinted in 1969 (Berlin: Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaften).
  932. Find this resource:
  933. Koehler, Wilhelm. Die karolingische Miniaturen. 6 vols. Berlin: Deutsche Verein für Kunstwissenchaft, 1958–1971.
  934. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  935. Dated, albeit still influential in many of its interpretations, the volumes of images have pictures of virtually every Carolingian miniature.
  936. Find this resource:
  937. Levy, Kenneth. Gregorian Chant and the Carolingians. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998.
  938. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  939. Outstanding introduction accessible to the nonspecialist.
  940. Find this resource:
  941. McClendon, Charles B. The Origins of Medieval Architecture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2005.
  942. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  943. This prizewinning study places Carolingian architecture in its classical context and then shows what was original about it.
  944. Find this resource:
  945. Nees, Lawrence. Early Medieval Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
  946. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  947. A superb introduction with a rich treatment of the Carolingian era.
  948. Find this resource:
  949. Noble, Thomas F. X. Images, Iconoclasm, and the Carolingians. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009.
  950. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  951. A comprehensive treatment of what the Carolingians said about art—situated against late Antique and Byzantine backgrounds.
  952. Find this resource:
  953. Rankin, Susan. “Carolingian Music.” In Carolingian Culture: Emulation and Innovation. Edited by Rosamond McKitterick, 274–316. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
  954. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  955. An excellent and comprehensive orientation for the nonspecialist.
  956. Find this resource:
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