Religious Franks : religion and power in the Frankish kingdoms - studies in honour of Mayke de Jong

A unique collection that offers fresh and original perspectives on some of the most important themes in Frankish history Front matter Contents List of figures Preface Notes on contributors List of abbreviations Introduction Part I Defining royal authority: religious discourse and political polemic The rhetoric of election: 1 Peter 2.9 and the Franks Adopt, adapt and improve: dealing with the Adoptionist controversy at the court of Charlemagne The ruler as referee in theological debates: Reccared and Charlemagne The ruler with the sword in the Utrecht Psalter Part II Royal power in action: correctio Reform and the Merovingian Church ‘... but they pray badly using corrected books’: errors in early Carolingian copies of the Admonitio generalis Emendatio and effectus in Frankish prayer traditions Alcuin, Seneca and the Brahmins of India ‘Et hoc considerat episcopus, ut ipsi presbyteri non sint idiothae’: Carolingian local correctio and an unknown priests’ exam from the early ninth century Religious Saxons: paganism, infidelity and biblical punishment in the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae An admonition too far? The sermon De cupiditate by Ambrose Autpertus Three annotated letter manuscripts: scholarly practices of religious Franks in the margin unveiled Part III Monastic powerhouses and ­centres of learning The Carolingians and the Regula Benedicti Reichenau and its amici viventes: ­competition and cooperation? Monte Cassino and Carolingian politics around 800 A mirror of princes who opted out: Regino of Prüm and royal monastic conversion Part IV Powerful bishops Merovingian gospel readings in Northumbria: the legacy of Wilfrid? Bishops in the mirror: from self-representation to episcopal model. The case of the eloquent bishops Ambrose of Milan and Gregory the Great Charlemagne and the bishops The Penance of Attigny (822) and the leadership of the bishops in amending Carolingian society From Justinian to Louis the Pious: inalienability of church property and the sovereignty of a ruler in the the ninth century Incest, penance and a murdered bishop: the legend of Frederic of Utrecht Part V Franks and Rome Pippin III and the sandals of Christ: the making and unmaking of an early medieval relic Rulers, popes and bishops: the ­historical context of the ninth-century Cologne Codex Carolinus manuscript (Codex Vindobonensis 449) A historical context: the 790s Carolingian rivalries and the archiepiscopal see of Cologne Historiography and memory in the later Carolingian world Conclusion Acknowledgements Pope Nicholas I and the Franks: politics and ecclesiology in the ninth century Bibliography Index ' Religious Franks is a coherent, thematically well-defined collection of essays that focuses on the importance of religion for Frankish politics and elaborates on the work of Mayke De Jong, the book's honouree. To many scholars today it may seem self-evident that religion and politics in the Middle Ages were inextricably bound up with each other, but this awareness is in fact the result of ground-breaking research of amongst others Mayke De Jong, who in her work unremittingly urges students of early medieval society to take religion seriously. The contributors of this volume have taken her admonition to heart and build upon De Jong's insights, while bringing in their own expertise and suggesting new directions of research and discussion. The kind of cooperation displayed in this volume makes it a unique and fresh contribution that will be indispensable for relevant future research in the field. The collection addresses issues such as the nature of royal authority, the definition of a polity, unity and dissent, ideas of correction and discipline, the power of rhetoric and the rhetoric of power and the diverse ways in which power was institutionalised and grounded in a venerable and Christian past. Religious Franks contains a large number of contributions from internationally renowned specialists in the field of early medieval history and will be of interest to specialists and advanced students in various related disciplines' --Back cover This volume in honour of Mayke De Jong offers twenty-five essays focused upon the importance of religion to Frankish politics, a discourse to which De Jong herself has contributed greatly in her academic career. The prominent and internationally renowned contributors offer fresh perspectives on various themes such as the nature of royal authority, the definition of polity, unity and dissent, ideas of correction and discipline, the power of rhetoric and the rhetoric of power, and the diverse ways in power was institutionalised and employed by lay and ecclesiastical authorities. As such, this volume offers a uniquely comprehensive and valuable contribution to the field of medieval history, in particular the study of the Frankish world in the eighth and ninth centuries.