Medieval Christianity: The Carolingians

Until the seventh century, Europe was simply a geographic term; as Isidore of Seville defined it, Europe was "the space that extended from the river Don to Spain and the Atlantic". By the ninth century, however, Europe had gradually acquired a collective being with a shared identity. The political, cultural, and spiritual activity of laymen and churchmen had fostered the creation of a common European fold which stretched from the Atlantic to the Vistula and the plains of the middle Danube. This transformation was due in large part to the Carolingians, their relations, and their allies, who together became the masters of Gaul and then of much of the West. Riche traces the destiny of the Carolingians and the parallel history of Europe, stressing the roles of the leaders who imposed themselves by force, diplomacy, and culture.

Professor Ganshof is one of the leading European authorities on the Carolingian period. Collected in this volume are sixteen of his articles, the majority appearing in English for the first time, devoted to the Carolingian monarchy. In some his purpose has been to clarify the institutional, legal, and ecclesiastical structure of the "Regnum Francorum' under Charlemagne; in others he has outlined the activity of this powerful personality as it affected particular fields. Two articles deal with the great Frankish empire under Charlemagne's son and successor, Louis the Pious, who despite attempts to consolidate his father's achievement ended by precipitating its dissolution. The break-up occurred in 843, with the treaty of Verdun; the immediate causes of this tragedy are discussed in the concluding article. The appearance of this collection is an important event in historical studies, and will be welcomed by all students of the period.

Historically the question of the procession of the Holy Spirit has been one of the most significant controversies in the history of Christian thought, a controversy which concerns the heart of the Christian vision of God.The conclusion of this first volume is that the Carolingian period,unsophisticated as it may be,was the decisive formative stage in the history of a problem which later became an insurmountable barrier between the Eastern and Western Churches.This Carolingian-Byzantine Trinitarian controversy and presents and analyzes the comparative theological presuppositions of the Carolingians and the Byzantines.

The definition and notion of frontiers changed in the process of the transformation of the Roman world.This volume goes beyond topography to explore the meaning and impact of new frontiers as they were established.
Three of the contributions discuss Roman frontiers and their perception in late antiquity,demonstrating that they were not simply defence lines,but also a basis for offensive operations,a focus in elaborate exchange networks ans a means of internal control.Other papers describe the frontiers of early medieval kingdoms,two of which propose theoretical models,whereas others analyse the construction and the blurring of frontiers between the empire and the kingdoms of the Visigoths,Lombards and Avars.Four of the contributions deal with the frontiers of the Carolingian Empire in their political and military aspects,as well as in the context of conversion and missions.-Flap cover.

Destruction and the decay of law are the background of this study.In the last years of Chrarlemagne,the political order which he had established fell into decline ,and internecine wars in the time of Louis the Pious and for thirty years after his death first divided the Frankish Empire into several kingdoms nominally subject to the emperor,then brought about the effectual secession of those kingdoms from imperial control,and finally even dissipated the powers of central governments in the splinter kingdoms.But the study of secular and ecclesiastical law,the framing of sometimes sophisticated legal pronouncements,and the formulation of thoughts concerning the rightful structure and powers of government continued throughout this period.Between the imperial coronation of Charlemagne on Christmas Day,A.D.800,and the death of the great lawyer Hincmar of Rheims eighty-two years later,almost to the day,the study of law and patristic writings led to a refined ecclesiology among the Franks which,in turn significantly modified conventional elements of political thought to the benefit of the Frankish clergy.Our theme is this modification,the fruit of devotion to law in a time of increasing lawlessness.-Preface.

A world-renowned scholar of plainchant, Kenneth Levy has spent a portion of his career investigating the nature and ramifications of this repertory's shift from an oral tradition to the written versions dating to the tenth century. In Gregorian Chant and the Carolingians, which represents the culmination of his research, Levy seeks to change long-held perceptions about certain crucial stages of the evolution and dissemination of the old corpus of plainchant--most notably the assumption that such a large and complex repertory could have become and remained fixed for over a century while still an oral tradition. Levy portrays the promulgation of an authoritative body of plainchant during the reign of Charlemagne by clearly differentiating between actual evidence, hypotheses, and received ideas. How many traditions of oral chant existed before the tenth century? Among the variations noted in written chant, can one point to a single version as being older or more authentic than the others? What precursors might there have been to the notational system used in all the surviving manuscripts, where the notational system seems fully formed and mature? In answering questions that have long vexed many scholars of Gregorian chant's early history, Levy offers fresh explanations of such topics as the origin of Latin neumes, the shifting relationships between memory and early notations, and the puzzling differences among the first surviving neume-species from the tenth century, which have until now impeded a critical restoration of the Carolingian musical forms [Publisher description].