The Politics of Memory and Identity in Carolingian Royal Diplomas: The West Frankish Kingdom (840-987)

684 Pages·2012·3.506 MB·English

by  Geoffrey Koziol

THE POLITICS OF MEMORY AND IDENTITY
IN CAROLINGIAN ROYAL DIPLOMAS
UTRECHT STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERACY
19
UTRECHT STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL LITERACY
General Editor
Marco Mostert (University of Utrecht)
Editorial Board
Gerd Althoff (Westfälische-Wilhelms-Universität Münster)
Michael Clanchy (University of London)
Peter Gumbert (University of Leiden)
Mayke de Jong (University of Utrecht)
Rosamond McKitterick (University of Cambridge)
Arpád Orbán (University of Utrecht)
Armando Petrucci (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa)
Richard H. Rouse (UCLA)
THE POLITICS OF
MEMORY AND IDENTITY
IN CAROLINGIAN ROYAL
DIPLOMAS
THE WEST FRANKISH KINGDOM (840-987)

Geoffrey Koziol
H
F
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Koziol, Geoffrey.
The politics of memory and identity in Carolingian royal
diplomas : the West Frankish Kingdom (840-987). – (Utrecht
studies in medieval literacy ; v. 19)
1. France – Charters, grants, privileges – History – To
1500. 2. France – History – To 987 – Sources.
3. Carolingians – History – Sources. 4. Monasteries –
France – History – To 1500 – Sources. 5. Political customs
and rites – France – History – To 1500 – Sources.
6. France – Kings and rulers – Succession. 7. Manuscripts,
Medieval – France.
I. Title II. Series
944'.014-dc22
ISBN-13: 9782503535951
© 2012 – Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
D/2012/0095/1
ISBN 978-2-503-53595-1
Printed on acid-free paper
They close their eyes and whisper your name over and over.
But they cannot drag the buried light from your veins.
They cannot reach your dreams.
Mark Strand
The Story of Our Lives
In memory of Gavin and Pat,
Britten and fast BMWs, Æthelwold
and the mural on 18th Street

Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Abbreviations xiii
List of Plates xvii
Map xix
Introduction 1
Part One: Instruments of Power 9
Chapter 1. Charters, Diplomas, and Performative Acts 17
Diplomatik and Urkundenforschung 17
Performative Acts 42
Diplomas as Performative Acts 52
Chapter 2. Accession Acts: Kings and Regimes Enter into Power 63
Becoming King 63
Charles the Bald at Toulouse (844) 69
Charles the Fat (885) 74
Odo (889) 81
Louis IV d’Outremer (936) 85
A Commitment to Kingship 91
viii Contents
Chapter 3. Succession Acts: Diplomas that Establish Legitimacy
and Identity 97
Mimesis, Quotation, and Succession 97
Pippin II of Aquitaine (839) 99
Lothar II in Provence (863) 105
Charles the Bald in Lotharingia (869) 108
Louis II the Stammerer (877) 111
Establishing Succession 115
Chapter 4. The Diplomas of Charles the Bald: Politics and the Palace 119
Diplomas and the Narrative of Decline 119
The Early Diplomas (840-843) 125
Charles the Bald and his Loyalists (858-859) 130
Adalard, Vivian, and Tours (843-845): The High Politics
of Diplomas 140
Charles and Erispoë (856) 150
The Low Politics of Diplomas: Ebroin and Glanfeuil 154
Ragamfrid’s Forgeries 162
Writing and the Reform Councils 171
Diplomas and the Selective Application of Reform 179
Diplomas and the Palatines (869-877) 187
Chapter 5. A Politics of Alliance: Diplomas after Charles the Bald 213
Towards a Politics of the Past 213
Trends and Transformations 215
A Kingship of Alliances 223
Alliance Acts 231
Charles the Simple and the Margraves 236
Raoul at Chalon (924) 247
Louis IV and the Vermandois Settlement (943) 252
Louis IV’s Restoration at Chevregny (946) 256
Louis IV, Artald, and Saint-Remi (940) 258
Lothar and Flanders 259
New Directions 261