Augustine and the Art of Ruling in the Carolingian Imperial Period This volume is an investigation of how Augustine was received in the Carolingian period, and the elements of his thought which had an impact on Carolingian ideas of ‘state’, rulership and ethics. It focuses on Alcuin of York and Hincmar of Rheims, authors and political advisers to Charlemagne and to Charles the Bald, respectively. It examines how they used Augustinian political thought and ethics, as manifested in the De civitate Dei, to give more weight to their advice. A comparative approach sheds light on the differences between Charlemagne’s reign and that of his grandson. It scrutinizes Alcuin’s and Hincmar’s discussions of empire, rulership and the moral conduct of political agents during which both drew on the De civitate Dei, although each came away with a different understanding. By means of a philological–historical approach, the book offers a deeper reading and treats the Latin texts as political discourses defined by content and language. Sophia Moesch is currently an SNSF-funded postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, working on a project entitled ‘Developing Principles of Good Govern- ance: Latin and Greek Political Advice during the Carolingian and Macedonian Reforms’. She completed her PhD in History at King’s College London. Augustine and the Art of Ruling in the Carolingian Imperial Period Political Discourse in Alcuin of York and Hincmar of Rheims Sophia Moesch First published 2020 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. © 2020 Sophia Moesch The right of Sophia Moesch to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-8153-6160-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-11602-2 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India “Caritas vero inter amicos melior est auro et fides inter absentes praetiosior gemmis” – Alcuin of York, Epistle 76 Dedicated to Kurt, Rosmarie and Johanna Moesch, and Giovanni Trotto Contents Note on the text x Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations xiii Introduction 1 Augustine and the Carolingians 1 Framing the enquiry 3 A philological-historical approach to the sources 5 ‘State–church’ relations in late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages 8 Notes 11 Bibliography 14 PART I Augustine of Hippo 19 1 Influences on the De civitate Dei 21 Historical and cultural context 21 Biographical aspects 22 Authorities and movements 22 Marcus Tullius Cicero 23 Notes 25 Bibliography 30 2 Augustine’s stance on worldly rule and his assessment of politically organised communities in the De civitate Dei 32 Notes 41 Bibliography 44 3 Concepts of Augustinian political thought 46 Terminology for types of politically organised communities 46 Dispensatio 52 viii Contents Felix/felicitas and beatus/beatitudo 53 Iustitia and pax 54 Notes 57 Bibliography 64 PART II Alcuin of York 67 4 Alcuin’s direct use of Augustine in the ‘Epistolae’ 69 Alcuin’s Epistle 307 70 Comparison with other Epistles 73 Notes 76 Bibliography 78 5 Alcuin’s indirect use of Augustine: His stance on worldly rule and recourse to Augustine’s terminology 81 Alcuin on rulership and Roman emperors 82 Alcuin on rulership and Old Testament kings 86 Alcuin’s use of Augustinian vocabulary 93 Civitas Dei 94 Dispensatio 96 Imperium and gentes 101 Notes 114 Bibliography 127 PART III Hincmar of Rheims 131 6 Hincmar’s direct use of Augustine in the ‘Epistolae’ 133 Hincmar’s Epistle 99 137 Hincmar’s Epistles 179, 28, 37 and 48 144 Hincmar’s Epistles 134 and 108 148 Notes 153 Bibliography 162 7 Hincmar’s indirect use of Augustine: His ‘Expositiones ad Carolum Regem’ and ‘De regis persona et regio ministerio’ 165 Hincmar’s Expositiones ad Carolum Regem 165 Hincmar’s De regis persona et regio ministerio 182 Cicero 201 Augustine 201 Contents ix Alcuin 204 Hincmar 206 Notes 210 Bibliography 220 Conclusion 223 Carolingian political thought c. 800–c. 900 224 Alcuin’s and Hincmar’s uses of Augustine in the light of changing ‘state-church’ relations 225 Notes 231 Bibliography 234 Index 239 Note on the text This book refers to many primary sources, most of which are in Latin. Citations in the main text from Latin (or, occasionally, Greek) material are given in English translation, which is my own unless otherwise indicated. The original text is given in the endnotes. Wherever I draw significantly on primary sources without quot- ing them in the body of the text, I provide the excerpts in the endnotes in the original language. Paragraph breaks in all quotations correspond to the original text (as rendered in the editions I adhere to). Acknowledgements Many have contributed to this book, which is the culmination of four years of research into the reception of Augustine of Hippo’s political thought and ethics in the Carolingian era. In the autumn of 2010, I embarked on a PhD in England at King’s College London. I am grateful to my supervisors Peter Heather and Alice Rio for accepting my proposal from abroad, to KCL for providing the infrastruc- ture for completing such a formidable task, and to the Swiss National Science Foundation for awarding me with a Doc.Mobility fellowship. Several people have read the drafts of my doctoral dissertation. Thanks to Julia Crick for identifying weaknesses and options for improvement in my chapter on Alcuin of York, for encouraging my enthusiasm for palaeography and, last but not least, for encouraging me to give my first paper at Revealing Records V; to Daniel Hadas for his kind assistance with my translations of Latin passages from Alcuin and Augustine; to Carsten Schmieder for providing me with a second opinion on an intricate passage in Hincmar of Rheims’ Expositiones ad Carolum Regem; and to Sarah Sharp for her excellent proofreading work. To other people I owe a lot for helping me to develop my academic skills and specialisation. Thanks to Janet Coleman (London School of Economics) and Stefan Rebenich (University of Bern) for encouraging me to pursue research in the reception of late antique political thought; and to Achatz von Müller (University of Basel) for convening a seminar on Political Theories from Augustine to Machiavelli and for being my dissertation supervisor for the lic. phil. degree. At KCL, I am indebted to Edith Hall and Roland Mayer for welcom- ing me to their MA course on Hellenistic Poetry and for deepening my knowledge of ancient Greek literature, translation and interpretation; to Alessandra Bucossi, for piquing my interest in Greek Palaeography & Textual Criticism; thanks also to Charalambos Dendrinos (Royal Holloway) for allowing me to participate in his Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts at the Warburg. At the KCL Modern Language Centre, I owe thanks to Paolo Nelli and Amira Mills, who taught me Italian and Arabic. Last but not least, I would like to express my warm- est thanks to Simon Sleight and Joe Maiolo who have been invaluable sources of support and advice during my time of teaching at KCL and LSE. My friends and family have been with me all along this journey. The impor- tance of their contribution is overshadowed only by their love and friendship. xii Acknowledgements Thanks to Albertine Fox, Sakiko Kaiga and Kathrin Pavić for their continuing presence and unswerving positivity; and to Foteini Kanellopoulou, Evangelia Gioldasi and Eda Karaarslanoglu for being my family away from home. Two peo- ple have shaped my work and life significantly during the past years: Franziska Herzog and Martin Kaiser. Their human qualities have been decisive in leading me to where I am today. In particular, the brilliance of Martin Kaiser and his enthusiasm for classical and patristic ancient Greek and Latin texts were reasons, almost a decade ago, for me to embark on a PhD in late antique and early medi- eval history. I have benefited, in each of my chapters, from his unique gift for language and literary analysis, and he continues to inspire by his example and dedication to the moral values academic work can pursue. My deepest gratitude above all, of course, to my family – my parents, Kurt and Rosmarie Moesch, and sister, Johanna Moesch. I would also like to extend my love and wholehearted thanks to Giovanni Trotto, whose creative spirit and inexhaustible curiosity have never failed to enrich my explorations. In the final stages of my work, I thank Routledge and all those who were involved in the production of my book. Above all my editors, Michael Greenwood and Dana Moss, deserve my grateful thanks for their expert work and careful guidance. To all of you, my heartfelt thank you. Abbreviations JThS Journal of Theological Studies LLT-A Library of Latin Texts - Series A MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Series Latina by Jacques- Paul Migne 217 vols. 1844–1855 + 4 index-vols. 1862–1865 AN Poet. Lat. Antiquitates Poetae Latini aevi Carolini Capit.