Cambridge University Press 0521819458 - Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: the Fat and the End of the Simon Maclean Frontmatter More information

KINGSHIP AND POLITICS IN THE LATE NINTH CENTURY

This is the first major study in any language of the collapse of the pan- EuropeanCarolingianempire andthe reignof its last ruler, Charles III ‘the Fat’ (876–88). The later decades of the empire are conventionally seen as a dismal period of decline and fall, scarred by internal feuding, unfet- tered aristocratic ambition and Viking onslaught. This book offers a fresh interpretation, arguing that previous generations of historians misunder- stood the nature and causes of the end of the empire, and neglected many of the relatively numerous sources for this period. Topics covered include the significance of aristocratic power; political structures; the possibilities and limits of kingship; developments in royal ideology; the struggle with the ; and the nature of regional political identities. In proposing new explanations for the empire’s disintegration, this book has broader implications for our understanding of this formative period of European history more generally.

Simon MacLean is Lecturer in History at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.

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Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought Fourth Series

General Editor: d. e. luscombe Research Professor of Medieval History,University of Sheffield Advisory Editors: christine carpenter Reader in Medieval English History,University of Cambridge,and Fellow of New Hall

rosamond mC kitterick Professor of Medieval History,University of Cambridge,and Fellow of Newnham College

The series Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought was inaugurated by G. G. Coultonin 1921; Professor D. E. Luscombe now acts as General Editor of the Fourth Series, with Dr Christine Carpenter and Professor Rosamond McKitterick as Advisory Editors. The series brings together outstanding work by medieval scholars over a wide range of human endeavour extending from political economy to the history of ideas.

For a list of titles in the series,see end of book .

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KINGSHIP AND POLITICS IN THE LATE NINTH CENTURY Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire

SIMON MACLEAN

© Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521819458 - Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the End of the Carolingian Empire Simon Maclean Frontmatter More information

published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge cb2 1rp, United Kingdom cambridge university press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge, cb2 2ru,UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, ny 10011–4211, USA 477 WilliamstownRoad, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon´ 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org

C SimonMacLean 2003

This book is incopyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the writtenpermissionof Cambridge University Press.

First published 2003

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

Typeface Bembo 11/12 pt. System LATEX 2ε [tb]

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data MacLean, Simon. Kingship and policy in the late ninth century : Charles the Fat and the end of the Carolingian Empire / Simon MacLean. p. cm. – (Cambridge studies inmedieval life andthought ; 4th ser., 57) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-521-81945-8 1. Charles, le Gros, Emperor, 839–888. 2. – Kings and rulers – Biography. 3. France – History – To 987. 4. Holy RomanEmpire – History – 843–1273. I. Title. II. Series. DC77.8M33 2003 944.014092 –dc21 2003043471

isbn 0 521 81945 8 hardback

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CONTENTS

List of maps and figures page vii Acknowledgements viii List of abbreviations xi Note on names,terminology and citations xiv Outline chronology xv

1 introduction 1 The endof the Carolingianempire inmodernhistoriography 1 The shape of politics in the late ninth century 11 2 un-frankish activities: charles the fat in the eyes of contemporary annalists 23 The Annals of Fulda 24 Bad advice 28 The Vikings and the siege of Asselt 30 Royal inactivity 37 History and politics in the late ninth century 42 3 themenwhowouldbekings:the ‘supermagnates’ and the ‘rise of the aristocracy’ 48 The rise of Odo 49 Politics and identity in Abbo’s Wars of the City of 55 The supermagnates and the empire 64 Conclusion 75 4royal politics and regional power in the late carolingian empire 81 Alemannia and 83 91 Franconia, Saxony and 97 West 99 The north Frankish circle 102 of Langres 110

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Contents Royal politics and aristocratic identity in late ninth-century 115 Conclusion 120 5 the end of the empire i: politics and ideology at the east frankish court 123 The restorationof the empire, 884–5 124 The attempted legitimationof Bernard, August–October 885 129 The positionof Arnulf, 876–85 134 The revolt of Hugh, September 885, and the origins of ‘German’ royal consecration 144 6 the end of the empire ii: response and failure 161 Carolingian unity and the adoption of Louis of , April–June 887 161 The royal divorce, summer 887 169 The career of Liutward 178 The empress and the 185 The depositionof Charles the Fat, November 887 191 7 history, politics and the end of the empire in notker’s deedsofcharlemagne 199 The date of the Deeds of 201 Notker’s bishops 204 Contemporary references in the Deeds of Charlemagne 213 Notker and the imperial succession 218 Charles the Fat and Charles the Great 222 Conclusion 227 8 conclusion 230

Bibliography 236 Index 258

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MAPS AND FIGURES

MAPS 1 The late Carolingian empire page xviii 2 Alemannia 84 3 Landholding around 92 4 NorthernFrancia 105 5 and 137 6 Fiscal rights granted to Otting¨ in D CIII 128 140 7 Liutward’s Italian interventions 181 8 Richgard’s monastic empire 187

FIGURE 1 The Carolingian family xvii

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have incurred manydebts inthe completionof this book, onlya few of which can be acknowledged here. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from some excellent teachers. In the first place I must thank Jinty Nelson, who supervised the PhD thesis of which this book is a revised version. Her encouragement and generosity with ideas and criticisms have improved both versions immeasurably. I have also learned much from Stuart Airlie, who not only inspired my interest in Carolingianhistory inthe first place andsuggested Charles the Fat as a suitable subject for research, but also commented helpfully on parts of my work. I am grateful to Rosamond McKitterick for acting so efficiently as my editor and making many valuable criticisms and corrections. Several other people were kind enough to read all or part of the original thesis, and forced me to think harder about my interpretations: in particular I should like to record my gratitude to my PhD examiners, Paul Fouracre and the late Tim Reuter, as well as to David Ganz, Matthew Innes, Paul Kershaw and Geoff West for their generous help. Naturally, I take full responsibility for the multitude of errors which doubtless remains. I have also benefited from conversations with many friends and colleagues: inparticular, I am grateful to Guy Halsall andAlanThacker for help and encouragement. Financially, I am fortunate to have been supported by two bodies without which my postgraduate study would have been impossible: the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (from which I held a Major Scottish Studentship) and the Institute of Historical Research (which granted me a Scouloudi Fellowship). Thanks are also due to the fellows of Trinity Hall in Cambridge, who elected me to a Research Fellowship which allowed me to begin writing this book. More recently, I am grateful to my colleagues inthe Departmentof Mediaeval History in the University of St Andrews for making it possible for me to finish it. The staff of Cambridge University Press have been extremely helpful, especially Bill Davies. The cover picture for the book was supplied by Bildarchiv Foto Marburg. I am also indebted to my friends for moral support and keeping me sane, in particular Anne Jenkins, John Kyle, viii

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Acknowledgements Steve Marritt and the players and touring squad of Eskbank Thistle F. C . , propugnatores to a man. Special thanks go to Claire Jones for support and encouragement. My greatest debt is to my family, in particular my parents. They have given me much more than I have ever thanked them for, and I would like to dedicate this book to them.

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ABBREVIATIONS

AA Annales Alamannici, ed. W. Lendi, Untersuchungen zur fruhalemannischen¨ Annalistik. Die Murbacher Annalen,mit Edition (Freiburg, 1971) AB , eds. F. Grat, J. Vielliard, S. Clemencet´ and L. Levillain, Annales de Saint- (Paris, 1964) AF , ed. F. Kurze, MGH SRG (Hanover, 1891) AF(B) Annales Fuldenses, Bavariancontinuation AF(M) Annales Fuldenses, continuation AH Annales Hildesheimenses, ed. G. Waitz, MGH SRG (Hanover, 1878) ARF Annales Regni Francorum, ed. F. Kurze, MGH SRG (Hanover, 1895) AS Annales Iuvavenses, ed. H. Bresslau, MGH SS (vol. 30, Hanover, 1926), pp. 727–44 AV Annales Vedastini, ed. B. vonSimson, Annales Xantenses et Annales Vedastini, MGH SRG (Hanover, 1909) AX Annales Xantenses, ed. B. vonSimson, Annales Xantenses et Annales Vedastini, MGH SRG (Hanover, 1909) BM J. F. Bohmer¨ and E. Muhlbacher,¨ Regesta Imperii. Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter den Karolingern,751–918 (Innsbruck, 1908) CDL G. Porro-Lambertenghi et al. (eds.), Codex Diplomaticus Langobardiae (Historiae Patriae Monumenta 13)(Turin,1873) D(D) Diploma(s) of church/ruler (see bibliography for full details): Bund¨ Bundner¨ Urkundenbuch AC BF Berengar I of Friuli C2 CarlomanII CB CIII Charles III the Fat CS

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List of abbreviations Crem Cremona Frei Freising K Karlmann of Bavaria L Lothar I L2 Louis II of Italy L3 Louis III of west Francia LC LG Lor Lorsch Loth2 Lothar II LS Louis the Stammerer LY Louis the Younger OG Otto I the Great OP Odo of Paris RB Rudolf of Reg SG St-Gall Zur Zurich DA Deutsches Archiv fur¨ Erforschung des Mittelalters EME Early Medieval Europe FMSt Fruhmittelalterliche¨ Studien HZ Historische Zeitschrift JMH Journal of Medieval History MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Capit Capitularia regum Francorum, eds. A. Boretius and V. Krause, MGH Leges sectionIII ( 2 vols., Hanover, 1883–97) Epp Epistolae (8 vols., Hanover, 1887–1939) SRG Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi (Hanover, 1871–) SRG NS Scriptores rerum Germanicarum, nova series (Hanover, 1922–) SRL Scriptores rerum Langobardicarum, ed. G. Waitz (Hanover, 1878) SS Scriptores (32 vols., Hanover, 1826–1934) NCMH2 R. McKitterick (ed.), The New Cambridge Medieval History,volume II,c.700–c.900 (Cambridge, 1995) Notker, Notker, Erchanberti Breviarium Continuatio, ed. Continuatio G. H. Pertz, MGH SS (vol. 2, Hanover, 1829) Notker, Gesta Notker, Gesta Karoli Magni, ed. H. F. Haefele, Notker der Stammler,Taten Kaiser Karls des Großen , MGH SRG NS (Berlin, 1959) xii

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List of abbreviations PL Patrologia Latina, ed. J.-P. Migne (221 vols., Paris, 1841–66) QFIAB Quellen und Forschung aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken Regino, Reginonis abbatis Prumiensis Chronicon cum continuatione Chronicon Treverensi, ed. F. Kurze, MGH SRG (Hanover, 1890) Settimane Settimane di Studio del Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo (, 1953–) TRHS Transactions of the Royal Historical Society ZGO Zeitschrift fur¨ die Geschichte des Oberrheins ZSRG GA Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung fur¨ Rechtsgeschichte, Germanistische Abteilung

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NOTE ON NAMES, TERMINOLOGY AND CITATIONS

Following conventional practice, I have anglicised and modernised names of people and places wherever possible. The one exception is Louis the German’s eldest son, to whom I refer in the German spelling as Karlmann in order to distinguish him from the contemporary west Frankish ruler Carloman II. Kings are given their conventional nicknames for conve- nience, to help distinguish all the Louis and Charleses from each other. Monasteries are referred to inthe form St-Martin(or S Cristinafor Italian examples), saints themselves in the form St Verena. I have left some com- monly used words in the original language where a translation would not adequately convey the full meaning: fidelis/es (faithful maninthe sense of follower); honor/es (office held from the king); regnum/a (kingdom or part of a kingdom); reguli (petty kings or kinglets, as applied to post- 888 rulers); marchio/nes (regional representative of the ruler); Konigsn¨ ahe¨ (nearness/access to the king). Due to considerations of space, the footnotes are not intended to be comprehensively bibliographical. The bibliography itself is limited to the works cited in the footnotes. Charters are cited by edition, rather than page, number. I have used the unconventional abbreviations AF(M) and AF(B) for, respectively, the Mainz and Bavarian continuations of the Annales Fuldenses. All excerpts from sources are translated into English, with the origi- nal given in only if the interpretation of particular words is crit- ical to the argument. Renderings of the most important narratives are taken directly from the excellent translations of J. L. Nelson, The Annals of Saint-Bertin (Manchester, 1991) and T. Reuter, The Annals of Fulda (Manchester, 1992), unless otherwise indicated. Quotations from Notker’s Deeds of Charlemagne follow the less reliable but still useful transla- tionof L. Thorpe, Two Lives of Charlemagne (London, 1969), with amend- ments where necessary.

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OUTLINE CHRONOLOGY

839 Birth of Charles the Fat. 840 Death of , followed by civil wars betweenhis sons. 841 Battle of Fontenoy. 843 Treaty of Verdun: empire divided into east, west and middle kingdoms. 870 Treaty of Meersen: divided between east and west Francia. 875 Death of Louis II of Italy without heir, followed by extended struggle for power. 876 Death of Louis the German: divided between his sons (Karlmann of Bavaria, Louis the Younger of Franconia/Saxony, Charles the Fat of Alemannia and Alsace). 877 Death of Charles the Bald, succeeded by his sonLouis the Stammerer. 879 Death of Louis the Stammerer and abdication of Karlmann after a stroke. Viking Great Army returns to Continent. 879–80 West Frankish succession dispute, kingdom divided between Louis III and Carloman II. 880 Remaining four Carolingians defeat usurper Boso of Vienne and come to sworn agreement at Vienne. Treaty provides for political cooperation, mutual succession and resolution of territorial disputes. Lotharingia reunited. 880–4 Deaths of three of the four parties to the Vienne agreement, all without heir: Louis the Younger (882), Louis III (882)and CarlomanII ( 884). Charles the Fat inherits all of their kingdoms. He is also crowned emperor by the pope in 881. 882 Charles besieges Vikings at Asselt, and pays ransom. 882–5 Intense Viking activity, especially in northern Francia. 885 Emperor blinds and imprisons his cousin Hugh of Lotharingia, and attempts to limit the political power of his nephew Arnulf of Carinthia. xv

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Outline chronology 885–6 Viking . Charles pays ransom to free the city. 886 Winter: Charles falls ill and retreats to Alsace. 887 Summer: emperor adopts Boso’s son Louis of Provence and divorces his wife Richgard. November: Arnulf of Carinthia mounts a palace coup and deposes the emperor, taking over as king in east Francia. 888 January: Charles dies of natural causes. Kings are legitimately crowned from outwith the direct male Carolingian line (and outwith the ) for the first time since 751: Odo of Paris (west Francia); Rudolf (Transjurane Burgundy); Guy of Spoleto (west Francia and then Italy); Berengar of Friuli (Italy).

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FAMILY TREE (SIMPLIFIED)

LOUIS THE PIOUS Broken line = illegitimate Emperor, 814–40

LOTHAR I LOUIS THE GERMAN CHARLES THE BALD (795–Sep 855) (806–Aug 876) (Jun 823–Oct 877) 840 Middle Kingdom 840 Eastern Kingdom 840 Western Kingdom 840 Emperor 870 E. Lotharingia 870 W. Lotharingia 875 Italy, Emperor

=LOUIS II =LOUIS LOTHAR II KARLMANN LOUIS CHARLES LOUIS THE STAMMERER (c.825–Aug 875) (d.896/901) (c.835–Aug 869) OF BAVARIA THE YOUNGER THE FAT (846–Apr 879) 855 Italy, Emperor 855 Lotharingia (c.830–Mar 880) (c.835–Jan 882) (839–Jan 888) 877 Western Kingdom 876 Bavaria 876 Franconia/Saxony 876 Alemannia 877 Italy 879 Bavaria 879 Italy 879 Abdicated 880 W. Lotharingia 881 Emperor 882 Franconia Saxony Bavaria 885 W. Kingdom 887 Deposed

IRMINGARDE = BOSO OF HUGH OF ARNULF OF HUGH LOUIS BERNARD (d.896) VIENNE LOTHARINGIA CARINTHIA (c.855– (c.877– (c.875–891) (d.Jan 887) (c.855–c.895) (c.850–Dec.899) Feb 880) Nov 879) 879–80 Provence 887 E. Kingdom 896 Emperor

LOUIS OF PROVENCE LOUIS III CARLOMAN II CHARLES (THE BLIND) (c.863–Aug 882) (866–Dec 884) THE SIMPLE (c.880–Jun 928) 879 Francia 879 Aquitaine (Sep 879–Oct 929) 890 Provence Burgundy 898 W. Kingdom www.cambridge.org 900 Italy 882 Francia 922 Deposed 901 Emperor Neustria Figure 1. The Carolingian family Cambridge University Press 0521819458 - Kingship and Politics in the Late Ninth Century: Charles the Fat and the End of the Carolingian Empire Simon Maclean Frontmatter More information

Louvain St-Vaast Saucourt LOTHA

FRANCIA Rheims Paris Ponthion NEUSTRIA Orléans BURGUNDY Tours Tonnerre Langres Dijon WEST FRANKISH Chalon Tournus KINGDOM E L ATLANTIC D Lyon D I

M AQUITAINE Brioude Vienne

Mantaille PROVENCE Arles

Map 1. The late Carolingian empire

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ABODRITES

SAXONY Asselt M

O SORBS

D AachenG Fulda N

I

K Mainz Prüm RINGIA Tribur Worms LorschEAST FRANKISH

H FRANCONIA Regensburg BOHEMIANS S

I

K Gondreville KINGDOM N Sélestat A Grand ALEMANNIA R BAVARIA F Bodman Kirchen Reichenau CARINTHIA Zurich St-Gall MORAVIANS? PANNONIA Lausanne Sion Geneva Belluno TRANSJURANE FRIULI BURGUNDY Brescia Pavia MORAVIANS? ITALY A D R I A T I C MEDITERRANEAN

Map 1.(cont.)

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