Carolingian Historiography and the Making of Pippin’S Reign, 750-900
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UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Memorable crises: Carolingian historiography and the making of Pippin’s reign, 750-900 Goosmann, F.C.W. Publication date 2013 Document Version Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Goosmann, F. C. W. (2013). Memorable crises: Carolingian historiography and the making of Pippin’s reign, 750-900. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:05 Oct 2021 MEMORABLE CRISES Carolingian Historiography and the Making of Pippin’s Reign, 750-900 • MEMORABE LE CRISES Karolingische historiografie en de beeldvorming van de heerschappij van Pepijn, 750-900 ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. D.C. van den Boom ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel op vrijdag 8 november 2013, te 12:00 uur door Frederik Charles Wolter Goosmann geboren te Rhenen Promotores: Prof. dr. G. Geltner Prof. dr. M.B. de Jong Overige leden: Prof. dr. R.D. McKitterick Prof. dr. F.C.W.J. Theuws Prof. dr. A.F.W. Bosman Dr. M.L.M. van Berkel Dr. M.J.M. Damen Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen Cover image: Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS lat. fol. 295, f. 80v: Ekkehardi Uraugiensis chronicum (s. xii). Source: Wikipedia Commons. Cover design: Erik Goosmann Voor Nora En voor mijn Ouders TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations x Introduction 1 1. ‘Hinc Pippine Micas’ Pippin and His Sources 17 1.1. Letters 20 1.2. Royal diplomas 22 1.3. Capitularies 26 1.4. Baddilo’s pen and the return of Clovis 29 1.5. Annals and chronicles 33 1.6. Carolingian historiography in context 38 2. Down the Rabbit Hole The Continuations and the ARF 43 2.1. The Continuations to the Chronicle of Fredegar 45 2.1.1. The composition of the Chronicle of Fredegar 47 2.1.2. The composition of the Continuations 49 2.1.3. Pippin, the son of Charles Martel 54 2.2. The Annales regni Francorum 56 2.2.1. Recensions 58 2.2.2. Composition 65 2.2.3. Function 69 iv 2.2.4. Pippin, the father of Charlemagne 73 2.3. Historiographical compendia 77 2.3.1. Example 1: Rome, BAV Reg. lat. 213 81 2.3.2. Example 2: Paris, BnF lat. 10911 83 2.3.3. Example 3: Vienna, ÖNB lat. 473 85 2.4. Conclusion 88 3. Between History and Memory The Succession Crisis of 741 91 3.1. Ostpolitik 94 3.2. The hybrid prince 97 3.3. A dispossessed heir 101 3.4. Enfant terrible 103 3.5. The many divisiones regni of Charles Martel 106 3.5.1. First to the scene: the Continuations and the ARF 107 3.5.2. Bringing narratives together: the Annales Mettenses priores 110 3.5.3. A new perspective: the Revised ARF 116 3.6. Conclusion 120 4. Politics and Penance The Abdication and Conversion of Carloman (747) 125 4.1. Penance 127 4.1.1. ‘Quod voluisset seculum relinquere’ 127 4.1.2. Motive 132 4.1.3. Public penance 136 4.2. Monastic vows 142 4.3. A memorable example 151 4.4. Conclusion 156 5. ‘Quod dignitatis regiae ac potestatis non fungor’ The Carolingian Coup of 751 159 5.1. The formation of a narrative 163 5.1.1. Rewriting history: Childebrand’s Continuations 163 5.1.2. The consolidation of the past: the ARF 168 5.2. A rhetoric of strength 174 5.2.1. The Annales Mettenses priores 176 v 5.2.2. The Chronicle of Lorsch 183 5.2.3. Einhard’s Vita Karoli 186 5.2.4. The Breviary of Erchanbert 189 5.3. Hilduin’s workshop 195 5.3.1. The Clausula de unctione Pippini 196 5.3.2. Hilduin’s Gesta Stephani 198 5.4. Conclusion 201 Conclusion 205 Appendix One: The Continuations and the ARF 215 Appendix Two: The Annals of Massay: date of composition 218 Appendix Three: The composition of Erchanbert’s Breviary 222 Bibliography 226 Summary 254 Samenvatting (Summary in Dutch) 258 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When I began this project, I expected to come to know Pippin the Short – that influential mayor of the palace who seized the Frankish throne around 750 and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Along the way, however, I came to realize that this was a rather naive expectation. Or perhaps, having carefully studied the texts composed by learned Carolingian writers, I should say that I have come to know a great many Pippins. This thesis has ended being up not so much a study of Pippin’s life and politics, but a study of the way in which Carolingian history- writers shaped and reshaped their society’s past, preserving and nurturing the bonds that were to give the realities of the present their historical foundation. What is more, not only have I diverted attention away from Pippin as a historical actor, I also forced him to share the limelight with his brothers, Carloman and Grifo. Their lives and fates proved so thoroughly intertwined that one is hard-pressed to discuss the one without referring to the others. Not just the historiographical perception of Pippin, then, but that of all three of Charles Martel’s heirs form the subject of this dissertation. I consider these and other adjustments great improvements, but they would never have been made had it not been for all those who, each in their own way, contributed to the journey that for me began on 1 November 2008, and I fear that these words will not do justice to the gratitude I experience when thinking back of these past years. First of all, I am fortunate to have had committed supervisors, who were willing to invest time in a young academic looking to find his way. They not only provided me with the advice I needed to successfully complete a dissertation, but also kept me focused on all those other requirements one has to meet, if one aspires to reach the next rung on the academic ladder. I am grateful to Guy Geltner, whose most important lesson may well have been that ‘the enemy of good is perfect.’ Indeed, were it not for that sagely advice, I would probably still be caught in that endless circle of writing and re-writing. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Most special thanks go out to Mayke de Jong. It was under Mayke’s tutelage that I developed a strong interest in eighth-century Francia and it was in her office that the idea for this project was born. I owe her an intellectual debt beyond that which a student owes his teacher; one that has accumulated over many years, during which she never ceased to provide me with advice, help and (though asked, but occasionally much needed) uplifting words. Very special thanks also go out to Janneke Raaijmakers, who, despite her own demanding workload, nevertheless found the energy and time to supervise me, almost from start to finish. Like no other, Janneke has critically read almost every draft I produced and largely took over my supervision when the chair of medieval history at the University of Amsterdam became temporarily vacant. On that note, I also wish to exoress my gratitude towards Frans Theuws, for accepting me into his group of PhD-students at the department of archeology until Guy was installed as the new professor of medieval history in Amsterdam. I am certainly grateful to my colleagues at the UvA, Maaike van Berkel, Mario Damen, Frans Camphuijsen, Jinna Smit, Claire Weeda, Jan Burgers, Bert Demyttenaere en Rudi Künzel, for their input whenever we got to discuss my work, but above all for making me feel at home at the P.C. Hoofthuis. Thanks also go out to the dedicated staff of the Institute for Culture and History, for providing a stimulating research environment and for making sure this young academic always had everything he could ask for. I look back with great fondness to the many stimulating papers and discussions I had with my fellow members of the Texts & Identities network. Our annual meetings were as intensive as they were fun, and I always returned from meetings fully motivated and inspired. I truly consider myself fortunate to have able to participate in that community. The same certainly goes for our own little circle of young medievalists, the Emeralds. I thoroughly enjoyed participating in each of our sessions, which time and again sparked passionate, but aways friendly, debates about each other’s work. Thank you all for your support, advice and comments. In my fourth year, I spent a few wonderful months at Oxford and I am extremely grateful for the hospitality offered by Kate Cooper and Conrad Leyser, and their family.