AGOBARD OF LYON: AN EXPLORATION OF CAROLINGIAN JEWISH-CHRISTIAN RELATIONS by Anna Beth Langenwalter A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of the Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Anna Beth Langenwalter (2009) ii Anna Langenwalter Agobard of Lyon: An Exploration of Carolingian Jewish-Christian Relations Doctor of Philosophy (2009) for the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto Agobard of Lyon has usually been studied because of his writings about Jews. This dissertation likewise began from a desire to understand Agobard’s anti-Jewish writings, their content, motives, and impact. Approaching that topic from the basis of Agobard’s whole corpus of writings, however, forces an acknowledgment that Agobard cannot be reduced to simply “Agobard and the Jews,” although the subject clearly created a great amount of anxiety for him. Also, by beginning with Agobard’s own works, this dissertation discusses him on his own terms first, without relying on the historiographical tradition which defines him as a Visigoth, a tradition ultimately found wanting. This dissertation effectively dismantles the model of Agobard as a Visigoth working in the Carolingian world, and replaces it with a model of Agobard as a Carolingian. As such, this study explores his anti-Judaism in terms of his immediate historical context and links it with his other anxieties and the Carolingian desire for a perfect, Christian, society. Doing so also opens the door for a re-evaluation of the traditional interpretation of the Carolingian period as the last “golden age” of European Jews outside of Muslim Spain. At its conclusion, this study argues that the Carolingians, by deliberately attempting to create a Christian society, however “well” they treated Jews in their own time, laid some of the ideological groundwork for the later isolation and persecution of Jews in Europe. The introduction begins the exploration of Agobard’s historical context by discussing the history of both Louis’s empire and Agobard’s Lyon. The first chapter provides a quick summary of his life and works. From there, the dissertation turns to its in-depth study of Agobard in the second through fourth chapters. An analysis of his main anti-Jewish work, De iudaicis iii superstitionibus et erroribus in Chapter 3 is prefaced by a study of the character and possible roots of his anti-Judaism in Chapter 2. The last chapter looks at Agobard’s other concerns, how they relate to his writings on Judaism, and finally how his great amount of worry around Judaism can help shape our understanding of medieval Jewish-Christian relations. iv Acknowledgments I must first thank Professor John Corbett for suggesting Agobard to me as a potential thesis subject. Agobard has been a fascinating and fulfilling topic of study. I also thank Professors Mark Meyerson and Nick Everett, who kindly agreed to co-supervise. Professor Meyerson helped this dissertation keep some focus on Jewish-Christian relations. Professor Everett lent his expertise on the complexities of Carolingian Empire as it existed after Charlemagne. Also needing thanks are my intrepid readers, who willingly slogged through the initial drafts of chapters and helped me get them into respectable shape before my committee even saw them. My parents in particular offered a great deal of support and served as sounding boards for many of the ideas developed in this thesis. Finally, I owe much to my partner Aleda, for providing technical and emotional support (often both at once) throughout this entire process. Quite simply, this dissertation would not exist if it were not for her steady encouragement. v Contents List of Abbreviations vi Introduction The Empire and Lyon 1-55 One Life and Works 56-104 Two Agobard’s Anti-Judaism 105-143 Three De iudaicis superstitionibus 144-176 Four Agobard’s Anxieties 177-218 Appendix The Lyon manuscripts 219-225 Bibliography 226-245 vi List of Abbreviations AB Annales Bertiniani , ed. Georg Pertz (Hannover: Hahn, 1826) ARF Annales Regni Francorum , ed. Friedrich Kurze (Hannover: Hahn, 1895) CCCM Corpus Christianorum: Continuatio Mediaevalis CCSL Corpus Christianorum: Series Latina MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica , various series: Capit . Capitularia regum Francorum Conc . Concilia Epp Epistolae Form . Formulae Merowingici et Karolini aevi LL Leges LL Nat. Germ. Legum Nationum Germanicarum Poet . Poetae Latini medii aevi SRG Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum SS Scriptores SSRM Scriptores rerum Merowingicarum PL Patrologia Latina , ed. J.P. Migne (Paris: Garnier, 1844-1855) Introduction The Empire and Lyon This study must begin with a simple question: Why an examination of Agobard of Lyon? The primary reason is his anti-Jewish work. His unusual approach to the subject, as well as the information he uncovered on medieval Jewish practice and belief, make him too important a figure to ignore as scholarship on medieval Jewish-Christian relations continues to evolve. If that were not enough, Agobard also participated in the rebellions against Louis the Pious during the 830s, writing several pieces in defence of Lothar and his brothers and losing his see once Louis returned to power in 834. Moreover, the corpus of Agobard’s writings proves wide- ranging enough to allow a clear picture of what concerned him, as well as an outline of his personality. Examining his entire corpus also makes it possible to place his works on Jews within the constellation of anxieties that drove him to write. This examination, taken with new understandings on the Carolingian period and on medieval Jewish-Christian relations, in turn allows us to question some long-held conclusions about Agobard, particularly his supposed Visigothic origins and the depth of his anti-Jewish sentiments. Even given these reasons, Agobard has not received much in the way of major scholarly attention. The last monograph on Agobard, which is the form best suited to truly understanding him and his context, was Boshof’s biography of him written in 1969. 1 The intervening decades have seen scholarly reappraisals of the historiography of both medieval Jewish-Christian relations and of the Carolingian period, 2 which clearly have a significant impact in how Agobard’s writings are interpreted. His anti-Judaism can now be considered an aberration, 1 Egon Boshof, Erzbishof Agobard von Lyon, Leben und Werk (Köln: Böhlau Verlag, 1963). 2 See for example: Carolingian Culture: Emulation and Innovation , ed. Rosamond McKitterick (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), which emphasised Carolingian dependence on and use of classical models. Charlemagne’s Heir: New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious , eds. Peter Godman and Roger Collins (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990), set out to pull back scholarship from simply considering Louis a failed emperor who caused the demise of his father’s empire, with mixed results. Elukin encouraged reorienting the discussion of medieval Jewish-Christian relations from a story of increasing persecution to one of resilience and continuity. Jonathan Elukin, Living Together, Living Apart: Rethinking Jewish-Christian Relations in the Middle Ages (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2007). 1 2 rather than one more step in the unrelenting deterioration of Jewish-Christian relations. His efforts on Lothar’s behalf can now be placed in the complex politics of Louis’s reign, instead of simply one more part in the inevitable dissolution of the Carolingian empire. However, Agobard has yet to be touched by this environment of reassessment. Nor has the interpretive work on him really begun. The biographies of Agobard written by Boshof and Cabaniss remain the standard works on Agobard. However, the main purpose of their works was the establishment of the course of Agobard’s life and writings, and they did not delve too much into the deeper reasons for Agobard’s efforts. This is not to say that no interpretation has been offered by various scholars. Boshof noted both Agobard’s disregard of practicality in some matters, particularly regarding Jews, and that the concept of Verchristlichung der Welt (the incorporation of all people into the corpus Christi ) drove his actions. 3 Cabaniss, on the other hand, emphasised Agobard’s rationality and common-sense approach to topics. 4 Cohen noted that many Agobard’s concerns, including those about Jews, seem to be connected by an over-arching anxiety about disunity. 5 Zuckerman, for his part, linked Agobard’s conflict about the baptism of Jews’ slaves with his efforts to restore secularized church property. 6 At present, no one has attempted to fully decipher why Agobard acted and wrote as he did. The examples given above only highlight some of the major concerns or themes in his works, not the reasons behind them. What drove Agobard to demand the return of former church property? Was the motive economic, as Zuckerman argues, or was there another, additional, reason? What type of unity did Agobard desire, and why did it matter to him? If all of his 3 Boshof, Agobard , 43-44, 127. 4 Allen Cabaniss, Agobard of Lyons: Churchman and Critic (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1953), 13-14. 5 Jeremy Cohen, Living Letters of the Law: Ideas of the Jew in Medieval Christianity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999), 136. 6 Arthur Zuckerman, “The political uses of theology: The conflict of Bishop Agobard and the Jews of Lyons” Studies in Medieval Culture 3 (1970): 49. 3 worries were somehow linked, has his place within the story of medieval Jewish-Christian relations been overemphasised? This thesis sets out to truly begin the conversation about Agobard’s motives and desires, and to set his anti-Judaism within the context of his time and his anxieties. The principle source for this investigation is Agobard’s own writings, critically edited by Van Acker for the Corpus Christianorum series in 1981. 7 This thesis also seeks to mitigate the influence of two perceptions of Agobard that have affected scholars’ understanding of him for too long, namely, his Visigothic origins and his virulent antisemitism.