The Carolingian Empire:

A Brief Guide

1. Some useful guides.

The basic guide to the primary sources of the Carolingian period remains: Wilhelm Wattenbach and Wilhelm Levison (eds.), Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter, Vorzeit und Karolinger, 6 vols. (Weimar, 1952-1990).

Volume 1: Die Vorzeit von den anfängen bis zur herrschaft der Karolinger, ed. Wilhelm Levison (1952).
Volume 2: Die Karolinger vom anfang des 8. Jahrhunderts bis zum tode Karls des Grossen, ed. Wilhelm Levison and Heiz Löwe (1953).
Volume 3: Kie karolinger vom tode Karls des grossen bis zum Vertrag von Verdun, ed. Heinz Löwe (1957).
Volume 4: Die Karolinger vom Vertrag von Verdun bis zum Herrschaftsantritt der Herrscher aus dem sächsisdhen Hause. Italien und das Papsttum, ed. Heinz Löwe (1963).
Volume 5: Die Karolinger vom Vertrag von Verdun bis zum Herrschaftsantritt der Herrscher aus dem sächsisdhen Hause. Das westfränkische Reich, ed. Heinz Löwe (1973).
Volume 6: Die Karolinger vom Vertrag von Verdun bis zum Herrschaftsantritt der Herrscher aus dem sächsischen Hause. Das östfränkische Reich, ed. Heinz Löwe (1990).

Some useful reviews of secondary literature include:

Donald Bullough "Europae Pater: Charlemagne and his Achievement in the Light of Recent Scholarship," English Historical Review, 75 (1970), pp. 59-105.
Robert Folz, "Charlemagne and His Empire,' in Vaclav Mudroch and G. S. Couse (eds.), Essays on the Reconstruction of Medieval History (Montreal, 1974), pp. 87-112.
Giovanni Tabacco, "I Processi di formazione dell'Europa Carolingia," in Nascita dell'Europe ed Europe Carolingia: Un'equazione da verificare, 2 vols. (Settimane di studio del Centro italiano di studi sull'alto medioevo, 27; Spoleto, 1981), pp. 17-43.
Richard Sullivan, "The Carolingian Age: Reflections on its Place in the History of the Middle Ages," Speculum, 64 (1989), pp. 267-306.

2. Some general readings on the Carolingian Empire available in English.

Jacques Boussard, The Civilisation of Charlemagne, trans. Frances Partridge (New York, 1968).

Donald Bullough, The Age of Charlemagne (London, 1965).

Heinrich Fichtenau, Das karolingische Imperium: Soziale und geistige Problematik eines Grossreiches (1949). Partial ET: The Carolingian Empire, trans. Peter Munz (Oxford, 1957; reprint Toronto, 1978).

---, Lebensordnung des 10. Jahrhunderts: Studien über Denkart und Existenz im einstigen Karolingerreich (Stuttgart, 1984). ET (but with few footnotes) as Living in the Tenth Century: Mentalities and Social Orders, trans. Patrick Geary (Chicago, 1991).

Robert Folz, The Coronation of Charlemagne, 25 December 800, trans. J. E. Anderson (London, 1974).

François-Louis Ganshof, Frankish Institutions Under Charlemagne, trans. Bryce and Mary Lyon (Providence, RI, 1968; reprint, Ann Arbor, MI, 1991).

---, The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy. Studies in Carolingian History, trans. Janet Sondheimer (Ithaca, NY, 1971).

Louis Halphen, Charlemagne et la empire carolingien, second edition (Paris, 1968). ET: Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire, trans. Giselle de Nie (Amsterdam, 1977).

M. L. W. Laistner, Thought and Letters in Western Europe, A. D. 500-900, revised edition (Ithaca, NY, 1957).

Pierre Riché, La Vie quotidienne dans l'empire carolingien (Paris, 1973). ET: Daily Life in the World of Charlemagne, trans. Jo Ann McNamara (Philadelphia, 1978).

Pierre Riché, Les Carolingiens: Une famille qui fit l'Europe (Paris, 1983). ET: The Carolingians: A Family Who Forged Europe, trans. Michael Allen (Philadelphia, 1993).

Robert Sullivan (ed.), The Coronation of Charlemagne: What Did it Signify? (New York, 1959).

3. Some key works on the Carolingian Empire.

Hans Anton, Fürstenspiegel und Herrscherethos in der Karolingerzeit (Bonn, 1968).

Donald Bullough, Carolingian Renewal: Sources and Heritage (Manchester, 1992).

Wolfgang Braunfels (ed.), Karl der Grosse: Lebenswerk und Nachleben, 5 vols. (Dusseldorf, 1965-72).

Erich Caspar, Das Papsttum unter fränkischer Herrschaft (Darmstadt, 1956).

Robert Folz, Le souvenir et la légende de Charlemagne dans l'Empire germanique médiéval (Paris, 1950).

Peter Godman and Roger Collins (eds.), Charlemagne's Heir: New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious (814-840) (Oxford, 1990).

Richard Hodges, Dark Age Economics: The Origins of Towns and Trade, A. D. 600-1000 (New York, 1982).

Richard Hodges and David Whitehouse, Mohammed, Charlemagne and the Origins of Europe (London, 1983).

Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians, 751-987 (London, 1983).

J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, Early Medieval Kingship in England and the Continent (Oxford, reprint 1980).

---, The Frankish Church (Oxford, 1983).

Walter Ullman, The Carolingian Empire and the Idea of Kingship (London, 1969).

Wendy Davies, Small Worlds: The Village Community in Early Medieval Brittany (University of California Press).

Thomas Noble, The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825 (Philadelphia, 1984).

Wendy Davies and Paul Fouracre (eds.), The Settlement of Disputes in Medieval Europe (Oxford, 1986).

4. Carolingian royal diplomas.

4A: Later Merovingians and Arnulfings.

Diplomata regum Francorum e stirpe Merowingica, ed. Georg Friedrich Pertz (MGH, Diplomata imperii, 1; Hannover, 1872). Includes "Diplomata majorum domus regiae ex stirpe Arnulfinorum." See also Philippe Lauer and C. Samaran (eds.), Les diplomes originaux des mérovingiennes (Paris, 1908).

4B: The Carolingian empire.

Die urkunden Pippins, Karlmanns und Karls des Grossen, ed. Engelbert Mühlbacher, et al. (MGH, Diplomata Karolinorum, 1; Hannover, 1906).

[Die urkunden Ludwigs des Frommen, ed. Johann Friedrich Böhmer (MGH, Diplomata Karolinorum, 2; Hannover, 1908) was never completed.]

The basic guide to royal acts, and indeed to royal history, for the Carolingian period may be found in the relevant volumes of the Jahrbücher der deutschen Geschichte (Leipzig, 1863-1908):

Heinrich Eduard Bonnell, Die Anfänge des karolingishcen Hauses (Berlin, 1866).
Theodor Breysig, Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches, 714-741 (Leipzig, 1869).
Heinrich Hahn, Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches, 741-752 (Berlin, 1863).
Ludwig Oelsner, Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches unter König Pippen (Leipzig, 1863).
Sigurd Abel and Bernhard Simson, Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches unter Karl dem Grossen, Band I: 768-788 (Leipzig, 1865), Band II: 789-814 (Leipzig, 1883); second edition (Leipzig, 1888).
Bernard Simson, Jahrbücher des fränkischen Reiches unter Ludwig dem Frommen, Band I: 814-830 (Leipzig, 1874), Band II: 831-840 (Leipzig, 1876).

4C: Lothar's Middle Kingdom.

Die Urkunden Lothars I und Lothars II, ed. Theodor Schieffer (MGH, Diplomata Karolinorum, 3; 1966).

4D: East Frankland under the Carolingians.

Die Urkunden Ludwigs des Deutches, Karlmanns, und Ludwigs des Jüngeren, ed. Paul Kehr (MGH, Diplomata regum Germaniae ex stirpe Karolinorum, 1; Berlin, 1934).

Die Urkunden Karls III, ed. Paul Kehr (MGH, Diplomata regum germaniae ex stirpe Karolinorum, 2; 1936-37).

Die Urkunden Arnolfs, ed. Paul Kehr (MGH, Diplomata regum germaniae ex stirpe Karolinorum, 3; Berlin, 1956).

Die Urkunden Zwentibolds und Ludwigs des Kindes, ed. Theodor Schieffer (MGH, Diplomata regum germaniae ex stirpe Karolinorum, 4; Berlin, 1963).

For further guidance on these acts: Ernest Dümmler, Geschichte des ostfränkischen Reiches, 3 vols. in 2 (Leipzig, 1987-8): Erster Band: Ludwig der Eutsche bis zum Frieden von Koblenz 860; Zweiter Band: Ludwig der Eutsche vom Koblenzer Frieden bis zu seinem Tode (860-876); Dritter Band: Die letzten karolinger. Konrad I.

4E: West Frankland under the Carolingians and early Robertians.

Recueil des actes de Charles II le Chauve, roi de France, ed. Georges Tessier, 3 vols (Paris, 1943-55).

Recueil des actes de Louis II le Bègue, Louis III et Caroloman II, rois de France (877-884), ed. Félix Grat, Jacques de Font-Réaulx, Georges Tessier, and Robert-Henri Bautier (Paris, 1978).

[Die Urkunden Karls III, ed. Paul Kehr (MGH, Diplomata regum germaniae ex stirpe Karolinorum, 2; 1936-37).]

Recueil des actes d'Eudes, roi de France (888-898), ed. Robert-Henri Bautier (Paris, 1968).

Recueil des actes de Charles III le Simple, roi de France (893-923), ed. Philippe Lauer (Paris, 1949).

Recueil des actes de Robert Ier et de Raoul, rois de France (922-936) ed. Jean Dufour (Paris, 1978).

Recueil des actes de Louis IV, roi de France (936-954), ed. Philippe Lauer. Paris, 1914.

Recueil des actes de Lothaire et de Louis V rois de France (954-987), ed. Louis Halphen and Ferdinand (Paris, 1908).

For the acts of the most important kings of Provence, Burgundy, and Italy: Recueil des actes de Pépin Ier et Pépin II, rois d'Aquitaine (814-848), ed. L. Levillain (Paris, 1926); Die Urkunden der Burgundischer Rudolfinger, ed. Theodor Schieffer and Hans Eberhard Mayer, second revised edition (MGH, Regum Burgundiae e stirpe Rudolfina diplomata et acta; Munich, 1983); I diplomi di Berengario I, ed. Luigi Schiaparelli (Fonti per la storia d'Italia, 35; Rome, 1903).

For other sorts of royal acts and documents, see: Capitularia regum Francorum, ed. Alfred Boretius, 2 vols. (MGH, Legum Sectio, 2; Hannover, 1883) and Epistolae Karolini aevi, ed. Ernst Dümmler, et al., 4 vols. (MGH, Epistolae, 3-6; Berlin, 1892-1925). For guides to Carolingian legislation, see Rudolf Buchner, Die Rechtsquellen (Weimar, 1953) and François-Louis Ganshof, Recherches sur les capitulaires (Paris, 1958). For a study of the titles used in this legislation, see Herwig Wolfram et al. (eds.), Intitulatio, 3 vols. (Graz, 1967-88).

For reproductions see: Ferdinand Lot and Philippe Lauer, with Georges Tessier, Diplomata Karolinorum: Recueil de reproductions en fac-similé des actes originaux des sourverains carolingiens conservés dans les archives et bibliothèques de france, 9 parts (Toulouse, 1936-49).

5. Episcopal legislation, ca. 800 -- ca. 1000.

For comprehensive editions of episcopal and ecclesiastical legislation, see the volumes of MGH, Legum sectio 3, Concilia: Concilia aevi Merovingici, ed. Friederich Maassen (MGH, Concilia, 1; Hannover, 1893); Concilia aevi Karolini, ed. Albert Werminghoff, 2 vols. (MGH, Concilia, 2; Hannover, 1906-8); Libri Carolini, ed. Hubert Bastgen (MGH, Concilia, 2, supplement; Hannover, 1924); Die Konzilien der Karolingischen Teilreiche, 843-859, ed. Wilifried Hartmann (MGH, Concilia, 3; Hannover, 1984); Hincmar of Reims, De divortio Lotharii regis et Theubergae reginae, ed. Letha Bohringer (MGH, Concilia, 4, supplement 1; Hannover, 1992); Ernst-Dieter Hehl, Die Konzilien Deutschlands und Reichsitaliens, 916-1001: Teil 1. 916-960 (MGH, Concilia, 6.1; Hannover, 1987). Also see: Capitula episcoporum, ed. Peter Brommer (MGH, Capitula Episcoporum, 1; Hannover, 1984). For insight into the continuing editorial project, see Peter Brommer, "Editorische Probleme bei den 'Capitula episcoporum'," in Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Medieval Canon Law (Berkeley, 1980) (Monumenta Iuris Canonici, series C, 7; Vatican City, 1976), pp. 3-13.

For the work of Burchard of Worms, see: Hartmut Hoffmann and Rudolf Pokorny, Das Dekret des Bischofs Burchard von Worms. Textstufen-Frühe Verbreitung-Vorlagen (MGH, Hilfsmittel, 12; Munich 1991).

For general guides to this legislation, see Paul Fournier and Gabriel Le Bras, Histoire des collections canoniques en occident depuis les Fausses Décrétales jusqu'au Décret de Gratien, 2 vols. (Paris, 1931-32); Carlo de Clercq, La Legislation réligieuse franque. Etude sur les actes des conciles et les capitulaires, les statuts diocésains et les règles monastiques, 2 vols. (Louvain, 1936 and Antwerp, 1958); Wilifried Hartmann, Die Synoden der Karolingerzeit im Frankenreich und in Italien (Paderborn, 1989). Also see Rudolf Buchner, Die Rechtsquellen (Weimar, 1953).

Specifically on hagiography and the cult of the saints, see: Eric Kemp, Canonization and Authority in the Western Church (Oxford, 1948) and Nicole Herrmann-Mascard, Les reliques des saints. Formation coutumière d'un droit (Société d'histoire du droit, Collection d'histoire institutionnelle et sociale, 6; Paris, 1975).

The best study of the pseudo-Isidorian forgeries: Horst Fuhrmann, Einfluss und Verbreitung der pseudoisidorishcen Fälschungen, 3 vols. (Schriften der MGH, 24; Munich, 1972-4).

On Gesta episcoporum, see: Michel Sot, "Historiographie épiscopale et modèle familial en occident au IXe siècle," Annales. Economies, sociétés, civilisations, 33 (1978), pp. 433-49 and "Arguments hagiographiques et historiographiques dans les 'Gesta episcoporum'," in Evelyne Patlagean and Pierre Riché (eds.), Hagiographie, cultures et sociétés. IVe-XIIe siècles. Actes du Colloque organisé à Nanterre et à Paris (2-5 mai 1979) (Paris, 1981), pp. 95-104; Walter Goffart, The Le Mans Forgeries. A Chapter from the History of Church Property in the Ninth Century (Harvard Historical Studies, 76; Cambridge MA, 1966); Philippe le Maître, "L'oeuvre d'Aldric du Mans et sa signification (832-857)," Francia, 8 (1980), pp. 40-64.

On diocesan statutes: Guy Devailly, "La Pastorale en Gaule au IXe siècle," Revue d'histoire de l'église de France, 59 (1973), pp. 23-54.

6. Language, and literacy in the Carolingian and late Anglo-Saxon period.

Herbert Grundmann, "Litteratus-illitteratus. Der Wandel einer Bildungsnorm vom Altertum zum Mittelalter," Archiv für Kulturgeschichte, 40 (1958), pp. 1-65.

Carlo Battisti, "Latini e germani nella Gallia del nord nei secoli VII e VIII," and Dag Norbert, "Le développement du latin en Italie de Saint Grégoire à Paul Diacre," Caratteri del secolo VII in Occidente (Settimane di studio del Centro italiano di studi sull'alto Medio Evo, 5; 1958), pp. 445-84 and 485-503. D111 C45

Jacques Fontaine, "De la pluralité à l'unité dans le 'latin carolingien'?" in Nascita dell'Europe ed Europe Carolingia: Un'equazione da verificare, 2 vols. (Settimane di studio del Centro italiano di studi sull'alto medioevo, 27; Spoleto, 1981), pp. 765-805.

Anita Guerreau-Jalabert, "La 'renaissance carolingienne:' modèles culturels, usages linguistiques et structures sociales," Bibliothèque d'Ecole des Chartes 139 (1981), pp. 5-35.

Pierre Riché, "Les bibliothèques de trois aristocrats laïcs carolingiens," Le Moyen Age (1963), pp. 87-104.

Michael Richter, "Kommunikationsprobleme im lateinishcen Mittelalter," Historische Zeitschrift 222 (1976), pp. 43-80 and "Die Sprachenpolitik Karls des Grossen," Sprachwissenschaft 7 (1982), pp. 412-37.

Marc van Uytfanghe, "Histoire du latin, protohistoire des langues romanes et histoire de la communication," Francia 11 (1983), pp. 579-613.

Arnold Bühler, "Wort und Schrift im karolingischen Recht," Archiv für Kulturgeschichte, 72 (1990), pp. 275-96.

Roger Wright, Late Latin and Early Romance in Spain and Carolingian France (ARCA Classical and Medieval Texts, Papers and Monographs, 8; Liverpool, 1982).

Roger Wright (ed.), Latin and the Romance Languages in the Early Middle Ages (New York, 1991).

Rosamond McKitterick, The Carolingians and the Written Word (Cambridge, 1989).

Rosamund McKitterick (ed.), The Uses of Literacy in Early Medieval Europe (Cambridge, 1990).

Orrin Robinson, Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages (London, 1992).

Richard Hogg (ed.), The Cambridge History of the English Language. Volume I: The Beginnings to 1066 (Cambridge, 1992).

Fran Colman (ed.), Evidence for Old English: Material and Theoretial Bases for Reconstruction (Edinburgh, 1992).

Donald Bullough, "The Educational Tradition in England from Alfred to Aelfric: Teaching utriusque linguae," in La Sculoa nell'Occidente Latino dell'alto Medioevo (Settimane di studio del Centro italiano di studi sull'alto Medio Evo, 19; Spoleto, 1972), pp. 453-94; revised and reprinted in Donald Bullough, Carolingian Renewal: Sources and Heritage (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992), pp. 297-334.