Title: The penitential state : authority and atonement in the age of Louis the Pious, 814-840 /
Authors: Jong, Mayke De
Publisher: Cambridge University Press,
Year: 2009
Subjects: Louis; Louis Religion.; Repentance Political aspects France History; Atonement Political aspects France History; Monarchy France History; Church and state France History; France Kings and rulers Biography.; France History Sources.; France Church history Sources.; France Kings and rulers Religious aspects.
Abstract: "In 833 Emperor Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's son, submitted to a public penance in the wake of a rebellion by his three elder sons. This penance amounted to a deposition, for Louis was to atone for his sins for the rest of his life. Only half a year later, he was back on the throne again. In this major re-evaluation of Louis's reign, Mayke de Jong argues that his penance was the outcome of a political discourse and practice in which the accountability of the Frankish ruler to God played an increasingly central role. However heated their debates, this was a moral high ground Louis shared with churchmen and secular magnates. Through a profound re-reading of text by contemporary authors who reflected on legitimate authority in times of crisis, this book reveals a world in which political crime was defined as sin, and royal authority was enhanced by atonement."--BOOK JACKET.
Contents: Introduction: The penitential state -- Louis the Pious (778-840) -- A boy who became a king -- Adolescentia -- The conquest of Aachen -- Dynasty -- Scapegoats and rebels -- Intermezzo -- 833 and all that -- Restoration -- The last years -- Ninth-century narratives -- The court and its narratives -- The message from inside : annals -- Imperial imagery : Einhard -- A bishop's view : Thegan -- The corridors of power : the Astronomer -- Poetic praise : Ermold the Black -- With hindsight : Nithard on Louis the Pious -- Looking back in anger : Radbert on Wala -- Admonitio, correptio, increpatio -- Criticising rulers -- The watchman in the house of Israel -- The vocabulary of admonition and sin -- Royal admonition -- Admonition from beyond the grave -- From admonitio to increpatio -- The wages of sin (828-829) -- Scapegoats : Matfrid and Hugh -- Clades : the offended deity -- The winter assembly of 828-829 -- Letters from the palace -- A penitential synod : Paris, 829 -- Purity and danger (830-831) -- The reputation of the palace -- The one and only queen -- Sexual slander -- Purity and danger -- Rebellion and restoration -- Scandal and satisfaction (832-834) -- An unexpected visitor -- Debates on the Field of Lies -- Public sin and public penance -- The bishops argue their case -- The case against the bishops -- Some observations on 833 and ritual -- Turning the tables -- Epilogue: The penitential state after Louis the Pious.