The penitential state
Subtitle: authority and atonement in the age of Louis the Pious, 814-840
By: Mayke de Jong.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 317
ISBN-13: 9780521881524
Subjects: Louis -- I, -- Emperor, -- 778-840; Louis -- I, -- Emperor, -- 778-840 -- Religion; Repentance -- Political aspects -- France -- History -- To 1500; Atonement -- Political aspects -- France -- History -- To 1500; Monarchy -- France -- History -- To 1500; Church and state -- France -- History -- To 1500; France -- Kings and rulers -- Biography; France -- History -- To 987 -- Sources; France -- Church history -- To 987 -- Sources; France -- Kings and rulers -- Religious aspects
Genres: Biography.; Sources.
Description: "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.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: The penitential state; title: Louis the Pious (778-840); title: A boy who became a king; title: Adolescentia; title: The conquest of Aachen; title: Dynasty; title: Scapegoats and rebels; title: Intermezzo; title: 833 and all that; title: Restoration; title: The last years; title: Ninth-century narratives; title: The court and its narratives; title: The message from inside : annals; title: Imperial imagery : Einhard; title: A bishop's view : Thegan; title: The corridors of power : the Astronomer; title: Poetic praise : Ermold the Black; title: With hindsight : Nithard on Louis the Pious; title: Looking back in anger : Radbert on Wala; title: Admonitio, correptio, increpatio; title: Criticising rulers; title: The watchman in the house of Israel; title: The vocabulary of admonition and sin; title: Royal admonition; title: Admonition from beyond the grave; title: From admonitio to increpatio; title: The wages of sin (828-829); title: Scapegoats : Matfrid and Hugh; title: Clades : the offended deity; title: The winter assembly of 828-829; title: Letters from the palace; title: A penitential synod : Paris, 829; title: Purity and danger (830-831); title: The reputation of the palace; title: The one and only queen; title: Sexual slander; title: Purity and danger; title: Rebellion and restoration; title: Scandal and satisfaction (832-834); title: An unexpected visitor; title: Debates on the Field of Lies; title: Public sin and public penance; title: The bishops argue their case; title: The case against the bishops; title: Some observations on 833 and ritual; title: Turning the tables; title: Epilogue: The penitential state after Louis the Pious.