A Testimony of Carolingian Rule. The Codex epistolaris Carolinus as a Product of its Time

Abstract

This dissertation analyses the Carolingian collection of papal letters, known as the Codex epistolaris Carolinus (CC), as a highly purposeful and intentional collection, which reflects the spirit of the Frankish court of the early 790s. Apart from the practical functions it must have had as a reference book for Carolingian-papal history and papal precepts, it also functioned as a testimony to the burgeoning relations between the Carolingian dynasty and the papacy in Rome and their mutual support. As such, it is a testimony to Carolingian rule (imperium). A close reading and (partially) new translation of its preface, written in the name of Charlemagne, reveals precisely this. Since the CC only survives in a unique later ninth-century manuscript from the archbishopric of Cologne, this thesis also discusses this later Carolingian interest, arguing that it not only served Willibert, Archbishop of Cologne, but also his patron King Louis the German. The manuscript itself provides interesting clues as to the Carolingian interpretation and use of the letters, which are almost all introduced by summaries (lemmata): since they are, compared to other contemporary lemmata, exceptionally detailed and comprehensive, they reveal a great deal about the Carolingian discourse. This is especially the case with regard to some of the more prominent concepts that the popes introduced in order to establish and maintain their Franco-papal alliance.