Flodoard of Rheims (893/4–966) is one of the tenth century's most intriguing but neglected historians. His works are essential sources for the emergence of the West Frankish and Ottonian kingdoms in the tumultuous decades following the collapse of the Carolingian empire in 888. Yet although Flodoard is a crucial narrative voice from this period, his works have seldom been considered in the context of the evolving circumstances of his turbulent career or his literary aims. This important new study is the first to analyse and synthesise Flodoard's entire output, suggesting that his writings about Rheims, contemporary politics and the Christian past have until now been taken at face value without regard for his own intentions or priorities, and therefore have been misunderstood. Edward Roberts' re-evaluation of the relationship between political participation, historical understanding and authorial individuality casts important new light on the political and cultural history of tenth-century Europe.
Author(s): Edward Roberts
Series: Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, Fourth Series, 113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 282
List of Tables
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: Flodoard of Rheims and His World
The Need for This Study
The Career of Flodoard
Late Carolingian West Francia
Medieval Historians and Historical Writing
Chapter 1. Flodoard, His Archbishops and the Struggle for Rheims
The Canon and the Conflict
Archbishops Hugh and Artold
Flodoard and the Synods of 947–8
Episcopal Authority and Episcopal Historiography
Rheims in Ottonian Europe, c. 950
Chapter 2. Narrative and History in the 'Annals'
Genre and Form
The Provenance of the 'Annals'
Composition
Authorial Intention
Conclusion
Chapter 3. Institutional History and Ecclesiastical Property
Property Management: Inventories, Histories and Gesta
Flodoard as Archivist
Constructing Claims
Personal Interests
Historical Horizons
Chapter 4. History, Poetry and Intellectual Life
'The Triumphs of Christ'
Composition and Sources
Lotharingian Intellectual Currents
West Frankish Intellectual Currents
Conclusion
Chapter 5. Flodoard's Age of Miracles
Signs of the Supernatural in the 'Annals'
The 'Visions of Flothilde'
Miracles and Authority in the 'History'
Conclusion
Conclusion: History and Historiography in the Tenth Century
Bibliography
Manuscripts Cited
Printed Sources
Secondary Works
Unpublished Dissertations and Theses
Online Sources
Index
