Description
Book SynopsisThe Carolingian period (
c. 750-900) has traditionally been described as one of ‘reform’ or ‘renaissance’, where cultural and intellectual changes were imposed from above in a programme of
correctio. This view leans heavily on prescriptive texts issued by kings and their entourages, foregrounding royal initiative and the cultural products of a small intellectual elite. However, attention to understudied texts and manuscripts of the period reveals a vibrant striving for moral improvement and positive change at all levels of society. This expressed itself in a variety of ways for different individuals and communities, whose personal relationships could be just as influential as top-down prescription. The often anonymous creators and copyists in a huge range of centres emerge as active participants in shaping and re-shaping the ideals of their world.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: rethinking the Carolingian reforms – Carine van Rhijn
1 Gender and horizontal networks in Carolingian monasticisms (up to c. 840) – Ingrid Rembold
2 Analysing Attigny: contextualising Chrodegang of Metz’s influence on the life of canons – Stephen Ling
3 A Carolingian ‘reform of education’? The reception of Alcuin’s pedagogy – Cinzia Grifoni and Giorgia Vocino
4 Correcting the liturgy and sacred language – Els Rose and Arthur Westwell
5 Error assessment: how to distinguish between true and false? – Irene van Renswoude
6 Reformatio and correctio in Carolingian theology and orthodoxy: reformation or aggiornamento? – Kristina Mitalaité
Index
