This thesis examines the eighth century rise in power of the Carolingian Church and the Carolingian dynasty through an early promise of religious revival, monarchial revival, and increased Papal power. Such aims gained the Carolingians a powerful in the Church. Aided by Boniface (672-754 AD) and the Church, the Carolingians replaced the Merovingians in Francia. In conjunction with this revival, Church scholars dictated a reformation of kingship in treatises called the Speculum Principum. A king’s position became tremulous when they strayed from these rules, as it betrayed their alliance. Ultimately, Louis the Pious (778-840 AD) faced deposition after they disagreed on his appointments and adherence to the ideologies of the Speculum Principum.

À l’aube du IXe siècle, les Carolingiens prétendent imposer à l’Occident l’unité dans la foi et le culte. Cet idéal domine les pensées des empereurs qui se conçoivent comme protecteurs, législateurs et juges, mais aussi vicaires du Christ et recteurs de l’Église. De telles ambitions stimulent l’élaboration d’un gouvernement original. Comme les conquêtes avaient composé une vaste mosaïque de populations, de cultures et d’intérêts, la concorde posait un grand défi. Pour y répondre, Charlemagne et Louis le Pieux ont fait des communications leur premier outil politique. Leur inventivité et leur efficience furent appréciables, mais elles n’ont pas suffi à leur gagner toutes les adhésions : la discorde s’est installée là où l’empereur ne parvenait pas à maintenir une relation forte avec les élites régionales. Les distances et les modalités des communications déterminaient la nature de leurs échanges, donc leurs limites et, de ce fait, le destin de l’Empire carolingien. L’enquête aborde un vaste éventail documentaire : actes, capitulaires, correspondances, monnaies... Elle s’intéresse particulièrement aux relations du pouvoir impérial avec les élites du sud-ouest de l’empire. Ses résultats dépendent d’un étayage complexe : dispositifs de représentation du pouvoir, conséquences politico-sociales des distances et des vitesses de déplacement, anthropologie de la rencontre et des relations à distance, étude des réseaux. Au-delà des considérations propres à l’histoire des VIIIe-IXe siècles, elle démontre l’intérêt d’aborder les réalités politiques prémodernes du point de vue des défis que présentent les distances géographiques, les rencontres et les communications. / At the start of the 9th Century, the Carolingians intended to unite Western Europe in the Christian faith and cult. This ideal was central to the emperors’ thoughts, who considered themselves protectors, legislators and judges, even claiming to be the vicars of Christ and rectors of the Church’s institutions. Such ambitions led to the development of an original form of government. Since the conquests had composed a large mosaic of populations, cultures and interests, maintaining concord became a major difficulty for the Carolingian government. In rising to this challenge, Charlemagne and Louis the Pious made communications their foremost political tool. With inventiveness and efficiency they used communications as best they could, but it was not enough to establish long lasting unity : discordances built up where they were unable to maintain strong relations with the regional élite. Distances and means of communications determined the nature and limits of the exchanges between the political center and its peripheries, thus orienting the destiny of the Empire. This study tackles a wide variety of sources, including diplomas, capitularies, correspondences, coins... Among other things, it investigates the relations of the imperial government with the southwestern part of the Empire. The results are supported by a series of inquiries touching on representations of political authority, network studies, sociopolitical consequences of geographical distance and speed of communication, anthropological complexities of encounters and long-distance relations. Beyond the history of the 8th and 9th Centuries, it illustrates the necessity of approaching pre-modern political realities through the lens of geographical distances, meetings and communications.

The work deals with the process of Carolingian monastic reform culminating in synods from the beginning of the ninth century. Using a diachronic approach, it examines the ways in which the Rule of Benedicti was spread in the Frankish Empire during the reign of Charlemagne and its legal anchoring during the reign of his son Louis I. the Pious. The work further analyzes the hagiographic biography of Benedict of Aniane with a view to examining its significance in the uniformization efforts of the ruling dynasty. The monastic provisions of the imperial synods from 816 and 817 are compared with the original wording of the Benedictine Rule and in relation to this, the work points to new monastic tendencies which deviate from the original Benedictine tradition. The first chapter presents an initial insight into the topic of the monastic reform of the Karlovac dynasty and points out the methods and causes of the gradual penetration of the Rule of Benedict of Nursia into the Frankish monasteries. The next chapter uses a biographical method to approach the person of Abbot Benedict of Aniane and his role in the reform of monasticism. The final part of the work analyzes the synodial chapters dealing with the issue of the implementation of the Benedictine rule in the monasteries of the Frankish Empire. It analyzes the...