The episode framework of the Kaiserchronik is as much a semanticising structure as the chronicle’s content. If treated analogous to Hayden White’s analysis of annals the conceptual continuity of the Roman Empire as the object of narration becomes all the more clearer. The episodes are used as pegs for a wide selection of historical narratives, which are decontextualised and presented unmoored from its traditional semantic environment. Only its place in the continuous succession of emperor episodes imbues them with historical meaning. The mobility of these episodes, however, is limited as two dimensions emerge within which the chronicle does have to negotiate qualitative change which translates into historical difference and not only distance as the episode framework produces it. Next to its axial episode paradigm the Kaiserchronik also employs rhetorics as a tool to create distance. This however happens mainly to distance itself from an unspecified group of other texts. The Kaiserchronik aims to polemicise against those text which don’t share its ideas about poetic artefactuality and composition. The transformation of the Roman Empire from a pagan into a Christian one is one of the essential threads of the Kaiserchronik. The gradual substitution of the polytheistic worship of demons disguised as gods with Christian monotheism is the driving motivator behind the selection of much of the narrative material up until Constantine and Theodosius. The aim here is not to device a teleological salvation historical trajectory but to negotiate the qualitative change of religious identity in the conceptually unchanged Roman Empire. This means that Christianity even after its assertion always remains vulnerable. While the Roman Empire always remains Roman, the perspective on it and its rulers changes significantly. Even when the Roman Empire is ruled by Roman emperors the chronicle opportunistically latches on to several opportunities to emphasis the historical closeness of the Germans or of discrete German peoples to the body and history of the Roman Empire. This is especially poignant during the Caesar episode, which sees the inauguration of the Empire as an imperial genealogy and in the Charlemagne episode, which marks the switch of perspective from an internally and essentially Roman one to a transalpine on, which, however, never fully asserts a fully conceptualised Germanness.

Dissertation--Universität Tübingen. / Bibliogr. p. 221-236.

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (Faculty of Education) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Texte remanié de: Thèse--Lettres--Paris, 1865. / Bibliogr. p. XII-XVII. Index.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Philosophische Fakultät--Freiburg im Breisgau--Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Wintersemester 1996/97. / Bibliogr. p. XI-XXIV. Index.

The historians writing in the Carolingian Empire, with a few important exceptions, frequently ascribed events in recent history to God. Where they have been noticed at all, these statements of God’s agency have usually been explained as political propaganda, to demonstrate God’s favour towards the reigning dynasty. Alternatively, they have been explained by the legacy of late antique Christian historians, from which this language supposedly derived. This thesis aims to demonstrate that this language was a distinctive and innovative feature of the emerging tradition of Carolingian history writing and is best explained in religious terms. It argues that Carolingian historians reflected the emphasis on God’s agency found throughout contemporary culture and that they deliberately reshaped the Christian language bequeathed by their Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Frankish predecessors. It offers a text-by-text analysis of how God’s agency functioned within each major Carolingian history, to further show the versatility of this language over the period. Taken together, these texts suggest that Carolingian historians wanted to teach their audiences about God’s agency and its implications for their own beliefs, identities, and behaviour. As a result, these histories and their depictions of God’s agency can be seen as a distinctive contribution to Carolingian religious renewal. This thesis thus aims to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between religion, history, and culture in early medieval Europe.

Depuis toujours, les régimes politiques ont tenté de se légitimer et de justifier leurs ambitions en s’identifiant à des grandes figures historiques. Cette identification passe obligatoirement par une certaine déformation des faits historiques. Celle-ci peut être plus ou moins grande en fonction de l’absence d’analogie fondée entre le régime en place et les faits historiques. Le régime national-socialiste ne déroge pas à la règle. Cependant, l’analyse des portraits des « Führers de l’histoire allemande », dont faisaient partie Charlemagne et Barberousse, révèle les profondes rivalités au sein du mouvement national-socialiste. Elle illustre aussi à quel point cette conception du monde reposait sur une poignée de postulats à peine. Pour finir, elle montre que les académiciens ont apporté des arguments scientifiques pour alimenter, voire attiser l’ambition d’Hitler. / Doctorat en Histoire, histoire de l'art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Is language a tool of empire or is empire a tool of language? This thesis examines the cultivation of Carolingian hegemony on a pan-European scale; one defined by a renewed interest in the study of language and its relationship to Carolingian eagerness for moral and spiritual authority. Intended to complement previous work on Carolingian cultural politics, this thesis reiterates the emergence of active philosophical speculation during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Prior research has ignored the centrality of linguistic hermeneutics in the Carolingian literate programme. This thesis addresses this lacuna, demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between spirituality, language, and politics within the Carolingian world. The work appropriates prior investigations into the connection of semiotics and Christian philosophy and proposes the development of a renewed interest into ontology and epistemology by Carolingian scholars, notably Alcuin of York and Theodulf of Orléans. The correlation between linguistic philosophy and spiritual authority is confirmed by the 794 Synod of Frankfurt, at which accusations towards both the Adoptionist movement of northern Spain and the repeal of Byzantine Iconoclasm were based on the dangers of linguistic misinterpretation. The thesis also explores the manifestation of this emergent philosophy of language within the manuscript evidence, witnessed by the biblical pandects produced by Alcuin and Theodulf. Desire for the emendation of texts, not to mention the formation of a uniform script (Caroline Minuscule), abetted the larger goal of both infusing a text with authority (both secular and divine) and allowing for broader spiritual and intellectual understanding of a text. Increasing engagement with classical philosophy and rhetoric, the nature of Carolingian biblical revision, and the cultural politics as seen at the Synod of Frankfurt depict the primacy of language to the Carolingians, not only as a tool of imperialism, but the axis of their intellectual and spiritual world.

Thesis (doctoral)--Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [217]-242).

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.