This thesis describes aspects of the representation and perception of the Carolingians in Italy between 774 and 875. This relates to the impact of Carolingian ideology in Italy. The thesis is composed of a series of parallel source studies. Most of the material considered was produced away from the Carolingian court and thus reveals the reaction of those in the provinces. Even when, as with capitularies, the material discussed originated at the court, the selection of which pieces to preserve is nevertheless sometimes indicative of the priorities of those involved. The thesis is composed of six chapters and a short coda. Chapter one is an introduction which deals with the histonography of the subject, outlines the aims of this study and delineates the difficulties associated with it. Chapters two and three deal with narrative sources written, respectively, within the regnum Iialiae and those written outside it in southern Italy. These two chapters consider the descriptions of the Carolingians contained in these texts in the light of the literary approaches of these works. Chapter four analyses other literary productions linked with or referring to the Carolingians in Italy, mostly poems. Chapter five discusses the numismatic evidence about Carolingian government in Italy and the coinage's capacity to carry ideological messages. Chapter six considers the evidence of Carolingian capitularies in Italy, the promulgation of these texts and their use in the peninsula. Particular attention is devoted to the methodological problems involved with using each of these types of source. Thus a partial image is developed of the ideological profile of Carolingian rule in Italy and of the reaction to it. The coda, chapter seven, describes the place of this work in the historiography and suggests further approaches.

This is a study of a Roman legal document of unknown date and debated origin conventionally known as the Edictum Theoderici (ET). Comprised of 154 edicta, or provisions, in addition to a prologue and epilogue, the ET is a significant but largely overlooked document for understanding the institutions of Roman law, legal administration and society in the West from the fourth to early sixth century. The purpose is to situate the text within its proper historical and legal context, to understand better the processes involved in the creation of new law in the post-Roman world, as well as to appreciate how the various social, political and cultural changes associated with the end of the classical world and the beginning of the Middle Ages manifested themselves in the domain of Roman law. It is argued here that the ET was produced by a group of unknown Roman jurisprudents working under the instructions of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great (493-526), and was intended as a guide for settling disputes between the Roman and Ostrogothic inhabitants of Italy. A study of its contents in relation to earlier Roman law and legal custom preserved in imperial decrees and juristic commentaries offers a revealing glimpse into how, and to what extent, Roman law survived and evolved in Italy following the decline and eventual collapse of imperial authority in the region. Such an examination also challenges long-held assumptions as to just how peaceful, prosperous and Roman-like Theoderic’s Italy really was.

This is a study of a Roman legal document of unknown date and debated origin conventionally known as the Edictum Theoderici (ET). Comprised of 154 edicta, or provisions, in addition to a prologue and epilogue, the ET is a significant but largely overlooked document for understanding the institutions of Roman law, legal administration and society in the West from the fourth to early sixth century. The purpose is to situate the text within its proper historical and legal context, to understand better the processes involved in the creation of new law in the post-Roman world, as well as to appreciate how the various social, political and cultural changes associated with the end of the classical world and the beginning of the Middle Ages manifested themselves in the domain of Roman law. It is argued here that the ET was produced by a group of unknown Roman jurisprudents working under the instructions of the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great (493-526), and was intended as a guide for settling disputes between the Roman and Ostrogothic inhabitants of Italy. A study of its contents in relation to earlier Roman law and legal custom preserved in imperial decrees and juristic commentaries offers a revealing glimpse into how, and to what extent, Roman law survived and evolved in Italy following the decline and eventual collapse of imperial authority in the region. Such an examination also challenges long-held assumptions as to just how peaceful, prosperous and Roman-like Theoderic’s Italy really was.