Carolingian Portraits: A Study in the Ninth Century

By Eleanor Shipley Duckett

Book Overview

In this fascinating and informed study, Eleanor Shipley Duckett recreates the ninth-century world of Charlemagne, through portraits of the outstanding historical figures of the age: The solitary, monastic-minded Louis the Pious, who at the age of three rode to meet his people across the border of Aquitaine. Einhard of Seligenstadt, so small that he seemed of no account, but whose biography of Charlemagne has lived through the ages. Lamar of Metz, condemned before the council of Quierzy in 838. Walafrid Strabo of Reichenau, "the lad with a squint" who gave to the Carolingian age its poetry. Lupus of Ferrieres, scholar and envoy of the king. Te princely Hincmar of Reims, working his will in synod and council, in episcopal cathedral, and in royal court. Dr. Duckett frequently lets these figures speak for themselves: she includes extracts from letters, chronicles, verse, and treatises- all translated from the Latin. Her study of the rise and fall of Charlemagne's empire is essential and delightful reading for all students of the medieval world. Eleanor Shipley Duckett is professor emeritus of Latin languages an literature, Smith College. She received her education at the University of Cambridge, England; and is the author of The Gateway to the Middle Ages and Death in the Tenth Century, also available from the University of Michigan Press.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B000WW77D4
• Release Date: January 1962
• Publisher: ANN ARBOR, MI: AnN ARBOR, 1962
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Classic Carolingian biography

On the Continent, the 9th century was a period of extended struggle among the children and grandchildren of Charles the Great, constant coastal raiding by northern pirates, and tedious quarrels among theologians. This now-classic collection of biographical essays chronicles the rise and decline of Charles's empire through the careers of such men as Einhard of Seligenstadt. But our interest here is in the scholarly but very readable piece on Louis the Pious, the solitary and monastic son and successor of Charles, whose inability to cope with his legacy resulted in profound changes in political and religious relationships, especially between the king/emperor and the diverse military aristocracy.