Church
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Nelson:

·       Crucial importance of church lands - also a major resource. Generations of pious royal / aristocratic benefaction à lay reappropriation of church estates possible C8 in Gaul. (Trad. - 751 seen as “feudal revolution” - Martel seizing church lands to grant to vassals. No - this was nothing new).

·       Martel actually ‘crushed the tyrants’ (Vita Karoli) - i.e. those bishops who were building up ecc principalities at Auxerre / Orléans. Less ‘reforming zeal’ than need to remove pol rivals in key locations.

·       Pippin continued control of key churches (e.g. installed noble supporters on lands of see of Auxerre - these enabled him to take Burgundy in 750s). Extension into realm-wide incorporation of F church into the state; after all he had been appointed king by bishops of Gaul. Made major ecc appointments personally / summoned them to royal assemblies / required them to pay mil service.

·       Huge importance - e.g. once Charlemagne had annexed Lombard Italy, endowments to St. Martin / Denis etc. secured route to Italy. Church policy deployed and built public authority.

·       Kings made heavy demands on churches (e.g. Louis the Pious’ lists of monasteries owing gifts / mil service / prayers). Royal access to church resources was fully institutionalised. Loyalty and efficiency of ecc dignitaries was more reliable than that of secular office-holders.

·       All this crucial to expansion of Car empire - system of church contributing institutionally to state not found elsewhere. Powerful monarchs required to boost church’s institutional integrity. Carolingians dependent on church’s mil service and its prayers (e.g. conquered Lombard monasteries expected to pray for Charlemagne after 774 - test of loyalty).

·       Slippage of royal power in W Francia indicated by passage of royal monasteries into aristocratic hands (e.g. St Vaast to Count of Flanders / St Denis to Odo son of Robert).

·       Dhondt: squandering of Carolingian fisc by Charlemagne’s successors à undermining of Car power - collapse of empire due to lack of resources. BUT difficult to gauge this due to use of unrecorded benefices instead of direct grants. Note also peripheral lands granted away - this indicates royal control / rationale. Key point = Car pol geog must include ecc as well as secular; most of these grants made to churches à not losses to state.

MONASTERIES:

·         Colossal and rich in C8 (Lorsch and Fulda).

·         Nobles provided them with patronage for spiritual provision. Also were a good political club to join – different families supported different monasteries etc..

·         Hence attraction in C8 for kings to make monastic reforms. Could take moral high ground and make big profits – could exert pol lever – appointment of abbots and dishing out of benefices.

·         Carolingians regarded themselves as divinely supported. Success was self-confirming.

·         Church reform allows interference – land and ideological resources came together.

·         Biggest monasteries were built on periphery – this is where problems of plugging local aristocracy into the political system were most acute.

·         All this increases quality of imperial theatre

Other Notes in this Category

1. Basis of Power
2. Carolignian Geneaology
3. Carolignians and Italy
4. Chronological Analysis
5. Church
6. Communications
7. Did growth lead to a more systematic style of government?
8. Domestic government and power bases
9. Ideology of Power
10. Importance of the West 814 - 898
11. Kingship and Royal Government - Janet Nelson
12. Logistics of Power
13. Nobility and Expansion Dynamic
14. Nobility and Expansion Dynamic - Effect on surrounding peoples
15. Plunder and Tribute in the Carolignian Empire
16. Society and Politics
17. Sociology of Power
18. The Carolignian Experiment - EF James
19. Vikings

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