Hincmar of Rheims: Life and Work

Description

Archbishop Hincmar of Rheims (d. 882) is a crucial figure for all those interested in early medieval European history in general, and Carolingian history in particular. For forty years he was an advisor to kings and religious controversialist; his works are a key source for the political, religious and social history of the later ninth century, covering topics from papal politics to the abduction of women and the role of parish priests. For the first time since Jean Devisse's biography of Hincmar in the 1970s, this book offers a three-dimensional examination of a figure whose actions and writings in different fields are often studied in isolation. It brings together the latest international research across the spectrum of his varied activities, as history-writer, estate administrator, hagiographer, canonist, pastorally engaged bishop, and politically minded royal advisor. The introduction also provides the first substantial English-language survey of Hincmar's whole career. List of figures and tables page ix List of contributors x Preface and acknowledgements xi List of abbreviations xii Map of Frankish kingdoms xiv Genealogy of Carolingian rulers xv 1. Introduction: Hincmar's world / Rachel Stone 1 2. Hincmar's life in his historical writings / Janet L. Nelson 44 3. To fight with words: the case of Hincmar of Laon in the Annals of St-Bertin / Christine Kleinjung 60 4. An unfortunate necessity? Hincmar and Lothar I / Elina Screen 76 Appendix: The authenticity of the letters of Leo IV in the Collectio Britannica 85 5. "We are between the hammer and the anvil": Hincmar in the crisis of 875 / Clémentine Bernard-Valette 93 6. Hincmar's influence during Louis the Stammerer's reign / Margaret J. McCarthy 110 7. Hincmar and his Roman legal sources / Simon Corcoran 129 8. "Hincmar et la loi" revisited: on Hincmar's use of capitularies / Philippe Depreux 156 9. The bishop and the law, according to Hincmar's life of Saint Remigius / Marie-Céline Isaïa 170 10. Family order and kingship according to Hincmar / Sylvie Joye 190 11. "The praetor does concern himself with trifles": Hincmar, the polyptych of St-Remi and the slaves of Courtisols / Josiane Barbier 211 Appendix: The nota and the structure of the entry for Courtisols in the Paris manuscript 221 12. Hincmar's parish priests / Charles West 228 13. Heresy in the flesh: Gottschalk of Orbais and the predestination controversy in the archdiocese of Rheims / Matthew Bryan Gillis 247 14. Hincmar, priests and Pseudo-Isidore: the case of Trising in context / Mayke de Jong 268 Appendix: Letter from Hincmar of Rheims to Pope Hadrian II, spring 871 281 Bibliographies 289 Primary sources 289 Select bibliography of secondary literature 296 Index 300