Augustine and the Art of Ruling in the Carolingian Imperial Period: Political Discourse in Alcuin of York and Hincmar of Rheims

This book investigates how Augustine was received in the Carolingian period and how his thought influenced Carolingian ideas of 'state, rulership, and ethics. It focuses on Alcuin of York and Hincmar of Rheims, authors and political advisers to Charlemagne and Charles the Bald, respectively, and examines how they used Augustine's political thought and ethics to give more weight to their advice. A comparative approach sheds light on the differences between Charlemagne's reign and that of his grandson.

Format: Hardback
Length: 246 pages
Publication date: 02 July 2019
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Inc

This book, which is available in open access at http://www.tandfebooks.com/doi/view/10.4324/9781351116022, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation, this volume explores the reception of Augustine in the Carolingian period, examining the elements of his thought that influenced Carolingian ideas of 'state, rulership, and ethics. It focuses on Alcuin of York and Hincmar of Rheims, authors and political advisers to Charlemagne and Charles the Bald, respectively. The book examines how they utilized Augustine's political thought and ethics, as manifested in the De civitate Dei, to enhance the weight of their advice. A comparative approach sheds light on the differences between Charlemagne's reign and that of his grandson. It scrutinizes Alcuin and Hincmar's discussions of empire, rulership, and the moral conduct of political agents, during which both drew on the De civitate Dei, although each came away with a different understanding. Through a philological-historical approach, the book offers a deeper reading and treats the Latin texts as political discourses defined by content and language.

Weight: 488g
Dimension: 165 x 241 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780815361602