Emperor of the World: Charlemagne and the Construction of Imperial Authority, 800-1229

305 Pages·2013·2.41 MB·English

by  Anne A. Latowsky

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EMPEROR OF THE WORLD

EMPEROR OF
n
THE WORLD
CHARLEMAGNE AND
THE CONSTRUCTION OF
IMPERIAL AUTHORITY,
800–1229
Anne A. Latowsky
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2013 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review,
this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any
form without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage
House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2013 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Latowsky, Anne Austin.
Emperor of the world : Charlemagne and the
construction of imperial authority, 800–1229 / Anne A.
Latowsky.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-5148-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Charlemagne, Emperor, 742–814—Legends—
History and criticism. 2. Charlemagne, Emperor, 742–
814—Influence. 3. Holy Roman Empire—Kings and
rulers. 4. Literature, Medieval—History and criticism.
5. Authority in literature. 6. East and West in literature.
7. East and West—History—To 1500. I. Title.
PN687.C5L38 2013
809'.93351—dc23 2012025569
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally
responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent
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include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free
papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly
composed of nonwood fibers. For further information,
visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For David, Julia, and Jonathan

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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1. Carolingian Origins 19
2. Relics from the East 59
3. Benzo of Alba’s Parallel Signs 99
4. In Praise of Frederick Barbarossa 139
5. The Emperor’s Charlemagne 183
6. “Charlemagne and the East”
in France 215
Epilogue: The Remains of Charlemagne 251
Bibliography 259
Index 281

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Acknowledgments
Three days before I sent the first full manu-
script of this book to Cornell University Press for consideration in May
2011, I learned that my mentor and friend, Eugene Vance, had died in a solo
plane crash. I had been waiting to tell him that I had finally completed the
book, but never got the chance. Gene was a passionate reader of the medieval
world, and it is my hope that this book will in some way bear witness to his
legacy as a teacher. During my years in graduate school, he always allotted
me the freedom to plot my own course, happily tolerating the time I spent
in the classics department, and, even more so, the time I spent in the history
department with Robert Stacey, who taught me to be a medieval historian.
My aim in this book has been to navigate the often murky waters between
literature and history, and I look back with gratitude to those who prepared
me for that endeavor.
At the University of South Florida, my colleagues have patiently given
me the time and space I have needed to write this book. I am particularly
grateful to Christine Probes for her generosity and friendship over the years.
Among the historians who have welcomed me into their fold, I wish to
acknowledge Matthew Gabriele, Jace Stuckey, Eric Goldberg, Paul Dutton,
David Ganz, Patrick Geary, Paul Hyams, Jinty Nelson, and Damien Kempf,
who has been kind enough to share work in progress. I especially want to
thank Valerie Garver, who has been a great help in the publication process,
and Tom Noble for his support over the past five years.
This book would not have been possible without the support of a National
Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Research fellowship in 2009–10,
which allowed me a year to regroup and write what turned out to be a differ-
ent book than the one I had intended. I wish to thank the Humanities Insti-
tute of the University of South Florida for an important summer of funding
for research in 2008. The Department of World Languages at USF has also
contributed generously to the publication of this book. The University of
Wisconsin Libraries at Madison have provided me with a summer home on
several occasions. Without their generous policies for temporary patrons, my
ix