Morality and Masculinity in the Carolingian Empire

What were Carolingian noblemen told about the morality of war, power and sex, and how did they respond?

Rachel Stone (Author)

9781107006744, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 October 2011

420 pages, 1 b/w illus. 1 map
23.5 x 16.1 x 2.4 cm, 0.8 kg

'There are many thought-provoking insights and new arguments to be found in Stone's ambitious book. All scholars of Carolingian Europe, the medieval nobility, and medieval masculinity should read it.' Eric J. Goldberg, Early Medieval Europe

What did it mean to be a Frankish nobleman in an age of reform? How could Carolingian lay nobles maintain their masculinity and their social position, while adhering to new and stricter moral demands by reformers concerning behaviour in war, sexual conduct and the correct use of power? This book explores the complex interaction between Christian moral ideals and social realities, and between religious reformers and the lay political elite they addressed. It uses the numerous texts addressed to a lay audience (including lay mirrors, secular poetry, political polemic, historical writings and legislation) to examine how biblical and patristic moral ideas were reshaped to become compatible with the realities of noble life in the Carolingian empire. This innovative analysis of Carolingian moral norms demonstrates how gender interacted with political and religious thought to create a distinctive Frankish elite culture, presenting a new picture of early medieval masculinity.

1. Introduction
2. Moral texts and lay audiences
3. Warfare
4. Imagining power
5. Central power
6. Personal power
7. Power and wealth
8. Marriage
9. Sex
10. Men and morality
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], European history [HBJD]