Politics and Power in Early Medieval Europe
Alsace and the Frankish Realm, 600–1000

A 2006 case study of political structures in early medieval Europe, focusing on Alsace.

Hans J. Hummer (Author)

9780521854412, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 January 2006

320 pages, 15 b/w illus. 8 maps 7 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.641 kg

"Hummer's book is an important addition to our knowledge of east Francia."
-John B. Freed, Illinois State University, Journal of Medieval Studies

How exactly did political power operate in early medieval Europe? Taking Alsace as his focus, Hans Hummer offers an intriguing new case study on localised and centralised power and the relationship between the two from c. 600–1000. Providing a panoramic survey of the sources from the region, which include charters, notarial formulas, royal instruments, and Old High German literature, he untangles the networks of monasteries and kin groups which made up the political landscape of Alsace, and shows the significance of monastic control in shaping that landscape. He also investigates this local structure in light of comparative evidence from other regions. He tracks the emergence of the distinctive local order during the seventh century to its eventual decline in the late tenth century in the face of radical monastic reform. Highly original and well balanced, this 2006 work is of interest to all students of medieval political structures.

Introduction
1. The late Merovingian order
2. Conquest and continuity
3. The Carolingians and ecclesiastical property
4. Reaction and resistance
5. The politics of old German
6. Imperial unity and regional power
7. The late Carolingian order
8. The tenth-century transformation
Conclusions.

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