Rethinking Authority in the Carolingian Empire: Ideals and Expectations during the Reign of Louis the Pious (813-828)

By the early ninth century, taking responsibility for aseries of social, religious and political transformations had become an integral part of running the Carolingian empire. This book takes a fresh look at these transformations during the optimistic first decades of the ninth century. Extrapolating from a series of detailed case studies rather than presenting a new grand narrative, it offers new interpretations of contemporary theories of personal improvement and institutional reforms, and shows the self-awareness of its main instigators as they pondered what it meant to be a good Christian in a good Christian empire.