Charlemagne's practice of empire / Jennifer R. Davis (Catholic University of America).

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davis, Jennifer R., 1975- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Charlemagne, Emperor, 742-814.

Charlemagne.

Political leadership--History--To 1500.

Political leadership.

Imperialism--History--To 1500.

Imperialism.

Franks--History--768-814.

Franks.

Europe--Politics and government--476-1492.

Europe.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 531 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Revisiting one of the great puzzles of European political history, Jennifer Davis examines how the Frankish king Charlemagne and his men held together the vast new empire he created during the first decades of his reign. Davis explores how Charlemagne overcame the two main problems of ruling an empire, namely how to delegate authority and how to manage diversity. Through a meticulous reconstruction based on primary sources, she demonstrates that rather than imposing a pre-existing model of empire onto conquered regions, Charlemagne and his men learned from them, developing a practice of empire that allowed the emperor to rule on a European scale. As a result, Charlemagne's realm was more flexible and diverse than has long been believed. Telling the story of Charlemagne's rule using sources produced during the reign itself, Davis offers a new interpretation of Charlemagne's political practice, free from the distortions of later legend.

Contents:

Introduction; Part I. Strategic Rulership

Part I introduction: Tools of control and coercion

Managing royal agents

Disciplining royal agents

Fractured control : Charlemagne's response to dissent

Part I conclusion: Control and its limits

Part II. Center and Region in Charlemagne's Empire

Part II introduction: Unity and diversity in Charlemagne's empire

An empire of regions?

The conquered regions as arenas for experimentation

The nature of the empire : centralization and communication

Part II conclusion: The imperial character of Charlemagne's realm

Part III. An Empire of Practice

Part III introduction: Continuity, change, and the building of an empire

The chronology of the reign

Recta via : the dynamics of political change

Part III conclusion: An empire of practice

Conclusion: Charlemagne's invention of medieval rulership.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-36559-X

1-316-37559-5

1-316-37159-X

1-316-37759-8

1-316-37859-4

1-316-37659-1

1-316-37459-9

1-139-92472-9