History, Scripture, and Authority in the Carolingian Empire - (British Academy Monographs) by Graeme Ward (Hardcover)

About the Book

History, Scripture, and Authority is the first book-length study of the ninth-century historian Frechulf of Lisieux in any language. It uses the creation of Frechulf's monumental Histories to explore how the past was read and interpreted in Carolingian Europe.

Book Synopsis

History, Scripture and Authority in the Carolingian Empire offers a detailed analysis of the work of the ninth-century historian Frechulf of Lisieux. It uses the creation of Frechulf's monumental Histories to explore how the past was read and interpreted in the Carolingian world.

In c. 830, Frechulf, bishop of the northwestern Frankish see of Lisieux, completed his Histories, a vast account of the world from its creation through to the seventh century. Despite the richness of the source, it has long been overlooked by modern scholars. Two factors account for this neglect: Frechulf's narrative stops over two centuries short of his time of writing, and was largely a compilation of earlier, late antique histories and chronicles. In examining Frechulf's historiographical compendium, this book challenges a dominant paradigm within medieval studies of understanding history-writing primarily as an extension of politics and power. By focusing instead on the transmission and reception of patri

Review Quotes

"What makes History, Scripture, and Authority in the Carolingian Empire truly essential for anyone interested in early medieval historiography or the genre of 'universal history' is Ward's close and enormously insightful reading of a woefully under-read text." -- Dr. Josh Timmermann, Early Medieval Europe

"A useful companion to scholars interested in Frechulf specifically and early medieval historiography more generally." -- Bryan D. Spinks, Journal of Ecclesiastical History

"G. W.'s book is an important addition to our understanding of Carolingian engagement with patristic texts and of Carolingian conceptions of history." -- Revue d'Histoire Ecclésiastique

About the Author

Graeme Ward, University of Oxford

Graeme Ward is an Associate Member of the Faculty of History, University of Oxford. His research examines the intellectual culture of early medieval western Europe. Between 2018 and 2021 he held a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at Oxford, and between 2013 and 2017 he was based at the Institute for Medieval Research in Vienna. He has published articles and has edited collected volumes on various aspects of Carolingian history.