Politics and Texts in Late Carolingian Europe

Politics and Texts in Late Carolingian Europe, c. 870–1000

Monday 8th – Tuesday 9th July 2013, University of St Andrews

The Carolingian dynasty (751–987) ruled the last pan-European empire of the middle ages, a territory spanning over one million square kilometres at its height. In the late ninth century, however, this empire began to disintegrate, and the tenth century has long been depicted as a period of cultural and political decline. This two-day conference will explore the relationship between political authority and textual production in Europe during the late ninth and tenth centuries. It aims to contribute to a body of research which is increasingly bringing into question traditional notions and assumptions about the collapse of the Carolingian empire. This will be the first British conference devoted specifically not only to this subject, but also to this period. It will provide a forum for leading specialists, young researchers and postgraduate students from around the world to share ideas and forge new contacts in a friendly yet rigorous intellectual environment. By drawing together recent research about the interaction between written texts and attempts to exert political authority from across the late/former Carolingian world, this event promises to make a significant contribution to our understanding of this formative but neglected period of European history.