Die Integration Sachsens in das frankische Reich

In the second half of the eighth century, the Frankish emperor Charlemagne entered into a concerted effort to conquer, reorganize and convert Saxony. Such was the force employed that one commentator on Charlemagne's reign, the courtier Einhard, remarked that the Franks and Saxons became ‘as if one people’. Caspar Ehlers’ admirable new book aims to provide a new analysis of this coming together of two peoples, charting the transformation of Saxony from new conquest to imperial centre under the Ottonians in the tenth century. Ehlers’ point of departure is to concentrate on the organization of space through the foundation of new churches, monastic centres and, ultimately, new dioceses, all of which he lays out in relation to different social networks. These, he argues, should be central to our understanding of Frankish impact on the region—more so, he correctly identifies, than problematic discussions of ‘Franks’ and ‘Saxons’. The first section surveys different ways in which order emerged. Ehlers draws necessary distinctions between the spheres of Church and Welt to establish some of the fundamental differences in conception involved in the organization of space. We are treated to breakdowns of Saxony in terms of diocesan organization, the groups involved in founding new centres, and the distribution of charters (particularly immunities). Each subsection is supported with a wealth of maps and graphs. Some of the more interesting conclusions come towards the end. A study of the geographical markers used in accounts of the conquest of Saxony reveals that the Frankish mental map of the region revolved around rivers and antique models of geography. The ‘Stellinga’ uprising of 841/2, meanwhile, is argued to be not a final (‘pagan’) stand against the Franks, but a sign of ‘internal consolidation’ within the Frankish world. Overall what Ehlers brings out is the extent to which the 840s was a turning point for Saxony, as Carolingian investment in Saxon monasteries dried up and other families began to develop their own power-bases through the patronage of new monastic centres.

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