An Empire of Memory

The principal argument of Matthew Gabriele’s book is that the legend of Charlemagne, and especially the connotations of the Frankish identity on which his empire was based, prepared the ground for the First Crusade, when ‘the invocation of Frankish identity became a call to sanctified violence’ (p. 159). Gabriele traces the development of that ruler’s legend back to the ninth century, evident both in his gifts of Holy Land relics, and in the writings of Einhard, Nithard and Notker. Gabriele emphasises the claims made by these writers that Charlemagne received jurisdiction over Jerusalem, the possession of the Holy Land, and the submission of the caliph. He then moves to an exploration of three later texts: a history of his monastery by Benedict of St Andrew on Monte Soratte of about 970, the foundation-account of the monastery of Charroux of about 1095, and the Descriptio qualiter Karolus Magnus of about 1080. These recount, in various forms, Charlemagne’s legendary journey to Jerusalem and, in the case of the first two, Gabriele interprets them as making Charlemagne’s imperial power dependent on that journey. The next part of the argument takes us to eschatological texts, such as the eleventh-century version of the Pseudo-Methodius and Adso’s De Antichristo. Gabriele places himself firmly on the side of those who regard eschatological ideas as an important strand in the development of crusading ideas, but he goes a step further in linking this to Charlemagne, who, he argues, was envisaged as the Last Emperor who would conquer all, journey to Jerusalem, and hand over his power to God, just before the appearance of the Antichrist. If Charlemagne’s power was that of ruler over the Franks and if he was also believed to be the Last Emperor-in-waiting, then Frankish identity was bound up with the defence and rule of the Holy Places and Jerusalem in particular. Thus this aspect of crusading ideology had roots reaching back to the ninth century and was not a product of the crusading period itself

Ancient history · Argument (complex analysis · Art · Art history · Emperor · Empire · Legend · Ninth · Possession (linguistics · Byzantine Studies and History · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Medieval History and Crusades · Philosophy