The reign of Lothar I (795-855), emperor of the Franks, through the charter evidence.

Abstract

Previous research has concentrated upon Lothar I's father, Louis the Pious, and his brother, Charles the Bald. While recent works have illuminated individual aspects of Lothar' s career (such as the manuscripts produced by his Court School, his coinages, and his commissioning of biblical exegesis), there has been no attempt to consider Lothar' s career more broadly, or to write the political history of his reign. The limited primary sources for Lothar are very largely biased against him, with the Annals of St-Bertin and Nithard's Histories, two of the most important works for the history of the period, being produced in Charles the Bald's hostile circle. This thesis uses for the first time the rich resource of Lothar' s 192 charters (including lost charters) to present a more rounded picture of Lothar. The palaeography, formulae and content of the charters are closely analysed. This analysis of the charter evidence reveals Lothar' s chancery and administration, and provides a picture of his court, its personnel and its politics. Lothar' s donations reveal his close links with the Church, especially the monastery of Prum, and the important role played by the women of the royal family at court. Through the charters, we may also approach Lothar' s changing perception of his status in the 820s and 830s, and his imperial ideology. _Lothar is revealed as a more complex and influential figure in his generation than the bias of the primary sources, and his neglect in the secondary material, would suggest.