The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 2: c.700 - c.900

The New Cambridge Medieval History #2

by Rosamond McKitterick (Editor)

This volume of The New Cambridge Medieval History covers most of the period of Frankish and Carolingian dominance in western Europe. It was one of remarkable political and cultural coherence, combined with crucial, very diverse and formative developments in every sphere of life. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, the authors examine the interaction between rulers and ruled, how power and authority actually worked, and the society and culture of Europe as a whole. The volume is divided into four parts. Part I encompasses the events and political developments in the whole of the British Isles, the west and east Frankish kingdoms, Scandinavia, the Slavic and Balkan regions, Spain, Italy, and those aspects of Byzantine and Muslim history which impinged on the west between c. 700 and c. 900. Parts II, III and IV cover themes and topics concerning church and society, and cultural and intellectual developments.

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction, Medieval History, European History

1114 pages, Hardcover

First published September 29, 1995

About the author

Rosamond Deborah McKitterick is one of Britain's foremost medieval historians. Since 1999, she has been Professor of Medieval History at the University of Cambridge where she is a Fellow of Sidney Sussex College. Much of her work focuses on the Frankish kingdoms in the 8th and 9th centuries and uses palaeographical and manuscript studies to illuminate aspects of the political, cultural, intellectual, religious and social history of the early Middle Ages.

From 1951 to 1956 McKitterick lived in Cambridge, England, where her father had a position at Magdalene College. In 1956 she moved with her family to Western Australia where she completed primary and secondary school and completed an honours degree at the University of Western Australia. She holds the degrees of M.A., Ph.D., and Litt.D.

In 1971 she returned to Cambridge University to pursue her career. She was a Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge and then became a Professorial Fellow of Sidney Sussex. She is also on the Editorial Board of the journal 'Networks and Neighbours'.

She married David John McKitterick, Librarian of Trinity College, Cambridge, and they have one daughter.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Those are 5 very dry stars, arid except for the passionate devotion of the scholars to their musty labor of love.

I don't recall now if I read the entire volume. I have notes on the following entries:

McKitterick, "Eighth-century Foundations"
CM (Charlemagne, obvs) sent out an appeal for copies of books in 780. He (or his advisors) knew which books existed and who might have them. [That's how few books there used to be, kids!]
This marks a shift in precedence from secular classical texts to Christian ones, and from knowledge-creation to transmission.

Ganz, Davis, "Theology and the Organization of Christian Thought"
The Carolingian period vastly expanded Christian territory, and made a systematic attempt to establish what they saw as "Christian civilization" throughout. This seems to have at least partly stemmed from sincere concern with salvation and fear that heretics might not be.
Important thinkers: Hincmar, Benedict of Aniane, Augustine, Gottschalk, Elipandus, Felix (Christ as Logos).
Google Adoptionist and the Council of Toledo if you aren't familiar with them.

[James Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still excellent!

[Yves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholarly. ;)