- Carolingian Frontiers: Italy and Beyond
- Edited by Maddalena Betti, Francesco Borri, Stefano Gasparri
Frontiers and fortifications in the Carolingian imperial imagination
- Simon MacLean
- © 2024 Author(s) |
- CC BY 4.0
- DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-0416-3.11
The relative absence of written references to fortifications in the Carolingian Empire is well known, but seems difficult to square with increasing evidence that such buildings were familiar features in the ninth-century Frankish landscape. I argue that one reason for this is that contemporary narratives participated in a Carolingian “way of seeing” which associated castle building with frontier territories and lands beyond rather than with the imperial heartlands. Fortified residences were linked in the Carolingian imperial imagination with negative characteristics such as secrecy and hiddenness, in contrast to the supposed openness of Frankish royal palaces.
- Keywords:
- Middle Ages,
- 9th century,
- Italy,
- Francia,
- Carolingians,
- Empire,
- Castles,
- Fortifications,
- Frontiers,
- Imperialism,
University of St Andrews, United Kingdom - ORCID: 0000-0002-3543-7734
Chapter Information
Chapter Title
Frontiers and fortifications in the Carolingian imperial imagination
Authors
Simon MacLean
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0416-3.11
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Bibliographic Information
Book Title
Carolingian Frontiers: Italy and Beyond
Editors
Maddalena Betti, Francesco Borri, Stefano Gasparri
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
354
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0416-3
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0415-6
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0416-3
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0418-7
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079