Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies
Abstract
This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by Sage.The Carolingian empire in western Europe (c.700-900 AD) has long been defined by its military expansion and Christian renewal. Carolingian historical narratives portrayed their victories as divine gifts and so encouraged soldiers and commanders to interpret their actions within a theological hermeneutic. Previous scholars have seen this hermeneutic as justifying war. This paper shall argue instead that these narratives reflected and reinforced the hermeneutic with which soldiers interpreted their campaigns and the military spirituality practised as a result. It shall examine how various histories interpreted military events and how these interpretations related to their audiences’ spirituality and military experience.This research was undertaken as part of a doctorate funded by an AHRC-Gledhill Studentship hosted by the Faculty of History and Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge as part of the Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership
