Frechulf and the Carolingian Culture of Compilation

Frechulf’s Histories are a compendium of earlier historiographical texts, a feature that once led to the text being dismissed as derivate and thus seen as limited in its value as a source. This chapter instead argues that the compilatory nature of Frechulf’s work is key to understanding it as a significant product of Carolingian textual scholarship. The compilation of authoritative knowledge is by no means unique to the eighth and ninth centuries, and this chapter begins by taking a broad look at pre-modern cultures of compilation. Nevertheless, a distinctive Carolingian approach to compilation can be observed, which this chapter elucidates.