God’s Agency in Carolingian Culture

Abstract Part I explores how the intellectual and cultural context of Carolingian historians may have informed their understanding of divine agency. Chapter 1 focuses on the prominence of language about divine agency in the public life of the Carolingian Empire. This begins with the famous preface to the Admonitio Generalis, which illustrates some important distinctions which will recur throughout the book. The chapter then examines a series of case studies from capitularies, moral works, liturgy, letters, poetry, and biblical exegesis. Each genre provides a distinct perspective on how those involved in governing the Carolingian Empire saw God at work in their own experiences and—by extension—the kind of events described by historians.