Members of the Carolingian Dynasty had served as mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings from the late 7th century CE onwards, wielding substantial power behind the throne. In 752 CE, however, Childeric III (last of the Merovingian rulers) was deposed and they seized outright control of the Frankish realm.
[1]
[2]
With the new dynasty the capital moved east: Aachen, or Aix-la-Chapelle, became the main royal residence of the Carolingian monarchs until the empire began to disintegrate in the 9th century.
[3]
Charlemagne was the most powerful Carolingian king, but after his death in 811 CE, the empire stopped expanding. The year 811 also marked the beginning of a rise in sociopolitical instability that resulted ultimately in a complete split of the kingdom. After the 843 CE Treaty of Verdun, the Carolingian lands were partitioned among Louis the Pious’ sons: Charles took the west, Louis the German the east, and Lothair took the Frankish territory between these two regions.
[4]
The Treaty of Meerssen (870 CE) resulted in the absorption of the central Frankish realm into West and East Francia, forming a boundary that even now endures as the border between France and Germany.
[5]
The empire was briefly reunited from 884 to 887 under Charles the Fat,
[6]
but as a rule the Frankish lands remained politically fragmented from the mid-9th century to 987 CE, when power passed to the Capetian Dynasty.
[7]
This polity represents the late period of Carolingian rule, from 840 to 987 CE.
Population and political organization
In the Carolingian era, the lands under Frankish control grew considerably and an administrative system was developed in order to govern this large territory.
[8]
One official position that first appeared in this period was the missus dominicus (king’s representative), who could be sent out from the court to inspect the counties and pass on the king’s decrees.
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Decrees were sometimes set down in documents called capitularies.
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However, capitularies post-dating 843 CE are only found in West Francia, and they stopped being produced there too after the death of Charles the Bald in 877.
[9]
[10]
This might suggest that the office of missus dominicus did not exist beyond that date and did not survive the rise in instability.
The Carolingian kings ruled in an essentially decentralized fashion like the Merovingians before them. Control over the regions was delegated to fief holders, often hereditary vassals of the king.
[11]
The king ruled by decree
[9]
and under Charlemagne (r. 800-814 CE) counties were established as the basic unit of governance.
[9]
Counts were responsible for enforcing local laws, dispensing justice and setting taxes.
[9]
By 850 CE, almost every county in West Francia also had a viscount, who assisted the count in his duties.
[12]
During Charlemagne’s reign, the population of Gaul probably reached 5 million
[13]
but levels of urbanization were low in these supposed ’dark ages’ of medieval France: no town reached over 10,000 inhabitants between the 8th century and 1000 CE.
[14]
[1]: (Wood 1994, 292) Wood, Ian. 1994. The Merovingian Kingdoms 450-751. London: Longman. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/ARUIRN35.
[2]: (Morby and Rozier 2014) Morby, John E., and Charlie Rozier. 2014. Dynasties of the World. 2nd ed., online edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/acref/9780191780073.001.0001. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/3C5IVS6E.
[3]: (Chazelle 1995, 31) Chazelle, Celia. 1995. “Aix-La-Chapelle.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 31-32. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/J93C7T3S.
[4]: (Chazelle 1995, 332) Chazelle, Celia. 1995. “Carolingian Dynasty.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 328-34. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/F3ZBDZSD.
[5]: (Chazelle 1995, 332-33) Chazelle, Celia. 1995. “Carolingian Dynasty.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 328-34. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/F3ZBDZSD.
[6]: (Chazelle 1995, 333) Chazelle, Celia. 1995. “Carolingian Dynasty.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 328-34. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/F3ZBDZSD.
[7]: (Bouchard 1995, 312) Bouchard, Constance B. 1995. “Capetian Dynasty.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 312-17. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/2SNRCJVG.
[8]: (Chazelle 1995, 329-30) Chazelle, Celia. 1995. “Carolingian Dynasty.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 328-34. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/F3ZBDZSD.
[9]: (Chazelle 1995, 330) Chazelle, Celia. 1995. “Carolingian Dynasty.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 328-34. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/F3ZBDZSD.
[10]: (Chazelle 1995, 318) Chazelle, Celia. 1995. “Capitulary.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 318-19. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/K3U2V585.
[11]: (Nicolle 1995, 18) Nicolle, David. 2005. Carolingian Cavalryman AD 768-987. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QHXZFXS3.
[12]: (Boulton 1995, 1822) Boulton, D’A. Jonathan D. 1995. “Viscount/Viscounty.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 1822-23. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/IZK522AK.
[13]: (Percy, Jr. 1995, 1415) Percy, Jr., William A. 1995. “Population and Demography.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 1415-17. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/QI73FMSM.
[14]: (Percy, Jr. 1995, 1739) Percy, Jr., William A. 1995. “Towns.” In Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, edited by William W. Kibler, Grover A. Zinn, Lawrence Earp, and John Bell Henneman, Jr., 1739-40. New York: Garland Publishing. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/Z3F9HKUJ.
de_east_francia nominal allegiance to fr_carolingian_emp_2 |
Latin Christendom |
Proto-French Kingdom |
17,000,000 km2 |
continuity |
Succeeding: Proto-French Kingdom (fr_capetian_k_1) [continuity] | |
Preceding: Carolingian Empire I (fr_carolingian_emp_1) [continuity] |
nominal | |
loose |
10,000 people |
1,200,000 km2 | 850 CE |
800,000 km2 | 900 CE |
675,000 km2 | 950 CE |
[7,000,000 to 9,000,000] people | 840 CE 856 CE |
[5,000,000 to 7,000,000] people | 857 CE 899 CE |
[4,000,000 to 5,000,000] people | 900 CE 987 CE |
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Year Range | Carolingian Empire II (fr_carolingian_emp_2) was in: |
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(840 CE 986 CE) | Paris Basin |
km squared. Latin Christendom was roughly equivalent to the maximum extent of the former Roman Empire? The rough limits of Christianity in this period: the area that is now northeastern Germany would be converted by force under Charlemagne, while the area south of Rome, in particular Calabria, Puglia, and Basilicata, was as much part of the Eastern Orthodox world as that of Latin Christendom, although these distinctions did not exist then.
loose: 840-843 CE; nominal: 844-883 CE; loose: 884-887 CE; nominal: 888-987 CE
Partitioned after the Treaty of Verdun 843 CE, reunited briefly 884-887 CE.
[1]
Rest of the time nominal, although there was no nominal ruler, only the "idea" of the Empire.
Treaty of Mersen 870 CE: kingdom divided into three.
[2]
[1]: (Chazelle 1995, 333)
[2]: (Nicolle 2005, 7)
loose: 840-843 CE; nominal: 844-883 CE; loose: 884-887 CE; nominal: 888-987 CE
Partitioned after the Treaty of Verdun 843 CE, reunited briefly 884-887 CE.
[1]
Rest of the time nominal, although there was no nominal ruler, only the "idea" of the Empire.
Treaty of Mersen 870 CE: kingdom divided into three.
[2]
[1]: (Chazelle 1995, 333)
[2]: (Nicolle 2005, 7)
“in the Carolingian Empire (largely patterned after Byzantium), a dying Latin was revived for the administration of Church and State” [1]
[1]: (Kahane 1986, 495-496) Kahane, H. 1986. A Typology of the Prestige Language. Language 62(3): 495-508. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/39X3SZZP/library
in squared kilometers.
950 CE: 675,000 KM2 (Kingdom in the region of Gaul)
900 CE: 800,000 (Kingdom in the region of Gaul)
850 CE: 1,200,000 (West, East Francia and Lotharingia)
These numbers are based on the maps at Geacon EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://geacron.com/home-en/?&sid=GeaCron10372 worked out from number of pixels (which you can find from image editor if you take a screen cap of the maps at the same scale) Scale: 200 km. 1 pixel = 20 km2. 1.1 million km2 at maximum extent
in squared kilometers.
950 CE: 675,000 KM2 (Kingdom in the region of Gaul)
900 CE: 800,000 (Kingdom in the region of Gaul)
850 CE: 1,200,000 (West, East Francia and Lotharingia)
These numbers are based on the maps at Geacon EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://geacron.com/home-en/?&sid=GeaCron10372 worked out from number of pixels (which you can find from image editor if you take a screen cap of the maps at the same scale) Scale: 200 km. 1 pixel = 20 km2. 1.1 million km2 at maximum extent
in squared kilometers.
950 CE: 675,000 KM2 (Kingdom in the region of Gaul)
900 CE: 800,000 (Kingdom in the region of Gaul)
850 CE: 1,200,000 (West, East Francia and Lotharingia)
These numbers are based on the maps at Geacon EXTERNAL_INLINE_LINK: http://geacron.com/home-en/?&sid=GeaCron10372 worked out from number of pixels (which you can find from image editor if you take a screen cap of the maps at the same scale) Scale: 200 km. 1 pixel = 20 km2. 1.1 million km2 at maximum extent