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The Carolingian renewal and Christian formation in ninth century Bavaria
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Phelan, Owen |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | Themes of religion and intellectual reform have long lay at the heart of Carolingian studies. A group of seven ninth-century Bavarian manuscripts provide an important opportunity to observe Carolingian reform on two levels. On a broad level, these manuscripts witness to the mechanisms by which leading figures of the Carolingian world implemented a program of religious renewal. Although the manuscripts have been studied individually as evidence of Christian mission in Bavaria, when viewed as a group they provide evidence of the Bavarian reception of a program designed at the Carolingian court. This reception of ideas demonstrates a sophistication of Carolingian communication that likely extended to other regions of the Carolingian world. Each manuscript contains a baptismal commentary, which consists of the text Primo paganus, and a discussion of the rites of baptism and their significance. Alcuin of York, an influential member of Charlemagne’s circle of advisors and chief proponent of the Carolingian Renewal, distributed Primo paganus. On a local level, these seven manuscripts testify to concrete Carolingian plans for Christian formation in Bavaria. The picture developed from these manuscripts shows a period of formation – a catechumenate – during which time clerics would instruct potential Christians in various aspects of Christian faith and morals. To conduct a catechumenate program, one would need a clear approach to the baptismal liturgy, explanations of the Christian faith, instructions on Christian living, and priests trained to communicate this information to the laity. Each of the Bavarian manuscripts contains doctrinal teachings, moral instructions, and material specifically on priestly formation, all of which are centered around commentaries on baptism. The doctrinal and moral texts provide the content for the initiation program of baptism and reveal what Carolingian leaders in Bavaria understood to be the basic information that every Christian needed to know. The material on priestly formation sheds light on whom and how church leaders intended to convey this information. Baptism supplied an ideal opportunity for the theologians and Christian intellectuals driving the Carolingian Renewal to construct a program for the formation of Carolingian identity. Carolingian interests in conversion and reform coincided in the particular context of ninth-century Bavaria. Dur- |
| Starting Page | 389 |
| Ending Page | 400 |
| Page Count | 12 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 12 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5576_0x00137143.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
