4) Royal Self-Fashioning and Ideology in the Ninth Century

(768–814) 

The patterns of leadership established by Charlemagne and his grandfather, Charles Martel, were very influential over later leaders. They both left behind a record of tremendous military success with Charlemagne's greatest military achievement being his defeat of the Avars.

Wars allowed the Carolingians to reward their people with resources and huge building works.

The wars themselves had a relgious, economic and political rationale, for example, in a war against the Saxons, they would only have not suffered total annihilation if they converted to Christianity.

Charlemagne's regime consisted of a relentless drive to bring the Church and society into conformity with Christian norms. He also wanted all Holy Texts to be proof-read as he believed it pointless for people to be praying multiple times a day if they were saying the wrong words.

Louis the German and his sons were like Charlemagne in that they were all patrons of the Church and monasteries, although they greatly favoured the houses where they would be buried. They chose monastries to be buried at, showing the continuity of Charlemagne's importance attached to religion. Louis the German also made an annual pilgrimage to Aachen to see Charlemagne's tomb while trying to re-fashion Charlemagne's image. Charles III, Louis' son, also commissioned a new life of Charlemagne from Notker of Saint-Gall that stressed the affinities between Charlemagne, Louis the German and Charles III.

Louis the German and his sons liked to present themselves as the 'first warrior' among a cohort of Christian warriors, and this reflected in their dress. Regino of Prüm said in his Chronicle that Louis ‘loved the hardness of iron more than the glitter of gold.’

The Cult of the Cross was also very important in Louis the German's reign. This was the tradition of venerating images and relics of the cross. In the mid-ninth century, this cult came to be associated with militant Christianity and warfare against the Pagan enemies of the faith at the court of Louis the Pious.

The eastern frontier of the kingdom of the Eastern Franks comprised a wide zone of friction and interaction between the Germanic peoples and their Slavic neighbours. There were many tribes along the frontier who spoke different languages, and the hillforts were formidable.

The marches ran along the eastern frontier, except in the middle where their course was interrupted by the Moravian state. The Moravians were a formidable enemy, especially under King Rastislav and his successor, Zwentibald. The frontier zone was ruled by the counts of the marches (margraves) who were given a free hand in the exercise of royal rights in these regions. They could freely erect castles and establish lordships in these regions. The system began in the last 2 decades of Charlemagne's reign and was elaborated by Louis the German and his successors.

Slaves were also used along the frontier. People were plundered on a large scale.

The frontier on the whole was very problematic, but it was central to the kingdom.

• The reigns of Louis the German and Charles the Fat illustrate the way in which the Eastern Franks used war and religion to give their regimes a larger purpose.
• Tribute and plunder obtained in the East provided resources that could be used to recruit and reward followers, offsetting the relative poverty of the kingdom.