Reges gentium or Carolingian comites? The status of a prince on the periphery of the Carolingian Empire – Moravia, Brittany and Catalonia in comparison
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| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
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| Description | The chapter argues that the political status and titles of rulers on the edges of the Carolingian Empire cannot be judged using rigid, later medieval ideas of kingship. By comparing Moravia, Brittany, and the Hispanic March, it shows that Frankish authors used titles such as dux, rex, or regulus not simply to describe reality, but to express political hierarchies and imperial claims. The inconsistent use or omission of titles reflects both shifting political dynamics and the ideological aims of the writers. Svatopluk I is therefore portrayed not as either a minor barbarian leader or a fully sovereign king, but as a flexible political figure whose status varied depending on circumstances and on the viewpoint of the source. The comparison also reveals that peripheral elites adopted different strategies in dealing with Carolingian power. Brittany and Moravia alternated between resistance and cooperation, using tribute, marriages, and church patronage, while leaders in the Hispanic March remained formally loyal even as real Frankish control diminished. Overall, the chapter emphasizes that early medieval rulership on the imperial periphery was fluid, negotiated, and shaped by local conditions and available forms of legitimacy, rather than by fixed categories of dependence or independence. |
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