Lindsay Rudge PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

for such networks being connected with any other religious women does not preclude
their existence. Indeed, there are occasional suggestions, albeit from a somewhat later
date: Lupus of Ferrières met Felix, the chancellor of king Aethelwulf of England, at
Faremoutiers in the 840s. 28 This is probably a reflection of the longstanding links
between Faremoutiers and the Anglo-Saxon nobility dating back to its foundation. 29
While there is no mention of an active role being played by the abbess or her nuns, this
meeting shows how monasteries could function as environments for social interaction.
This extended prologue raises a number of issues that are of central importance to
any discussion of the careers of dedicated women in the ninth century. In particular,
Charlemagne’s efforts to re-design the landscape of dedicated life foreshadow the better-
known ambitions of his son, Louis the Pious. The existing atmosphere of re-thinking
religious life forms an essential context for examining the intentions and effectiveness of
Louis’ subsequent legislation; in brief, much of the groundwork had already been laid,
even if neither father or son could put into practice the degree of reform that they might
have envisaged. The necessity of one monastic rule for all had been implied in the
Admonitio Generalis and the duplex legationis edictum of 789. However, the fact that the
simultaneous councils of 813 differed in their recommendations on the use of the
Benedictine rule suggests that it was never imposed as firmly as might appear to be the
case. 30 In many respects Louis’ legislative activity merely continued that of his father,
albeit developing themes which Charlemagne had already initiated. 31 For Charlemagne,
the career of his sister Gisela demonstrated the powerful role abbesses continued to play;
indeed, the powerful role that the king needed them to play. Charlemagne persevered
with his drive to re-think the roles of the ecclesiastical members of his society until the
end of his life. In 813, he called five regional councils to discuss these issues. They now
provide a fascinating snapshot of the legislative concerns of the regions of western
Francia at this moment in time; it is these councils to which we now turn.
28 G.W. Regenos (ed.) The Letters of Lupus of Ferrières (The Hague, 1966), 104.
29 The daughter of king Earconbert of Kent entered Eboriac in c. 640: see Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of
the English People III:8, ed. L. Sherley-Price and R.E. Latham (Harmonsworth, 1990), at 155.
30 J. Semmler, ‘Benedictus II: una regula – una consuetudo’ in W. Lourdaux and D. Verhelst (eds.)
Benedictine Culture 750-1050 (Leuven, 1983) 1-50, at 4-5.
31 G. Schmitz, ‘The Capitulary Legislation of Louis the Pious’, in P. Godman and R. Collins (eds.),
Charlemagne’s Heir: New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious (Oxford, 1990) at 425-36.
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