This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
Charles the Great (Charlemagne), king of the Franks (768–814), has been called 'the father of Europe', while Alfred the Great, king of Wessex (871–99), has been viewed as a key figure in the emergence of a united England. But what made Charles and Alfred ‘great’? This module examines and compares the achievements of these two rulers in order to cast light on broader political, cultural and social developments in the Frankish empire and Anglo-Saxon England. Both Charlemagne and Alfred oversaw sweeping programmes of reform which attempted to bring order to all spheres of life. These drives for order produced an outpouring of writing, offering the historian unparalleled views of early medieval government and intellectual culture. However, some have suggested that the towering reputations of Charlemagne and Alfred owe more to their employment of intellectuals and propagandists to portray their militaristic regimes as pious, civilised and ordered. Indeed, the fame of both kings today rests to a large degree on the survival of two remarkable royal biographies: Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne and Asser’s Life of Alfred. Using these two texts as baselines, we shall examine the rich sources of the period – narrative, documentary, literary, artistic, archaeological – in order to test the biographers’ claims. How did Charlemagne and Alfred rule? In what ways were the challenges they faced similar and different? Why did they promote education and literacy? Did their reforms actually change anything on the ground? Can we ever know anything about the ‘real’ Charlemagne or Alfred? By considering such questions, students will gain firm understandings of the evidence for and debates over royal government and political order in ninth-century Europe.
Total contact hours: 20
Total independent study hours: 130
Total study hours: 150
60% Coursework, 40% Exam
The coursework component will consist of:
- Essay 1 (2,000 words) 25%
- Essay 2 (2,000 words) 25%
- Seminar Participation 10%
The exam component will consist of:
- Exam (2 hours) 40%
Abels, R. (1998). Alfred the Great: War, Kingship and Culture in Anglo-Saxon England. Routledge: London.
Costambeys, M., Innes, M., and MacLean, S. (2011). The Carolingian World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Keynes, S. and Lapidge, M., eds and trans. (1983). Alfred the Great: Asser's Life of King Alfred and Other Contemporary Sources. Penguin: London.
McKitterick, R.., ed. (1995). The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol 2: c.700–c.900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nelson, J. L. (2009). 'Britain, Ireland, and Europe, c.750–c.900’. In: P. Stafford, ed., A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland, c.500–c.1100. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 231-48.
Story, J., ed. (2005). Charlemagne: Empire and Society. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
8.1) demonstrate an understanding of the major political, social and cultural developments in Carolingian Francia and Anglo-Saxon England in the period c.750–c.900.
8.2) apply different methodological techniques to the analysis of primary sources from this period.
8.3) demonstrate an awareness of the problems and possibilities of comparative history as it relates to the example of Charlemagne and Alfred.
8.4) evaluate historiographical approaches to royal government and the state in the early Middle Ages.
University of Kent makes every effort to ensure that module information is accurate for the relevant academic session and to provide educational services as described. However, courses, services and other matters may be subject to change. Please read our full disclaimer.
