Anointment and Carolingian Kingship

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the nature of succession and the physical role of annointing in the coronation ceremony. It looks at the conferment of the sacred character and subsequent 'making' of the king and the numerous political, social and theological benefits. Also examined is the relationship of annointing and Carolingian propaganda as well as strategies of royal protection and succession disputes.

From the Paper:

"Inauguration rituals in early medieval Europe represented the fundamental rites by which kings were made. No Carolingian or Merovingian king simply succeeded to his kingdom as a matter of route and it is to this end that the process of anointment has been interpreted as a highly significant aspect of Carolingian kingship. Indeed the increasing regularity and apparent quasi-institutionalization of royal anointments from the mid-eighth century onwards suggests an importance in itself. Pippin's anointment at Soissons in 751 preceded the anointments of his young sons in 754, the anointing of Charlemagne's sons in 781 and 800 and ultimately set in motion a wave of such inauguration rituals for much of the ninth century. Early medieval rule was to an extent, defined by ritual and symbolic emblems."

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