The Penitential State: Authority and Atonement in the age of Louis the Pious, 814-840

In 833 Emperor Louis the Pious, Charlemagne’s son, submitted to a
public penance in the wake of a rebellion by his three elder sons. This
penance amounted to a deposition, for Louis was to atone for his sins for
the rest of his life. Only half a year later, he was back on the throne again.
In this major re-evaluation of Louis’s reign, Mayke de Jong argues that
his penance was the outcome of a political discourse and practice in
which the accountability of the Frankish ruler to God played an increasingly
central role. However heated their debates, this was a moral high
ground Louis shared with churchmen and secular magnates. Through a
profound re-reading of texts by contemporary authors who reflected on
legitimate authority in times of crisis, this book reveals a world in which
political crime was defined as sin, and royal authority was enhanced by
atonement.
Mayke de jong is Professor of Medieval History in the Department of
History and Art History, Utrecht University