Publisher's Synopsis
In the years 816-819, a series of councils was held in Aachen. The goal of the meetings was to settle questions about ecclesiastical organization. These issues were debated throughout the Christian Roman Empire of the fourth and fifth centuries, and then by the renewal of empire under Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious. At the centre of the ensuing debate stood the distinction between monks and monastic communities and the so-called clerici canonici and their communities. The contributions to this volume each zoom in on various aspects of these negotiations: their prehistory, their implementation, and their influence. In doing so, previously held assumptions about the scope, the goals, and the impact of the 'Carolingian Church Reforms' will also be re-assessed.
