Matthew Innes

Despite the title of this book, Innes is really focusing on the late eighth and early ninth centuries, looking at how power and authority worked at that period in the Middle Rhine Valley. Innes chose that area because of the unusually high survival of charters (from Lorsch and Fulda), and indeed this is why I read the book: it's outside of my usual geographical and temporal foci, but I was interested to see the techniques which Innes uses to analyse his source evidence. Particularly how he recreates power relationships, which he sees as being based on fluid social relationships and not state institutions. In other words, the traditional historiographical concept of "feudalisation" happening in the late Carolingian period when power is "privatised" in the hands of the aristocracy is not viable, because there was no "state", let alone "state institutions", from which power could be transferred. It's a very interesting and cogent argument, and Innes' writing is always clear, if perhaps a little dry. A very useful book for those interested in the period.… (mais)