Between the Palace, the School and the Forum
Giorgia Vocino
The role played by Lombard intellectuals in the early production of Charlemagne’s court is well known: grammarian Peter Pisa, theologian Paulinus Aquileia and historian Paul Deacon found favour with Frankish king thanks to their literary talents. These men were paragons a palace culture education rooted study Roman late antique poets mastery arts speech. analysis poems produced scholars attending Carolingian examination school miscellanies eighth- ninth-century Italy highlight distinctiveness which epideictic literature Ciceronian rhetoric featured prominently. This unveils survival an advanced education, origins can be traced back antiquity and, more importantly, such brings out continuities medieval Italy. Here, rhetorically elaborated politically engaged – written oral continued favoured centres among elites closely connected court, thus showing that no cultural break was brought about conquest kingdom.
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