"More Devoted to the Equipment of Battle Than the Splendor of Banquets": Frontier Kingship, Military Ritual, and Early Knighthood at the Court of Louis the German
Eric J. Goldberg
"'More Devoted to the Equipment of Battle Than Splendor Banquets': Frontier Kingship, Military Ritual, and Early Knighthood at Court Louis German." This article explores role political symbolism ritual in creation a medieval frontier kingdom. The study focuses on reign Carolingian king "the German" (840-876), founder east Frankish kingdom that later evolved into Germany. Reflecting endemic warfare along his kingdom's Slavic frontiers, cultivated highly militarized courtly ceremonial triumphal royal ideology rooted emerging culture knighthood, exemplified especially by king's devotion relics True Cross, which became holy talisman army its annual campaigns against pagan "barbarian" Slavs. Through militaristic rituals knighthood German magnates proclaimed independent existence their nascent expressed abstract ideas about authority, hierarchy, community. austere martial ethos German's palace provides striking contrast better-studied pomp material splendor half-brother Charles Bald.
Viator