Power, Personal Relationships, and Letters
This chapter illuminates a key characteristic of lay society in the Carolingian period: it was built on personal relationships, such as those between lords and their followers, vassals, or unfree, patrons clients, friends – short, who could offer help needed it. The importance these relationships is revealed above all formulas for letters, which clients asked them to intercede with other powerful people solve problems, power wrote an equal superior behalf supplicant. These letters reach very far down social scale. Some deal unfree have gotten into difficulties patron help. Quite few tell trouble own lord run another person courtier abbot Einhard beg his intercession. They show us appears flowed through perhaps more strongly than did lines that we might describe connecting governing governed, ruling ruled.
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