Waltharius at Fontenoy? Epic Heroism and Carolingian Political Thought
Alice Rio
This article argues that the Latin epic poem Waltharius is best understood as a political commentary on years following civil war of 840-843. The does not, has been suggested, mock or undermine lay warriors heroic figures, but neither it present their behavior inherently unproblematic. It should be read instead complex meditation impossibility heroism under deficient royal leadership, and wistful portrayal contradictions dilemmas affecting elite generation who had lived through battle Fontenoy. Its criticism character Gunther, its overall pessimism about kingship, finds echoes in prose literature this time. traces some these echoes, reads part wider conversation 840s to 870s.
Viator|Research Portal (King's College London)