‘Public temper tantrums…frequent weeping and boisterous joy’: tears in text and ritual in Frankish kingship
Cynthia Thickpenny
In recent decades, historians have reassessed scholarly assumptions about the primitiveness of medieval emotional life. For example, Barbara Rosenwein’s exploration emotion words, Geoffrey Koziol and Gerd Althoff’s analyses ritual gesture in political interaction, Philippe Buc’s study partisanship accounts such rituals revealed complexity modes expression. However, while theological Christian tears abound, no historian has yet undertaken an extended investigation weeping early kingship, its role textual debate performance.


This dissertation is a royal Merovingian Carolingian dynasties, also explores how Gallic Frankish bishops used rhetoric on to formulate ideals for kingship put ideological pressure their rulers. Chapters are divided into three chronological areas inquiry. The first section examines two distinct streams ecclesiastical thought emerging from late Roman changes elite masculine comportment, one which criticized as inappropriate, other praised sign fitness rule. second chapter addresses Gregory Tours’ contribution conceptual development weeping, bishop unambiguously endorse kingly virtue. This then concludes with Emperor Louis Pious’ penitential dethronement 833, his became cause debate. Finally, methodological level, following demonstrates analysis can further illuminate biases contemporary texts function gestures ritual, contributing modern appreciation sophistication