A testimony of C arolingian rule? The C odex epistolaris carolinus , its historical context, and the meaning of imperium

In the preface to the C arolingian collection of papal letters, known as the C odex epistolaris carolinus , the word imperium is used in the context of describing what is in the collection. In this article, I shall argue that a reinterpretation of the preface's statement about what imperium refers to will shed a different light on the CC as a collection in its entirety. What imperium refers to exactly can be debated, yet studying the C odex carolinus as a C arolingian product of its time, in combination with a reappraisal of its preface, may help to understand the source's historical context and its value to the C arolingian court. As I hope to demonstrate, the CC was an essentially purposeful collection, which underlined the shared history of the C arolingian family and the papacy in R ome.