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The very personal history of N ithard: family and honour in the C arolingian world
Author(s) -
Polanichka Dana M.,
Cilley Alex
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
early medieval europe
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 1468-0254
pISSN - 0963-9462
DOI - 10.1111/emed.12052
Subject(s) - honour , nobility , legitimacy , ninth , politics , history , lineage (genetic) , composition (language) , genealogy , classics , social history (medicine) , sociology , literature , art , political science , law , medicine , archaeology , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , surgery , acoustics , gene
N ithard's H istories of the civil wars fought between L ouis the Pious's sons reveal much about mid‐ninth‐century nobility, political values, and the author's changing social position. This article considers how N ithard's immediate familial history affected the text's composition. We argue that his incorporation of authorial voice and detail, crafting of the royal lineage, and emphasis on fraternitas suggest that N ithard employed the text to fight for legitimacy and honour, both familial and individual. We propose that the H istories should be read as a social commemoration of N ithard's familial memories, thus complicating the assumption that family histories were the purview of women.

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