All roads lead to Rome? F rechulf of L isieux, A ugustine and O rosius

This article considers the influence exerted by A ugustine's C ity of G od and O rosius's H istories against the P agans on the C arolingian historian, F rechulf of L isieux. In particular, it explores how these two explicitly R oman texts were read and understood in the ninth century, and how they in turn shaped the place of R ome and its empire within F rechulf's narrative. In the first half of this article, I shall take into account modern discussions of A ugustine and O rosius, which themselves have shaped scholarship on F rechulf. The second half of the article stresses that for F rechulf, A ugustine and O rosius offered complementary, not contradictory perspectives on C hristian history and R ome's part in it.