Framing the Carolingian Economy

This essay argues that the degree of commercialization on Carolingian great estates should not be overstated. Rather, the strategies and ambitions of Carolingian estate managers were primarily determined by a ‘domainal’ ideology and concerns for good stewardship. Moreover, the structural demands of the Carolingian state may have played a rather more important role in framing economic conditions than is commonly supposed. Here Carolingianists need to learn some of the lessons that have helped to transform the writing of ancient economic history in recent decades.