Parergon

Reviews 2g3 occur. Susan A. Rabe's 'The Mind's Eye: Theological Controversy and Religious Architecture in the Reign of Charlemagne' notes that three churchmen influential in Carolingian theological circles, Benedict of Aniane, Theodulf of Orleans and Angilbert of Saint-Riquier, built churches. She then considers the principal theological controversies of Charlemagne's reign (Adoptionism and the dispute with the Greek church over icons and the fdioque clause) and concludes that 'the Carolingian participants in these battles perceived an inherent connection between correct belief in the Trinity and Christ, thefilioque, Marian theology, and the nature of religious art' (p. 240). The second half of the paper considers the iconography of the three churches, Theodulf's at Germigny-des-Pres, Benedict's at Aniane, and Angilbert's abbey of Saint-Riquier, and concludes with a brief note on the nature of religious symbols. This is a marvellously interesting paper, well argued and convincing. The final paper, Paul A. Jacobson's 'Sicut Samuhel Unxit David: Early Carolingian Royal Anointings Reconsidered', has probably been included in Section Three rather than Section Two because it is principally concerned with the interpretation of anointing ceremonies, rather than with their correct order or other issues of format. It is insistent that regal anointings are rituals which admit of multiple interpretations, and argues against those historians w h o would see Pippin's anointing at Soisson as the first step in a systematic programme, whether of domination by the Arnulfings or of ecclesiastical control of the monarchy. As a volume Medieval Liturgy is uneven, with some papers being very specific and others general. There are links which create a more unified quality: not merely the focus on liturgy, but also the fact that approximately half the essays focus on the Carolingian period. However, there is much useful material in it, and it is a worthwhile addition to a medievalist's shelves. Carole M. Cusack School of Studies in Religion University of Sydney Lutter, C, and H. Reimitz, ed., Rbrner und Barbaren. Ein Lesebuch zur deut Geschichte von der Spdtantike bis 800, with a preface by H. Wolfram, C. H. Beck, Munich, 1997; paper; pp. 319; R.R.P. DM14.80. Our understanding of early medieval history has benefited not a little from non English-language scholarship and there n o w appears a handy collection of excerpts from thirty leading scholars, whose work converges on the geographical land of Germany. The book consists of three sections: (I) "The Empire and the Barbarians'; (II) T h e Land Between the Great Powers—Franks and Avars'; and (III) 'The Rise of the Carolingians', in which a rich variety of themes is explored, including political power, economy and society, identity, 184 Reviews w o m e n , feudalism, Christianity and ecclesiastical organisation, Christianisation and the Drang nach Osten. Although familiar terrain is traversed, such as the reign of Clovis (Prinz) and the coronation of Charlemagne (Orth), less-familiar facets of everyday life and the imagination are explored, such as the wonderment of the (Near) East in the Carolingian imagination (Schmitt). This broad range is handled by judicious editing and the excision of notes, the original work signposted in the index. Since I cannot comment on all contributions, I shall mention some of the ideas I found engaging, before turning to a problem raised by the book and left unresolved. In his contribution, Demandt distils ideas from his Die Spdtantike (1988), the leading text of its type on the later Roman empire, in exploring on the one hand, the durability of the ideology of Rome in its eastern and western manifestations, and, on the other, concepts of the fall of empires from the fourth book of Daniel and the valuation of the onset of a 'finsteres Mittelalter' from the Humanists: dual ideas of continuity and change that still inform evaluation of the legacy of Rome. Also topical is the identity and lasting tradition of the Burgundians as discerned by Wolfram, which fills out some of his broader thoughts on tribal definition in the 'Volkerwanderungszeit'. Similarly, Pohl is concerned to tease out the differing realities in the idea of a people, discerning the Avars as a 'political ethnos' lent identity by a...