Rutger Kramer
Utrecht University, History and Art History, Faculty Member
- Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Medieval Research, Post-DocRadboud University Nijmegen, History, Faculty Memberadd
- Medieval Studies, Medieval History, Monastic Studies, History, Sovereignty, Carolingian Studies, and 35 moreCarolingian and Ottonian ideology, Ideology and Discourse Analysis, Benedictine Monasticism, Louis the Pious, Charlemagne, Didactics, Research Methodology, Comparative Religion, Comparative Methods, Everything, Hagiography, Medieval Historiography, Smaragdus of Saint-mihiel, Religion, Humanities, Monasticism, Visigothic Spain, Merovingian period, Early Medieval History, Late Antiquity, Emotion, Early Medieval Monasticism, Comparison, History of Monasticism, Anthropology of emotions, Early Islam, Comparative History, Christian Studies, Medieval Chronicles, Representation of Others, Medieval Canon & Roman Law, Sociology of Emotion, Otherness, Ancient DNA (Archaeology), and Early Medieval Irelandedit
- Rutger Kramer - friendly, non-threatening medievalist. My research over the years has always circled the Carolingian... moreRutger Kramer - friendly, non-threatening medievalist.
My research over the years has always circled the Carolingian court of the later eighth and early ninth centuries. Specifically, I am interested in the way power and authority are constructed in narratives emanating from the circle around such figures as Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious, and how these ideas are subsequently received, reinterpreted and even criticized by their followers farther afield. These echoes would then find their way back to the inner circle, and in the process create a “feedback loop” where varying ideas of and justifications for power were at times amplified or indeed subdued.
In a recent monograph, Rethinking Authority in the Carolingian Empire: Ideals and Expectations during the Reign of Louis the Pious (813-828) (Amsterdam University Press, 2019; DOI 10.2307/j.ctvd1c74c) I have demonstrated how this process of constant reinforcement between the intellectual elites affected ongoing projects of “church reform” at the time. More importantly, I also show how precisely these proposed religious reforms gave a moral, ethical and eschatological weight to political decision-making processes. This approach is a red thread throughout all my work, whether it concerns hagiographical narratives and monastic culture, “imperial” historiography, or the long history of medieval mentalities. Given that some such medieval phenomena are still palpable today, I have over time developed a secondary interest in modern medievalism and its influence on pop culture. Medieval History, after all, is not strictly speaking a study of past events, but rather of the stories that are told about them as they unfold – and this unfolding can take a long time indeed.edit
OPEN ACCESS DOWNLOAD LINK PROVIDED THROUGH THE FOLLOWING LINK! https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048532681/rethinking-authority-in-the-carolingian-empire) By the early ninth century, the responsibility for a series of social, religious... more
OPEN ACCESS DOWNLOAD LINK PROVIDED THROUGH THE FOLLOWING LINK!
https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048532681/rethinking-authority-in-the-carolingian-empire)
By the early ninth century, the responsibility for a series of social, religious and political transformations had become an integral part of running the Carolingian empire. This became especially clear when, in 813/4, Louis the Pious and his court seized the momentum generated by their predecessors and broadened the scope of these reforms ever further. These reformers knew they represented a movement greater than the sum of its parts; the interdependence between those wielding imperial authority and those bearing responsibility for ecclesiastical reforms was driven by comprehensive, yet still surprisingly diverse expectations.
Taking this diversity as a starting point, this book takes a fresh look at the optimistic first decades of the ninth century. Extrapolating from a series of detailed case studies rather than presenting a new grand narrative, it offers new interpretations of contemporary theories of personal improvement and institutional correctio, and shows the self-awareness of its main instigators as they pondered what it meant to be a good Christian in a good Christian empire.
https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789048532681/rethinking-authority-in-the-carolingian-empire)
By the early ninth century, the responsibility for a series of social, religious and political transformations had become an integral part of running the Carolingian empire. This became especially clear when, in 813/4, Louis the Pious and his court seized the momentum generated by their predecessors and broadened the scope of these reforms ever further. These reformers knew they represented a movement greater than the sum of its parts; the interdependence between those wielding imperial authority and those bearing responsibility for ecclesiastical reforms was driven by comprehensive, yet still surprisingly diverse expectations.
Taking this diversity as a starting point, this book takes a fresh look at the optimistic first decades of the ninth century. Extrapolating from a series of detailed case studies rather than presenting a new grand narrative, it offers new interpretations of contemporary theories of personal improvement and institutional correctio, and shows the self-awareness of its main instigators as they pondered what it meant to be a good Christian in a good Christian empire.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This chapter is essentially a case study that brings together the themes of law and identity, resilience and adaptation, empire, and ethnicity, highlighted in chapter 9. It zooms in on the various mechanisms employed to integrate the... more
This chapter is essentially a case study that brings together the themes of law and identity, resilience and adaptation, empire, and ethnicity, highlighted in chapter 9. It zooms in on the various mechanisms employed to integrate the semi-independent polity of Aquitaine into the emerging Carolingian realm—and to deal with their significance in the sources composed in retrospect. Based around the “official” absorption of the duchy in 767/8, the chapter looks at the various modes of identification not only employed by the Aquitanians themselves but also visible within Carolingian chronicles, capitularies, and hagiographical narratives as they tried to make sense of this region, which was rich in Roman history but with a population that remained aware of its Visigothic and Basque roots as well.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Item does not contain fulltex
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Philosophy and ISBN
Research Interests:
In the late eighth century, the heterodox movement Adoptionism emerged at the edge of the Carolingian realm. Initially, members of the Carolingian court considered it a threat to the ecclesiastical reforms they were spearheading, but they... more
In the late eighth century, the heterodox movement Adoptionism emerged at the edge of the Carolingian realm. Initially, members of the Carolingian court considered it a threat to the ecclesiastical reforms they were spearheading, but they also used the debate against Adoptionism as an opportunity to extend their influence south of the Pyrenees. While they thought the movement had been eradicated around the turn of the ninth century, Archbishop Agobard of Lyon claimed to have found a remnant of this heresy in his diocese several decades later, and decided to alert the imperial court. This article explains some of his motives, and, in the process, reflects on how these early medieval rule-breakers (real or imagined) could be used in various ways by those making the rules: to maintain the purity of Christendom, to enhance the authority of the Empire, or simply to boost one’s career at the Carolingian court.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Geography, Anthropology, Medieval History, and 14 moreMedieval Studies, Tibetan Studies, Qualitative methodology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Monastic Studies, Tibet, Islamic Studies, Yemen, Tibetan Buddhism, Monasticism, Comparison, Transcultural Studies, Yemen History, and Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Andrew Rabin and Liam Felsen, eds., The “Disputatio puerorum”: A Ninth-Century Monastic Instructional Text; Edited from Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, 458. (Toronto Medieval Latin Texts 34.) Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies for the Centre for Mediaeval Studies, 2017...more
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article, part of the first VISCOM volume on Meanings of Community across Medieval Eurasia, set out to show how the self-identification of Carolingian monastic communities in part depended on their ability to open up to outside... more
This article, part of the first VISCOM volume on Meanings of Community across Medieval Eurasia, set out to show how the self-identification of Carolingian monastic communities in part depended on their ability to open up to outside influences - specifically, to the influence of the imperial court, which safeguarded their existence and set itself up as one of the main propagators of religious and educational reform. Looking in turn at the foundation of Inda, the conflict between Ratgar of Fulda and his monks, and the portrayal of Charlemagne's "court school" in the works of Notker the Stammerer, this article aims to show that the influence between court and cloister was not a one-way street, but rather part of a complex set of interdependent representations.
The complete book has been published Open Access online at http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/9789004315693
The complete book has been published Open Access online at http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/9789004315693
Research Interests:
This introduction to a book section in the VISCOM publication Meanings of Community across Medieval Eurasia (Leiden: Brill 2015) explores the pitfalls and possibilities of a comparative study of "medieval" religious communities... more
This introduction to a book section in the VISCOM publication Meanings of Community across Medieval Eurasia (Leiden: Brill 2015) explores the pitfalls and possibilities of a comparative study of "medieval" religious communities (specifically, Christian monasteries, Islamic (Zaydi) hijras, and Tibetan Buddhist gom pa).
The entire book has been published open access online at http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/9789004315693
The entire book has been published open access online at http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/books/9789004315693
Research Interests: Religion, Comparative Religion, Anthropology, Medieval History, Medieval Studies, and 13 moreTibetan Studies, Qualitative methodology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Monastic Studies, Tibet, Islamic Studies, Yemen, Tibetan Buddhism, Monasticism, Yemen (History), Comparison, Transcultural Studies, and Indo-Tibetan Buddhism
This article aims to shed new light on an eighth-century collection of mathematical problems, the Propositiones ad Acuendos Iuvenes (commonly attributed to Alcuin). Rather than focus on its place in the history of mathematics, it... more
This article aims to shed new light on an eighth-century collection of mathematical problems, the Propositiones ad Acuendos Iuvenes (commonly attributed to Alcuin). Rather than focus on its place in the history of mathematics, it re-assesses its place as part of the Carolingian efforts at correctio, arguing that the goals of the author went well beyond teaching mathematical skills to his pupils.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In the late eighth century, the heterodox movement Adoptionism emerged at the edge of the Carolingian realm. Initially, members of the Carolingian court considered it a threat to the ecclesiastical reforms they were spearheading, but... more
In the late eighth century, the heterodox movement Adoptionism emerged at the edge of the Carolingian realm. Initially, members of the Carolingian court considered it a threat to the ecclesiastical reforms they were spearheading,
but they also used the debate against Adoptionism as an opportunity to extend their influence south of the Pyrenees. While they thought the movement had been eradicated around the turn of the ninth century, Archbishop Agobard of Lyon claimed to have found a remnant of this heresy in his diocese several decades later, and decided to alert the imperial court. This article explains some of his motives, and, in the process, reflects on how these early medieval rule-breakers (real or imagined) could be used in various ways by those making the rules: to maintain the purity of Christendom, to enhance the authority of the Empire, or simply to boost one’s career at the Carolingian court.
but they also used the debate against Adoptionism as an opportunity to extend their influence south of the Pyrenees. While they thought the movement had been eradicated around the turn of the ninth century, Archbishop Agobard of Lyon claimed to have found a remnant of this heresy in his diocese several decades later, and decided to alert the imperial court. This article explains some of his motives, and, in the process, reflects on how these early medieval rule-breakers (real or imagined) could be used in various ways by those making the rules: to maintain the purity of Christendom, to enhance the authority of the Empire, or simply to boost one’s career at the Carolingian court.
Research Interests:
Based on two instances in which Louis the Pious is equated with the Pharaoh from the Old Testament, this article explores several ways in which these rulers of old could be used for narrative, moralistic or admonitory purposes. In doing... more
Based on two instances in which Louis the Pious is equated with the Pharaoh from the Old Testament, this article explores several ways in which these rulers of old could be used for narrative, moralistic or admonitory purposes. In doing so, it aims to show how ninth-century monastic communities would frame their interactions with the Carolingian court in terms of competition and cooperation at the same time.
Research Interests:
This paper explores the representation of the interaction between Louis the Pious and two saintly protagonists in two near-contemporary sources. On the one hand, there is the Vita Adalhardi, which is critical of Louis the Pious, but... more
This paper explores the representation of the interaction between Louis the Pious and two saintly protagonists in two near-contemporary sources. On the one hand, there is the Vita Adalhardi, which is critical of Louis the Pious, but protective of the office he stands for. On the other hand, there is the Vita Benedicti Anianensis, in which the cooperation between emperor and saint is portrayed in a more cooperative manner, but which nonetheless makes it clear that it is the emperor who is calling the shots.
Research Interests:
Comparison is a powerful tool in the methodological toolbox of the humanities. However, the results of a comparative study can sometimes be as confusing as they are valuable – especially so, when the participants in a comparative project... more
Comparison is a powerful tool in the methodological toolbox of the humanities. However, the results of a comparative study can sometimes be as confusing as they are valuable – especially so, when the participants in a comparative project come from different academic backgrounds as well. This article presents some initial observations on the pitfalls and possibilities of multidisciplinary research. Additionally, two case-studies will be presented, based on the expertise of the co-authors (the monastery of Saint-Mihiel in the early Middle Ages, and the religious communities known as hijras in Medieval South Arabia), in order to present a way to compare these two cases in a viable manner.
This article is based on the presentation "Monks on the Via Regia? Smaragdus and Saint-Mihiel between Ideal and Reality", held at the IMC Leeds 2013.
This article is based on the presentation "Monks on the Via Regia? Smaragdus and Saint-Mihiel between Ideal and Reality", held at the IMC Leeds 2013.
Research Interests:
This paper presents the VISCOM-project (FWF F42), specifically the comparative approaches to the study of community as attempted by the research group members.