University of Oxford

Graduate Student, History

Other Affiliations: Institute of Historical Research, University of London, Junior Research Fellow

Lady Margaret Hall

Thesis Title: The Politics of Interpretation: Philosophy, Language, and Authority in the Carolingian Empire

About

My thesis explores the emergence of this inter-cultural dialogue through an examination of one of the most prominent members of the Carolingian court, Theodulf of Orléans (c. 760-821). By comparing Theodulf to another prominent theologian of the period, Alcuin of York, both in terms of their renewal of patristic and classical literature and their respective programmes for biblical revision, I intend to demonstrate how Theodulf broadened the Carolingian educated world, from merely repetitive to theologically innovative. This work will build on earlier work that has established Theodulf’s authorship of some of the most significant theological treatises from the Carolingian period (namely the Opus Caroli regis contra Synodum). No scholarship yet exists on the influence of Theodulf on a cross-cultural level. The majority of scholars have deemed his theological programme a failure in comparison to the relative success of Alcuin’s Bibles. My thesis will incorporate previous work on the incorporation of Spanish education and manuscript style via Theodulf but examine this question from a broader perspective—his role in transforming Carolingian educated culture; one willing to engage in inter-cultural theological dialogue and demarcate a distinct theology, identifiable as uniquely Carolingian.

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