Generally, Charlemagne’s campaigns against the Saracens in the Iberian Peninsula have been understood as secular due to the general lack of evidence showing their religiosity as opposed to Charlemagne’s other religious wars.  However, the author argues against this using primary and secondary sources from the Carolingian period. His thesis is that the observers of Charlemagne’s invasions of the Iberian Peninsula, along with Charlemagne himself, understood them as religious wars with the aim of both protecting Christian communities in Francia and protecting and expanding Christianity in Spain. The author’s assertion of the religiosity of Charlemagne’s Iberian campaign is convincing and very well argued. He not only uses sources from before Charlemagne’s time, when Carolingians fought wars against the same Saracens which were interpreted as religious, but he also used contemporary sources that prove the religious nature of the Iberian campaign. The value of the author’s arguments will be explored in this essay.

The author first talks about the 2 places where opposition to the religiosity of Charlemagne’s Iberian campaigns comes from: historians writing on the eighth and ninth centuries who point to a lack of relevant Frankish sources describing the wars as religious, and scholars with expertise on the crusades such as Mayer or Erdmann who argue that Charlemagne’s wars were primarily for the state and undertaken as part of royal duty rather than being religious wars. But the author argues that wars of states and kings can also be religious wars. He gives a definition of a religious war as one where a main aim is the protection and propagation of the Christian faith, while at the same time it could have secular aims such as the attainment of resources. We know what the author means when he says “religious warfare” so this makes his argument easier to evaluate. The sources used by the author are diverse: letters, charter documents, poems and chronicles. The diversity of the sources gives credence to the author’s argument, as they prove that many people throughout the kingdom regarded the campaigns as religious. Throughout the article, it appears that the author is trying to convince himself about the validity of his argument as he examines his many sources, and he does a good job analyzing them and explaining their context. At the same time, the author never takes his position for granted and points out possible problems with some of his sources, as well as addressing counterarguments and refuting them in a good way. This makes the article considerably unbiased and not one-sided, which makes his argument more believable and gives it more validity.

After the introduction, the author gives a general overview of Charlemagne’s campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula, his other wars and the Frankish perception of Saracens. This is good because the author introduces the topic to his audience so that they will understand his argument, and he gives an adequate explanation. The Iberian campaigns were not one continuous war but were instead plenty of campaigns taking place from the years 778 to 814. The author addresses the counterargument by historians such as McKitterick that Charlemagne was not motivated by religion in Iberia, due to the earliest sources describing Charlemagne’s war as religious being accounts from the mid-9^th century, including the Astronomer’s Life of Louis the Pious. Meanwhile, sources from contemporaries such as Einhard and Paulinus of Aquilea prove faithful justification for the Carolingian wars against the Saxons and are more numerous than those for Spain. In Carolingian sources including the Frankish pilgrim Willibald’s description of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Bede, and Pope Zacharias’ letter to Boniface, the Muslims are described as “infidels” and “pagans”, the same way that other non-Christian peoples such as the Saxons were regarded. In this whole section, the author gives a good account of how Charlemagne used faith to justify his other wars, and the Carolingian perception of Muslims both during and after Charlemagne.

The author then talks about wars against the Saracens before Charlemagne to give a context for the wars in Spain being a defense of the Christian world. The Chronicle of Fredegar is cited, along with its Continuations which depict Charles’ Martel’s defeat of the Saracen invasion of France. In this source, the Franks are compared to the Israelites as a “chosen people”, with Charles’ conquest of Avignon from the Saracens compared to Joshua’s conquest of Jericho in the Bible. The Saracens are depicted as targeting Christian sites such as churches along with worshippers. The religious language is evident in the Continuations, along with the Earlier Annals of Metz which derives its account from the Continuations. Both sources are very pro-Carolingian, as the first one was overseen by Charles Martel’s brother Count Childebrand and his son Nibelung from 721 to 768, while the second one was also overseen by the Carolingian inner circle and is likely linked to the Chelles monastery and Charlemagne’s sister Gisella. That these sources depict earlier Frankish wars against the Saracens on religious terms, and the fact that they are linked to the Carolingian family, strengthens the author’s argument of the Spanish wars being religious in nature. If the Franks saw earlier wars against the Saracens as holy, then it makes sense that they would also see them that way in Charlemagne’s time.

Next, the author cites a letter from Pope Hadrian I to the king in 778. The Pope warns Charlemagne about a possible Saracen invasion, and encourages him with divine support from God to fight and expand Christendom. The Saracens are compared to the ancient Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea. While the author acknowledges that this alone may not be enough to prove the religiosity for the wars in Spain, he notes the resemblance of the letter to litanies that Hadrian had performed for the king 4 years earlier for his fight against the Lombards. The author also notes that many other popes such as Stephen II had encouraged Frankish wars to defend the Christian faith. Charlemagne often asked the Pope for prayers for his campaigns against the pagans. The Pope’s 778 letter is unique in its Old Testament language, and it lends credence to the author’s argument, showing that the Pope may have understood Charlemagne’s Spanish campaigns as faith-based, and that he may have lent his blessing to them. But it alone is not enough evidence to support the author’s thesis, as the relationship between the Pope and King was subject to stress, and there is a lack of letters from Charlemagne to the Pope.

The author’s next sources to prove his thesis are liturgies of war, specifically the Sacramentaries of Gellone and Septimania, the first being from the last decade of the eighth century while the other is from 800. Both sacramanteries have military masses requesting divine help for a Christian King going to war against non-Christian pagans threatening the Christian people, with references to the Old Testament and the Israelites. The Sacramentary of Gellone was owned by William of Toulouse, who had fought in Spain and helped seize Barcelona in 801. Gellone and Angouleme, where the liturgies are from, are in the Septimania region of Southern France, which was likely to be attacked by Muslims. The Sacramentary of Arles has a military mass nearly identical to the one in Angouleme, inserted almost certainly in response to 9^th century Muslim raids and proving that military masses were directed at Muslims. Charlemagne frequently requested military masses for Frankish campaigns against other pagans such as Saxons and Avars. It is also likely that military mass was performed for Charlemagne’s son Louis before his successful conquest of Barcelona from the Muslims in 801. These masses further prove the author’s thesis as they suggest that their creators saw war against the Muslims as a kingly occupation meant to protect Christians.

Two charters granted by Charlemagne granting land in Septimania to Christian Spaniards fleeing Muslim rule are cited next. The first was likely issued around 780 after the Roncesvalles campaigns, while the second charter is from 801, shortly after Louis’ capture of Barcelona. The charters portray Charlemagne’s granting of the land to the Spanish refugees as an act of mercy and justice, and the charters stress the common Christian identity of both the Carolingians and refugees. Due to this, they were both the shared enemy of the Saracens who had oppressed the Spaniards. The two charters are very similar despite their differences: they contain the message of a Christian King intervening to save the faithful. In 795, 96 or 97, Charlemagne gave an estate in Narbonne to a warrior named John in Narbonne as a reward for his services in Spain against the Saracens, and in the charter, they are called ‘heretics’ or ‘infidels’, defined by their lack of Christian faith. The author is cautious due to the Arabic sounding names of some of the settlers protected by Charlemagne in an 812 charter, which possibly mean they are Muslims. Despite this, the charters lend further support to the author’s thesis, showing that from the early 780s Charlemagne portrayed his wars as protection of Christians in Spain against non-Christians.

Writings from Alcuin and Theodulf at Charlemagne’s court are cited next. Around 790, Alcuin wrote a letter to his mentor Colcu in Northumbria, telling him about the growth of the church due to the conversion of pagans by Charlemagne and his army. He ends his letter by talking about the limited exploits of the Franks in Spain against the Saracens. Colcu was supposed to understand the letter’s topic as being the expansion of Christian power in Europe. In his work, Alcuin often inserted the idea of the Carolingians fighting to defend and extend the Christian world. Theodulf, the bishop of Orleans, was another important figure at Charlemagne’s court who commented on the Saracens. In 792, he composed a poem celebrating Charlemagne’s achievements at converting heathen peoples. In that same poem Theodulf suggests conquering and converting the Arabs to serve Christ. The poem was not purely hypothetical: 796 saw the first Carolingian expedition to al-Andalus since 778, with further campaigning in later years. The writings by Alcuin and Theodulf further strengthen the thesis, as they show that Charlemagne’s contemporaries supported holy war in Spain, and they may have influenced Charlemagne and the Frankish elite to resume their campaigns in Spain to convert the Arabs.

The most direct evidence of the religious nature of Charlemagne’s campaigns in Spain is from a letter written in his name to the Adoptionist Archbishop Elipandus of Toledo around 794, in response to the archbishop’s letters. Charlemagne was concerned about the growing Adoptionist heresy in Al-Andalus, and in his letter, he urges Elipandus to abandon his heresy and return to the Catholic Church. Referring to the Saracens of Al-Andalus, Charlemagne asserts that Elipandus and his Adoptionists are afflicted by two troubles: internal servitude to the Devil and external servitude to enemies, with the former being the worst. He says that before the rule of the Saracens can end, the Spaniards must ditch the Adoptionist heresy. Charlemagne is offering worldly aid as a motive to return to Catholicism. This letter may also suggest that Charlemagne’s excuse for delaying intervention in the Peninsula was Spanish heresy. With the letter, Charlemagne was reasserting his role as a Christian King while legitimizing his position within the Spanish Church. The letter shows that as early as 794 Franks justified invasions of Spain on the grounds of freeing Spanish Christians, an idea that Charlemagne wanted to communicate to them. It also shows that he saw the rule of non-Christians over Christians as oppression.

The last piece of evidence that the article examines is a poem by Ermold the Black written from 826 to 828: In honorem Hludovici imperatus, which he wrote to persuade Emperor Louis to end his exile in Strasbourg for unspecified reasons. The poem’s first book focuses on Louis’ capture of Barcelona in 801. The Barcelona siege is preceded by an account of a Christian warrior named Datus, who accidentally kills his mother due to his rage at the Saracens, before eventually finding peace in a monastery. In the poem, Louis gives a speech to his men before marching to Barcelona, saying that since the Saracens have refused the salvation of God and Christ, that God is going to hand them over to the Frank’s service. Ermold wants to communicate the idea that the war has a Christian justification. Although his poem was not a history, it would have been performed in front of figures who were present in Barcelona. Louis was sensitive to how Barcelona, his most important success, was portrayed. So, this poem gives further support for the author’s thesis, as it stresses the religious nature of the taking of Barcelona, although it was written considerably later than the other sources.

In conclusion, the author has many sources to support his position, and they make his thesis believable. While the sources are not entirely unproblematic, and alone would not amount to much, together they are very convincing.  Most of the primary material is directly connected to the Carolingian dynasty: The Chronicle of Fredegar and the Annals of Metz, the charters in Septimania, and the letter to Elipandus. Meanwhile, the war liturgies against the pagans, which can be associated with Count along with the court of Louis, and the works of Alcuin and Theodulf at Charlemagne’s court are less linked to Charlemagne but are still important due to being linked to prominent figures in his kingdom.  The author also gives a compelling explanation for the religious language being more evident and present in nearly every source about the Saxon and Avar wars as opposed to Spain: since the Carolingians were not as successful in Spain as they were against the other pagans, they may have felt embarrassed about their failure and thus de-emphasized the religious nature of that campaign so as not to invoke divine disfavor. The failed campaign at Roncesvalles certainly invoked trauma in the Franks, as The Astronomer noted at Louis the Pious’ court 70 years later. And while the later wave of campaigning in Spain that started in 796 was not as disastrous, the Carolingians were not successful and failed to take Huesca, Tarragona and Tortosa after frequent attempts in the first decade of the 9^th century. The author restates his argument at the end of the article: that Charlemagne’s wars in Spain should be understood as religious like his other wars against pagans. So overall, this was an excellent and interesting journal article, as the author not only provided plenty of diverse sources but gave excellent historical background on the Frankish wars against the Saracens, along with a bit of background on Charlemagne’s other religious campaigns.

 

 

Bibliography

Ottewill-Soulsby, Samuel. 2016. “”Those same cursed Saracens'” Charlemagne’s campaigns in the Iberian Peninsula as religious warfare.” Journal of Medieval History 405-428.