Christ's war: Holiness, heroism and horror in Carolingian poetry, c.730-c.900 CE

Christ’s war examines Carolingian holy war from the forging of their empire in the eighth century to its dissolution in the late ninth century during the Northmen’s attacks. It argues that the Franks understood their wars to be holy when their soldiers were without sin and, therefore, were holy themselves. God heard their prayers as they begged for divine aid, and he helped them overcome and slaughter their foes. Therefore, the Carolingian vision of holy war differed from the pious, apocaly...