Ancient & Medieval Studies Colloquium presents, Matthew Gabriele “Inside Angelbert was Two Wolves, Both Feasting on an Early Medieval Empire: Fontenoy, 841”

Presented by Matthew Gabriele
Professor of Medieval Studies
Department of Religion & Culture, Virginia Tech

 

Abstract: At the end of the 8thcentury, the Franks under their new Carolingian kings built an empire that spanned Europe and inspired the respect of both emperor(s) in Byzantium and caliphs in Baghdad. But by the middle of the next century, the empire was in tatters. In June 841, a field outside Auxerre (in modern France) lay drenched in blood, as old friends killed one another, as brother fought brother. This talk will focus on the fateful battle of Fontenoy in June 841 and particularly the account of 1 participant – a warrior named Angelbert and the poem he wrote about the battle, detailing how an empire that seemed so secure, so tightly bound in its political and cultural consensus, could be destroyed so quickly by greed and vengeance over a disputed succession to power.

 

Bio: Matthew Gabriele is a professor of medieval studies at Virginia Tech,. His research and teaching cover  the European Middle Ages, ideas of religion and violence, as well as nostalgia and apocalypse. He has written forThe Washington Post, CNN, Smithsonian Magazine, and MSNBC, among others, and interviews with him have appeared on outlets such as The History Channel, inThe New York Times, and on NPR. He’s the author and editor of several academic books and nearly two dozen articles. In addition, he’s the author, with David M. Perry, of The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe (Harper Books, 2021), and most recently Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers that Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe (Harper Books, 2024).