Among the most original and exciting features of the Carolingian Renaissance is the reemergence of political poetry and the development of a vital tradition of verse which comments reflectively and contentiously on the course of public events. Peter Godman's analysis focuses on the character of the classical tradition in the early Middle ages--creatively adapted to "barbarian" literary tastes--and the refashioning and invention of poetic form in response to contemporary political affairs.

'A New History of German Literature' offers some 200 essays on events in German literary history.

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Hiberno-Latin Poets, Angilbert, Colman Nepos Cracavist, Moduin, Angelbert, Joseph Scottus, Baldric of Dol, Haito, Henry of Avranches. Excerpt: Colman (floruit c.800), called nepos Cracavist ("grandson of Cracavist"), was a Hiberno-Latin author associated with the Carolingian Renaissance. His poetry is full of classical allusions and quotations of Virgil. He may have been a cleric at Rome, as the manuscript which nicknames him states; there were several such Colmans at Rome in the ninth century. He may be one of those responsible for spreading the cult of Saint Brigid in Italy. One manuscript suggests he was a bishop. On the basis of similarity in prosody, he has also been identified as the composer of certain poems traditionally assigned to Columban, the saint and founder of Bobbio Abbey. These are Columbanus Fidolio, Ad Hunaldum, Ad Sethum, Praecepta vivendi, and the celeuma. Since the former was in manuscript by c.790 and the latter was probably used by Paul the Deacon (d.c.800), their poet's dates are set to the late eighth century. It is possible that Colman was merely the imitator of Columban. He would certainly have had access to the latter's works if he lived in Italy. There survives a notice of some books gifted by a priest named Theodore to Bobbio (Breve de libris Theodori Presbyteri) that lists: Martyrologium Hieronymi, et de arithmetica Macrobii, Dionisii, Anatolii, Victorii, Bedae, Colmani, et epistolae aliorum sapientum liber i. Whether the Colman is the poet "nepos Cracavist" or another is unknown, likewise are the books of his donated. Colman wrote a 34-hexameter lyrical vignette which is the earliest poem about Saint Brigid, incipit Quodam forte die caelo dum turbidus imber ("One day, when a rain-storm happened to be raging... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=20589258

What did it mean to be a Frankish nobleman in an age of reform? How could Carolingian lay nobles maintain their masculinity and their social position, while adhering to new and stricter moral demands by reformers concerning behaviour in war, sexual conduct and the correct use of power? This book explores the complex interaction between Christian moral ideals and social realities, and between religious reformers and the lay political elite they addressed. It uses the numerous texts addressed to a lay audience (including lay mirrors, secular poetry, political polemic, historical writings and legislation) to examine how biblical and patristic moral ideas were reshaped to become compatible with the realities of noble life in the Carolingian empire. This innovative analysis of Carolingian moral norms demonstrates how gender interacted with political and religious thought to create a distinctive Frankish elite culture, presenting a new picture of early medieval masculinity.