Potere e legittimità nel mondo carolingio. Un'analisi comparativa a partire dai casi di Grifone, Bernardo d'Italia e Pipino II d'Aquitania.

This dissertation examines the evolution of narrative constructions of legitimacy in the Carolingian world through a comparative analysis of the strategies of delegitimisation displayed in various sources. The starting point of this thesis, in fact, is that one assertive and functional means for a ruler to improve his own legitimacy was to undermine another’s. In the Carolingian era, we witness the monopolisation of historical narrative by the literary circles of the courts of Pippin III, Charlemagne, and Louis the Pious. Later, across the 9th century, we have several courts and independent kingdoms where the competition for legitimacy led to an evolution of these strategies. The three case studies of this dissertation, namely those of Grifo, Bernhard of Italy and Pippin II of Aquitaine, will provide the necessary instruments to delineate the evolution of the strategies of delegitimisation from the age of Charles Martel to that of Louis the Pious’ sons. The comparative analysis will show that through the reigns of Pippin III, Charlemagne and their descendants, the Carolingians developed deep interests and concerns about their own legitimacy, especially in times when it could be undermined by dynastic rivals. In fact, the stories of these characters coincided with moments of internal crisis of difficulties for the Carolingians, moments when the very survival of the family could be put in jeopardy. Every Carolingian ruler was aware of the importance of a constant and continuous statement of his own legitimacy since the coup d’etat of Pippin III. The overthrow of the Merovingian dynasty needed to be legitimised, as known, and since then, the Carolingians worked long and hard to fulfil that need. But inside the family, the road to be taken was one: some characters needed to be excluded from the inheritance even before. It’s the case of Grifo, the son of Charles Martel and Swanahild is the first member of the family to be portrayed as an illegitimate heir of the master of the palace. Later, within every generation of the Carolingians, we witness moments of dynastic crisis that led to the exclusion of other members of the family throughout conflicts and clashes. In these circumstances, the Carolingians had to rely on aristocratic support and competed with other sovereigns for it. The construction of the historical memory of these conflicts was a relevant matter, and the examples of chronicles and annals built to legitimise a particular king are found throughout the Carolingian era. These are depositories of values shared by both the Carolingian kingship and the aristocracy, an element that highlights the importance of these sources. With Bernhard of Italy and Pippin II of Aquitaine, we witness the evolution and development of the strategies of delegitimisation that will be at the core of this dissertation. For each case study, the analysis of the historical-narrative sources will be compared with the contemporary documentary and epistolary sources to better understand the meaning of the memory construction about these characters. This will provide the necessary instruments to understand the historical reality in which they acted and their role as members of the Carolingian dynasty. Often, we witness a posthumous construction of their memory, subject to later changes and reinterpretations that influenced the historical writing in the different moments of the Carolingian era and the production of the narrative sources.