Charles the Bald (review)

Reviews 213 space whUe adding comparatively little to the meticulously detatied picture of his subject which Molho has assembled by more traditional methods. Heather Gregory Canberra Nelson, Janet L., Charles the Bald, London and N. Y., Longman, 1992, paper; pp. xiii, 349; 7 genealogical tables, 8 maps; R.R.P. AUS$40.99. This book, the culmination of years of study and thought by its author, provides an important new interpretation of the reign of Charles the Bald, one of Charlemagne's grandsons. It is full of surprises, starting with the likelihood that Charles was not bald, since contemporary portrayals of him with thick hah suggest that his nickname may have been honic rather than descriptive. Against the usual view that tbe reign of Charles was part of a downward slide from Charlemagne to feudal chaos, Nelson argues that the population was growing, that cash was widely used, that increasing numbers of coins, and these of increasingly high quality, were being minted, that the kingretainedthe ability to intervene effectively in affairs far from his court, and that the Vikings lent themselves to being used by Frankish monarchs. So it is that tbe account of the life of Charles culminates in a chapter entided 'Glittering prizes', words which set one thinking of Susan Howatch. The speedy decline of the state which followed the death of Charles was due nottoany inherent weakness but rather to specific dynastic problems. The greater part of the book is taken up with a detailed political narrative. Phenomena such as the Carolingian Renaissance, which gained its second wind in the reign of Charles, receive no more than passing attention. John the Scot, the most eminent intellectual of his century, is touched on lightiy and emerges, with one fleeting exception, only as a source for the life of Charles. But the book does not seek to inform us on such topics, and it is deeply rewarding on its own terms as a political biography. It is crafted with the closest attention to the sources, so that one develops a feel for Nithard and the various sets of annals from thetextureof the narrative erected on the basis they provide. The sheer factual specificity allows the most interesting themes to emerge. W o m e n did not lead an easy life, Charles's wife Ermentrude producing eleven children, but they were influential. O n the one hand, it is pleasant to think that Charles may have owed his interest in scholarship to his mother, Judith. O n the other hand, 214 Reviews the advice contained in the lady Dhuoda's Handbook for William: a Carolingian woman's counselfor her son may have been responsible for his death. The ermegence of understated themes such as this remind one of the usefulness of narrative in history and of the continuing appropriateness of books about great figures. This is a substantial work of revisionist history by a major scholar which cannot be recommended too highly. John Moorhead Department of History University of Queensland Nicholas, David, The evolution of the medieval world: society, government and thought in Europe, 312-1500, London and N.Y., Longman, 1992; paper; pp. xiv, 544; 13 maps; R.R.P. AUS$47.99 Good general textbooks of medieval history that one can confidentiy recommend to students are hard to come by. The offering by David Nicholas seeks to provide a global survey of medieval European civilization as i t evolved between two dates traditionally established as defining the Middle Ages: the accession of Constantine and the end of thefifteenthcentury. To attempt to cover such a wide span is a tall order. The key challenge facing the author of any such textbook istofindan organizing principle capable of embracing what are seen to be the salient features of the period under review. The approach adopted by David Nicholas is a traditional one, emphasising continuities within medieval civilization Taking nothing for granted in terms of prior knowledge in his readers, he begins with swift overviews of Roman civilization, the origins of Christianity, and the three major cultural groupings around tbe Mediterranean prior to the eighth century: tribal Europe, Byzantium, and the Arab world. This is then followed by a concise account...