This book is a study of manuscripts produced during the eighth century in the Anglo-Saxon cultural province in Francia, and it argues that the Christian culture of that region was thoroughly gender-egalitarian and in many ways feminist. Before moving on to description (chapter 3)¹ and analysis (chapters 4 through 7) of the manuscripts, I introduce the individuals and issues at stake in the area (chapter 1) and the region itself (chapter 2).

My approach is unusual. A 1999 study of “regional history and religious history” using “a new methodology which locates the development of the Church in the context of...

During the late Merovingian and early Carolingian periods, Anglo-Saxon immigrants were active in many different parts of Francia and its neighboring territories. The present study, however, focuses only on their activities in the Middle Main and Tauber valleys, that is, in the portions of Franconia (Franken) defined by those two rivers, known asMainfrankenandTauberfranken.¹ An agriculturally fertile territory, Franconia was, beginning in 496/497, integrated into Francia through subjection to families loyal to the royal dynasty of Merovingian Franks.² The region was even linguistically “frankicized,” for the dialect spoken along the rivers Main, Tauber, Saale, and Neckar was closely...

This prologue considers the evidence for book ownership by women’s communities in the Main Valley before the establishment of scriptoria during the 740s. It should be noted that no comparably early evidence concerning book ownership can be brought forward for men in the region.

Altmünster in Mainz owned one of the oldest books present in the area, an Italian uncial codex of the fifth century containing the only extant copy of works by Priscillian (bishop of Avila 381–385) and his circle.¹ The volume was at some point in the possession of Bilhildis, retired duchess of Würzburg and benefactress of...

This chapter analyzes the full-page Crucifixion miniature (Plate 4) that was created as a frontispiece for the Kitzingen Pauline Epistles.¹ The image is both famous (according to one specialist, the most famous of all the insular and insular-inspired manuscripts of the early Middle Ages)² and little understood. It is commonly treated as a copy of a lost model and explained through the prism of ethnic (or national) artistic traditions. One recent treatment, for instance, described how the artist combined “oriental,” “insular” and, “continental” elements by depicting Christ and his companions in an “Egyptian” bark of the dead, while utilizing “Frankish”...

It is clear from the sophisticated work of the Kitzingen theologian-artist, whose full-page miniature functioned as a visual commentary on the Pauline epistles, that the women of the Anglo-Saxon cultural province in Francia devoted time and effort to biblical study. But the significance of the Christian Bible was far from self-evident, for “the prophets spoke in riddles, concealing their real meaning within figurative expressions like the wrappings of mysterious parcels.”¹ The superficial story of a given passage could seem quite clear, but Gregory the Great, for one, insisted on the necessity to delve deeper into the hidden mystery of the...

This chapter uses the “whole book” approach to analyze, holistically, the contents of the Karlburg apostle passionary (Würzburg, UB M.p.th.f. 78) and the Kitzingenlibellusthat I have named “Deus per angelum” for its opening words (Würzburg, UB M.p.th.q. 28b Codex 1).¹ Both books functioned historiographically, recounting (through a combination of texts) a particular stage in the spread of Christianity.² Furthermore, both constructed female figures as central to the conversion process, whether as main protagonists (as in the Kitzingenlibellus) or as crucial supporters (as in the Karlburg passionary). The Karlburg passionary focused on a very early phase of Christianization,...

The Anglo-Saxon immigrants to Francia, along with their continental collaborators, advocated regulated lifestyles, that is, the organization of monastic life to the extent possible according to aregula(rule).¹ Their orientation was effectively Benedictine, in that they considered the Rule of St. Benedict to be a superlative source of guidance for the monastic lifestyle. Nevertheless, their communities did not formally or strictly follow the Benedictine (or any other) rule, particularly not as we know it (or them) today.² In this regard, Karlburg, Kitzingen, and the other Main Valley institutions were typical of early medieval women’s communities, only a handful of...

The introductory sections of this monograph described the Anglo-Saxon cultural province in Francia as a place where men and women took similarly active roles in intellectual life. Subsequent chapters then analyzed the women’s books of the region and argued, among other things, that the ideas and imagery in those books supported the participation of women in all aspects of ecclesiastical life, including as performers of liturgy. For instance, the “Deus per angelum”libellusshowed Cecilia consecrating a church, Agnes wearing astola, and Juliana hearing confession. It is likely that literary imagery such as this reflected the actual participation of...

Every early medieval scribe copied only certain texts by earlier authors, ignored others, and edited and situated their “copies” (alongside whatever new writings they produced) in particular ways. Furthermore, many engaged in “unauthorized” practices that modified patristic and biblical traditions, manipulating the writings and reputations of Church Fathers whose views did not match their own. For instance, they adjusted Paul through a series of pseudo-Pauline letters (incorporated into the New Testament), as well as by the widespreadvisio Paulitexts; they conditioned Augustine through dozens of pseudonymous works; and they chopped up the works of virtually every “authority” into tasty...