TOPOGRAPHIES OF POWER
IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
EDITED BY
MA1'KE DE JONG Ai\TDFRANS THEUAVS
I\TTH
CARINE VAN RHIJN
BRILL
LEIDEN "BOSTON "KÖLN
2001
ýýý
/4)
ONE SITE, MANY N,IEANINGS:
SAINT-MAURICE D'AGAUNE AS A PLACE OF POWER
IN THE EARLY IkIIDDLE AGES'
Barbara H. Roscmrcin
I
`Great is the power (Limos)at the tombs of the [Theban] martyrs'
wrote Gregory of Tours about the site of the saints buried at the
monastery of Saint-Maurice d : Agaune 2 What sort of power did they
have? The answer is hardly simple. Nor is it the same for all time.
Since the power at the tombs was believed to be the power of God,
it demanded recognition, deference, and monumentalization. These
acts in turn intensified and complicated the ways in which the site's
power was understood. And, in yet another turn, those who tapped
into and associated themselves with the place hoped to - and apparently did - enhance their own power and prestige. This paper is
an exploration of the changing ways in which beliefs about the power
at Agaune led people rulers, bishops, monks, and occasionally
ordinary people - to reorganize and make use of the site and to
institutions
other
model
upon some of the key features of the monastery
built there.
Agaune's very emplacement made it powerful for worldly reasons.
High upon a rocky cliff close to the Rhone river, about 40 km from
the Great Saint Bernard pass, it was a strategic point between Italy
and the north. This meant different things at different times: in the
Roman period, Agaune was atoll-collection centers in the Burgundian
II am grateful to the members of the Bellagio workshop, and in particular to
Albrecht Diem, Janet L. Nelson, Julia M. H. Smith, Ian Wood and, above all, Mayke
de Jong for their important suggestions. I thank Aless:mdn Antonini, Charles Bonnet,
and Francois Wible for their generous help in introducing me to the archaeology
of Agaune. Christian Sapin supplied much-needed general orientation. Loyola University Chicago Research Services awarded me a Summer and Research Grant in
1998, which made it possible to for me to visit the site and write up my findings.
Loyola University Center for Instructional Design (LUCID) ably drew the figure.
1 Gregory of Tours, Libor in gloria marpirum, c. 75, B. Krusch ed., NIGH SRLI I,
pt. 2 (Hannover, 1885, rev. 1969), p. 87: Ikgza es1ewbn rirhu ad antediclonan marlyrum sepulchra.
4 M. Zufferey, Die Abtei Saint-Maurice d': lgaune inn IiodmriUelaher (830-1258),
272
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
it
demarcation
Merovingian
point, separating the
a
periods,
was
and
Italian south from Europe's northern kingdoms; in Charlemagne's
hinge,
it
connecting the conquered peninsula
a
symbolic
was
empire,
Its
Franks.
kingdom
Italy
the
to
the
geo-political position was
of
of
Agaune's
backdrop
to
the
numinous powers.
always
Unexpected springs of water spout from crags on the site. Pagan
Romans, who incorporated aquae into their topographies of power,
dedicated Agaune to the nymphs. ' The Christians followed suit in
their own way. The PassioAcaunensiummarlyrum by Eucherius, bishop
fifth-century
Christian(d.
450/4),
Lyon
the
the
version
of
gives
us
of
ization of Agaune: Roman imperial troops from Thebes, called up
by emperor Maximian at the end of the third century, and led by
their commander Maurice, were decimated near Agaune for refusing to kill Christians in the vicinity. 5 Their bodies were discovered
later,
Eucherius
by
Theodore,
bishop
tells
us,
of Marabout a century
tigny (then known as Octodorum). Theodore, disciple of Ambrose, and
by
latter's
Saints
Gervasius
be
the
to
appropriation
outdone
of
not
6
basilica
Protasius,
Agaune
in honor of Maurice
constructed
a
at
and
`now
looming
his
the
nestled
against
associates
and
rock, leaning
'
just
it
one
side'. As we shall soon see, this description in
on
against
the Passioinspired a compelling - but wrong - modern interpretation
of the archaeological evidence.
A whole monastic complex, probably dual sex, grew up around
the tombs of the martyrs and served the pilgrims who came there.
We know about this community, however, only from Eucherius's
Passio,the anonymous Life and Rule of the Jura abbots, and the equally
anonymous Vita of Saint Severinus 8 Subsequent written sources made
a conscious effort to suppress - or in any event keep mute about this early monastery.
des Max-Planck-Instituts
fiir Geschichte 88 (Göttingen, 1988),
Veröffentlichungen
p. 29, n. 26.
4 An altar dedicated to the nymphs dating from the third century was found
on
the spot. It remains today in the vestibule of the abbey.
5 Eucherius, Passio Acaunensium martyrum, c. 2, B. Krusch ed., NIGH SR
'J 3
(Hannover, 1896), p. 33. Eucherius was almost certainly substituting Maximian for
Constantius Chlorus, father of Constantine, thus writing the latter out of the story
of Christian persecution.
6 P. Brown, The cult of the saints: Its rise and function in Latin Christianity (Chicago,
1981), pp. 36-7.
1 Eucherius, PassioAcaunensiummartyrum, c. 16, p. 38: `basilica, quae uastaenunc adiiacet'.
latere
tantum
adclinis
uncta rupi, uno
8 Vita Severini abbatis Acaunensis,B. Krusch ed., MGH SRiMI 3 (Hannover, 1896),
SAINT-MAURICE
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
273
In 515 Sigismund, a Burgundian prince fairly newly converted
from Arianism to Catholic Christianity, rebuilt and reorganized the
site with the help of his episcopal advisors .9 To Agaune's fame as
the place of martyr-soldiers, new sources of power were now added.
They included the new monastery's extraordinary day-and-night liturgy,
which the monks carried out in relay; its symbolic embodiment
of an episcopal-royal alliance; and, soon, its stewardship of the first
royal saint in the 'Vest. For, about ten years after Sigismund and
his wife and sons were killed by the Franks in 523, the abbot of
Saint-Maurice retrieved their bodies and buried them in a church
"
his
monastery. By 590, according to Gregory of Tours, the
near
king was consorting with saints and Masses said in his honor were
"
working miracles.
Saint-Maurice thereafter became a model monastery for Burgundian
kings. When King Guntram founded Saint-Marcel de Chalon, he
had Saint-Maurice in mind; and when Dagobert reformed his favorite
Saint-Denis,
he too had the. exemplar of Agaune in view. 12
monastery,
The Carolingian period brought changed status to the monastery
when, in the ninth century, Saint-Maurice became a house of canons.
Nevertheless, it still maintained a reputation for holy power, and in
888 Rudolf chose the spot for his coronation as king of Burgundy. 13
What was so compelling about the place? Certainly Frederick
Paxton is not wrong to stress the cult of Sigismund, healer of fevers
first
illness.
Nor is Friedrich Prinz wrong
the
patron
saint
of
an
and
pp. 168-70; iru des Peresdu Jura, F. Martine ed., SC 142 (Paris, 1968). On dating
the latter text to just before 515 and on the general silence regarding this pre-515
community, see: r. Masai, "La `iota palrunr iurerrsiunr' et les debuts du monachisme
ä Saint-Maurice d'Agaune", in: J. Autenrieth and F. Brunhölzl eds., Festschri Bernhard
Bischoff zu seinem 65. GeburLttag(Stuttgart, 1971), pp. 43-69.
9 Nevertheless, the title of Avitus's Homily 24, Dicta in basilica sanclonunAcauneruitmm,
in innovation monasterii, shows that the church was being `revived', not founded; see
Avitus of Vienne, Homilia 24, in: U. Chevalier ed., Oacvrescornplllesde saint Avit k que
de Vienne(nouv. ed., Lyon, 1890), p. 337.
10 Gregory of Tours, Decenr libri kistorianent, 111, c. 5, B. Krusch and AV. Levison
eds., MGH SRM 1, pt. I (Hannover, 1951), p. 101.
11 See F. S. Paxton, "Power and the power to heal: the cult of St Sigismund of
Burgundy", Fe11E 2 (1993), pp. 95-110; Gregory of Tours, fiber in gloria marynun,
c. 74, p. 87.
12 For Guntrum, sec below, at note 36; for Dagobert, sec note 39.
13 Zufferey, Die Abtei Saint llauri a d'Agaune, p. 95. Rudolf I was lay abbot of Saint.
Maurice before becoming king of Burgundy; see Rcgunr Burgundiae e stirpe Rudolfina
Diplomata et Acta, eds. T. Schielfer and H. E. Mayer = Die Urbunden der Burgundischen
Rudolfinger(München, 1977), p. 93, n" 1.
274
BARBARA
H.
ROSENNEIN
its
liturgy
and
popular
the monastery's extraordinary
" All of this is true; but it is not the
himself.
Maurice
martyr-saint,
because
it
Agaune
than
meant
more
one
powerful
truth.
was
whole
The
in
different
different
things
contexts.
remainthing, and sometimes
der of this paper will elaborate on this point, highlighting those few
both
the
material and written - seem to
sources moments when
to highlight
cluster closely enough to allow us to say something reasonable about
Sigismund's
foundation;
These
the
time
the
of
them.
moments are:
Guntram;
King
the mid-seventh century; and the early
of
reign
Carolingian period.
SIGISAIUND'S
FOUNDATION
The foundation of Saint-Maurice marked the start of an orthodox
(i. e. catholic) royal-episcopal alliance. Indeed, I have argued elsein
the
that
many ways a creation of the epismonastery
was
where
I
liturgy,
"
Agaune's
In
dubbed
that
that
same
study,
argue
copacy.
the laus perennisby modern commentators, has been wrongly attribAkoimetoi
the
the
to
staunchly
orthodox
of
model
monks at
uted
Constantinople. The only man associated with Agaune who might
have been in a position to know about those monks was Avitus,
bishop of Vienne and advisor to Sigismund and his father, King
Gundobad. But Avitus's letters show him to be thoroughly confused
Constantinople,
to
not
orthodox
at
what was and was
especially
as
On
liturgical
the other hand, Avitus and the
practices.
regarding
Sigismund
in
Agaune's
foundation
involved
bishops
with
other
need
have looked no further than the practices of bishops and monks in
the Rhone Valley to find extraordinary liturgical innovation. There
for
liturgy
home
day-and-night
of
at
a
right
precedent
psalmody.
was
When Sigismund founded Agaune, he had good political reasons
for favoring the Theban martyrs. His cousin Sedeleuba and his aunt
Theudelinda had already founded churches near the city of Geneva
14 Paxton, "Power and the power to heal", esp. pp. 105-9; F. Prinz, Fril/res
Mönchtum im Frankenreich.Kultur und Gesellschaftin Gallien, den Rheinlanden und Ba) ern an
Beispiel der monastischenEntwicklung (4. bis 8. Jahrhundert) (2nd ed., München, 1988),
pp. 102-12.
15 B. H. Rosenwein, "Perennial prayer at Agaune", in: S. Farmer and B. H. RosenReligion in medieval society (Ithaca, N. Y.,
Monks
and
outcasts:
saints
and
nuns,
wein eds.,
2000), pp. 37-56.
SAINT-AMAURICE
D'AGAUN'E
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
275
dedicated to Ursus and Victor, martyrs associated with Maurice. "
Sigismund thus may have been, in the words of Ian Wood, `intent
"
In this he resembled the
his
the
relatives'.
works of
on eclipsing
bishops of Geneva, who also took keen interest in the cult. Bishop
Domitianus was known for having transferred Victor's bones to
Geneva as well as for his discovery and invention of the relics of
Innocentius, another Theban martyr. "' And Bishop Maximus, acVita
to
the
cording
abbatumAcaunensium,was the advisor who `incited'
Sigismund to oust the `vulgar' crowd at Agaunc and reorganize the
for
in
the martyrs, even though Agaunc was not
a
way
suitable
site
in Maximus's diocese.' This suggests that the bishop of Geneva may
have been interested in redrawing jurisdictional as well as spiritual
boundaries.
Bishops and prince together, then, reconfigured the topography of
the holy, setting up a monastery that suppressed an older community of worshippers at the martyrs' tombs while drawing upon a
large local repertory of cults and cultic practices for the new monastic ordo there. The new monks still tended the relics of the Theban
but
they did so in a different way, and in entirely new
martyrs,
buildings.
This was not recognized in the 1940s and 1950s, when the archaeologist Louis Blondel confidently asserted that he had found the preSigismund edifices: a chapel, later enlarged into a basilica built over
the martyr's tombs against the rock; an attached baptistery; and a
hospice for pilgrims. He also found structures that he took to be
Sigismund's basilica, and he interpreted a ramp that led around the
southern and western walls of that new basilica as a pathway by
16 For Theudelinda, see: Passio S. 1tcloris d Sociorum,c. 2, AASS, September VIII,
p. 292; for Sedeleuba, see: Fredegar, Chronira, IV, c. 22, B. Krusch ed., NIGH SRNI
2 (Hannover, 1888), p. 129; L Blondel, "Le prieurc Saint-Viictor. Les debuts du
christianisme et la royaute burgonde ä Geneve", Bulk in dt la socüli d'hisloire et
d'archiologie de Geneve11 (1958), pp. 211-58; I. N. Wood, "Avitus of Vienne: ReliD.
diss.,
in
Rhone
Valley,
470-530"
(Ph.
Auvergne
the
the
and
culture
and
gion
Oxford, 1980), pp. 208-9.
'r Wood, "Avitus of Vienne", p. 217.
is Passio S. Irutorit el sociorum,c. 2, p. 292; Euchcrius, Passio acaunauiunt rnartynun,
appendix 2, p. 41; Wood, "Avitus of Vienne", p. 209.
19 Vita abbatumAcaunensium,c. 3, B. Drusch cd., NIGH SRNI 3 (Hannover, 1896),
incidrrotionan
Sigýinnundi
bare
Cenmensis
`Maximus
176:
pratcordia
urbis atlislts...
ad
p.
ornaverant,
tavit, ut de loco illo, quernpreliosa incite 7htbati marines it fuione sarýgpuinis
...
promiscui vulgi cormnixta lurbilatio tollotlur, el... alloy habilattium rantarel'.
276
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
tllnnrlnl'e
pre-515 basilica
II
Carolingian church
westernapse
ý
)
Blondel's
pre- 515 baptistry
Carolingian church
easternapse
Pig. 1. Saint-Maurice d'Agaune, fifth to the ninth centuries (schematised plan,
adapted from Blondel 1948, figs. 2,3 and 5).
basilica,
to
the
old
access
under which was
which pilgrims gained
the primitive mausoleum (fig. 1).20
We have to thank several trees and their destructive roots for causing an emergency that sent new archaeologists led by Hans Jörg
Lehner to the site in 1995/96.21 It should be said from the outset
that their reassessment is extremely preliminary, mostly unpublished,
They
incomplete.
were able to revisit only the site
and, above all,
that Blondel had chosen to excavate, and that is probably too rebuildings
The
church
and
of the complex take up
present
stricted.
a good deal of space below and to the southeast of Blondel's excavation area. But when the present community at Saint-Maurice
decided to expand their church in the 1940s, Blondel observed very
20 Blonde! published numerous articles on Saint-Maurice beginning in the 1940s
The
important
include:
1960s.
L.
into
Blonde], "Les ancithe
most
continuing
and
Etude
Vallesia
d'Agaune.
3 (1948), pp. 9-57 and
basiliques
archeologique",
ennes
"Apercu sur ]es edifices chretiens dans la Suisse occidentale avant Pan mille", in:
FrühmittelalterlicheKunst in denAlpenliindern- Art du haul mq en 4e dans la region alpine
Arle dell'alto medioevonella regionealpina, Acles du III` congresinternational pour I'elude du
haul mojen age, 9-14 septembre1951 (Olten, 1954), pp. 271-308, at 283-9; on the
basilique d'Agaune. Une rectification",
d'acces
la
a
"La
Blondel,
rampe
ramp, see
Vallesia 22 (1967), pp. 1-3.
in: F. Wible ed., "Chronique des decouvertes
21 H. J. Lehner, "Saint-Maurice",
le canton du Valais en 1995", Vallesia 51 (1996), pp. 341-4.
dans
archeologiques
SAINT-MAURICE
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
277
clearly (before it was covered over by modern structures once again)
the remains of an ancient (perhaps sixth-century) baptistery and an
22
is
It
tomb.
thus very likely that the early architectural
eighth-century
Agaune
at
group
was considerably larger and more complex than
the one now on view, extending into the area now covered by modern edifices. Saint-Maurice was, after all, meant to showcase the
bishop
king
bishops
his
the
time
nearby
piety of a
and
at a
when
of Martigny had a huge ecclesiastical complex boasting two large
churches side-by-side, " and when the bishop at Geneva presided
over a still more impressive compound, with two differently organized
basilicas marking out its northern and southern flanks; a baptistery;
and a grand episcopal reception hall fitted out with a magnificent
his
2}
floor.
It
is
tile
that
episcopal
mosaic
a royal scion and
unlikely
advisors envisaged less for their common enterprise. 25
So what we see is hardly what was there. And yet what we see
is enormously suggestive. It suggests, in the first place, that nearly
everything that had been built before 515 was obliterated, whether
by chance or design. What Blondel took as the evidence for the pre515 basilica - an apse wall - turns out, upon modern inspection, to
be a Romanesque or, more likely, Gothic building. The baptistery
that Blondel had identified off the south wall of the basilica turns
out to have been a sacristy attached to the later Carolingian church
built on the site; while the `mausoleum' that Blondel had thought
had
first
the
the
tombs of the martyrs, over which
chapel
contained
11 See the `state of the question' and discussion of the date of this baptistery in
F: O. Dubuis and A. Lugon, "Les premiers siecles d'un diocese alpin: recherches,
acquises, et questions sur l'evCChe de Sion", pt. 3: "Notes et documents pour servir
A 1'histoire des origines paroissiales", l'allesia 50 (1995), pp. 135-9.
23 H. J. Lehner and F. Wible, "Martigny VS: De la premiere cathedrale du Valais
A la paroissiale actuelle: la contribution
de l'archeologie", Helvetia Archaeologica 25
(1994-98), pp. 51-68, esp. 60-64.
24 C. Bonnet, Les fouilles de l'ancien groupe episcopalde Geneve(1976-1993), Cahiers
d'archeologie genevoise 1 (Geneva, 1993). I thank Professor Bonnet for a splendid
tour of the excavations. In general, the Burgundian region - including the sees of
Vienne, Valence, and Lyon boasted tri-partite episcopal compounds (i. e., two
cathedrals plus baptistery) at this period. See J: F. Reynaud, Lyon (Rhone) aux premiers temps chreliens. Basiliques et necropoles.Guides archeologiques de la France 10
(1986), esp. pp. 29-30,89-97.
25 This may be especially true given the association of Theodore with Ambrose:
Ambrose's Milan had a double cathedral, as did many late antique Lombard episcopal sees; see P. Piva, Is cattedrali lombarde.Ricerchesulle `cattedralidoppie' da SantAmbrogio
all'eth romanica (Quistello, 1990), esp. chap. 2.
278
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
been erected, in fact contains only three tombs: one dates from before
515 while the others are later (though pre-Carolingian). Some few
hospice
for
be
Blondel
the
to
pilgrims
pre-515
considered
walls that
Lehner
his
(according
the
and
group) propof
to
observations
are
function
is uncertain. The
but
be
dated
their
that
to
period;
to
erly
Blondel
buildings
the
right
are
church of
that
plausibly
got
only
Sigismund (with its subsequent expansions) and the Carolingian church
with its eastern and western apses.
Nothing, therefore, suggests the pre-515 community or any of its
in
fact
it
is
the
that
to
think
tempting
site
was
reorstructures, and
Sigismund.
in
Certainly
the
time
of
possible
ganized as completely as
hid
foundation
the
and obfuscated the existence
texts
new
the
about
But
lived
the
the
on
site.
need the architecearlier monks who
of
in
its
Let
the
texts?
the
matter
ture mirror
us put
simplest form: on
the basis of our present knowledge of the site, there is no trace of
It
is
have
`against
been
basilica
the
that
possible
rock'.
we
an early
looking in the wrong place; in that case, we might say simply that
Sigismund and his advisors erected a prestigious new church withit
Alternatively,
is
first
that
to
the
the
possible
old.
reference
out
basilica was where Blondel sought it, but was obliterated deliberately
by Sigismund's architecture. Finally, it is just possible that the early
basilica never in fact existed.
Whatever the case, the absence of the oldest structures does not
Charles
Bonnet
fact
the
that,
pointed out to me, there is
as
obviate
In
long-term
the
at
site.
particular, two `hot'
continuity
evidence of
One
discerned.
be
ran north-south along a line marked
zones may
by the eastern apses of a sequence of churches built on the site up
to and including the Carolingian period. (It was signaled, as well,
by the Gothic apse next to the rock). The other ran parallel to, but
to the west of, the first. For the earliest period, this western axis is
bit
by
But
the
smallest
of
wall.
only
we can see
clearly represented
it as a focal point in the Carolingian period, when an entire westinto
built,
Saint-Maurice
the
tomb
placed
which
was
of
ern apse was
by
topped
space
a
rectangular
an
arcosolium,
an archway. This
within
western axis may not have been neglected by Sigismund's church
either, as we shall see.
We can associate that latter church with the constructions that
Lehner calls `phase 2', which appear to date from the sixth century.
Blondel confidently spoke of 'Sigismund's church', and in this instance
he may not be wrong. We know that Sigismund's church was ded-
SAINT-MAURICE
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
279
icated in 515, and we have a homily written by bishop Avitus for
the occasion. 26 There Avitus calls attention to the psalmody of the
monks; he even makes up a word, psalmisonum, to emphasize the
solemn tones of the day and night liturgy there. Unfortunately, he
does not describe the church in which this liturgy took place; but
Blondel was right to think that it was a simple basilica with one
fairly elongated eastern apse.27 Blondel also thought that flanking it
to the south and gradually rising along its west end was a ramp
leading to the old basilica of the pre-515 monks. It now seems more
likely that the ramp led right into Sigismund's church. Why would
pilgrims care to enter there? I have two complementary suggestions.
First, they entered to marvel at the monks' non-stop liturgy. It is
striking that no barrier has been discovered between the area around
the altar and the rest of the basilica, for such structures were com28
Gregory
Tours
in
Indeed,
this
suggests
mon
churches of
of
period.
that laypeople were welcome to come to Agaune and listen to the
monks. His first illustration of the virtus of the tombs of the martyrs,
quoted at the beginning of this paper, features Saint Maurice comforting a mourning mother on the spot by inviting her to rise for
`among
for
her
dead
listen
day
the
the
to
son
matins
voice of
next
the chorus of psalm-singing monks'. She could do this `every day of
[her] life' if she liked. "
Second, pilgrims entered only after going round the west end of
the church. This may have been to allow them to visit, in some way
we cannot now determine, the relics (if such there were) along that
western axis. Certainly it is striking that a bit later another corridor
was built, wrapping itself right around the ramp, under which are
tombs that appear to date from the eighth and ninth centuries. This
was clearly a privileged burial place. But here we are getting ahead
of our story.
To return to the foundation of 515, then, the sources, both textual and material, suggest two preoccupations. One was to forget
26 On the date of the foundation, see J: M. Theurillat,
L'Abbaye de St-Maurice
d'Agaune des origines ä la refonne canoniale, 515-830 enuiron = Pallesia 9 (1954).
27 Lehner, "Saint-Maurice",
modifies the sequence of apse construction, however.
28 See Bonnet, "Groupe episcopal de Geneve", pp. 38-9, and F. Oswald,
L. Schaefer, and H. R. Sennhauser eds., l'orronnanisclien
Katalog der Denlann'ler
A rchenbauten.
bis zum Ausgang der Ottonen, 2 vols. (München, 1966-1971, reprint 1991).
29 Gregory of Tours, Liber in gloria martyrum, c. 75, p. 88.
280
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
the first community that had tended the relics of the martyrs. The
ingenuity
through
to
episcopal
and royal power create
was
other
liturgy
long
bishthat
the
the
would
express
piety
of
a spectacularly
deference
to the site and glory to
appropriate
according
ops while
the king.
THE
TIME
OF KING
GUNTRANI
The texts for King Guntram show that the alliance between bishMerovingians
kings
the
took over Burgundy
when
persisted
ops and
Agaune
that
remained a potent symbol of close royal-episcopal
and
relations. 30 Gregory of Tours could hardly mention Agaune without
invoking the piety of kings. In his Histories, he associated the site
King
Sigismund, penitent murderer of his own
the
of
remorse
with
in
Liber
he
In
linked
it as well to King
the
gloria
martyrum,
son.
Guntram, Frankish king of Burgundy (561-92). Indeed, in Gregory's
second (and last) illustration of the virtus of the tombs of the Theban
martyrs, he dwelt on Guntram's `spiritual activities', his renunciation
his
and
gifts to the monks at Agaune.
of earthly pomp,
For Gregory, Guntram was a bishop manque.Indeed, he was another
Mamertus, the bishop of Vienne who (as Ian Wood describes in this
volume) created a new kind of rogation liturgy in the face of natural disasters:
as if a good bishop [Gregory writes] providing the remedies by which
the wounds of a common sinner might be healed, [Guntram] ordered
all the people to assemble in church and to celebrate Rogations with
For three days, his alms-giving flowing more
the highest devotion....
than usual, he was so anxious about all the people that lie might well
have been thought not so much a king as a bishop of the Lord. 31
At the Council of Valence in 585, Guntram's bishops met `on account
of the complaints of the poor' to decide what would be best `for the
safety of the king, the salvation of his soul, and the state of religion'. 32 It is clear by the end of the document that the `poor' were
the monks of royal monasteries; or, more precisely, they were the
3o Pace Paxton, "Power and the
3i Gregory of Tours, Decem libri
Valentinum",
in:
32 "Concilium
1980), p.
CCSL 148A (Turnhout,
power to heal", p. 107.
historiarum, IX, c. 21, p. 441.
C. de Clercq cd., Concilia Galliae, a.511-a. 695,
235.
SAINT-MAURICE
i
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
281
monks of monasteries favored by King Guntram, Queen Austrechildis,
and their two daughters, the latter three now deceased. The council confirmed the gifts to loci sancti by these royal personages and,
its
calling
assent not simply worthy of bishops but a matter of divine
inspiration, turned to consider how to protect the basilicas of SaintMarcel and Saint-Symphorian and other places endowed by royal
largesse. It declared that whatever the royal family had given or
would give to these places - `whether in the ministry of the altar
for the divine cult' - was
or in gold and silver ornaments (speciebus)
not in future to be diminished or taken away either by the local
bishop or by royal power (potestasregia), on pain of perpetual anathema. Here the alliance of king and bishops had become so intense
as to lead them to proclaim a mutual and complementary selfimpetus
In
the
the
of a reform
restraint.
mid-seventh century, under
movement spearheaded by the disciples of Columbanus, this self33
interpreted
formal
be
to
restraint would come
as
exemption.
THE
MID-SEVENTH
CENTURY
In the mid-seventh century Agaune had two related meanings: liturfor
for
its
juridical.
lauded
liturgy
It
gical and
and renowned
was
its monastic exemption, which betokened its excellent relations with
kings.
The liturgy is easy to deal with: Fredegar, for example, writing
in the mid-seventh century, 34 speaks of the psalmody of Saint-Denis
ad instar - on the model - of Agaune. 35 The long day and night
liturgy at Agaune continued to exert its magnetic attraction.
Exemption is more complicated and involves a new kind of royal
Sigismund.
from
divorced
that
though
of
model,
one not entirely
The new model, however, went beyond linking king to episcopacy:
the king himself became pliant and bishop-like. When Fredegar tells
us that in 584 King Guntram founded Saint-Marcel de Chalon on
the model of Saint-Maurice, what he means (as he goes on to say)
33 On these disciples, see B. H. Rosenwein, JVegotiatingspace:Power, restraint, and privilegesof immunity in earn, medievalEurope (Ithaca, N. Y., 1999), chap. 3.
" W. Goffart, "The Fredegar problem reconsidered", in: idem, Rome'sfall
and
after (London, 1989), p. 322, dates Fredegar c. 658.
ss Fredegar, Cltronica,IV, c. 79, p. 161.
282
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
is that Guntram, thinking like a bishop, called a council of bishops
to carry forward the task. 36 Fredegar had in mind the Council of
Valence. But by Fredegar's day, some of the words of this council
had been incorporated into the first charter of exemption, that for
Rebais. And Saint-Marcel itself was understood to be a precedent
for the Rebais exemption. The privilege for Rebais, drawn up c. 640,
presents Burgundofaro, bishop of Meaux, as initiating a series of
his
diocesan
directed
own
provisions
powers of jurisdiction
against
In
Rebais.
the
the first of these provisions, as
over
monastery of
Albrecht Diem pointed out to me, the ideas and even the vocabulary of the Council of Valence appear: whatever is given to the
is,
that
that pertains to the divine cult or funcmonastery, whatever,
tions as offerings for the altar, is not to be usurped or diminished
by bishops or kings (regalis sublimitas). Diem concludes that `Rebais
is a sort of mega-extension of Valence'. 37
Rebais's is the first extant privilege containing an episcopal exemption. Indeed, it is probably the first ever drawn up. Yet it places
itself within a venerable monastic tradition that begins with SaintMaurice. Its provisions of `exemption' (libertas), it declares, arise
not
from mere `impulse' (instinctu)but rather from the norms of the `holy
places' of Agaune, Urins, Luxeuil, and Saint-Marcel of Chalon.
How can this be? There are no charters of exemption for
any of
these monasteries prior to the one given to Rebais. I suggest that
the new mid-seventh century understanding of the right relations
between a special, royal monastery and the king and his bishops
was
read back to the time of Agaune's foundation. Fredegar thought that
Guntram followed the model of bishops when he
was with bishops:
`sacerdusad instar'.36 He noted that Guntram called a synod
of forty
bishops `ad instar institucionis monasterii sanctonim Agauninsum', that is,
following the example of the foundation of Agaune, which (this
was
Fredegar's point), in the time of Sigismund was confirmed by Avitus
and other bishops upon the orders of the prince. For Fredegar, then,
Saint-Marcel followed the model of Agaune because it involved
a
king who acted according to the model of bishops and who ratified
his foundation through them. Agaune became a `type' of
exempt
3c Fredegar, Chronica, IV, c. 1, p. 124.
37 Quoted from a private E-mail communication.
note 32 above.
38 See Goffart, "Fredegar problem", p. 343.
For the Council of Valence
see
SAINT-MAURICE
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
283
monastery through a chain of associations that led from Rebais back
to Saint-Marcel and the Council of Valence, and from thence back
to Agaune.
In 654, just a few years before Fredegar was writing, Clovis II
issued a diploma for Saint-Denis that neatly tied together the newstyle royal patronage with both exemption and the non-stop liturgy
at Agaune. 39 Itself a confirmation of an episcopal exemption that
for
Rebais,
Sainthave
been
Burgundofaro's
the
to
must
very close
Denis privilege linked the king's interests with those of the bishops,
and it ended with a reminder that King Dagobert, Clovis's father,
had instituted at Saint-Denis `psalmody per turns, just as it is practiced at the monastery of Saint-Maurice d'Agaune'. These various
ideas came together because of the mid-seventh century conviction
that episcopal exemption freed the monastery to carry out its liturin
kingdom'.
The
`for
the
the
the
gical round
emphasis
stability of
i
mid-seventh century was on the king as an associate of episcopal
sponsors who guaranteed the monastic liturgical enterprise by staying clear of the monastery.
This perspective is echoed as well in the papal exemption for
Agaune, issued in the mid-seventh century by Pope Eugenius I
(654-657). In this text, as reconstructed by Anton, the pope writes
his
behest
Clovis
(`postulavit
Chlodoveus'),
II
the
at
presenting
of
a nobis
Sigismund
King
words as confirmation of the statutes and privileges of
and the kings who came after him .40 The right of the brethren to
dioceis
the
their
choose
own abbot
affirmed, and the pope prohibits
san bishop from extending his ditio or potestas over the monastery;
by
it
invited
diocesan
the abbot to
the
nor may
even enter
unless
it
Mass;
he
to
the
take
given
alms
celebrate
nor may
away any of
by the faithful; nor, finally, may he carry off the tithes which, says
the privilege, were given to the monastery by the founder, now styled
`Saint Sigismund'.
By the late seventh or early eighth century, the idea that Agaune
formuin
`hands
its
diocesan
bishop
the
to
was
off'
was enshrined
lary of Marculf, where Agaune again paraded with Urins and Luxeuil
ss Chartae Latinae Antiquiores:" Facsimile-edition of the Latin chartersprior to the ninth cenlug, eds. A. Bruckner and R. Marichal, Part XIII, France I, H. Atsma and J. Vezin
1981), pp. 36-7, n° 558.
eds., [henceforth Chbl] vol. 13 (Dietikon-Zürich,
+o H. H. Anton, Studien zu den hloslerpriuilegiender Päpste im frühen Mittelalter. Beiträge
zur Geschichte und Quellenkunde des Dlittelalters 4 (Berlin, 1975), pp. 12 and 115.
284
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
"
Indeed,
befor
the
association
exemption.
episcopal
as precedents
first
diploma
for
Farfa,
Charlemagne's
In
routine.
came general and
for example, the monastery received a privilege said to be on the
(in
Luxeuil,
Agaune,
Urins,
for
the words
namely
and
model of those
of the charter):
for
bishop
the election of the abbot; nor
a
gift
receive
that no
should
have power to carry away from the monastery the crosses, chalices,
patens, books or anything else pertaining to the ministry of the church;
nor have the least power to subject the monastery to princely taxation; nor, finally, be able to exact tribute or a census from that monastery of theirs 42
Thus, in the mid-seventh century Agaune was a place of power not
Rhone
Frankish
its
the
the
as
at
on
royal court,
site
so much at
dual
liturgy
its
as
exemplar
symbolism
of
effective
neat
where
it
episcopal
of
and
royal
synergy
particular
and as model
- gave
bishops
kings
and
were creating the first charters of
panache when
immunity.
and
exemption
This view of royal/episcopal/monastic
relations did not last; the
privilege for Farfa marks the last gasp of the Merovingian tradition
of according episcopal exemptions to monasteries. Already by the
bishops
had
virtually stopped giving out episcomid-eighth century
Carolingian
In
the
period, kings gave out both
pal exemptions.
immunities,
but
they changed their character. By
and
exemptions
the addition of tuitio (protection), they asserted not as in the
hands-off policy but rather their very active
Merovingian period -a
hands-on control over the monasteries of the empire. 43
THE
CAROLINGIAN
ERA
a different aspect of Agaune was gaining new emphasis:
the organization of the monks into turmae (companies) to carry out
Meanwhile
41 Marculf, Formulae, I in: A. Uddholm ed., Alarcu!fiformularum libri duo (Uppsala,
1962), p. 20, n° 1.
42 Diplornata harolinorum, E. Mühlbacher ed., MGH DD I (2d ed., reprint Berlin,
1956), p. 141, n° 98 (775): `... ut nullus fpiscoporumpro electioneabbatis dationem accipere
debeatet potestalemnon habeat de ipso monasterioauferre crucescalicesPatenas codicesvel reliipsum
de
f
nec
ministerio
fcclesi
monasteriun:sub tributo ponereprincipum polesres
quas quaslibet
tatem minime haberel nec denuo tributum auf censum in supradicto monasterio eorum exigere
debeat... '
43 See Rosenwein, Negotiating space,Part 2.
SAINT-TIAURICE
i
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
285
their day-and-night liturgy in a church which itself had become all
the holier by organizing in focused fashion the translated relics of
the martyrs. The sources here are both material and textual. They
include the new Carolingian structures at Agaune itself
and the socalled foundation charter of King Sigismund, which Theurillat has
shown was a forgery of the late eighth/early ninth centuries. The
Passio sancti Sigismundi and the Nita SadalbergaeI also take to be
Carolingian. Though based on sixth-century materials, they
may help
us to assess the meaning of Agaune in the late eighth and early
ninth centuries.
In the early Carolingian period, Sigismund's church, which had
meanwhile undergone several changes and expansions at its east end,
was knocked down and subsumed into a far larger basilica with two
apses, the western one of which had a crypt below. 44 The focus of
this western end was the tomb of Saint Maurice, which was placed
in an arcosolium within its western wall. Though Lehner's findings
suggest that the old access ramp was destroyed at this time, it seems
that the passage-way that limned it, while no longer opening onto
the new church, was nevertheless fitted out with windows or apertures. These might have provided pilgrims with contact of some sort
with the relics along the western axis. Entry and egress was provided for the western crypt by a set of stairs. This church was more
clearly focalized and organized than its predecessor.
Efficient organization was also the theme of the Carolingian texts
concerning Agaune. Consider the so-called foundation charter of
Sigismund. Theurillat has argued plausibly that this source was forged
whole cloth in the late eighth or early ninth century. 45It is of rather
little value for the sixth century, but
no one has yet bothered to put
it into its Carolingian context. It is
worthwhile to make the attempt
here.
The text falls into two parts: first is the account of a huge council purportedly taking place at Agaune in 515 consisting of 40 bishops, 40 counts, and a very pliant `King' Sigismund; second is the
king's donation charter, which focuses on the royal properties
given
Blondel spoke of a crypt in the
eastern apse as well, but Lehner, "Saint
Maurice", observed no evidence for this.
" Theurillat, L'Abbayýede St-Alaurice dAgaune,
p. 63. Dubuis and Lugon, "Les premiers siecles d'un diocese alpin", pp. 128-9, cite an alternative date: during the
reign of Rudolf III of Burgundy (993-1032).
286
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
dialogue
between
is
The
as
a
presented
council
to the monastery.
bishops and king. The counts are there only for show. Four bishVictor, and Viventiolus. HistoriTheodore,
Maximus,
dominate:
ops
long
dead
by
Theodore
impossible:
is
the
time
was
this
utterly
cally,
The
it
is
Rhetorically,
tone
Sigismund.
the
effective.
of
extremely
of
king
Arian
from
is
the
the
the
abjures
start when
set
proceedings
heresy and asks the bishops to instruct him in the true religion. The
four do not hesitate to do so. After evoking some general principles
(for example, to live justly), Theodore gets down to brass tacks. The
immediate and pressing question is what to do about the bodies of
for
Unmentioned,
build
Who
them?
Theban
churches
will
the
martyrs.
had
been
built
for
know
is
those relics
that
the
we
church
of course,
The
king
do
by
to
of
monks.
volunteers
tended
a
group
what
and
is necessary. Theodore advises him on how to dispose of the relics:
be
Maurice
that
the
can
with
a
specific
associated
name
ones
put
himself, Fxupery, Candidus, Victor - in an ambitus of the basilica
(this is, surely, a reference to the wall of the Carolingian church in
in
is
the
the
put
others
and
a well-fortified place
arcosolium)
which
Then
have
be
the monks there carry on
they
that
stolen.
cannot
so
day
and night.
psalmody
perpetual
an office of
The latter is institutionalized through the prescriptions of Bishops
Victor and Viventiolus. There are to be eight groups - here they
for
`monastic
(a
in
term
community'),
are called normae common
most
of the other sources of the period, turmae- to succeed one another
in relay for the various hourly offices. An abbot presides over all;
`deacons' preside over each norma. The monks are freed from manual labor; their clothing, drink, and food are prescribed. They are
to sleep in one dormitory, cat in one refectory, warm themselves in
the same warming room.
The king's role, says the Viventiolus of this account, is to endow
the monastery. If the abbot runs into any problems, he is to betake
himself to the Holy See and seek help there. This is an extraordinary
`right
such
suggestion:
of appeal' was a provision of only the rarest
and most up-to-date privileges of the eighth century, such as the one
Stephen II gave Fulrad of Saint-Denis in 757. }6 It is so unusual that
46 P. Jaffe et al. eds., Regesta Pontficunt Rontanorunt, 2 vols. (2nd ed., Leipzig,
1885-88; reprint Graz, 1956), n° 2331. There are two versions, of which the first,
A, is largely authentic. See A. Stoclet, "Pulrad de Saint-Denis (v. 710-784), abbe
l byen Age 88 (1982), pp. 205-35.
Le
`exempts"',
de
monasteres
et archipretre
SAINT-TIAURICE
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
287
it suggests that the creation of the `foundation charter'
of Sigismund
might reasonably be placed at the time of Fulrad. Indeed, we know
from the Liber Pontjcalis that Agaune is where Stephen
and Fulrad
met in 753, on Stephen's trans-alpine journey to ask for Pippin's aid
against the Lombards.?
However, there is another context for the text as well,
one that
is broader and may be more important: the monastic
reform movement of the Carolingian period. Three decades ago Francois Masai
already noticed that the foundation charter of Sigismund echoed two
rules. 8 One, the so-called `Rule of Four Fathers', has Serapion, Paphnutius, and two fathers both named Macarius together in council,
each taking turns in a sort of dialogue in which they dictate their
rule. The other is the Rule of St Benedict. Both were collected in
the Carolingian reformer Benedict of Aniane's Codex Regularum.`}0It
is clear, however, that a monastic reformer
have
need not necessarily
been at Aachen or Inden to have been preoccupied with cleaning
up untidy monastic practices and making all orderly, regular, and
uniform. Indeed, it is rather likely that Agaune was the place where
the foundation charter of Sigismund was drawn up.
Although the tunnae of the monks at Agaune were mentioned in
Dagobert's charter for Saint-Denis in 654, in the
phrase `psallencius
per turmas', this use of the term remained an isolated instance until the
Carolingian period. 50 None of the sources that may be associated
with the foundation of 515 - not the writings of Avitus of Vienne,
not the Pita abbalum Acaunensium,not the additions made after the
death of Sigismund to the text of the PassioAcaunenzsium
martyrum, not
the writings of Gregory of Tours nor even the later chronicle of
Fredegar - say a word about tunnae. These sources certainly stress
the day and night psalmody carried out by the monks; but they are
By contrast, the
unconcerned about its practical organization.
Carolingian sources can almost be so identified becauseof their
use
" Liber Pont calis, c. 94, §24 in: L. Duchesne
ed., Le Liber Ponti icalis. Texte, introduction et commentaire,2 vols. (1886-92), 1,
p. 447.
98 Masai, "La Vita patnan iurensium",
pp. 51-3.
{° Benedict of Aniane, Codex
regularum, part 1,1vIigne PL 103, coll. 435-42 for
the Rule of the Four, the Benedictine rule is not printed in sequence in the PL
ed.
but it constituted the first \'Vestern Rule in Benedict
of Aniane's collection. The
most recent cd. of the Regula IV Patrum is J. Neufville, "Regle des IV Peres et
Seconde Regle des Peres. Texte
critique", Revue benedictine77 (1967), pp. 47-106.
so ChLA 13, p. 37, n° 558.
288
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
Century',
Ninth
`Chronicle
In
the
the
the
term.
of
so-called
of the
"
In
in
turmae
to
their
the
chant
psalms.
nine
monks are organized
Vita Sadalbergae,Sadalberga's nuns are distributed `per turmas, ad instar
52In the Carolingian GestaDagobertiI, Dagobert's reform
Agaunensium'.
(in
Agaune
Tours
Saint-Denis,
this
the
case)
and
model of
as
on
of
53
And
in
Vita
has
turmatim.
the
the
the
psalms
chanting
monks
well,
Amati, which, however, may possibly be a Merovingian text, the saint
`per
Remiremont
house
his
septemturmas', presumably
at
organizes
inspired by Agaune, where he had once spent time as a monk. 54
When a donor named Ayroenus gave a donation to the monastery
`to
he
did
indeed
in
765,
Saint-Maurice
the
so
sacred
place
or
of
Matulphus,
Valdensis,
the turmarius, is
the
turma
monk
to the
where
interpreted
55
have
`vestige'
Historians
this
to
as
a
preside'.
of
seen
the original organization at Agaune; but it might as easily mark a
newly reformed organization there.
More than mere interest in organization may be involved. The
56
In
Eucherius's
had
Passio
turma
military
associations.
primarily
word
`squadrons'
impious
Theban
the
the
who carried out
martyrs,
of
emperor Maximian's evil persecutions were organized in turmae.57 In
Si For the text, see Theurillat, L'Abbaye de Stillaurice d'Agaune, p. 55.
52 Vita Sadalbergae,c. 17, B. Krusch ed., MGH SRAM 5 (Hannover, 1910), p. 59.
53 GestaDagoberti I reis francorum, c. 35, B. Krusch ed., MGH SRAM 2 (Hannover,
1888), p. 414.
" Vita Amati, c. 10, B. Krusch ed., MGH SRAM 4 (Hannover, 1902), p. 218. On
the possibility of this as a Merovingian text, see: I. N. Wood, "Forgery in Merovingian
hagiography", in: Fälschungenint rllittelalter. Internationaler Kongressder HIGH, tlliinchert,
16. -19. September1986, Pt. 5: FingierteBriefe, Frönunigkeitand Fälschung Realienfälschungen,
MGH Schriften 33. V (Hannover, 1988), pp. 370-1.
55 M. Besson, "La donation d'Ayroenus ä Saint-Maurice (mardi 8 octobre 765)"
d'histoire ecclesiastiquesuisse 3 (1909),
zeitschrih fur schweizerischeIi rchengeschichte/Revue
,
294-6.
pp.
se The Vulgate provides a quick overview of tunna's semantic field. In Gen. 32: 7-8,
Jacob divides his people and herds into duae turmae. They are his `company', to be
is
decidedly
but
that
one
unarmed. In Exod. 6: 26, God commands Moses
sure,
and Aaron to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt `per turntas suas'. Here turma
is used in place of cognatio.Nevertheless here we are not far from military meaning, for these same cohorts will (in Num 1:52) pitch their camp per turrnas et cuneos
Chron.
In
I
is
27
king's
the
suum.
army
organized in turmae in comexercilum
atque
Nevertheless,
in
Chron.
2
35: 10 the Levites stand in turntis to
2400
men.
of
panics
take part in the rites of Passover. Clearly the meaning of turnta deserves special
here adduced, we may say fairly certainly that it
but
from
the
evidence
study;
implies more than a simple `group': it is an organized band, under a leader, and,
it can quickly become so.
armed,
not
necessarily
while
51 Eueherius, Passio AcaunensiumMartyrum, c. 1, p. 33.
SAINT-DIAURICE
D'AGAUNE
AS A PLACE
OF POWER
289
Avitus of Vienne's poem on the deeds of the Jews, the
word is equivalent to an army cohort. 58 In Prudentius's Psychomachiathe virtues
are drawn up in turmae.59 In Gregory's Moralia in Job the Chaldaean
army forms three turmae.60
Using the word turma thus gave a particularly militant cast to the
efficacy and singleness of purpose of monastic psalmody. In the
Carolingian period it became a kind of shorthand for the
monastic
corporation as a whole: Lorsch was a monachorumturma in a charter
of protection issued by Charlemagne c. 772/3, and Fulda's abbot
Sturm presided over turmae monachorumin a charter of 779. G1It is
useful to note in this regard that visual representations of the soldier-martyr Saint-Maurice began to be produced only in the ninth
century. fi2 In the Passio Sigismundi regis, the king sets up his choirs of
psalm-singers at Agaune `ad irutar caelestisrnilitiae'.63 Monasteries had
always been understood as a kind of religious army, but in the
Carolingian period the liturgy itself was militarized. This may be
connected with its renewed emphasis on prayer for the dead. "
Via a rapprochement of material and written sources, we have
seen that Agaune was a powerful holy place - in part meaning a
model holy place - for a very long time. The king, his bishops,
and the military martyrs they honored there were always paramount
in the power that it exerted. What is more interesting is that those
elements were paired with different ones, hence given different meanings, at different times. In 515 and shortly thereafter, they were tied
58 Avitus, Poematumlibri VI, bk. V, in: Chevalier, Oeuvres
completes,p. 78: `Post quos
belliferae disponunt anna cohortes,
/Ducunt et validas instructo robore tunas'.
59 E. g. Prudentius, Pss'chornachia,1.14, J. Bergman
ed., CSEL 61 (Wien, 1926),
p. 170: `ipse salutiferas obsessoin corporetumors depugnareiubes'.
6o Gregory I, Aloralia in Job, II, c. 15, Al. Adriaen
cd., CCSL 143 (Turnhout,
1979), p. 75.
G1MGH DD 1, p. 105, n° 72 (Lorsch);
p. 177, n° 127 (Fulda).
62 D. Thurre, "Culte et iconographic de
saint Maurice d'Agaune: bilan jusqu'au
XIII` siecle", Zeitschri l filr schweizerischeArchaeologie
and Kunslgeschichte/Revue
suisse d'art
et d'archaeologie/ Rivista sviuera d'arte e d'archeologia49 (1992), pp. 7-18.
63 Passio Sigimiundi regis,
c. 6, B. Krusch ed., MGH SI1vI 2 (Hannover, 1888),
p. 336.
6+ On Carolingian prayer for the dead,
see: M. Lauwers, La mernoiredes anceires,
le souci des morts. Aloris, rites et societe
au mojen age (diocesede Liege, XI`--XIII` siecles)
(Paris, 1997), pp. 94-100. The writings
of Gregory the Great already expressed
some themes, especially regarding the efficacy of prayer for the dead, that were
later picked up by the Carolingians. On Gregory's
views, see: J. Ntedika, L'evocation
de Pau-delä dans la priere pour les morts. Etude de patristique
et de liturgie latines (IV-VIII`
siecles)(Louvain, 1971), pp. 59-60,105-10.
290
BARBARA
H.
ROSENWEIN
innovation.
In
liturgical
the midto an emphasis on episcopal
from
freedom
they
of
episcopal
suggested a model
seventh century,
harnessed
ideal
In
to
they
an
the
were
early ninth century
control.
liturgy.
militant
of organization and
These were not contradictory representations: episcopal will and
freedom from episcopal control went hand in hand in the miditself
by
liturgy
tunnae
a reflection of episcowas
seventh century, and
There
is
every reason
pal creativity and royal and soldierly militancy.
facets
Agaune
from
level
these
coexisted
at
think
that
all
to
at some
Nevertheless,
in
515.
its
the reason that
time
the
reorganization
of
it is important to tease out various emphases and subtleties of meaning is to quell our impulse to generalize. If we read that a monastery
Agaune,
jump
`on
to the
the
of
we
should
not
model'
was set up
`laus
(Indeed,
perennis'.
the
that
monastery
carried
out
such a
conclusion
) If we are speakit most certainly did not carry out `the' laus perennis.
ing about a mid-seventh century monastery, it is very much more
likely that the place had an episcopal exemption - or wanted one.
If our source is from the late eighth century, the monastery in question was probably organized by turnzaeand performed an aggressive
hoped
least
do
liturgy
to
or
at
so.
non-stop
All this leads to a final, general hypothesis. It is that for a place
have
it
be
lasting,
the same sort of complexity as
to
must
of power
a great piece of music, so that in each era new maestri can tease out
different timbres and themes. So it was with Agaune in the early
middle ages.