The Reform of the Frankish Church: Chrodegang of Metz and the Regula canonicorum in the Eighth Century

by M. A. Claussen

• ISBN13: 9780521839310
• ISBN10: 0521839319
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-03-07
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Chrodegang of Metz (c. 712–766) was a leading figure of the late Merovingian and early Carolingian Church. Born to one of the principal aristocratic families in Austrasia, he served as referendary of Charles Martel, and was appointed bishop of Metz in the 740s. As bishop, Chrodegang became one of the foremost churchmen in Francia, chairing councils, founding monasteries, and beginning a reform of the lives of the canons of the Metz cathedral. This book, the first major study in the English language on Chrodegang, examines his preoccupation with the creation of communities of faith and concord modeled on the early church. It explores his attempts to unite the Frankish episcopacy, his rule for the cathedral clergy in Metz - the Regula canonicorum -, and his introduction of new liturgical practices that sought to transform his see into a hagiopolis, a holy city which provided a model for later Carolingian reform.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Chrodegang in the Frankish church

2. The Regula canonicorum

3. Chrodegang and the Rule of St. Benedict

4. Roman and Gallic sources for the Regula canonicorum

5. Individual, community and ritual in the Regula canonicorum

6. Hagiopolis.