Political climate in the Carolingian world

This article examines a theory of kingship that grew popular at the ninth-century court of Charlemagne. Suited to Carolingian articulations of power, it centered the emperor in a cosmic sense. This included long-term weather trends, a concept I argue is akin to climate. Since a bad ruler could produce poor weather, the theory was a double-edged sword, providing opportunities for political critique. Carolingian courtiers viewed atmospheric events as a mirror for the political drama of the period. I examine the close links they drew between weather, power, and divine judgement. I argue that an anonymous biographer of Louis the Pious drew complex connections between the madness of the weather (in the form of climatically unusual floods) and the madness of rebellion. I also describe the climatic dimensions of Nithard’s Histories, which argue for a long-term deterioration of weather (over 30 years or more) linked to royal instability.