How a Tale of Demonic Possession Predicted the Decline of an Early Medieval Empire
/https%3A%2F%2Ftf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffiler_public%2F64%2F61%2F64616dce-ffd7-421e-8fbd-c70ac4bd4e6e%2Flouis2.jpg)
News Source : Smithsonian.com
News Summary
- A new book examines the rise and fall of the Carolingian dynasty
- Matthew Gabriele and David M
- Perry illuminate what happens when a once unshakeable political and cultural order breaks down
- Authors: Medieval stories about the sacred or supernatural were set in a society where the borders between natural and supernatural were thought to be thin or nonexistent
In the early ninth century, a Frankish courtier used a story of demonic possession to criticize the realms leaders for their manifold sins. Public domain via Wikimedia CommonsIn the tale, the [+11375 chars]