The Hincmar's of Rheims Concept of Kingship in the Context of Carolingian Political Thought

This study focuses on the concept of the royal power of Hincmar, the Archbishop of Rheims (845-882), in the context of political thought in the Carolingian era. The basis of this work is an analysis of his instructions "On the Person of the King and the Royal Ministry" and "On the Governance of the Palace," ordines coronationes of Charles the Bald and Louis the Stammerer, letters to the kings of the Franks, as well as the St. Bertin annals written by him. As a material for comparison, the other letters and instructions of the Carolingian era, reflecting the notions of royal power, were taken. During the consideration of the above sources, it was possible to determine how the Rheims Archbishop imagined royal power, its functions, which Hincmar saw as an ideal ruler, and what, in the opinion of the archbishop, was the role of the royal entourage in Carolingian politics. The formation of Hinkmar's political ideas was influenced by the Christian political ideology, generally accepted in the kingdom of the Franks in the Carolingian era, which formed the circle of sources that was used by both Hinkmar and the authors of the other Carolingian mirrors. At the same time, despite the commonality of a number of ideas, the archbishop's source base involved in the mirrors is much broader than other clergymen who have touched on political issues in their work.