Tempus Perturbationum: Emotional Responses to the Frankish Civil War

This paper analyses the affective rhetorical strategies of two contemporary verse lamentations written in response to the bloody civil war between the sons of Louis the Pious after the death of the emperor in 840.  The first poem, a planctus of 47 quatrains written by the deacon and exegete, Florus of Lyons, presents an outsider’s view, lamenting the war as evidence that the Franks have turned away from the Christian God, but ending with a resilient prayer that asks for understanding and the patience to endure until the return of better days.  The second lamentation, a 15-verse rhythmus on the Battle of Fontenoy written by a self-professed warrior of the losing side, Angelbert, describes an insider’s view.  Its speaker, ostensibly a layman, details the first gory hours after the battle in all of their grim and inglorious horror.  The poem appears at first to assess the war between brothers in a similar manner to that employed by Florus, namely as a reflection of Frankish failure to follow Christian law.  But where Florus’ lamentation adheres more typically to the conventions of his genre, cathartically expressing feelings of helplessness in the face of destruction but then ending on a note of hope, Angelbert’s poem reveals an emotional “working through” of an entirely different sort.  After describing his emotions of anguish and sadness, Angelbert feels no anger toward his enemy, only a profound sense of loss, even shame; he can only seek forgiveness and spiritual protection for the dead.  The paper ultimately reflects upon how we can understand the juxtaposition of these responses to trauma in light of the history of ninth-century thought about forgiveness and non-retaliation.