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Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8416-8436

Date Available

5-1-2026

Year of Publication

2026

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

History

Faculty

Abigail Firey

Faculty

Hilary Jones

Abstract

This dissertation investigates mercy in the Carolingian period, especially its political dimensions. A sustained, holistic examination of mercy in the early medieval period remains lacking. This study examines mercy not only as a history of an idea but also as a history of emotion, tracing its transformation from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds through patristic literature and into Carolingian political discourse. This study argues that mercy played a central role in the construction of Christian kingship within Carolingian political discourse. Early Church Fathers reinterpreted mercy from a controversial concept in Roman Stoic philosophy into a positive virtue in Christian teaching. Jerome, Augustine, and Isidore of Seville played a central role in reformulating mercy as a communal virtue for Christians. Carolingian intellectuals promoted mercy in treatises dedicated to emperors, while Carolingian narrators embedded representations of mercy within historiographical sources to construct an image of merciful kingship. This study proposes a dual-dimensional framework: the dimension of fact concerns the occurrence of merciful acts, while the dimension of narrative shapes the understanding and value of mercy. Within this framework, mercy functioned as an interaction among the grantor, the recipient, and various third parties, with roles shifting across dimensions.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2026.194

Archival?

Archival

Funding Information

Government Scholarship to Study Abroad (GSSA), Ministry of Education, Taiwan 2022-24

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