Flodoard facts for kids

Flodoard of Reims (Latin: Flodoardus) was a Frankish priest and historian. He lived from 893 or 894 to 966. He worked at the main church in Reims, France. This was during a time when the old Carolingian Empire was breaking apart. His writings are very important for understanding the history of Western Europe, especially France, in the early and mid-900s.

Flodoard's Life Story

Most of what we know about Flodoard comes from his own writings. People believe he was born in a town called Épernay. He went to school at the Reims cathedral. This school was started by Archbishop Fulk.

As a young church official, Flodoard had important jobs. He worked for Archbishops Heriveus (900–922) and Seulf (922–925). He was especially active in the church's writing office. After Seulf died in 925, a powerful leader named Herbert II, Count of Vermandois put his four-year-old son, Hugh, in charge. Flodoard refused to support this. Because of this, he lost his job and his church income.

In 931, King Raoul and Duke Hugh the Great took Reims from Herbert. They removed young Hugh. They then helped elect a new archbishop, Artold. Flodoard got his jobs back under Artold.

Around 936 or 937, Flodoard visited Rome. He might have gone on a religious journey. There, he met Pope Leo VII. Herbert took Reims back in 940. He removed Artold and put his son Hugh back in charge. Flodoard disagreed with this because it went against church rules. So, Herbert held him and again took away his church income.

Between 943 and 946, Flodoard might have been away from Reims. He may have been with Artold at the court of King Louis IV. In 946, Louis took control of Reims with help from Otto I. Hugh was removed again, and Artold was put back in charge. Church leaders officially approved Artold's position at a meeting in 948. Flodoard attended this meeting.

In 951, Flodoard went to Otto's court in Aachen. He represented the church of Reims in a disagreement about property. He seemed to be involved in managing the church's property. He stopped working as a church official in 963, when he was 70 years old. Flodoard died on March 28, 966.

Flodoard's Important Writings

Flodoard wrote three major history books and at least two smaller works.

The Annals

In 922, he started writing a history book called the Annals. He kept adding to it for most of his life. In this book, Flodoard mainly wrote about important political and military events. He focused on events in West Francia (which is now France). But he also wrote about the Ottonian empire and Italy. He also wrote about miracles and other unusual events. Flodoard seemed to write his Annals year by year. He did not seem to go back and change what he wrote. The Annals is one of the few history books from the 900s written at that time. It is the only major history book from West Francia that has survived from this period. Because of this, modern historians value Flodoard's work very much.

History of the Church of Reims

Flodoard's History of the Church of Reims (Historia Remensis ecclesiae) is another amazing work from the 900s. This book tells the story of the Reims church. It goes all the way back to its supposed beginnings in the time of Romulus and Remus. But it mainly focuses on the Christian era up to 948. This book is a famous example of a "deeds of bishops" book. It tells the story through a series of biographies of the church's bishops. Flodoard had access to old church records going back to the 500s. He based much of his history on these original documents. He summarized them or copied parts of them. His summaries of about 450 letters from Archbishop Hincmar are especially valuable.

The Triumphs of Christ

Flodoard's poems are also important for history. In the 930s, he wrote a long poem called The Triumphs of Christ (De triumphis Christi). It is a history of Christianity in almost 20,000 lines of poetry. The poem tells about the victories of Christ, martyrs, saints, and popes. He used many older history and saint stories for this. Flodoard clearly gathered material for this poem when he visited Rome in 936 or 937. The text is a rare look into the history of the city of Rome and the popes in the early 900s.

Other Works

Flodoard wrote at least two other smaller works. One is called "Visions of Flothilde." It tells about the strange visions of a local girl in the early 940s. This was a time of much political fighting in Reims. Another work, which is now lost, is also mentioned in his History of the Church of Reims. When talking about miracles that happened around Reims cathedral and were believed to be from the Virgin Mary, Flodoard said he had collected these and put them into verse before.