Example history dissertation topic 9:

The Carolingian Renaissance: A reassessment

The Carolingian Renaissance is, according to one school of academic though a period of intellectual and cultural revival in Europe which occurred from the late eighth century to the mid ninth century. In contrast, others suggest that the period was more an attempt to recreate the previous culture of the Roman Empire and that, accordingly, its cultural gains were but short-lived. Still further, others question the appropriateness of the word renaissance given that many of the reforms of the period were centred upon ecclesiastical and legal matters. This dissertation reviews these three contested views of the period and in so doing offers a further evaluation.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Nelson, J.L. (1986) Politics and ritual in Early Medieval Europe. London: Hambledon Press.
• Treadgold, W.T. (ed.) Renaissances before the Renaissance: Cultural revivals of late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Los Angeles: Stanford University Press.
• Trompf, G.W. (1973) ‘The concept of the Carolingian Renaissance’, Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 34(1), pp. 3-26.