Abstract

The Frankish Emperor Louis, only surviving son of Charlemagne, always made it clear that he understood his rule over the Franks as derived directly from God. In 833, however, Louis had to face the second rebellion within three years, and this time, while preparing battle against his three sons, he was deserted by his army on the so-called Field of Lies near Colmar in Alsace and thus was informally deposed. Among those who played an active part in the events in Colmar and later in Compiègne, where Louis was forced to accede to a public penance, was Archbishop Agobard of Lyon. His ‘Libri apologetici’, written in the summer and autumn of 833, bear powerful witness to the difficulties that contemporaries experienced when trying to legitimate the rebellion against a ruler believed to be installed by God.