Saint Arnulf and the Genealogical Fiction of the Carolingian Dynasty

Abstract

The study focuses on the cult of St. Arnulf and the genealogy of the oldest Carolingians.

After presenting the primary sources, it can be concluded that although there is a clear historical memory within the Carolingian lineage regarding their relative Arnulf, the saintly bishop of Metz, we can confidently doubt that St. Arnulf was indeed an ancestor of the Carolingians.

The connection of Ansegisel with the until then unnamed son of St. Arnulf is probably primarily a construction of the Carolingians themselves, which first found its written expression in the work of Paul the Deacon.

Keywords

• Arnulf of Metz
• Carolingians
• genealogy
• Paul the Deacon
• cult of saints