ABSTRACT
Carolingian kings had many palaces, villas and estates, but they only resided at the more important. Even a partial picture of all the farming estates of Carolingian kings cannot be painted because records survive for only some of the farms given away to churches, whose own records, on rare occasion, do survive. We assume that most agricultural estates were not far distant from the places of residence, as transport of food overland was expensive. Exceptions were luxury products, such as wine, and vineyard estates might be far distant. With the increased use of coin in paying rents, distance became less problematic.
