ABSTRACT
A Carolingian woman named Dhuoda, living in Uzes, a town in southern France near Nimes in Septimania, has left us a remarkable document in the form of a letter to her son William. Dhuoda shows herself to have been extremely well read in Scripture, in the fathers of the Church, and in Christian poets like Prudentius and Venantius Fortunatus. Dhuoda was undoubtedly mindful of churchmen like Alcuin, who had addressed similar advice to Charlemagne. Dhuoda’s warnings about the fealty William owes to his lord Charles are also strongly worded. Dhuoda schools William in the noble, military, and Christian virtues of justice and courage; the protection of widows and orphans; charity to the poor; reverence for the Church and its priesthood; respect for feudal authority; and instruction in the vices and virtues.
