ABSTRACT
The Carolingian narratives of royal wisdom and its related policies of cultural patronage continued after the Year Thousand. The full development of the royal mystique in France only began with Robert the Pious. The idea of the emperor as Christ's deputy on earth was central to the Salian rituals of kingship, the ceremonial processions and crown wearings on the great feast days of the Christian year, and central to the liturgical celebration of kingship, the laudes regiae, the triumphal hymns applauding the victory of Christ and the victories of the Christian ruler. The Salian ruler was thus “separated from the number of laymen” by his unction; he was non mere laicus. Around the Year Thousand, new Christian monarchies were being established outside the frontiers of the Carolingian Empire in Frontier societies throughout northern and central Europe. Religious coercion and retribution for infringing the new Christian regulations were central to the legislation.
