ABSTRACT
In the year 782, the long series of campaigns against the Saxons that predated Charlemagne's reign, but which was brought to grim conclusion by him, took a turn for the worse. Leading members of the Frankish aristocracy, entrusted by the king with hostilities against the Slays, turned aside from that task and moved against the contumacious Saxons. The aristocracy was not simply an instrument for the king's hands; it was a partner. Nelson has argued that there was more to the military activity of Charlemagne's aristocracy than the plunder and tribute highlighted by Reuter in an important article. The division of the Frankish realms between Charlemagne and his brother in 768 had meant that the aristocracy faced the prospect of conflict and divided loyalties if the brothers did not get on. Paradoxically, this conspiracy highlights some of the means deployed by Charlemagne to cement his hold over the aristocracy and weld his kingdom together.
