ABSTRACT
The essence of political centres consists of more than geography. This chapter concerns the nature of central value systems and central institutions of authority among the Carolingian elite. It examines the role played by the Carolingian court in the maintenance of a system of Carolingian authority. The chapter demonstrates just how central the court was as a political institution. It also examines the court from two angles: first, by observing the political gravity exerted by the court as a centre and, secondly, by examining how political authority radiated out from the court. In return the court offered prestige, political advancement and jobs and these jobs were sometimes for fairly lowly members of the Carolingian world. The court was more than a job centre and a political centre. The Carolingian palace stood in the landscape of its region as a permanent reminder of the royal centre, of the king's authority; it was a palace of memory, of political memory.
