Evening lecture on the occasion of the publication of the last volume of the critical edition of the letters of Hinkmar of Reims on Thursday, 8 May 2025 at 6 p.m.
Presented by Dr Isolde Schröder and Dr Matthias Schrör in the MGH institute / Ludwigstr. 16 / 80539 Munich (with streaming via Zoom)
Comprising around 600 letters to leading ecclesiastical and worldly dignitaries, the correspondence of Archbishop Hinkmar of Reims († 882) is certainly one of the most important sources for the history of the Frankish Empire in the 9th century. In his other writings, we know Hinkmar as a canonist, a theologian, and an influential political advisor of the Frankish rulers. The numerous, poorly datable letters in the third and final fascicle of MGH Epistolae volume 8 reveal him in new contours as a pastor increasingly occupied with liturgical, pastoral, disciplinary and even esoteric questions, while no less actively pursuing the welfare of his see and the preservation of the ecclesiastical goods of the church of Reims. The final volume includes indexes and concordances to all three fascicles of the edition of Hinkmar’s letters, providing scholars with new possibilities to access and analyse the author’s broad scope of activities.
After a brief introduction to the – in part tragic - history of this edition by Martina Hartmann, Matthias Schrör presents some of the most important sources cited by Hinkmar in his letters. He draws particular attention to the several known manuscripts that the Archbishop of Reims consulted to write his letters, some of which contain traces of his usage and hence provide insights into his way of working. In her lecture, Isolde Schröder summarises the heterogeneous transmission and content of Hinkmar’s letters and treatises and explores possible connections with their reception.
Isolde Schröder studied Romance philology and history at the universities of Aachen and Tübingen from 1967 to 1973, attaining her Ph.D. in Regensburg with a thesis on the synods of the Western Frankisch Empire in the 10th century (MGH Hilfsmittel 3). She worked in a school from 1977 to 2010. For the MGH, Schröder has contributed to the edition of MGH Concilia 5 and edited the volume Epistolae variorum 798–923 (MGH Epistolae 9).
Matthias Schrör studied medieval history, modern history, political sciences and philosophy at the Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf from 2000 to 2005, attaining his Ph.D. in 2007/2008 with a thesis on the „päpstgeschichtliche Wende“ (the turning point in papal history) in the 11th century. After working at the universities of Bochum and Düsseldorf and in state archives, he took up his current position as the director of the Emilie and Hans Stratmans-Stiftung in Geldern in 2017. For the MGH, Schrör has published an introduction and edition of the letters of Charles the Bald (MGH Studien und Texte 69).
To attend the lectures, please register in advance via e-mail to: annette.marquard-mois@mgh.de. Please note that the number of seats for the live lectures is limited. After registration, we will send the Zoom login data via e-mail one day prior to the event.