The Annals of St. Bertin

In Saint-Omer in France there was a Benedictine abbey called the Abbey of St. Bertin, founded in 638 and existing right up to the late 18th century. It was closed during the French Revolution, ordered demolished in 1830 (except for the tower), and then damaged due to World War II.A record of several decades was found in the abbey. It is not assumed that it was written in the abbey. The current hypothesis is that the record was made in the court of Louis the Pious and continued during the reign of his son, Charles the Bald. Proposed authors are Prudential of Troyes, followed by Hincmar of Reims, who has been mentioned several times in this blog, such as here. The fact that the Annals (beginning with the year 830) end in 882 when Hincmar was forced to flee Reims (and died) in the face of a Viking invasion lends weight to this theory.Although a mere 50 years of events, they are a primary source for happenings in the West Frankish territory and the time of King of West Francia, Charles…