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The history of the consolidation of the kingdom of the Franks offers a window into some of the most important events, developments, and themes of the High Middle Ages. Building out from primary texts, we will analyze the nature of medieval kingship – the office, institution, and the person of the king; the consolidation of territory as so-called “feudal” lordships gave way to the mechanisms of the state; the role of religion, spirituality, and the development of religious ideologies as they relate to king and nation; the impact of religious difference and the persecution of heresy; the construction of gender and its association to power and sanctity; the consolidation of law as it took shape in practice, procedure, and text; the development of crusading and its impact; and the place of culture and royal ideology in and on the everyday lives of individuals living in Europe, and especially, France at this time. In addition to weekly readings focused on secondary scholarship most weeks we will also read at least one primary text in Latin or Old French.