From passageway to frontier: the Alps in Carolingian times

From Firenze University Press Book: Carolingian Frontiers: Italy and Beyond

Katharina Winckler, University of Trento

The Alps appear as a natural boundary that divides the Italian peninsula from the rest of Europe. Yet history tells us that these mountains did not discourage anyone from crossing them. From barbaric tribes to military leaders like Hannibal, Charlemagne or Napoleon, the mountains were a nuisance but not actually a barrier. And it is not by chance that Hannibal lost his eyesight in a winter storm in the Apennines and not in the Alps, which were conceived as less dangerous than the Apennines. The myth of the Alps as a natural frontier is also vivid in Carolingian sources. But even the heroic narrations surrounding Charlemagne’s conquest of the Lombard kingdom could not hide the fact that the crossing of the Alps was one of the easiest parts of this conquest. Thus, the image of the Alps as an unsurmountable natural boundary is a topos that was used throughout history up until modern times1. For day-to-day life and politics, there were numerous options for communication, trade, and for armies to cross the Alps. These passageways were as much shaped by politics and power as by the specific topography of the mountains. It was the control (or loss of control) of these routes that determined the borders running through the Alps. Therefore, a closer look at the specific alpine geography may help us to understand why some frontiers emerged, why some stayed fluid or were fast changing, whereas others did not change for centuries. In short, and as already observed by the Romans, the Alps are much steeper on their southern slopes. Also, in the western and central parts of the Alps, the summits can reach altitudes of over 4000 metres. In contrast to that, the last ridge of the Eastern Alps stretching 3000 metres and above is the High Tauern, with the mountains east of the Tauern being significantly below that height. As a consequence, one obstacle for trans-alpine travel cannot be found there: the glaciers. The eastern and northern slopes usually fade out into densely wooded hill land. Additionally, the Western Alps are not as wide and broken up as the Alps east of the Raetian passes. This is significant for human traveling: whilst in the west there is just one, generally high, pass to be crossed, in the east there are two or more, lower passes. Thus, the actual time spent in the mountains is lengthened by many days. These natural features, in combination with the cultural factor that was the importance of the Roman and early medieval centres west of the Rhine and in the Rhône valley, meant that the main trans-alpine traffic went over the passes of the Western and Central Alps: the Montgenèvre/Mont Cenis, Great and Little St. Bernard, and the Raetian (Julier, St. Bernadino, Septimer) passes. Further to the east, the Reschen and Brennerpass were also continually used, partly because they are of such low altitude that the additional crossing of the rainy pre-alpine heights was an acceptable nuisance.

DOI: 10.36253/979–12–215–0416–3.08

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