What is adoration? Contesting meaning in the margins of the Opus Caroli regis contra synodum (c.790–4)

Abstract

Contradictions over the meaning of adoration (adoratio) in Theodulf of Orléans’ Opus Caroli regis contra synodum have been used to minimize the role of mistranslation in the late eighth-century Greek–Latin dispute over images. This study, however, scrutinizes the contested meaning of adoration in the original manuscript to expose tensions among Charlemagne’s key theological advisers. These fissures reveal the text’s collaborative production and purpose: neither the fully independent work of a lone scholar, nor intended for publication to an extensive audience, but a project to stimulate debate amidst the king’s counsellors.