Carolingian Catalonia (CarCat)
The Database of the Carolingian Legacy
of Medieval Septimania and Catalonia
Manuscripts, Fragments, Catalogue Entries, and Further Traces
Matthias M. Tischler (Barcelona)
In memory of Rudolf Beer (1863–1912)
Short Description: The design and the content of this database has been developed during two research projects since 2016, first the European research project “From Carolingian Periphery to European Central Region: The Written Genesis of Catalonia”, subproject of the HERA research project “After Empire: Using and Not Using the Past in the Crisis of the Carolingian World, c. 900‒c.1050 (UNUP)” (2016–2019). The work has been continued since then in the framework of the bilateral FWF research project “Carolingian Culture in Septimania and Catalonia: The Transformation of a Multi-ethnic Middle Ground of the Euro-Mediterranean World” which I directed together with Prof. Dr. Walter Pohl (Vienna) (2020–2024).
I would like to thank Prof. Dr Eulàlia Vernet i Pons (Barcelona), Dr. Ekaterina Novokhatko (Bellaterra, Dresden, and Paris), Dr. Clara Renedo i Mirambell (Bellaterra) and Victor Portella i Pahissa M.A. (Bellaterra), who have worked with me to update the datasets several times. My special thanks go to Dr. Jan Odstrčilík, who transformed the datasets into a locally downloadable database whose data can be expanded and transformed into new formats at any time. We hereby publish a first version of currently (as of 26 September 2025) 856 preserved and attested witnesses of Carolingian text and manuscript culture from 76 historical institutions (cathedrals, monasteries, and parish churches) of Septimania and Catalonia, comprising at least 155 authors represented in 242 works from the entire period and from all regions of the Carolingian empire. This rich legacy is scattered today over 75 (inter)national collections. Further updates and a geographical extension to the whole of southern France and the Iberian Peninsula will take place over the next years.
The data are the intellectual property and a publication with all rights by the author Prof. Dr. Matthias M. Tischler and his collaborators (see names and dates in the individual dataset files). The use should follow common academic standards by quoting the authors’ name, the correct name of the database Carolingian Catalonia (CarCat), its link and the date of access.
Please report any programming errors, content errors, and additions to manuscript signatures or new literature on the texts and manuscripts to the project leader via the “Contact” section.
Download database here.