About the project

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” (2020–2024).

We hereby publish a first version of currently (as of 17 June 2026) 939 preserved and attested witnesses of Carolingian text and manuscript culture from 78 historical institutions (cathedrals, monasteries, and parish churches) of Septimania and Catalonia, comprising at least 161 authors represented in 261 works from the entire period and from all regions of the Carolingian empire. This rich legacy is scattered today over 81 (inter)national collections.

The dataset is 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.

Matthias M. Tischler

Bellaterra, 17 June 2026