Pater europae ou premier anticommuniste ? Charlemagne, les pays du Benelux et l'Europe au regard des discours de remise du Prix Charlemagne (1950-2014)

Historical Research has long shown the at the times important role the Carolingian imaginiry has played in conservative discourses of the French-German Reconciliation after 1945. By instituting the Charlemagne Prize in 1949, the town of Aachen wanted to assume a preponderant place in this movement. This contribution shows that these observations also apply to the relations between the young Federal Republic and its small Benelux neighbours. By analysing the award speeches by Laureates or Laudatories of Charlemagne Prize's from Benelux, we propose a typology of references to the Carolingian imaginary. This typology will notably demonstrate that the references and their actualisations have not changed that much since the 1950's. The Emperor still appears to be the "father of Europe", founder of a Christian Empire the values of which have to be defended against the Soviet ideology, while the European integration since 1945 is presented as reparation for their fragility which became clear as early as the Tretay of Verdun in 843. On the political side, little to no interest exists for the state of historical research on Charlemagne and his time and those employing his image hesitate to raise the question of what meaning the Emperor, as the incarnation of a historical moment, could still carry for today's world.