Editing Carolingian Empire (section)

==Demographics==
The study of demographics in the early Middle Ages is a notably difficult task. In his comprehensive ''Framing the Early Middle Ages,'' Chris Wickham suggests that there are currently no reliable calculations for the period regarding the populations of early medieval towns.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Wickham |first=Chris |date=2005-09-22 |title=Framing the Early Middle Ages |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=674 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199264490.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-1992-6449-0}}</ref> What is likely, however, is that most cities of the empire did not exceed the 20–25,000 speculated for Rome during this period.<ref name=":2" /> On an empire-wide level, populations expanded steadily from 750 to 850 AD.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schroeder |first=Nicholas |date=2019 |title=Observations about Climate, Farming, and Peasant Societies in Carolingian Europe |journal=The Journal of European Economic History |volume=3 |pages=189–210}}</ref> Figures ranging from 10 to 20 million have been offered, with estimates being devised based on calculations of empire size and theoretical densities.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Post-Roman Towns, Trade and Settlement in Europe and Byzantium: The heirs of the Roman West |publisher=Walter De Gruyter |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-1101-8356-6 |editor-last=Henning |editor-first=Joachim |location=Berlin |pages=41–61 |chapter=Where do trading towns come from? Early medieval Venice and the northern emporia}}</ref> Recently, however, Timothy Newfield challenges the idea of demographic expansion, criticising scholars for relying on the impact of recurring pandemics in the preceding period of 541-750 AD and ignoring the frequency of famines in Carolingian Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newfield |first=Timothy |title=Crisis Alimentarias en la Edad Media: Modelos, Explicaciones y Representaciones |publisher=editorial Milenio |year=2013 |isbn=978-8-4974-3491-1 |editor-last=I Monclús |editor-first=Pere Benito |location=Lleida |pages=117–172 |chapter=The Contours, Frequency and Causation of Subsistence Crises in Carolingian Europe (750–950)}}</ref>

A study using climate proxies such as the Greenland Ice core sample 'GISP2' has indicated that there may have been relatively favourable conditions for the empire's early years, although several harsh winters appear afterwards.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McCormick |first1=Michael |last2=Dutton |first2=Paul Edward |last3=Mayewski |first3=Paul A. |date=2007 |title=Volcanoes and the Climate Forcing of Carolingian Europe, A.D. 750-950 |url=https://courses.seas.harvard.edu/climate/seminars/pdfs/mccormick_07.pdf |journal=Speculum |volume=82 |issue=4 |pages=865–895 |doi=10.1017/S0038713400011325 |s2cid=154776670}}</ref> Whilst demographic implications are observable in contemporary sources, the extent of the impact of these findings on the empire's populations is difficult to discern.

=== Ethnicity ===
Studies of ethnicity in the Carolingian Empire have been largely limited. However, it is accepted that the empire was inhabited by major ethnic groups such as Franks, Alemanni, Bavarians, Thuringians, Frisians, Lombards, Goths, Romans, Celts, Basques and Slavs. Ethnicity was just one of many systems of identification in this period and was a way to show social status and political agency. Many regional and ethnic identities were maintained and would later become significant in a political role. Regarding laws, ethnic identity helped decide which codes applied to which populations, however these systems were not definitive representations of ethnicity as these systems were somewhat fluid.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walter |first=Pohl |title=The 'Abassid and Carolingian Empires: Comparative Studies in Civilisational Formation |publisher=BRILL |year=2017 |isbn=978-9-0043-5304-6 |editor-last=Tor |editor-first=D. G. |location=Netherlands |pages=102–117 |chapter=Ethnicity in the Carolingian Empire}}</ref>

=== Gender ===
Evidence from Carolingian estate surveys and polyptychs appears to suggest that female life expectancy was lower than that of men in this period, with analyses recording high ratios of males to females.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kowaleski |first=Maryanne |title=The Oxford Handbook of Women and Gender in Medieval Europe |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1995-8217-4 |editor-last=Benett |editor-first=Judith M. |editor-link=Judith M. Bennett |edition=First |pages=181–192 |chapter=Gendering Demographic Change in the Middle Ages |oclc=829743917 |author-link=Maryanne Kowaleski |editor-last2=Karras |editor-first2=Ruth Mazo |editor-link2=Ruth Mazo Karras}}</ref> However, it is possible this is due to a recording bias.