Dhuoda (fl. AD 824–844) was a Frankish writer, as well as Duchess consort of Septimania and Countess consort of Barcelona. She was the author of the Liber Manualis, a handbook written for her son.^[1]

Dhuoda, author of the Liber Manualis, was a significant Carolingian woman and writer from a powerful Austrasian family in Aachen.^[2] It has been speculated that her unusual name is an attempt to render the Basque name Toda, and that she may have been daughter of Sancho I, Duke of Gascony. She married Bernard, Duke of Septimania, at the Carolingian capital of Aachen in 824.^[3] The specific date of the wedding is contested. Some believe that it fell on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, which was the 24th of June, while others believe the date to be the 29th of June.^[2] Her husband Bernard was the son of William of Gellone, Duke of Toulouse and Charlemagne's cousin,^[2] who was later named the patron saint of knights.^[4] Bernard was a Count of Barcelona and during their marriage he was advisor to Emperor Louis and protector of the Empress Judith as well as being appointed to the office of chamberlain.^[2] There were reports of Judith and Bernard being guilty of adultery, sorcery, and attempted assassination.^[2] When Bernard broke his alliance with Charles the Bald, he took control of Toulouse but was later captured and decapitated.^[2]

Their first son, William of Septimania, was born on 29 November 826, and the second, Bernard Plantapilosa, on 22 March 841.^[5] William was taken from his parents and put under the care of Charles the Bald when he was fourteen years old.^[6] While he was away, Dhouda began to write her handbook for him.^[3] Her youngest son was also taken from her, although he was taken by his father Bernard and the Bishop of Uzes in order to keep him safe. ^[3] During this time, Bernard sent Dhuoda to live in Uzes while he was at court in Aachen.^[2] Dhuoda herself mentions very little of him during this time. According to Dhuoda, she spent this time struggling to maintain her husband's authority in their land and on the border of Francia. She fulfilled the administrative and military responsibilities of Frankish Septimania on Louis the Pious' behalf.^[3] One scholar has suggested that a daughter was born in 844, as one chronicler reports the marriage of William's sister.^[7]

Although Dhuoda was married to the most prominent Frankish magistrate at the time, she is not mentioned in any contemporary works from that period except her own.^[3] What little we know of her life comes from her book, the Liber Manualis, or Manual, which Dhuoda wrote for her elder son, William, between 841 and 843.^[3] It is known to have been sent to William in 843.^[3] It was a work written when Dhuoda had been separated from both her husband and her two sons, the victim of the conflicting ambitions of Charlemagne's descendants. William had been sent as a hostage to the court of Charles the Bald in order to secure the loyalty of his father; Bernard was taken from her before his baptism and was sent to Aquitaine in order to keep him safe.^[5]

The Liber Manualis is arguably what Dhuoda is most well known for. This hand book consists of seventy-three chapters as well as an introduction, invocation, and prologue.^[5] The book is full of practical moral directives aimed to help guide her sons through life. It is an invaluable document both for the general history of the Frankish era, but also for the history of education and the standards of education which could be attained by women even within the prescriptive bounds of early medieval society. It contains numerous quotations from and allusions to the Bible, and some references to secular writers, though some of the references are incorrect and the Latin is not overly polished.^{[citation needed]}

Dhuoda wrote the Liber Manualis while she was fearing for the lives of herself and her children.^[3] Christian devotion was an important part in the lives of Frankish nobility and was the main theme throughout the handbook.^[3] Although the book's title doesn’t contain the name of her son, William, it is made clear in the introduction and conclusion of the book that the intended audience was that of her oldest son.^[3] Some historians also believe that in addition to her son Dhuoda intended to have the extended audience of his peers at court including Charles the Bald.^[8] In addition to this she also encouraged William to share what he learned from the handbook with his younger brother when he is older.^[3]

The Liber Manualis is divided by the 1975 editor into the following books

• Prologue – the author and her reasons for writing
• Book 1 – loving God
• Book 2 – the mystery of Trinity
• Book 3 – social order and secular success
• Book 4 – moral life
• Book 5 – God's chastisement of those he loves
• Book 6 – the usefulness of the beatitudes
• Book 7 – the deaths of the body and of the spirit
• Book 8 – how to pray and for whom
• Book 9 – interpreting numbers
• Book 10 – summary of the work's major points, more on the author
• Book 11 – the usefulness of reciting the Psalms^[3]

The work is known from a manuscript of the seventeenth century in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, and from fragments of a manuscript of the Carolingian epoch, found in the library of Nîmes.^[5]