The present thin but very rich collective volume fills a gap in the literature about Archbishop Arn von Salzburg (740/1–821). Wilhelm Stürmer's introduction provides an extraordinarily knowledgeable study of the origins of Arn in a Bavarian noble family and of the clerical community at Freising cathedral, to which he had been handed over by his parents in the monastery of St Zeno in Isen. In this spiritual and morally flourishing convent in which at that time the later Bishop Artbeo already played a leading role, Arn was prepared in an excellent manner for his future activities as a leading churchman, activities which would lead first of all to the monastery at Elno (S. Amand). To this discussion of the early part of Arn's life, Heinz Dopsch adds a magisterial overview of the historical circumstances in Salzburg during his time as bishop (from 785) and first archbishop (from 798). In this study the author not only consults the partially misunderstood written sources but also takes into account the conclusions of archaeological research and arrives at corrections of previously held positions. In the process he denies any continuity with the City of Rome's Iuvavum and stresses that the episcopal seat at Salzburg was a new establishment, a fact which was also expressed in the change of name (p. 31). He demonstrates that Rupert had not founded a bishopric but a monastery (p. 33). From Alcuin's poems and burial excavations he reconstructs the topography of the city (pp. 37–46) and on the basis of the lists of estates describes the widely distributed Salzburg church property (pp. 46–55). The next eight contributions are dedicated to individual written sources. Brigitte Merta investigates the relationship of the Carolingians to Arn and beyond that to the archbishop of Salzburg by means of their documents (pp. 56–67). Rosamond McKitterick, in a careful analysis and interpretation, seeks to evaluate the Liber Vitae of St Peter not only as a memorial book, but also ‘as a special form of history writing’ (pp. 68–80). Maximilian Diesenberger and Herwig Wolfram examine letters and writings of Arn and Alcuin as witnesses to their friendly relations, but also of Arn's influence, and in the process look more closely at the manuscripts (pp. 81–106). Mary Garrison analyses the word plays with Arn's latinised name (Aquila) as these appear in Alcuin's letters (pp. 107–27), and Donald Bullough treats the confessions of faith of the mass in the opinion of both friends. (pp. 128–36). The contribution of Klaus Herbers leads us into broader territory with the portrayal of Pope Leo iii, whom Arn escorted to Rome, as this appears in the Liber pontificalis (pp. 137–54), while Meta Niderkorn-Bruck, with an investigation of the Salzburg historical martyrology in the framework of martyrological sources (pp. 155–71), and Fritz Losek, with a brief assessment of the Carmina Salisburgensia (pp. 172–8), steer us back to Arn's domain in Salzburg. The volume offers a many-sided collection of learned and stimulating essays, which both enrich and correct the usual picture of Arn, Salzburg and the Carolingian period.