Franks And Alamanni In The Merovingian Period

The Alamans were early victims of post-Roman expansion of the Frankish empire. These studies consider both races from historical, archaeological and linguistic perspectives from the 3rd to the 6th centuries.

The Alamans were early victims of post-Roman expansion of the Frankish empire; studies consider both races from historical, archaeological and linguistic perspectives.(3-6c)

The studies collected here cover a period of about 33 years, from 1986 to 2019, and represent a sustained effort to understand the institutions of the Merovingian kingdom and its history. There has long been a predisposition to cast the Merovingian period in the dark colours of barbarism or to treat it with reference to personal relationships and archaic institutions. The present volume, instead, recognizes the Merovingian world not as an archaic, primitive intrusion on the Mediterranean civilization of the Roman Empire but simply as a participant in the wider commonwealth that existed before and remained after the dissolution of the western imperial system; in so doing, it serves to refute the scholarly tendency to primitivize Merovingian governance, its underlying institutions, and the broader culture upon which these rested. The collection is divided into four parts. Part I considers the question of whether Merovingian kingship should be viewed as a species of archaic, ‘sacral’ kingship. Part II, on institutions, has chapters that deal with various offices (the grafio and centenarius), public institutions (especially immunity and public security), and the broader makeup of the Merovingian state system. Part III, on charters, procedure, and law, has chapters on the profile of the charter evidence as now presented in the new MGH edition of the Merovingian diplomas and one on particular procedures before the royal tribunal, mistakenly referred to in scholarship as ‘fictitious’ trials; a final chapter provides a reflection on, and basic guide to, the law in general of the successor kingdoms, with an eye to the evidence of Merovingian Gaul. Part IV, a slight change of pace, deals with historiography, both the modern variety (Reinhard Wenskus) and the Merovingian (Gregory of Tours). All chapters deal extensively with the historiography of their subjects. This book will appeal to students and scholars alike interested in Early Medieval European history, Merovingian history, Early Medieval law and society, Early Medieval historiography, and the influence of Merovingian law and governance on later centuries. (CS 1104).

This book examines the political and social effects brought about by the establishment of Columbanian monasteries in seventh-century Gaul.

Despite growing scepticism concerning the evidentiary value of normative legal sources, scholars continue to mine the legislative acts of ecclesiastical councils for insight into political, religious, and quotidian life in Frankish Gaul. Between the reigns of Clovis and Charlemagne (AD 511-768) at least eighty councils assembled, often on royal command, to discuss issues of concern to the episcopal and clerical attendees. Their published canons were intended to communicate ecclesiastical policy in the Frankish regnum. However, scholars have paid comparatively slight attention to the institution responsible for this body of legislation. This book remedies this lacuna by delineating the functions and modus operandi of the Frankish church council as an administrative body.

How a relatively small group of Germans came to be overlords of all of the former Roman province of Gaul—giving their name to France in the process. Simon MacDowall studies the Frankish way of warfare and assesses its effectiveness, from their earliest incursions into the Empire, down to the Battle of Casilinum (554), their last battle against Romans, The size and composition of their armies, their weapons (including the characteristic Francisca axe), equipment, and tactics are discussed. In this tumultuous period, the Franks had a complex relationship with the Romans, being by turns invaders, recruits to the legions, and independent allies. Accordingly, this book also covers the Franks’ role in defending the Rhine frontier against subsequent invasions by the Vandals, Alans, Suebi, and the Huns. Their success in defending their new homeland against all comers allowed them, under the leadership of the Merovingian dynasty of Clovis, to establish the Frankish kingdom as one of the most enduring of the “barbarian” successors to the power of Rome.

The most important study of Charlemagne in a generation, this biography by distinguished medievalist Alessandro Barbero illuminates both the man and the world in which he lived. Charles the Great—Charlemagne—reigned from a.d. 768 to a.d. 814. At the time if his death, his empire stretched across Europe to include Bavaria, Saxony, parts of Spain, and Italy. With a remarkable grasp of detail and a sweeping knowledge of Carolingian institutions and economy, Barbero not only brings Charlemagne to life with accounts of his physical appearance, tastes and habits, family life, and ideas and actions but also conveys what it meant to be king of the Franks and, later, emperor. He recounts how Charlemagne ruled his empire, kept justice, and waged wars. He vividly describes the nature of everyday life at that time, how the economy functioned, and how Christians perceived their religion. Barbero's absorbing analysis of how concepts of slavery and freedom were subtly altered as feudal relations began to grow underscores the dramatic changes that the emperor's wars brought to the political landscape. Engaging and informed by deep scholarship, this latest account provides a new and richer context for considering one of history's most fascinating personalities.

This book is the first comprehensive and comparative study of the difficult relationship between ethnic identities and political organisation in the post-Roman and early medieval kingdoms. 16 authors (historians, archaeologists and linguists) deal with ten important kingdoms of this period and with its political and legal context.