Liber Historiae Francorum
Encyclopedia
Liber historiae Francorum (The book of the history of the Franks
) is a book that briefly starts as secondary source for early Franks
in the time of Marcomer
, and it gives a short breviarum of events until the time of the late Merovingians, where it becomes an important primary source
of the contemporaneous history. Here it becomes an example of historiography
about the Pippinid
family in Austrasia
before they became the more famous "Carolingian
s". The text's modern editor, Geberding, who vindicates the coherence and accuracy of its account, gives reasons for locating the anonymous author in Soissons
, probably in the royal monastery of Saint-Médard and characterizes him as "Neustrian, a staunch Merovingian legitimist, secular as opposed to ecclesiastically minded, and an enthusiastic admirer and probably a member of that aristocratic class based on the Seine
-Oise
valley whose deeds, wars and kings he describes".Liber historiae Francorum is customarily dated to 727
because of a reference at the end to the sixth year of Theuderic IV
. It offers a Neustria
n perspective of the era of mayors of the palace
, where the factions of the great territorial magnates could only be held in check and balanced by the consecrated legitimacy of the Merovingian king. Liber Historiae Francorum has been explored and interpreted by Richard Gerberding and more recently by Rosamond McKitterick in History and Memory in the Carolingian World. As a widely-read narrative, it helped inculcate a sense of cultural solidarity among the readership for whom it was intended, and whose biases it caters to and whose political agenda it promotes.
As for that agenda, Fouracre and Gerberding (1996) show that the book supports the kings of the Merovingian dynasty only insofar as they rule with the consultation of the major nobles. The nobles, in turn, are supported only insofar as they do not aspire above their station.
It is one of a corpus of new books of history written in the 8th century, and copied and widely distributed in the 9th, which offered their readers (and listeners) a deep background that set the Franks only distantly in the context of the Roman Empire (the Roman Empire is virtually ignored) and more immediately in the Christian Gallo-Roman world.
From the outset, the book promises to present the origins and deeds of the Frankish kings and people. It tells that the Franks originated with a group of Trojan
refugees who found themselves on the north coast of the Black Sea
and thence made their way across the Danubian plain to the Rhineland
; in this, it relies heavily upon the Gallo-Roman bishop and historian Gregory of Tours
(d. 594), whose history it epitomizes, occasionally correctsand parallels. The last eleven chapters, 43-53 in Krusch's edition, present an independent account of events in the Frankish lands in the 7th and early 8th centuries and attract historians' interest, as they cover ground not lighted by any other source.
Chapter 43 begins with the attempted usurpation of Austrasia by the Pippinid mayor Grimoald the Elder
, which it treats in summary form. It ends with Grimoald's death by torture under Clovis II
who ruled the Pippinids' rival state Neustria
. This is what Chapter 44 has to say about Clovis following that:
The rest of this chapter and the beginning of the next chapter stretch between Clovis's death, usually dated to the late 650s, and the accession of Theuderic III
, usually dated to 673: a four-year reign of "the boy king Chlotar".
Chapters 45ff, as Ursinus the Abbot
had done, provide a hostile account of mayor Ebroin
of Neustria. In contrast to the description of Clovis II quoted above, the author has nothing but praise for Childebert III
, "a famous man," whom he describes as "the glorious lord of good memory Childebert, the just king." The closing chapters mainly cover Charles Martel
.
Liber historiae Francorum became a primary source for the Continuations to Fredegar's Chronicle, as redacted by Count Childebrand
in 751 on behalf of his half-brother, Charles Martel.
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
) is a book that briefly starts as secondary source for early Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
in the time of Marcomer
Marcomer
Marcomer was a Frankish leader in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388, when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus was surrounded in Aquileia by Theodosius I....
, and it gives a short breviarum of events until the time of the late Merovingians, where it becomes an important primary source
Primary source
Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied....
of the contemporaneous history. Here it becomes an example of historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
about the Pippinid
Pippinid
The Pippinids or Arnulfings are the members of a family of Frankish nobles whose select scions served as Mayor of the Palace, de facto rulers, of the Frankish kingdoms of Neustria and Austrasia that were nominally ruled by the Merovingians....
family in Austrasia
Austrasia
Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising parts of the territory of present-day eastern France, western Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Metz served as its capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Rheims, Trier, and...
before they became the more famous "Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
s". The text's modern editor, Geberding, who vindicates the coherence and accuracy of its account, gives reasons for locating the anonymous author in Soissons
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
, probably in the royal monastery of Saint-Médard and characterizes him as "Neustrian, a staunch Merovingian legitimist, secular as opposed to ecclesiastically minded, and an enthusiastic admirer and probably a member of that aristocratic class based on the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
-Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
valley whose deeds, wars and kings he describes".Liber historiae Francorum is customarily dated to 727
727
Year 727 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 727 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Byzantine Empire :* Umayyad troops under Abdallah...
because of a reference at the end to the sixth year of Theuderic IV
Theuderic IV
Theuderic IV or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; in French, Thierry was the Merovingian King of the Franks from 721 until his death in 737...
. It offers a Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
n perspective of the era of mayors of the palace
Mayor of the Palace
Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval title and office, also called majordomo, from the Latin title maior domus , used most notably in the Frankish kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries....
, where the factions of the great territorial magnates could only be held in check and balanced by the consecrated legitimacy of the Merovingian king. Liber Historiae Francorum has been explored and interpreted by Richard Gerberding and more recently by Rosamond McKitterick in History and Memory in the Carolingian World. As a widely-read narrative, it helped inculcate a sense of cultural solidarity among the readership for whom it was intended, and whose biases it caters to and whose political agenda it promotes.
As for that agenda, Fouracre and Gerberding (1996) show that the book supports the kings of the Merovingian dynasty only insofar as they rule with the consultation of the major nobles. The nobles, in turn, are supported only insofar as they do not aspire above their station.
It is one of a corpus of new books of history written in the 8th century, and copied and widely distributed in the 9th, which offered their readers (and listeners) a deep background that set the Franks only distantly in the context of the Roman Empire (the Roman Empire is virtually ignored) and more immediately in the Christian Gallo-Roman world.
From the outset, the book promises to present the origins and deeds of the Frankish kings and people. It tells that the Franks originated with a group of Trojan
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
refugees who found themselves on the north coast of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and thence made their way across the Danubian plain to the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
; in this, it relies heavily upon the Gallo-Roman bishop and historian Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
(d. 594), whose history it epitomizes, occasionally correctsand parallels. The last eleven chapters, 43-53 in Krusch's edition, present an independent account of events in the Frankish lands in the 7th and early 8th centuries and attract historians' interest, as they cover ground not lighted by any other source.
Chapter 43 begins with the attempted usurpation of Austrasia by the Pippinid mayor Grimoald the Elder
Grimoald the Elder
Grimoald I , called the Elder , was the Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia from 643 to 656. He was the son of Pepin of Landen and Itta....
, which it treats in summary form. It ends with Grimoald's death by torture under Clovis II
Clovis II
Clovis II succeeded his father Dagobert I in 639 as King of Neustria and Burgundy. His brother Sigebert III had been King of Austrasia since 634. He was initially under the regency of his mother Nanthild until her death in her early thirties in 642...
who ruled the Pippinids' rival state Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
. This is what Chapter 44 has to say about Clovis following that:
At the same time he brought ruin to the kingdom of the Franks with disastrous calamities. This Clovis, moreover, had every kind of filthy habit. He was a seducer and a debaser of women, a glutton and a drunk. About his death and end nothing of historical worth may be said. Many writers condemn his end because they do not know the extent of his evil. Thus in uncertainty concerning it they refer from one to another.
The rest of this chapter and the beginning of the next chapter stretch between Clovis's death, usually dated to the late 650s, and the accession of Theuderic III
Theuderic III
Theuderic III was the king of Neustria on two occasions and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of all the Franks from 679...
, usually dated to 673: a four-year reign of "the boy king Chlotar".
Chapters 45ff, as Ursinus the Abbot
Ursinus the Abbot
Ursinus the Abbot was an abbot of Saint-Martin at Ligugé, and presumed biographer of Saint Leodegar. He began his career as a monk in the monastery of Saint-Maixent at Poitiers in Neustria....
had done, provide a hostile account of mayor Ebroin
Ebroin
Ebroin was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681...
of Neustria. In contrast to the description of Clovis II quoted above, the author has nothing but praise for Childebert III
Childebert III
Childebert III, called the Just , son of Theuderic III and Clotilda and sole king of the Franks , he was seemingly but a puppet of the mayor of the palace, Pepin of Heristal, though his placita show him making judicial decisions of his own will, even against the Arnulfing clan...
, "a famous man," whom he describes as "the glorious lord of good memory Childebert, the just king." The closing chapters mainly cover Charles Martel
Charles Martel
Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...
.
Liber historiae Francorum became a primary source for the Continuations to Fredegar's Chronicle, as redacted by Count Childebrand
Childebrand
Childebrand was a Frankish duke , son of Pepin of Heristal and Alpaida, brother of Charles Martel. He married Emma of Austrasia and was given Burgundy by his father...
in 751 on behalf of his half-brother, Charles Martel.