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IMC 2017: Sessions

Session 338: A Fresh Look at Some Early Frankish Sources

Monday 3 July 2017, 16.30-18.00

Moderator/Chair:Stefan Esders, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin
Paper 338-aThe Annales Laureshamenses: Origin, Transmission, and Reception
(Language: English)
Bart Jeremy van Hees, Utrecht Centre for Medieval Studies, Universiteit Utrecht
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Local History, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 338-bReflecting Frankishness in Fredegar's Chronicle
(Language: English)
Michael Naidos, Department of History, Ionian University, Corfu
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Local History, Political Thought, Teaching the Middle Ages
Paper 338-c'Concerning a Man Killed between Two Villae': Title 102 of the Lex Salica in a Broader Historical Context
(Language: English)
Vicky Melechson, Fomento Library, Tel Aviv Jaffa Academic College
Index terms: Administration, Biblical Studies, Law, Social History
Abstract

Paper -a:
In contrast to other sets of Carolingian annals, the textual witnesses of the Annales Laureshamenses have never been studied in their own right. In this paper I discuss the origin, transmission, and reception of the 'authoritative' continuation of the Annales Laureshamenses - that is, the continuation up to and including the entry of the year 803. I seek to recapture the social logic of the surviving textual witnesses and the manuscripts that transmit it in order to elucidate the uses of the continuation and to elaborate on the implications of its use.

Paper -b:
The so called Fredegar's Chronicle is the second most important narrative source of the Merovingian kingdom after Gregory of Tours's colossal work widely known as Historia Francorum. Leaving aside the anonymity of Fredegar's Chronicle, which still constitutes one of the main problems that bothers modern historians, in this paper we will concentrate on Fredegar's expression of Frankishness through the text of his work. Fredegar was the first author of the Merovingians, who used the term Frank and its derivatives in an explicit collective form, giving thus the Franks for the first time in their history an ethnic diversity in comparison with others - non-Franks, and especially the Romans.

Paper -c:
'Concerning a Man Killed between Two Villae' (title 102) is an early addition to the Lex Salica. The provision describes the actions that should be taken by a count when a homicide is newly discovered. The title has drawn the attention of legal historians, mainly because it instructs the count to summon the neighbours and begin the investigation on his own initiative, i.e. without the accuser. But this provision has other interesting aspects. In this paper I will examine closely the provision 'Concerning a Man Killed between Two Villae' and try to put it in a broader historical context. I will raise questions as: how 'Frankish' is this ruling? How realistic is it? Is this only a theoretical attempt to fill some legislative lacuna or a provision that comes in response to a real case?