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The National History of France
The History of Gaul: Celtic, Roman and Frankish Rule
Traces Gaul from its prehistoric beginnings to the founding of the Capetian ruling house in 987 A.D.
- GenresHistory
438 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
66 people want to read
About the author
Frantz Funck-Brentano
192 books3 followersFrantz Funck-Brentano was a French historian and librarian. He was born in the castle of Munsbach (Luxembourg) and died at Montfermeil. He was a son of Théophile Funck-Brentano.
After graduating at a young age from the prestigious École Nationale des Chartes, Frantz Funck-Brentano was in 1885 named curator of the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, of which he never became director. His research focused especially on the Ancien Régime, primarily because this library housed the archive of documents from the Bastille, which represented an incomparable source for the history, in particular the political history of the Ancien Régime. Funck-Bentano himself compiled the voluminous and exhaustive catalog of this archive while he was curator. The depths of this resource led him to study all aspects of the history of the Ancien Régime: its institutions, peculiarities, personalities and famous events, which he made the subject of highly referenced books that brought great success to the library.
In 1900 he became replacement professor at the Collège de France, in the chair of comparative legislative history, where he dealt with the foundation of western European cities.
In 1905 he was appointed a principal lecturer of the Alliance française to the United States. At the same time he was mandated by the French government to study the spread of French literature in the United States, Canada and Cuba. In this capacity he spoke before President Theodore Roosevelt in the White House. On his return to France, he was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur.
In 1909 he spoke before French circles of Austria-Hungary, in Vienna, Prague and Budapest, on the history of France through the ages.
After this he served several times as lecturer for the Alliance française, in the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Romania and Russia. In 1907 the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres awarding him the important Prix Berger for his works on the history of Paris. He was elected member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques in 1928, and president of the Société des études historiques.
After graduating at a young age from the prestigious École Nationale des Chartes, Frantz Funck-Brentano was in 1885 named curator of the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, of which he never became director. His research focused especially on the Ancien Régime, primarily because this library housed the archive of documents from the Bastille, which represented an incomparable source for the history, in particular the political history of the Ancien Régime. Funck-Bentano himself compiled the voluminous and exhaustive catalog of this archive while he was curator. The depths of this resource led him to study all aspects of the history of the Ancien Régime: its institutions, peculiarities, personalities and famous events, which he made the subject of highly referenced books that brought great success to the library.
In 1900 he became replacement professor at the Collège de France, in the chair of comparative legislative history, where he dealt with the foundation of western European cities.
In 1905 he was appointed a principal lecturer of the Alliance française to the United States. At the same time he was mandated by the French government to study the spread of French literature in the United States, Canada and Cuba. In this capacity he spoke before President Theodore Roosevelt in the White House. On his return to France, he was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur.
In 1909 he spoke before French circles of Austria-Hungary, in Vienna, Prague and Budapest, on the history of France through the ages.
After this he served several times as lecturer for the Alliance française, in the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Romania and Russia. In 1907 the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres awarding him the important Prix Berger for his works on the history of Paris. He was elected member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques in 1928, and president of the Société des études historiques.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 19, 2023
I bought this in a used book store about six months ago. I paid $12. I knew nothing about the author and only glanced at the dust jacket before plunking down my cash.
I don't regret that, but I kind of wish I knew that while this edition was printed in the 1990s, the original text is from 1927. And it is very much of its time.
The first couple chapters are basically geological sketches that explain the topography of what we today would call France mixed with notes cribbed from anthropology texts of the era and oh boy, they are every bit as dated as you might think. (Read: racist. Like old-timey racist. Like racist among the tribes of pre-historic Europe.)
That provides a certain amount of color to the rest of the book which eventually morphs into a long series of discourses on various rulers and great men from pre-historic times. It's every bit as shaky as you might think.
But eventually the Roman empire comes along and the author does a good job of explaining Gaul's relationship to various regimes and its roles in the major wars of late antiquity.
The third act focuses on Charlemagne and the pitch is, "He was great. Because he made France and France is much better than Germany." (I mentioned this was published in 1927, right?)
I am very glad that I read this but the prose is a slog and you can probably learn more about the history of Gaul by spending 2 hours on Wikipedia than deconstructing the ghosts of this narrative. But I can promise you you will say "What the...." more than a few times and for more than a few reasons.
I don't regret that, but I kind of wish I knew that while this edition was printed in the 1990s, the original text is from 1927. And it is very much of its time.
The first couple chapters are basically geological sketches that explain the topography of what we today would call France mixed with notes cribbed from anthropology texts of the era and oh boy, they are every bit as dated as you might think. (Read: racist. Like old-timey racist. Like racist among the tribes of pre-historic Europe.)
That provides a certain amount of color to the rest of the book which eventually morphs into a long series of discourses on various rulers and great men from pre-historic times. It's every bit as shaky as you might think.
But eventually the Roman empire comes along and the author does a good job of explaining Gaul's relationship to various regimes and its roles in the major wars of late antiquity.
The third act focuses on Charlemagne and the pitch is, "He was great. Because he made France and France is much better than Germany." (I mentioned this was published in 1927, right?)
I am very glad that I read this but the prose is a slog and you can probably learn more about the history of Gaul by spending 2 hours on Wikipedia than deconstructing the ghosts of this narrative. But I can promise you you will say "What the...." more than a few times and for more than a few reasons.
September 5, 2020
Frantz Funck-Brentano was a French historian from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His most famous work is "The Old Regime in France" in which he describes French society in the 200 years before the French Revolution.
"The History of Gaul: Celtic, Roman and Frankish Rule" is one of his lesser-known works translated into English (published by Putnam's in 1927 under the title "The Earliest Times").
It is a 430-page history of France from prehistoric times to 987 A.D., the year Hugh Capet ascended to the throne. There are only five chapters in the book: the Prehistoric Period, Celtic Gaul, Roman Gaul, The Merovingians, and The Carlovingians. Funck-Brentano's focus is on the political and social history of France. Although he covers many names, dates, and battles, he does a good job explaining the factors -- the tribes, the chieftains, and their characteristics -- that formed the character of the French people.
He has a very high opinion of the Gauls. Apparently, they were much more civilized and developed than is commonly believed. They practiced many crafts that were as good or superior to the Romans. Their government and technology were relatively advanced, and they gave the powerful Roman Legions a run for their money.
Funck-Bretano has a very low opinion of both the Roman Period and the Merovingians. He dismisses Clovis as a bandit and a savage. Such a view may not be entirely incorrect, although in my opinion he is too harsh on the man who made the Franks into the first-born daughter of the Church. When Charles Martel, Pepin the Short, Charlemagne, and the Carolingians come along, Funck-Brentano has much more enthusiasm, perhaps because they made France the largest and most powerful it had ever been and likely ever will be relative to the rest of Europe.
Funck-Brentano was both a Protestant and a fervent French nationalist who lived during a time of intense rivalry with the German Empire. That means that he was not particularly friendly to the Catholic Church, the Popes, or the Italians in general, to say nothing of the Germans.
Some of that bias seeps into his telling of history. For example, he detests the Roman Empire and especially Julius Ceasar as a "man of prey" and a "spirit of evil" who brought little more than oppression and death to the superior civilization of Gaul. The Roman Empire "gave to Gaul only a brittle and fragile peace," he concludes, "which was succeeded by centuries of ruination and barbarism." Funck-Brentano also dismisses the German tribes as nothing but savages who devastated Gaul thanks to the neglect and oppression of the Roman Empire. Some or even much of this might be true, but he clearly has an ax to grind against both Rome and the Germans.
Funck-Brentano's book is very thorough. He cites hundreds of sources. However, he wrote it a century ago and it is a bit dated as far as historical research is concerned.
Overall, Franz Funck-Brentano was a first-rate historian who wrote a good summary of the history of France until 987. Although a bit biased and a bit dated, it still deserves a place on the shelf for any serious student of French history.
"The History of Gaul: Celtic, Roman and Frankish Rule" is one of his lesser-known works translated into English (published by Putnam's in 1927 under the title "The Earliest Times").
It is a 430-page history of France from prehistoric times to 987 A.D., the year Hugh Capet ascended to the throne. There are only five chapters in the book: the Prehistoric Period, Celtic Gaul, Roman Gaul, The Merovingians, and The Carlovingians. Funck-Brentano's focus is on the political and social history of France. Although he covers many names, dates, and battles, he does a good job explaining the factors -- the tribes, the chieftains, and their characteristics -- that formed the character of the French people.
He has a very high opinion of the Gauls. Apparently, they were much more civilized and developed than is commonly believed. They practiced many crafts that were as good or superior to the Romans. Their government and technology were relatively advanced, and they gave the powerful Roman Legions a run for their money.
Funck-Bretano has a very low opinion of both the Roman Period and the Merovingians. He dismisses Clovis as a bandit and a savage. Such a view may not be entirely incorrect, although in my opinion he is too harsh on the man who made the Franks into the first-born daughter of the Church. When Charles Martel, Pepin the Short, Charlemagne, and the Carolingians come along, Funck-Brentano has much more enthusiasm, perhaps because they made France the largest and most powerful it had ever been and likely ever will be relative to the rest of Europe.
Funck-Brentano was both a Protestant and a fervent French nationalist who lived during a time of intense rivalry with the German Empire. That means that he was not particularly friendly to the Catholic Church, the Popes, or the Italians in general, to say nothing of the Germans.
Some of that bias seeps into his telling of history. For example, he detests the Roman Empire and especially Julius Ceasar as a "man of prey" and a "spirit of evil" who brought little more than oppression and death to the superior civilization of Gaul. The Roman Empire "gave to Gaul only a brittle and fragile peace," he concludes, "which was succeeded by centuries of ruination and barbarism." Funck-Brentano also dismisses the German tribes as nothing but savages who devastated Gaul thanks to the neglect and oppression of the Roman Empire. Some or even much of this might be true, but he clearly has an ax to grind against both Rome and the Germans.
Funck-Brentano's book is very thorough. He cites hundreds of sources. However, he wrote it a century ago and it is a bit dated as far as historical research is concerned.
Overall, Franz Funck-Brentano was a first-rate historian who wrote a good summary of the history of France until 987. Although a bit biased and a bit dated, it still deserves a place on the shelf for any serious student of French history.
September 22, 2011
3.5 Please see my review at Celtic Scholar
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews