Late Merovingian France

by Paul Fouracre, Richard A. Gerberding

This collection of documents in translation brings together the seminal sources for the late Merovingian Frankish kingdom. It inteprets the chronicles and saint's lives rigorously to reveal new insights into the nature and significance of sanctity, power and power relationships. The book makes available a range of 7th- and early 8th-century texts, five of which have never before been translated into English. It opens with a broad-ranging explanation of the historical background to the translated texts and then each source is accompanied by a full commentary and an introductory essay exploring its authorship, language and subject matter. The sources are rich in the detail of Merovingian political life. Their subjects are the powerful in society and they reveal the successful interplay between power and sanctity, a process which came to underpin much of European culture throughout the early Middle Ages.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

397 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Paul Fouracre is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Manchester.

Reviews

[Robert Monk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun, if you happen to be me or someone like me. It's a collection of mostly 7th century works, annals and chronicles and saint's lives, things like that. Primary sources. The premise of the book is that most of what we think we know about the Merovingians comes from what their successors, the Carolingians, wrote about them. So what did they say about themselves? Does the Carolingian story hold up? Were the Merovingians decadent and useless, well to be replaced, or is that just spin? The editors of this work suggest that perhaps the Carolingians felt a bit of a need to justify themselves, but they aren't overly intrusive. If you're a fan of early Medieval history, this is worth checking out.