Charakteristik und gesellschaftliche Bedeutung von Waffenträgern im merowingischen Gallien des 6. Jahrhunderts, MA thesis, Propylaeum.DOK. Publikationsplattform Altertumswissenschaften Heidelberg (Hamburg, 2007). (original) (raw)

2010

"Although the early Middle Ages, and the Merovingian era in particular, have always been considered exceptionally martial, no study has been published until this date that focuses on the fighting part of contemporary society. This is all the more surprising as this particular part of Merovingian society may be studied comparably easily by means of both written and archaeological evidence. The aim of my master thesis was to represent a first basic survey of this subject. To this end, after providing a short overview on the recent history of research, a first chapter gives an analysis of the terminology that may be found in the written evidence referring to armed men, as well as the different groups of combatants that the sources refer to. The second chapter attempts to define distinctive features of the fighting part of Merovingian society, including their ethnic affiliation, their appearance including clothing and weaponry, but also internal elements like the idea of honour or the importance of religion according to them. The aim of the third chapter is to take a closer look at the closer environment of the Merovingian weapons carriers. This includes their possessions and means to enlarge these, as well as possible familial and social relations. A fourth chapter is devoted to the position of this same group of people within the whole Merovingian society, both in terms of their legal position according to the contemporary legislation, as well as their position within the social structures and relations of dependence so important during that era. The fifth chapter tries to figure out the various functions that were executed by armed men, be it as a regional officer, including judicial or military functions, be it tasks carried out in connection to the transmission of information or in connection to special orders in the service of the royal family. The aim of the last chapter was to expand the view once more by attempting to analyze the views of the Merovingian population on the weapons carriers. For this purpose, an analysis is given regarding their situation face to armed men at a local level and in the context of military activity, as well as the different means that were at their disposal to protect themselves from violent attacks – as provided, for example, by fortifications, but also by the Merovingian legal system, or the right of asylum offered by the Church. In summary, it could be concluded that it is very difficult to differentiate between what could be called a ‘warrior’ from the rest of the Merovingian population, whereas the bearing of weapons appears increasingly common with regards to the better-off part of the secular population. Less well-off people were most of all asked to participate in armed undertakings in cases of necessity."