Approaches to community and otherness in the late Merovingian and early Carolingian periods
The aim of this study is to examine how contemporary authors approached and understood the communal identity of the inhabitants of the regnum Francorum from the seventh to the early ninth century. In order to do this, the study takes in a wide variety of narrative sources â historical and hagiographical â and addresses issues of both âcommunityâ and âothernessâ, and above all the relationship between the two. To this end, the study explores three related discourses that emerged and developed in this period. The first of these discourse concerned the Franks themselves, especially the way authors imagined a Frankish community composed of a single gens which overcame inherent divisions within the regnum. The second discourse involved the relationship between Franks and non-Franks, and how authors relied on concepts of rebellion and paganism rather than ethnic identity to encourage a sense of exclusion. Crucially, we shall see this was a discourse that only really emerged in the eighth century. The third discourse is represented by a case-study of a specific people â the Frisians that charts how they went from being peripheral pagans at the beginning of the eighth century to being seen as part of
Broome, Richard Christopher
Approaches to community and otherness in the late Merovingian and early Carolingian periods. The aim of this study is to examine how contemporary authors approached and understood the communal identity of the inhabitants of the regnum Francorum from the seventh to the early ninth century. In order to do this, the study takes in a wide variety of narrative sources â historical and hagiographical â and addresses issues of both âcommunityâ and âothernessâ, and above all the relationship between the two. To this end, the study explores three related discourses that emerged and developed in this period. The first of these discourse concerned the Franks themselves, especially the way authors imagined a Frankish community composed of a single gens which overcame inherent divisions within the regnum. The second discourse involved the relationship between Franks and non-Franks, and how authors relied on concepts of rebellion and paganism rather than ethnic identity to encourage a sense of exclusion. Crucially, we shall see this was a discourse that only really emerged in the eighth century. The third discourse is represented by a case-study of a specific people â the Frisians that charts how they went from being peripheral pagans at the beginning of the eighth century to being seen as part of
approaches community otherness late early carolingian period aim_study examine contemporary author approach understood communal identity inhabitant seventh order study take_wide variety narrative_source historical hagiographical address_issue community otherness relationship end study_explores related discourse emerge developed period first discourse concerned especially way author imagine frankish community compose single gen overcame inherent division_within second discourse involve relationship non author rely concept rebellion paganism rather ethnic_identity encourage sense exclusion crucially shall see discourse really emerged third discourse represent case_study specific people chart peripheral pagan begin see part