Gallo-Romans
The inhabitants of the Roman province of Gaul in late antiquity are called Gallo-Romans or Gallo -Romans . The name expresses the amalgamation of Roman and Gallic culture in this section of the population (see Gallo-Roman culture ). From the further amalgamation of this population group with the Franks during the migration period, the Merovingian empire emerged, followed by France and Germany .
In the emergence of the Gallo-Romans, the ethnic amalgamation between the Gallic population and Roman troops (most of whom were not "real" Romans, but soldiers from other parts of the Roman Empire) played a decisive role, but rather the adoption of the Roman ones Culture and language. The Gallic population quickly became Romanized, especially in the cities. To a lesser extent, Gallic traditions, which were adopted by the Roman upper class, probably also persisted.
The Gallo-Romans represented the most important link between the Roman culture of antiquity and the culture of the Middle Ages . For the East Franconian Empire , the inhabitants of the episcopal cities on the Rhine were of particular importance in this regard. Alongside Irish monks, the Gallo-Romans were the most important bearers of Christianity , from which the Christianization of the Franks proceeded.
The feudal system of the Middle Ages has partly Gallo-Roman roots: In the 4th century, a senatorial upper class was formed in Gaul , which implemented the administration of the province on site, represented Gallic interests towards the empire and provided numerous bishops . At the same time they built large latifundia to which imperial officials had no access, who they defended with private armies and on which they themselves spoke justice. At the same time, the classical Roman city nobility in the cities of Gaul lost its importance.