Liber Historiae Francorum

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The Liber Historiae Francorum (LHF) is a chronicle from the late Merovingian period , which was previously known as Gesta (regum) Francorum (not to be confused with the Gesta Francorum et aliorum hierosolimitanorum , a report on the First Crusade ). In 53 chapters it deals with the history of the Frankish Empire up to the first third of the 8th century. According to the final sentence, the record was completed in the sixth year of King Theuderich IV's reign , i.e. 727/728.

Classification in the source situation

The author of the Liber Historiae Francorum drew on the first six books of the history of Gregory of Tours , which cover the period up to AD 584, among other things . Its other sources cannot be determined exactly, with the exception of the prologue of the Lex Salica , which the author quotes in Chapter 4, and a passage from a continuation of the Chronicle of Isidore of Seville , which was used as a source for the report on the year 613. Presumably the author of the Liber Historiae Francorum mainly evaluated oral traditions, but possibly also epic traditions and texts that are lost today. The so-called Fredegar Chronicle was not known to the author.

For the late Merovingian epoch after 642, which is no longer dealt with by the Fredegar Chronicle, the Liber Historiae Francorum is "the only coherent historical representation".

Authorship

The name of the author is not known. However, research generally assumes that he came from Neustria , since this part of the Franconian Empire is at the center of his presentation. Originally Rouen and then also Saint-Denis were considered as the place of origin, but in the meantime the author is mostly seen in research as a resident of Soissons . Various references in the text of the Liber Historiae Francorum specifically suggest a close relationship between the author and the Notre Dame Abbey in Soissons. The author also seems to have been well informed about the family of the Pippinids (the later Carolingians ), who exerted a great influence on the monastery. If this assumption is correct, the author of the Liber Historiae Francorum should have been female, since Notre-Dame-de-Soissons was a women's convent. The more detailed treatment and the judgment of the female Merovingians and Carolingians, which in some cases contradicts that of Gregor von Tours, supports this assumption.

Web links

Editions and translations

  • Bruno Krusch (ed.): Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 2: Fredegarii et aliorum Chronica. Vitae sanctorum. Hanover 1888, pp. 215–328 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version )
  • GH Herz, J. Grimm, R. Lachmann, L. Ranke, R. Ritter (eds.): The historians of the German past. VI. Century. Gregory of Tours. Ten books on Franconian history. B. VII - X. Legends from Fredegar and the Chronicle of the Franconian Kings. Berlin 1851.
  • Bernard S. Bacharach: Liber Historiae Francorum. Lawrence (Kansas) 1973.
  • Herbert Haupt (transl.): Liber Historiae Francorum. The book of the history of the Franks (insignificantly shortened) . In: Andreas Kusternig, Herbert Haupt (Hrsg.): Sources for the history of the 7th and 8th centuries (selected sources for the German history of the Middle Ages 4a) . Darmstadt 1982, p. 338 ff.

literature

  • Hans Hubert Anton : Origin of Troy, origio gentis and early constitution of the Franks in the Gallic-Franconian tradition of the 5th to 8th centuries. In: Communications from the Institute for Austrian Historical Research . Volume 108, number 1/2, 2000, pp. 1-30.
  • Eugen Ewig : Troy myth and early Franconian history. In: Dieter Geuenich (Hrsg.): The Franks and the Alemanni up to the "Battle of Zülpich" (496/97) (= Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde . Supplementary volume 19). de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1998, ISBN 3-11-015826-4 , pp. 1–31.
  • Paul Fourace, Richard A. Gerberding (Eds.): Late merovingian France. History and Hagiography 640-720. Manchester University Press, Manchester et al. 1996, ISBN 0-7190-4791-9 , pp. 79-96.
  • Richard A. Gerberding: The Rise of the Carolingians and the Liber Historiae Francorum. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1987, ISBN 0-19-822940-2 .
  • Martina Hartmann : The representation of women in the Liber Historiae Francorum and the author's question. In: Concilium medii aevi. Volume 7, 2004, pp. 209-237 ( PDF ).
  • Georg Scheibelreiter: From Myth to History. Reflections on the Forms of Preservation of the Past in the Early Middle Ages. In: Anton Scharer , Georg Scheibelreiter (Ed.): Historiography in the early Middle Ages (= publications of the Institute for Austrian Historical Research. Volume 32). Oldenburg, Vienna et al. 1994, ISBN 3-7029-0380-1 , pp. 26-41.
  • Wilhelm Wattenbach : Germany's historical sources in the Middle Ages. Early days and Carolingians. Based on the 7th edition started by W. Wattenbach and edited by E. Dümmler , revised and supplemented by Franz Huf. Edited by Alexander Heine (= publications of the Institute for Austrian Historical Research. Volume 32). Phaidon-Verlag, Kettwig 1991, ISBN 3-88851-129-1 .
  • Ian N. Wood : Fredegars' Fables. In: Anton Scharer, Georg Scheibelreiter (Hrsg.): Historiography in the early Middle Ages. Oldenburg, Vienna et al. 1994, ISBN 3-7029-0380-1 , pp. 356-366.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Martina Hartmann : The representation of women in Liber Historiae Francorum and the author's question. In: Concilium medii aevi. Volume 7, 2004, pp. 209-237, here pp. 209 f.
  2. ↑ Reinhold Kaiser : The Franks: Rome's heirs and pioneers in Europe? (= Historical seminar. New series, volume 10). Schulz-Kirchner, Idstein 1997, ISBN 3-8248-0030-6 , p. 23.
  3. ↑ To the debate about the place of origin summarizing Martina Hartmann: The representation of women in Liber Historiae Francorum and the author's question. In: Concilium medii aevi. Volume 7, 2004, pp. 209-237, here p. 211 (with further references).
  4. ↑ Martina Hartmann: The representation of women in Liber Historiae Francorum and the author's question. In: Concilium medii aevi. Volume 7, 2004, pp. 209-237, here pp. 213-218.
  5. ↑ Janet Nelson : Gender and genre in women historians of the early Middle Ages. In: The same: The Frankish World 750-900. London 1996, pp. 183-197.
  6. ↑ Martina Hartmann: The representation of women in Liber Historiae Francorum and the author's question. In: Concilium medii aevi. Volume 7, 2004, pp. 209-237, especially pp. 219-237.