Marcomers

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Marcomer was a Frankish military leader or small king in the late 4th century, who devastated the Cologne area in 388 so that he provoked several Roman counterattacks and was later interned in Italy.

Together with the Frankish military leaders Gennobaudes and Sunno , Marcomer led a successful raid on Roman territory on the Lower Rhine in 388. The Franks advanced on the left bank of the Rhine and devastated the region around Cologne before they withdrew with rich booty. The background was perhaps the withdrawal of several Roman troops from the Rhine on the orders of the usurper Magnus Maximus , who was then ruling Gaul . This attack and the Roman reaction to it are described in detail by the late Roman historian Sulpicius Alexander, who wrote around 400 . The depiction of Sulpicius is only preserved in the form of a longer excerpt from the history of the early medieval bishop and historian Gregor von Tours (late 6th century), which however contains valuable information.

According to Gregors' report, which he said was based on the third book of the Historia des Sulpicius, part of the Franks that had not withdrawn across the Rhine was eventually defeated by Roman troops in a battle on the coal forest. However, Marcomer had already been able to pull away with rich prey. The Romans were commanded by officers Nanninus and Quintinus. While Quintinus and other officers were now planning to persecute the Franks on their own territory, Nanninus expressed concerns and withdrew to Mogontiacum (Mainz). Quintinus advanced with the rest of the troops into Frankish territory and destroyed some scattered farms, but was then lured into a trap by the Franks; Marcomer was probably also involved. The Romans suffered a heavy defeat, which the classically trained Sulpicius represented based on the clades Variana .

Gregor further describes, referring to the fourth book of the Historia des Sulpicius, the punitive expedition of the army master Arbogast against the Franks. Marcomer and Sunno had to take hostages, for which Valentinian II apparently offered them peace. Some time later (391/92 or 392/93) Arbogast crossed the Rhine again in winter and attacked the Franks, with Marcomer after Sulpicius Alexander also leading the Ampsivarians and Chatten . Gennobaudes is no longer mentioned after describing the Franconian crossing of the Rhine, presumably he was killed during the fighting there.

The usurper Eugenius finally renewed the treaties with the Franks and Alemanni . Around 396 (at least after the death of Emperor Theodosius I ) the Franks had to take a new oath to General Stilicho , who represented the absent Emperor Honorius .

The poet Claudian tells of the internment of the Marcomer captured by the Romans (or exiled by the Franks) in Etruria . Sunno then wanted to avenge Marcomer, but was murdered by his own people.

The excerpt from the work of Sulpicius Alexander is of great value for the constitution of the early Franks. Gregory von Tours tried to find out how the early Franconian tribes were organized, but could not find any precise information. From the point of view of modern research, the terms mentioned there such as dux , regalis or rex are not to be equated with the later meanings. Rather, the Frankish military leaders were probably not petty kings or the like, but (military) leaders. However, due to the wide range of possible interpretations, hardly anything can be said about the precise structures of rule.

progeny

The author of the Liber Historiae Francorum describes Marcomer as the father of the (fictional) King Faramund , who in turn is said to have been the father of Chlodio . This genealogy, which was recorded more than 330 years after Marcomer, has been considered mythical since the end of the 19th century (see also False Merovingians ).

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Helmut Castritius :  Sunno. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 30, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-018385-4 , pp. 135-136, here p. 135.
  2. ^ Gregory of Tours, Historiae 2.9.
  3. ↑ De Consulatu Stilichonis I, 241 ff. In: Theodor Birt (Ed.): Auctores antiquissimi 10: Claudii Claudiani Carmina. Berlin 1892, p. 197 ( Monumenta Germaniae Historica , digitized version ). See also Kehne, p. 273.
  4. ↑ Castritius, Sunno , p. 135 f. See also Helmut Castritius, Regalis . In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde Vol. 24 (2003), S. 304 f.
  5. ↑ Liber Historiae Francorum 1, 4–5.
personal data
SURNAME Marcomers
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Frankish military leader
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century
DATE OF DEATH 4th century or 5th century