Cambridge University Press eBooks· 2015
History, Frankish Identity and the Framing of Western Ethnicity, 550–850
- 222citations
- 2015year
Short summary
This study argues that early medieval Frankish identity was pivotal in shaping a distinct Western concept of ethnicity, shifting from viewing ethnicity as the 'Other' to a perception of chosen Christian peoples.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Frankish identity was central to the development of Western ethnicity.
- Shifted ethnicity from defining the 'Other' to a concept of divinely chosen Christian peoples.
- Frankish political success provided foundational structures for the medieval West.
- Offers a new basis for comparing Western identity with Islamic and Byzantine worlds.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This pioneering study explores early medieval Frankish identity as a window into the formation of a distinct Western conception of ethnicity. Focusing on the turbulent and varied history of Frankish identity in Merovingian and Carolingian historiography, it offers a new basis for comparing the history of collective and ethnic identity in the Christian West with other contexts, especially the Islamic and Byzantine worlds. The tremendous political success of the Frankish kingdoms provided the medieval West with fundamental political, religious and social structures, including a change from the Roman perspective on ethnicity as the quality of the 'Other' to the Carolingian perception that a variety of Christian peoples were chosen by God to reign over the former Roman provinces. Interpreting identity as an open ended process, Helmut Reimitz explores the role of Frankish identity in the multiple efforts through which societies tried to find order in the rapidly changing post-Roman world.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Cambridge University Press eBooks, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Classics
ClassicsArts and Humanities