Materials and Cohesion. Rituals and Elements as a part of a Military Identity in Early Medieval Francia

Abstract

The presence of the Franks within Late Roman sources became more relevant due to their contacts with the empire. Such contacts took place through the foredera with which these groups served the Western Roman army as foederati. This phenomenon would be repeated several times during the fourth and fifth centuries. In such a manner, the Franks settled at the empire's Northern frontier, this is, the Rhenish limes During the fifth century, they were part of the contingents that participated of the Battle of the Catalaunian fields, in Aetius’s side. Later, the Salian leaders began to concentrate power and consolidate their position in Northern Gaul: These were the cases of Childeric I (457-481), and Clovis (481-511). This last achievement allowed them to secure their dominion in most of Gaul, even defeating the Visigoths at the Battle of Vouillé. In this context, the Franks were depicted as savage and stubborn by contemporary writers. The descriptions allow us to understand that there was a military identity inherited probably from the participation of the Franks in the late Roman army, an identity that was manifested through symbols and rituals. The aim of this article is to highlight the relation between certain materials as bearers of a kind of identity connected to military matters, and the construction of social cohesion within the context of Merovingian Gaul. In order to do this, I will focus on the analysis of narrative, legal, and canonical sources.