HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor
HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor
ETHNIC AND NATIONAL HISTORY CA. 500‒1000 51tory, usually dated early in the second quarter of the century, in thelight of recent developments and brought it up to date. This revisionwould account for those sentiments in the Getica that appearincompatible with the politics of the Gothic court in the 520s: itsviolent anti-Arianism for instance. A recent reading has brought backGothic oral tradition, though from a new angle. 26 It is known thata function of oral tradition in illiterate societies is to align the pastwith the present by projecting present circumstances into remoteantiquity. The argument is that this is exactly what the Getica doesin dating the division of the Goths into Visigoths and Ostrogothsback to their early settlement north of the Black Sea, which contradictsall earlier evidence on the subject, and in placing the Amalsat the head of the Goths from very early and making Ermanaric anAmal, which is equally unsupported. 27 These beliefs may not bearchaic, but they are what we might expect from Theoderic’s courtiersin Ravenna and, hence, from Cassiodorus at second hand.The textual basis for Momigliano’s argument is weak: the Geticamentions the child Germanus and his ancestry three times (81, 251,314) and the Romana once (383), at considerable length given thedimensions of the work, and two of these references are made farin advance of the child’s birth. The Anicii are mentioned only once(314), Germanus’s status as nephew of the emperor twice (81, 251).Clearly, these allusions do not come from an earlier text that Jordanessummarizes but are a conspicuous element of his own design andhis political agenda. The third and most recent tendency in scholarshipabout the Getica, accordingly, is to read it as the consideredwork of Jordanes and not the incoherent abbreviation of anotherwork. 28 Its account of Roman-Gothic relations can be understood asreflecting the values of a strongly assimilated Goth of Constantinople,Catholic and anti-Arian, writing in 551 in full support of Justinian’sItalian policy (though wishing the emperor were sending Belisariusand not Narses), proud of the historical achievements and the antiquityof his people, but even more certain of the need for them toyield to the authority of the empire.26Heather (1991).27On the antiquity of Visigoths and Ostrogoths, see Getica, 19. Jordanes repeatsthe information, attributing it to Ablabius, in 82, but contradicts it to some degreein 98; cf. Heather (1991), 12–18.28Goffart (1988), 20–111; Croke (1987).
52 JOAQUÍN MARTÍNEZ PIZARROGregory of Tours and Merovingian GaulAlthough Jordanes did not place the Goths first in the scheme ofthings, he did make them and their doings the subject of the Getica.This is by no means the case with Gregory of Tours and the Franks.Gregory, a Gallo-Roman bishop of senatorial ancestry, writes for apublic that lived mainly south of the Loire. He shows no interest inethnicities, not even his own, let alone that of the Franks. Asidefrom a few casual remarks about Frankish customs and language, 29he has nothing to say about them and their culture in particular. Ifhe focuses on the Merovingian rulers of Gaul, it is because they arein power and not because they happen to be Franks. Today thereis a measure of agreement that Gregory is not a national or ethnichistorian. 30 The misleading title Historia Francorum is found only inlate Carolingian manuscripts; Gregory’s own title for his work wasHistoriae or Ten Books of History. 31Gregory probably was born in 538, the son of an Auvergnat fatherand a Burgundian mother, and retained all his life a deep attachmentto the city of Clermont and its vicinity. There had been numerousbishops in his family, at Lyons, Langres, and Tours. From hisparents Gregory inherited a passionate devotion to the cult of certainsaints, most importantly St. Julian of Brioude. When in 573 hewas appointed—uncanonically—bishop of Tours, he transferred hisdevotion to Martin of Tours, of whose sanctuary and reputation hehad become the custodian. As one of the leading bishops inMerovingian Gaul, Gregory found himself involved in the religiousand secular affairs of Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy, and their dependentterritories. He died most probably in 594. 32Gregory’s literary work, most of which has come down to us, isentirely in prose. It comprises, in addition to the Historiae, sevenbooks of miracula, one of biographies or vitae of holy men, a version29Goffart (1983).30Vollmann (1983), col. 903; Heinzelmann (1994b); cf. also Rouche (1977). James(1998) argues, largely e silentio, that Gregory thought of himself as a Frank, i.e., aninhabitant of Gaul who was a subject of the Frankish kings.31Gregory of Tours, Libri historiarum X, ed. B. Krusch and W. Levison, MGH,SSRM I.1 (Hanover, 1951). On the original title see Goffart (1987) and (1988),119–27.32Verdon (1986); Wood (1994).
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- Page 11 and 12: 2 DEBORAH MAUSKOPF DELIYANNISMuch o
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- Page 27 and 28: 18 MICHAEL I. ALLENone, emphasized
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- Page 53 and 54: 44 JOAQUÍN MARTÍNEZ PIZARROself-a
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- Page 99 and 100: 90 MICHEL SOTAs for institutional h
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52 JOAQUÍN MARTÍNEZ PIZARROGregory of Tours and Merovingian GaulAlthough Jordanes did not place the Goths first in the scheme ofthings, he did make them and their doings the subject of the Getica.This is by no means the case with Gregory of Tours and the Franks.Gregory, a Gallo-Roman bishop of senatorial ancestry, writes for apublic that lived mainly south of the Loire. He shows no interest inethnicities, not even his own, let alone that of the Franks. Asidefrom a few casual remarks about Frankish customs and language, 29he has nothing to say about them and their culture in particular. Ifhe focuses on the Merovingian rulers of Gaul, it is because they arein power and not because they happen to be Franks. Today thereis a measure of agreement that Gregory is not a national or ethnichistorian. 30 The misleading title Historia Francorum is found only inlate Carolingian manuscripts; Gregory’s own title for his work wasHistoriae or Ten Books of History. 31Gregory probably was born in 538, the son of an Auvergnat fatherand a Burgundian mother, and retained all his life a deep attachmentto the city of Clermont and its vicinity. There had been numerousbishops in his family, at Lyons, Langres, and Tours. From hisparents Gregory inherited a passionate devotion to the cult of certainsaints, most importantly St. <strong>Julian</strong> of Brioude. When in 573 hewas appointed—uncanonically—bishop of Tours, he transferred hisdevotion to Martin of Tours, of whose sanctuary and reputation hehad become the custodian. As one of the leading bishops inMerovingian Gaul, Gregory found himself involved in the religiousand secular affairs of Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy, and their dependentterritories. He died most probably in 594. 32Gregory’s literary work, most of which has come down to us, isentirely in prose. It comprises, in addition to the Historiae, sevenbooks of miracula, one of biographies or vitae of holy men, a version29Goffart (1983).30Vollmann (1983), col. 903; Heinzelmann (1994b); cf. also Rouche (1977). James(1998) argues, largely e silentio, that Gregory thought of himself as a Frank, i.e., aninhabitant of Gaul who was a subject of the Frankish kings.31Gregory of Tours, Libri historiarum X, ed. B. Krusch and W. Levison, MGH,SSRM I.1 (Hanover, 1951). On the original title see Goffart (1987) and (1988),119–27.32Verdon (1986); Wood (1994).
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