HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor
Share Embed Flag
Download ePaper

HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor

HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor

juliano.multiculturas.com
from juliano.multiculturas.com More from this publisher
21.07.2015 Views

ETHNIC AND NATIONAL HISTORY CA. 500‒1000 83The third and final section takes us back to the collapse of theOstrogothic kingdom at the death of Ermanaric and traces the furtherhistory of his tribe and his lineage, the Amals, under Hunnish power.The death of Attila (254–58) allows them to settle in the imperialprovince of Pannonia as a free people. There are recurrent episodesof Gothic rampaging, especially in Illyricum, when imperial subsidiesare not paid (271, 285–86), but from the introduction of Theodericand his childhood as a hostage in Constantinople (271), Jordanesemphasizes the closeness and harmony of the Ostrogoths and theEastern Empire. The one significant episode that is dramatized is aconversation between Theoderic and Emperor Zeno in which theGoth asks the emperor’s permission to take over Italy from Odoacerin his name (290–92). After summarizing the events that led toJustinian’s war against the Goths, Jordanes closes the Getica statingthat he has written it not so much in praise of the Goths as of theruler who conquered them (316).Appendix 2: Outline of Gregory’s HistoriaeBook I, which reaches from the Creation to the death of Martin ofTours in 397, serves as a world-historical backdrop to the otherbooks, which are concerned primarily with the Merovingian kingdoms.Gregory emphasizes the role of Christ in the Creation, in harmonywith the recurring anti-Arian polemic of the Historiae. Hisaccount of ancient history concentrates almost exclusively on theJews and on biblical narrative, except for I,17, where he enumeratesthe world-empires of antiquity. With the Christian missions tothe gentiles and the first persecutions and martyrdoms he blendssome information on the Roman Empire and its rulers. Book IIextends to the death of Clovis in 511 and of all the books of theHistoriae pays the most attention to the Franks as a people, as it mustdescribe their first appearance in Gaul and their rise to power.Especially important is II,9; in it Gregory analyzes all the informationavailable to him from historical sources on the question ofwhether the early Franks had been ruled by kings: it is a tour de forceof sustained historical criticism. His biography of Clovis outlines hisgradual conquest of Gaul, culminating in his victory over the ArianVisigoths in 507 and the Frankish takeover of what had been theVisigothic kingdom of Toulouse. Gregory sets side-by-side Clovis’s

84 JOAQUÍN MARTÍNEZ PIZARROprofile as God-appointed king (probably derived in part from earlypropaganda on his behalf, cf. Wood [1985] and Hen [1993]) withhis systematic elimination of his own relatives and other potentialrivals. Book III covers the disastrous reigns of the sons of Clovis; hisgrandson Theudebert emerges as a model king, courageous, effective,and deferential to the church. His death in 548 marks the end ofthe book. Book IV describes the later reigns of the sons of Clovisand the coming to power of the children of Chlothar: Charibert,Guntram, Sigibert, and Chilperic, the fateful Visigothic marriages ofthe latter two, and the murder of Sigibert in 575, allegedly engineeredby Chilperic’s wife Fredegund.Books V to X relate events from 575 to 591, with a strong concentrationon the affairs of Central and Southern Gaul. Gregory’sinterest rarely extends to the northern Franks or to the lands northand east of the Rhine. On the other hand, there is occasional coverageof Spanish developments (e.g., V,38 and VIII,28: the conversionand rebellion of Hermengild), Byzantine politics (V,30; VI,30:reign of Tiberius), and news from Rome (X,1: plague; Gregory theGreat becomes pope). Books V and VI revolve around the figuresof Chilperic I and Fredegund, portrayed very negatively by Gregory,who refers to the king as “the Nero and Herod of our times” (VI,46).VII to X follow the reigns of Sigibert’s son Childebert II (with theVisigothic Brunhild as queen mother) and of his uncle Guntram andtheir various alliances, betrayals, and reconciliations with each other,culminating in the Treaty of Andelot (November 587). Among theimportant events in these books of contemporary history is the campaignof Gundovald, an alleged son of King Chlothar who had beenliving in Constantinople and was summoned back by a group ofnobles (VI,24). Gregory gives a nuanced and even equivocal accountof this pretender’s claims, which he appears to have considered legitimate,and his dramatic narrative of the betrayal of Gundovald bythe very men who had brought him to Gaul and of his wretcheddeath at Comminges shows genuine compassion (VII,34–38). Gregoryhimself appears as a protagonist in several major episodes, notablyhis own trial at Berny-Riviere for treason and slander against Chilpericand Fredegund (V,47–49) and his appearance before King Guntramon behalf of Childebert II, to reassure Guntram that his nephewwas not breaking the clauses of the Treaty of Andelot (IX,20).Alongside of these political episodes, the Historiae include abundantinformation about ecclesiastical matters, for instance the Vandal

ETHNIC AND NATIONAL HISTORY CA. 500‒1000 83The third and final section takes us back to the collapse of theOstrogothic kingdom at the death of Ermanaric and traces the furtherhistory of his tribe and his lineage, the Amals, under Hunnish power.The death of Attila (254–58) allows them to settle in the imperialprovince of Pannonia as a free people. There are recurrent episodesof Gothic rampaging, especially in Illyricum, when imperial subsidiesare not paid (271, 285–86), but from the introduction of Theodericand his childhood as a hostage in Constantinople (271), Jordanesemphasizes the closeness and harmony of the Ostrogoths and theEastern Empire. The one significant episode that is dramatized is aconversation between Theoderic and <strong>Emperor</strong> Zeno in which theGoth asks the emperor’s permission to take over Italy from Odoacerin his name (290–92). After summarizing the events that led toJustinian’s war against the Goths, Jordanes closes the Getica statingthat he has written it not so much in praise of the Goths as of theruler who conquered them (316).Appendix 2: Outline of Gregory’s HistoriaeBook I, which reaches from the Creation to the death of Martin ofTours in 397, serves as a world-historical backdrop to the otherbooks, which are concerned primarily with the Merovingian kingdoms.Gregory emphasizes the role of Christ in the Creation, in harmonywith the recurring anti-Arian polemic of the Historiae. Hisaccount of ancient history concentrates almost exclusively on theJews and on biblical narrative, except for I,17, where he enumeratesthe world-empires of antiquity. With the Christian missions tothe gentiles and the first persecutions and martyrdoms he blendssome information on the Roman Empire and its rulers. Book IIextends to the death of Clovis in 511 and of all the books of theHistoriae pays the most attention to the Franks as a people, as it mustdescribe their first appearance in Gaul and their rise to power.Especially important is II,9; in it Gregory analyzes all the informationavailable to him from historical sources on the question ofwhether the early Franks had been ruled by kings: it is a tour de forceof sustained historical criticism. His biography of Clovis outlines hisgradual conquest of Gaul, culminating in his victory over the ArianVisigoths in 507 and the Frankish takeover of what had been theVisigothic kingdom of Toulouse. Gregory sets side-by-side Clovis’s

logo

products

Resources

Company

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Cookie policy
Cookie settings
Imprint
Change language
Made with love in Switzerland
© 2024 Yumpu.com all rights reserved

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!