FRANKS & ALAMANNI IN THE MEROV

The Franks were the most successful of all the barbarian peoples in establishing a kingdom in the aftermath of the collapse of the West Roman Empire; among their victims were their immediate neighbours, the Alamans, who were engulfed in the course of Frankish expansion. This volume considers the Franks and Alamans from a series of perspectives, historical, archaeological, and linguistic. The origins of both peoples are explored, as are the settlement patterns of the Alamans, the urban, social, and legal history of the Franks (together with Frankish involvement in missions to the east of the Rhine), the role played by the Franks in the development of early medieval incest legislation, and the evidence of Frankish treasure.IAN WOOD is Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Leeds. Contributors: H.J. HUMMER, F. DAMMINGER, M. DE JONG, GUY HALSALL, F. SIEGMUND, IAN WOOD, S.T. LOSEBY, P.J. FOURACRE, M. HARDT, D.H. GREEN, G. AUSENDA.

Franks and Alamanni - a discontinuous ethnogenesis, H.J. Hummer -Franks and Alamanni - a historical sketch, Frankish ethnogenesis, Alamanic ethnogenesis, discussion; dwellings, settlements and settlement patterns of the sixth and seventh centuries in southwest Germany and adjacent areas, F. Damminger - settlement features, rural settlements, central places, discussion; an unresolved riddle - early medieval incest legislation, M. de Jong - some evidence, conflict and confusion, explanations, alternatives, discussion; social identities and social relationships in early Merovingian Gaul, G. Halsall -theory (1) identities and "barriers", theory (2) dynamics of socio-political change, geography and historical background, the arena -settlement and community, class and rank, ethnicity, family, gender and age, religion, discussion; social structure and relations, F. Siegmund - sources, elite, life development, size of communities, ethnicity, ethnic units and elite, discussion; jural relations among the Franks and Alamanni, I.N. Wood - discussion; Gregory's cities -urban functions in sixth century Gaul, S.T. Loseby - Gregory's cities, government and adminstration, security and defence, the church and the city, the city as a social and economic centre, problems and conclusions, discussion; the nature of Frankish political institutions in the seventh century, P.J. Fouracre - discussion; silverware in early medieval gift exchange - imitatio imperii and objects of memory, M. Hardt - discussion; the influence of the Christian Franks on the Christian vocabulary of Germany, D.H. Green - discussion; current issues and future directions in the study of Franks and Alamanni in the Merovingian period - discussion with comments by G. Ausenda -history, kinship and marriage, social structure, jural relations and conflict, rural economics, political relations, religion, setting up projects, methodology.