martel

Widukind, Saxon thorn

by

Widukind is one of those odd characters from history whose historical personae is much larger than his own achievements probably merited. Regular readers may remember mentions of him here and here, when he led various rebellions against the Franks during their decades-long conquest and Christianization of the Saxon people. He was a fearsomely effective military leader, as we shall see, and must have been a powerful force in Saxon society. In the end, however, even he submitted to Charlemagne, and then faded from view. More than a thousand years later, in a bizarre twist of fate, he became a hero to the nascent Nazi regime. A tangled path indeed.

Widukind first appears in history in 777, at the fateful spring assembly at Paderborn that launched King Charles on his path to Roncevalles. “All the Franks gathered there and, from every part of Saxony whatsover, the Saxons too, with the exception of Widukind, who, with a few others, was in rebellion and took refuge in Nordmannia with his companions.”1.Royal Annals, year 777, King, p. 79. “For they all came to him with the exception of Widukind, one of the primores of the Westphalians, who, conscious of his numerous crimes, had fled to Sigfred, king of the Danes.”2.Revised Royal Annals, year 777, King, p. 113.

Read more

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Royal Annals, year 777, King, p. 79.
↑2 Revised Royal Annals, year 777, King, p. 113.

Who is this Pepin?

by

Besides having a blog named after him, who was Pepin le Bref?

As with others from the period, we have to clear away some naming confusion. Due to differences in source material and translations, his name is variously rendered Pepin, Pipin, and Pippin. I chose Pepin simply because Tolkien used Pippin (his was a deliberate selection, perhaps because hobbits are short). The nickname “le Bref” is usually translated as “the Short,” but I think it could mean other things, such as short-tempered (as we’ll see), of few words, short haired,1.Unlike the “long-haired” Merovingian kings. or something else. But there’s no way to know one way or another.

Pepin is usually considered a middling figure, sandwiched between the legendary Charles Martel, and the timeless Charlemagne. While there is no dispute with the stature history has afforded Charles the Great, his grandfather’s claim to fame has come under greater scrutiny. Personally I see Martel and Pepin as great figures in an age when only the strongest and most resolute rulers could stay on top, which Pepin did for for twenty-five years.

Read more

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Unlike the “long-haired” Merovingian kings.

The Saxon Wars I: let’s do this

by

 No war taken up by the Frankish people was ever longer, harder, or more dreadful…1.Einhard, Life of Charlemagne, ch. 7, p.20

Beginning in 772, Charlemagne waged war against the Saxons for more than thirty years. It was, as his biographer notes, the longest and most vicious of all the wars he undertook. After literally centuries of cross-border skirmishing, of which Charlemagne’s father and grandfather were frequent participants, he decided to finish the job once and for all. Why did he turn his eye to the Saxons? There were plenty of other opportunities, including Spain, Brittany, or southern Italy.

If Carolingian naval power were only a little more robust he could have looked north to Britain, but that’s a tale for a novelist.2.Bachrach, Early Carolingian Warfare, pp. 249-254. Charles Martel launched small fleets at Frisia, and Charlemagne fought along the Rhine, but neither ever attempted a military channel crossing. Commerce between Britain and the mainland was extensive, however, so the knowledge existed.

Prof. Bernard Bachrach, who has studied Carolingian grand strategy in detail, believes that Charlemagne was motivated by both religion and imperial ambition as he planned the Saxon conquest. If he could conquer the regions of the former Roman Empire, then (hopefully) the pope would anoint him as a new emperor of the west. His claim would be further buttressed and enhanced by an extensive (and, as it turned out, ruthless) campaign of Saxon Christianization.3.Personal correspondence with Prof. Bachrach, February 4, 2018.

Read more

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Einhard, Life of Charlemagne, ch. 7, p.20
↑2 Bachrach, Early Carolingian Warfare, pp. 249-254. Charles Martel launched small fleets at Frisia, and Charlemagne fought along the Rhine, but neither ever attempted a military channel crossing. Commerce between Britain and the mainland was extensive, however, so the knowledge existed.
↑3 Personal correspondence with Prof. Bachrach, February 4, 2018.

The Saxon Wars: prologue

by

In the last post we looked at Saxon society, insofar as a non-written culture can be explored. In this post I’ll examine relations between Saxons and Franks. For reasons both cultural and geographic, there was always friction between the two peoples, and the historical record is filled with skirmishes. But don’t forget that war is always more interesting than peace, and stories about goodwill between Saxon and Frank weren’t recorded. Nonetheless it does become apparent that there was no love lost across the Rhine.

The Liber Historiae Francorum (the anonymous Book of the Franks) recounts a Saxon “rebellion” in 555, and the Merovingian King Chlotar’s subsequent expedition to levy Frankish punishment. What is not clear is what the Saxons were rebelling against. About fifteen years later “King Chilperic went with his brother with an army against the Saxons…” Around the year 623 the Saxon Bertoald and King Dagobert I of Austrasia fought to a standstill, until Dagobert’s father arrived with another army which tipped the scales. The king then “devastated the entire land of the Saxons and killed their people. He did not leave alive there any man who stood taller than his sword which is called a long sword.”1.Liber Historiae Francorum, trans. Bachrach, pp. 69, 78, 97-99.

Read more

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Liber Historiae Francorum, trans. Bachrach, pp. 69, 78, 97-99.

For want of a nail…

by

Horses have been an integral component of civilization’s progress for at least five thousand years, and it is only in our modern, Western, industrial and post-industrial age that the horse has become an object solely of sport and play. In the eighth century the horse was an essential element of agriculture, war, and social status. Let’s start our survey with a look at what the law codes had to say about horses.

The Salic Law contains four chapters specific to horses. These include “On Mounting a Horse Without the Consent of Its Owner,” which called for a massive fine of 30 solidi. There was also “Concerning the Theft of Horses and Mares,” “On Skinning a Dead Horse Without the Consent of Its Owner,” and “Concerning Stolen Horses.” Other chapters mention horses in the context of other offenses against animals.1.Laws of the Salian Franks, pp.85, 99, 125, and 205.

Read more

Footnotes

Footnotes
↑1 Laws of the Salian Franks, pp.85, 99, 125, and 205.