Frankish paganism

Drawings of golden bees or flies discovered in the tomb of Childeric I (died 482). Possibly pagan symbols representing longevity or the cult of Artemis.

Frankish mythology comprises the mythology of the Franks, from its roots in polytheistic Germanic paganism through the inclusion of Greco-Roman components in the Early Middle Ages. This mythology flourished among the Franks until the conversion of the Merovingian king Clovis I to Nicene Christianity (circa 500), though there were many Frankish Christians before that. After that, their paganism was gradually replaced by the process of Christianisation, but there were still pagans in the Frankish heartland of Toxandria in the late seventh century.

Paganism

Origins

Echoes of Frankish paganism arise in the primary sources, but their meaning is not always clear. Modern scholars vary widely about the interpretation, but it is likely that Frankish paganism shared most of its characteristics with the other varieties of Germanic paganism, such as placing altars in forest glens, on hilltops, or besides lakes and rivers, and consecrating woods. Generally, some pagan gods were associated with local cult centres and their sacred character and power were associated with specific regions, outside of which they were neither worshipped nor feared. Other deities were known and feared and shared by cultures and tribes, although in different names and variations. Of the latter, the Franks may have had one omnipotent god Allfadir, thought to have lived in a sacred grove. Germanic peoples may have gathered where they believed this omnipotent deity to live, and sacrificed a human life to him. They probably also believed in Wuotan (Wodin, Odhinn) the "chief" of blessings, whom the first historian Tacitus called "Mercurius", and his consort Freia, as well as Donar (Thor, Thorr), god of thunder, and Zio (Tyr), whom Tacitus called "Mars". Tacitus also mentioned a goddess Nerthus being worshipped by the German people in this general region. Most of their gods were "worldly", possessing form and having concrete relation to earthly objects, in contradistinction to the transcedent God of Christianity.

On a more legendary level, the Germanic peoples believed in their descendency from the gods through Mannus and his sons. Women had important roles of wisdom, prophecy and oracles.

The religion of Clovis before his adherence to Catholic faith has been disputed, though it is commonly held not to have been representative of the traditional beliefs of his countrymen. The majority of pagan Frankish beliefs probably partook in a traditional religion the main lines of which could be traced through all Germanic peoples; it is therefore possible to reconstruct the basic elements of Frankish traditional religion. It has been argued that the Frankish pantheon expressed a variation of the Germanic structure that was especially devoted to fertility gods.

Structure

According to the Indo European tripartite structure as described by the mythologist Georges Dumézil, Germanic traditional religion corresponds to a threefold structure of worship - in the Germanic world defined by heaven, war and fertility and incarnated by the functions of its three main deities: Wodan/Odin, Donar/Thor and Fricco/Freyr. Wodan has been proposed to represent the first function (sovereignty and magic), Thor the second function (war) and Freyr, together with his feminine counterpart Freyja and Njord, the third function (fertility). However, the worship of this triad was not rigid as the relation toward the gods answered to specific needs of groups and confederations, and some degree of local variation has been observed in time and people, giving emphasis to specific gods (such as Thor in Uppsala) while others were cast aside (as has been suspected with Wodan among the high German dialect speaker). The Frankish religion contrasted to the Scandinavian pantheon in the emphasis to the worship of fertility divinities, corresponding to Tacitus' account of Nerthus. This goddess is generally held to be a Roman misinterpretation of Freyr, itself strongly associated to the Scandinavian worship of Njord (proto-Scandinavian Nerthu-). The Salian Franks, even though belonging to the Germanic group of tribes known as Rhine-Weser, were closely tied to the Germanic groups along the North Sea. With them the Franks shared a special dedication to the worship of Yngvi, synonym to Freyr, whose cult can still be discerned in the time of Clovis.

Cult

Rich pagan Franks were buried with movable wealth in graves surrounded by horse burials. In contrast to many other Germanic tribes, no Merovingian claims are known to be descended from Wodan. Instead, the sacred tradition of a cart pulled by bulls seems to be present from the early Merovingians on. The bulls that pulled the cart were taken as special animals, and according to Salian law the theft of those animals would impose a high sanction. In the grave of Childeric was found the head of a bull, craftily made out of gold. This may have represented the persistence of a very old fertility ritual, centred around the worship of the cow. In the grave of Childeric I (died 481) was found the head of a bull, craftily made out of gold. This has certain affinities to a fertility ritual centred around the worship of the cow attested from sacrifices in the fens of Drenthe associated with the Swifterbant culture. Tacitus mentions rituals among the Germanic tribes of the North Sea area that include a fertility goddess Nerthus riding a chariot drawn by cows. In a later incidence, Gregory of Tours places in the mouth of Clotilda, the wife of Clovis I, an interpretatio Romana of the Frankish fertility god with the Roman Saturn in a tirade against the pagan gods, naming this god first.

This Nerthus, whose worship was connected to a lake where the service was accompanied with human sacrifices, is thought to be the origin of the Merovingian tradition of the conception of Merovech, after whom the Merovingian dynasty would be named. The Merovingian kings riding through the country on their chariot pulled by bulls could then be imagined re-enacting the blessing journey of their divine ancestor.

Foundation myth

The Frankish mythology that has survived in primary sources is comparable to that of the Aeneas and Romulus myths take in Roman mythology, but altered to suit Germanic tastes. Like many Germanic peoples, the Franks told a founding myth story to explain their connection with peoples of classical history. In the case of the Franks, these peoples were the Sicambri and the Trojans. An anonymous work of 727 called Liber Historiae Francorum states that following the fall of Troy, 12,000 Trojans led by chiefs Priam and Antenor moved to the Tanais (Don) river, settled in Pannonia near the Sea of Azov and founded a city called "Sicambria". In just two generations (Priam and his son Marcomer) from the fall of Troy (by modern scholars dated in the late Bronze Age) they arrive in the late 4th century AD at the Rhine. An earlier variation of this story can be read in Fredegar. In Fredegar's version an early king named Francio serves as namegiver for the Francs, just as Romulus has lent his name to Rome.

These stories have obvious difficulties if taken as fact. Historians, including eyewitnesses like Caesar, have given us accounts that places the Sicambri firmly at the delta of the Rhine and archaeologists have confirmed ongoing settlement of peoples. Furthermore the myth does not come from the Sicambri themselves, but from later Franks (of the Carolingian age or later), and includes an incorrect geography. For these reasons, and since the Sicambri were known to have been Germanic, current scholars think that this myth was not prevalent, certainly not historical: For example J. M. Wallace-Hadrill states that "this legend is quite without historical substance". Ian Wood says that "these tales are obviously no more than legend" and "nonsensical", "in fact there is no reason to believe that the Franks were involved in any long-distance migration".

In Roman and Merovingian times it was customary to declare panegyrics. These poetical declarations were held for amusement or propaganda, to entertain guests and please rulers. Panegyrics played an important role in the transmission of culture. A common panegyrical device was anachronism, the use of archaic names for contemporary things. Romans were often called "Trojans" and Salian Franks were called "Sicambri". A notable example related by the sixth-century historian Gregory of Tours states that the Merovingian Frankish leader Clovis I, on the occasion of his baptism into the Catholic faith, was referred to as a Sicamber by Remigius, the officiating bishop of Rheims. At the crucial moment of Clovis' baptism, Remigius declared, "Bend down your head, Sicamber. Honour what you have burnt. Burn what you have honoured." It is likely that in this way a link between the Sicambri and the Salian Franks, who were Clovis' people, was being invoked. Further examples of Salians being called Sicambri can be found in the Panegyrici Latini, the Life of King Sigismund, the Life of King Dagobert, and other sources.

Sacral kingship

Pagan Frankish rulers probably maintained their elevated positions by their "charisma" or Heil, their legitimacy and "right to rule" may have been based on their supposed divine descent as well as their financial and military successes. The concept of "charisma" has been controversial.

Fredegar tells a story of the Frankish king Chlodio taking a summer bath with his wife when she was attacked by some sort of sea beast, which Fredegar described as bestea Neptuni Quinotauri similis, ("the beast of Neptune that looks like a Quinotaur"). Because of the attack, it was unknown if Merovech, the legendary founder of the Merovingian dynasty was conceived of Chlodio or the sea beast.

In later centuries, divine kingship myths would flourish in the legends of Charlemagne (768–814) as a divinely-appointed Christian king. He was the central character in the Frankish mythology of the epics known as the Matter of France. The Charlemagne Cycle epics, particularly the first, known as Geste du Roi ("Songs of the King"), concern a King's role as champion of Christianity. From the Matter of France, sprang some mythological stories and characters adapted through Europe, such as the knights Lancelot and Gawain.

References

Primary

• Pseudo-Fredegar. Historia, in Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores Rerum Merovingicarum, Tomus II. Hannover: 1888.
• Gregory of Tours. The History of the Franks. Lewis Thorpe, trans. Penguin Group. ISBN 0 14 044 295 2.
• Publius Cornelius Tacitus Germania.

Secondary

• Daly, William M. "Clovis: How Barbaric, How Pagan?" Speculum, vol. 69, no. 3 (July 1994), pp. 619–664.
• Fabbro, Eduardo. "Germanic Paganism among the Early Salian Franks." The Journal of Germanic Mythology and Folklore. Volume 1, Issue 4, August 2006.
• Murray, Archibald Callander, and Goffart, Walter A. After Rome's Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
• Nelson, Janet L. "Royal Saints and Early Medieval Kingship." Studies in Church History, 10 (1973), pp. 39–44. Reprinted in Politics and Ritual in Early Medieval Europe. Janet L. Nelson, ed. London: Hambledon Press, 1986. pp. 69–74. ISBN 0 907628 59 1.
• Perry, Walter Copland. The Franks, from Their First Appearance in History to the Death of King Pepin. Longman, Brown, Green: 1857.
• Prummel, W., and van der Sanden, W. A. B. "Runderhoorns uit de Drentse venen." Nieuwe Drentse Volksalmanak, 112. 1995. pp. 84–131.
• Prummel, W., and van der Sanden, W. A. B. "Een oeroshoren uit het Drostendiep bij Dalen." Nieuwe Drentse Volksalmanak, 119. 2002. pp. 217–221.
• Raemakers, Daan. De Spiegel van Swifterbant. Groningen: 2006.
• Schutz, Herbert. The Germanic Realms in Pre-Carolingian Central Europe, 400–750. American University Studies, Series IX: History, Vol. 196. New York: Peter Lang, 2000.
• Tessier, Georges. Le Baptême de Clovis. Paris: Gallimard, 1964.
• Wallace-Hadrill, J. M. The Long-Haired Kings. London: Butler & Tanner Ltd, 1962.
• Wood, Ian. The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450-751 AD. 1994.

See also

• Mythology of the Low Countries
• Continental Germanic mythology