Merovingian Gaul

Within the classicising mindset of many Late Antique Gallo-Roman writers, we witness examples of the learned minority appropriating the right to represent the alleged historical memories of the majority’s pagan past. Distrust towards demotic morality and civilizational aptitude – never very far from being uttered aloud by the Imperial elites – are explicitly commented upon in the fifth-century Gallic play Querolus. Ausonius’ confidence within his textual universe in constructing the personal memories of his slave girl Bissula and the Gallic pagi alike can be compared to the received Lucanic topoi of dark Celtic groves, and to the development of these stock scenes in the episcopal gesta of the Merovingian Gaul. The vicarious creation of memories for the silent majority by the learned minority (with its mixture of Christian identity and a thorough knowledge of the classics) is not limited to narrative genres. An intriguing paratextual space for the construction of demotic religiosities is framed by the already-mentioned ecclesiastical writings and the scholia to Lucan and Juvenal, all pointing to creative re-imagining of the divinities worshipped by Gallic vulgus (implied to be changeless in an almost colonialist sense). The Gallic cult of Diana as a literary artefact is a particular case in point.

By the late fifth century, there were two primary barbarian powers in Gaul, the Visigoths and the Franks. Both were enlarging their territories in the wake of the final precipitous decline of Roman authority during the 470s. The expansion achieved by the Frankish king Clovis I inevitably brought him into conflict with the Visigothic king Alaric II. During the 490s, the Franks made several unsuccessful forays into Brittany and south of the Loire. Subsequently, both sides did their best to consolidate their resources. Attempts by the Os trogothic king Theoderic to avoid direct conflict failed, and war began in earnest in 507, when Clovis made a massive attack on the Visigothic kingdom. The decisive Frankish vic tory at Vouillé determined the map of sixth-century western Europe: the Franks gained control of most of Gaul, and the Visigoths consolidated their holdings in Spain.

Jonas of Bobbio was an Italian monk, author, and abbot active in Lombard Italy and Merovingian Gaul during the seventh century. He is best known as the author of the Life of Columbanus and His Disciples, one of the most important works of hagiography from the early medieval period, that charts the remarkable journey of the Irish exile and monastic founder, Columbanus (c.550-615), through Western Europe, as well as the monastic movement initiated by him and his Frankish successors in the Merovingian kingdoms. Jonas also wrote two other, occasional works set in the late fifth and sixth centuries: the Life of John, the abbot and founder of the monastery of Reome in Burgundy, and the Life of Vedast, the first bishop of Arras and a contemporary of Clovis. Both works provide perspectives on how the past Gallic monastic tradition, the role of bishops, and the Christianisation of the Franks were perceived in Jonas's time. Jonas's hagiography also provides important evidence for the reception of classical and late antique texts as well as the works of Gregory the Great and Gregory of Tours. This volume presents the first complete English translation of all of Jonas of Bobbio's saints' Lives with detailed notes and scholarly introduction that will be of value to all those interested in this period.

Coins and commerce in Northern Gaul
(2nd century BC - 5th century AD)

What is known about the monetary circulation and trade in Northern Gaul, from the period of Gallic Independence until the disappearance of the Roman Empire of the West? It appears that the use of coinage during trade, in commercial transactions, was a secondary function. Whether they were Gallic nobles or Roman emperors, usurpers or officials, the issuing
powers, that is to say the authorities who decided to strike and distribute currencies, were not
interested in trade and markets. They minted coinage only to pay their expenses. And these expenses
were always military first and foremost.The Gallic aristocrats sought to extend their power, and for this purpose they surrounded themselves with a numerous clientele of warriors and maintained alliances. It was for this purpose that they struck their heavy gold coins. The Roman emperors first struck money to pay for the legionaries, to build and maintain roads, harbours and fleets, enabling the legions to move rapidly from one border of the Empire to the other. But it was necessary that the recipients of the currencies could exchange it for the goods necessary for life: food, drinks, clothes, housing, heating... The circulation of coins could only lead to the monetisation of trade and, in the medium term, the establishment of structures allowing
such monetised exchanges, such as markets, and a division of labour between farmers, artisans and
merchants.

(english below)
Ce document est un travail de synthèse et d'étude personnel, sans prétention à concourir avec les professionnels de l'archéologie, concernant les fers de haches mérovingiens asymétriques.
L'étude porte sur l'angle "d'attaque" des fers, et leurs poids (pour ceux connus, provenant surtout de travail de W.Hübener sur les fers de haches).

MAJ 2016:
Un travail de reprise de tout le corpus avec ajout des provenances, numéro de tombe, lien bibliographique et relecture des angles est en cours depuis maintenant plus d'un an. Pour des raisons personnelles j'avance moins vite que précédemment, le travail une fois fini sera remis en ligne avant de reprendre la partie théorique et les conclusions en lien avec les expérimentations que nous menons actuellement, qui fera l'objet d'une autre publication.
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This document is a personnal and non-professional synthesis and study about asymmetrical Merovingian axes, unpretentious to compete with professionals of the archeology.
The study focuses on the "attackangle"  of the Franciscas and their weight (for those known, especially from working on W.Hübener  iron axes).

2016 update:
A rework of the whole body with addition of sources, grave number, bibliographic link and replay angles has been going on now for over a year. Once the finished this study will be brought back online before taking the parts about theoretical and conclusions (in connection with the experiments we are conducting), which will be the subject of another publication .

A cluster of letters written in the name of the Merovingian dowager queen Brunhild, preserved in the late-sixth century letter collection Epistolae Austrasicae, concern her separation from her grandson, a hostage held at the court of the emperor Maurice in Constantinople. These letters have been read as genuine expressions of grief, offering insight into the personality of Brunhild herself or the emotional history of the early medieval period. Examination of the letters in the context of their composition -the larger set of diplomatic letters for which they were prepared, and patterns of communication between the royal courts of Gaul and Constantinople -suggests a more complex function for emotional imagery. The letters represent a script to be performed, deploying emotive scenarios as a tactic to bring indirect pressure on the emperor, and revealing a sophisticated understanding of the dynamics of communication and negotiation.

Full commented Russian translation of "Fredegar's Chronicles", the most important narrative source for Late Merovingian France. This chronicle was created about 660 year and it provides us with account on Francs and on nations neighboring  to them.

Depuis 2008, date de la première édition de cet ouvrage, nombre de découvertes ont été faites, mais aussi nombre d’hypothèses ont été soulevées concernant la religion à Lisieux à l’époque du paganisme et à l’heure de la christianisation. Une nouvelle édition, corrigée, enrichie et surtout plus facilement accessible, était donc nécessaire. Quels dieux vénérait-on à Lisieux, dans quels lieux de cultes, sous quels rites ? Qui, par la suite, a évangélisé la ville, et comment ? Quelles furent les premières églises ? Autant de questions auxquelles Religions et cultes à Lisieux s’efforce de répondre...
Version pdf non-éditée.

This article demonstrates that early medieval exchange networks can be studied through the research of Merovingian beads. Hundred-thousands of beads have been deposited in inhumation graves of the period 400-750 AD across Europe. They have the potential to offer a goldmine of new insights into early medieval exchange, which has hardly been exploited. This potential is demonstrated by focussing on amber beads, which make up almost 10 percent of the total Merovingian bead assemblage.

Lien vers les documents annexes et images : https://www.academia.edu/41519674/Lautel-cippe_de_Saint-Marcel-de-_Careiret_gen%C3%A8se_dune_st%C3%A8le_m%C3%A9rovingienne._Partie_II_annexes  ----------

En ouvrant les deux pdf en parallèle vous pouvez passer du texte aux images correspondantes, aux cartes etc.---
  En téléchargeant le pdf, les hyperliens de la bibliographie deviennent actifs et vous accédez directement aux ouvrages en ligne.
version révisée décembre 2021
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english abstract : a great and epic page of the History of Merovingian Francia during the VI th century, entirely extracted from the analysis of a single forgotten stone.

Pour décrire l’avènement de la dynastie et du royaume mérovingiens, les historiens se sont avant tout fondés sur les « Histoires » de Grégoire de Tours, qui écrivait plus d’un siècle après les faits et n’en avait qu’une connaissance parcellaire. Réexaminant l’ensemble des témoignages disponibles, la présente étude insiste tout particulièrement sur la valeur de deux généalogies royales : négligées par les historiens, elles permettent d’établir un arbre généalogique inédit des ascendants de Childéric, beaucoup plus satisfaisant que ceux proposés jusqu’à présent. Jointes à d’autres, ces données plaident en faveur de l’émergence, sans doute aux environs de 430, d’un regnum « salien » ou « pré-mérovingien » sous l’égide de Chlodio, rendue possible par la mobilisation des lètes majoritairement francs installés dans les cités des Tongres, des Cambrésiens et des Tournaisiens. Ce royaume dont allait hériter Childéric ne serait pas né d’une occupation progressive de ces régions par des populations franques venues de Toxandrie ou d’outre Rhin, mais d’une prise de pouvoir par les soldats d’origine barbare d’un Empire alors en plein déliquescence.
ENGLISH - Merovech’s Blood : « Prehistory » of the Merovingian Dynasty and Kingdom.
When they deal with the origins of the Merovingian dynasty and the establishment of their kingdom, modern historians have primarily based themselves on the “Histories” of Gregory of Tours, though he wrote more than one century after the events and had a very uneven knowledge of that history. Reviewing all the available evidence, this paper places particular emphasis on the value of two royal genealogies : Much neglected by historians, they allow us to draw up a new pedigree of Childeric’s ancestors, which seems much more satisfactory than the existing ones. Together with other data, these genealogies speak in favour of the birth of a “Salian” or “pre-Merovingian” regnum under the control of the Frank Chlodio in the late 420s or early 430s with the support of laeti communities already settled in the civitates of Tongeren, Cambrai and Tournai. It is plausible that this kingdom, which Childeric was to inherit, was not the ineluctable consequence of a progressive occupation of these lands by Frankish populations coming from Toxandria or from across the Rhine, but the outcome of a seizure of power by barbarian soldiers in a dying Empire.
NEDERLANDS - Merovechs bloed : “prehistorie” van de Merovingse dynastie en het Merovingische rijk.
Om de komst van de Merovingische dynastie en het Merovingische rijk te beschrijven hebben historici zich gebaseerd op de kroniek van Gregorius van Tours, ofschoon hij deze meer dan één eeuw na de feiten schreef en slechts een partiële kennis van de feiten had. Deze studie onderzoekt opnieuw het geheel van de beschikbare getuigenissen en legt in het bijzonder de nadruk op de waarde van twee koninglijke stambomen. Hoewel ze door historici zijn verwaarloosd, stellen zij ons in staat om een nieuwe stamboom te tekenen van Childeriks ascendenten die veel vollediger is dan vorige versies. Als die gegevens met andere verenigd worden, pleiten ze voor het verschijnen – waarschijnlijk rond het jaar 430 – van een “Salisch” of “pre-Merovingisch” regnum onder leiding van Chlodios. Dit werd mogelijk gemaakt door de mobilisatie van de – voor het merendeel Frankische – laeti die gevestigd waren in Noord-Gallië. Dit door Childerik te erven rijk zou dus niet ontstaan zijn uit een progressieve bezetting van deze streken door Frankische bevolkingsgroepen uit Toxandrië of van over de Rijn, maar vloeide voort uit een machtsovername door barbaarse soldaten in een stervend Romeins Rijk.

Imperial authority is inextricably linked with Roman coinage. This association acts as a guarantee of quality and of its acceptance as currency. Imperial imagery and administrative codes function as mechanisms of accountability. After the last Western Roman Emperor was deposed around 476 AD, production of Imperial coinage continued. The production of Imperial coinage by barbarian kings is typically referred to as ‘imitation’. Does this term adequately describe minting practice in the 5th and 6th centuries? This article explores the limitations of this term and resolves an unresolved problem in Late Antique numismatics: the attribution of the •T• series tremisses. The implications of this attribution, and how it impacts our understanding of the period, is also discussed.

Introduzione 5 1. La contemporaneità di santa Radegonda 7 1.1. La Turingia: storia e rapporti con il mondo franco 7 1.2. Leggi e usanze germaniche 11 1.3. Donne e clero un'unione necessaria 16 2. Il percorso di santa Radegonda 23 2.1. Gli agiografi di santa Radegonda 23 2.2. Dal rapimento al diaconato 29 2.3. La fondazione del monastero e lo stile di vita di Radegonda 37 3. Radegonda tra ascesi e saeculum 45 3.1. L'interesse per la patria 45 3.2. La missione evangelizzatrice e l'acquisizione delle reliquie 50 3.3. Modelli di santità nella vita di Radegonda 59 Conclusione 69 Allegati 71 Bibliografia 79 INTRODUZIONE Nel presente elaborato mi propongo di trattare la figura di santa Radegonda di Poitiers a partire dai testi agiografici a lei dedicati.

In the early 660’s, a Frankish chronicler wrote that the Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius, learned through astrology that his empire would be devastated by a circumcised nation.  He decreed that all Jews be baptised and wrote to the Frankish king Dagobert urging him to do the same.  Both were startled when a new circumcised nation, the Arab Muslims, emerged and swiftly conquered much of Heraclius’s empire.  The story seems like something invented after the Muslim conquest though a strikingly similar account occurs in Islamic hadith literature. 

That two accounts agreeing on many things are found in widely separated traditions suggests a reality behind the story.  Other texts point to a sudden, intense, and widespread persecution of the Jews before and independent of the appearance of the first Muslim invaders: Heraclius ordered all Jews throughout the Empire to be baptized on May 31, 632.  Many fled rather than accept baptism.  Some of the newly baptized would return to Judaism though others remained Christian.

Heraclius wrote to Visigothic Spain via the Pope (though the Spanish church rebuked him) as well as to the Franks, yet his religious policy was far from successful in his own realm. Within a decade, Egypt and the Levant had been lost to Muslim rule (and the Jews saved) while, in the regions over which imperial control remained, some Jewish communities survived the period of persecution and soon began to recover.  It was beyond imperial frontiers that Heraclius’s campaign may have had its longest lasting impact.  In Gaul, both the Frankish church and civil authorities had already been groping towards such policies and, under Heraclius’s prompting and Dagobert’s leadership, they may have succeeded in creating the first Christian state purged of Jews.  For the next century, there is no evidence of Jews in Francia.

Philippe Schiesser, Des deniers mérovingiens de Rennes imitant des sceattas, un exemple parmi d’autres d’imitation, dans les textes publiés par D. Hollard et K. Meziane, Numismatique bretonne / Les faux monétaires, actes du Colloque anniversaire des 50 ans de la SENA à Brest, 17-18 mai 2013, UBO- faculté Victor Segalen, Recherches et travaux de la Société d’Études Numismatiques et Archéologiques 6, 2015, p. 77 à 99 et pl. 7 à 11.

Abstract

This chapter considers Columbanus’s cultural background and how this influenced his dealings with women, both in early medieval Ireland and  on the Continent. In particular, women as inspiration, patrons, and antagonists are portrayed as having had a formative influence on Columbanus, primarily in the Vita Columbani, written by Jonas of Bobbio. To what extent are these relationships true of Columbanus’s own experience? In order to tease this out more fully special attention will be given to women such as Columbanus’s unnamed mother as well as to the powerful queens, Brunhild and Theodelinda.

Keywords
Columbanus, Epistulae, Jonas, Vita Columbani, early Irish society, peregrinatio, patronage, women in the Merovingian kingdoms, Brunhild, Theodelinda.

Please note that this is the uncorrected first proof. There are some minor changes in the printed version.  For details on the printed version you can go to https://global.oup.com/academic/product/columbanus-and-the-peoples-of-post-roman-europe-9780190857967?cc=ie&lang=en&

Agnellus [p.35]; Aldius [p.44]; arimannus [p.127]; Athala [p.170]; Bertulf (abb. Bobbio) [p.233]; Carmen de Synodo Ticenensi [Papiae] [p.293] ; charters, Lombard [p.318]; Cunincpert [Cuninpert] [p.438]; fara [p.582]; Faroald I of Spoleto [pp.585-6]; Faroald II of Spoleto [p.586]; gasindius [p.642]; gastald [p.642]; Gregory II [p.685]; Gregory III [p.685]; Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani [p.728]; Honorius I Pope [pp.740-1]; John VII, Pope [p.819]; laws, Lombard [p.887]; marpahis [p.967]; Pavia [p.1153]; Perctarit [p.1158]; sc[h]uldahis [p.1339]; Secundus of Non [p.1352]; Spoleto [p.1412]; Thomas of Maurienne [p.1498]; Versus de Mediolano [p.1556]; Zacharias, Pope [p.1605]; Zotto of Benevento [p.1615].

Già da qualche tempo si è ritenuto opportuno proporre per la scul-tura ad incrostazione di mastice, tecnica di decorazione basata su un consapevole e schietto approccio coloristico e polimaterico, l'adozione di un vocabolario che non faccia esplicito riferimento ad altri campi della produzione materiale di epoca medievale('). In questo percorso si sono seguite, in verità, le sollecitazioni presenti negli studi pionieristici della seconda metà dell'Ottocento e dei primissimi anni del Novecento di personalità quali Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc(2) e Lucien Bégule(3), attente ., anche se solo in parte, a evitare delle sovrapposizioni, quantomeno semantiche, e ad individuare delle valenze chiaramente esemplificative di questa pratica scultorea. Così, fin da subito, è sembrato preferibile un lessico distinto rispetto a quello usualmente oscillante fràniello' e champlevé , mutuato da altri contesti a seguito di una supposta pratica esecutiva comune(). Di fatto, non basta una procedura similare per impostare dei nessi di corrispon-denza, iié per trovare la derivazione di una tecnica dall'altra, giacché l'ar-co temporale e l'ambiente geografico in cui si diffuse l'incrostazione di...

Productions monétaires en territoire carnute, la place de Cenabum : premiers résultats. Le projet ATMOCE « L'ATelier MOnétaire gaulois de CEnabum. Production des bronzes carnutes, ii e -i er siècles av. n. è. » 204 Maryse BLET-LEMARQUAND, Catherine GRANDJEAN, Eleni PAPAEFTHYMIOU Le projet KOINON : premiers résultats d'analyses des monnayages d'argent achaïen et étolien 210 Arnaud SUSPÈNE, Maryse BLET-LEMARQUAND, Pierre-Olivier HOCHARD, Julien FLAMENT, Benjamin GEHRES Un exemple d'enquête numismatique et archéométrique : les aurei des Libérateurs Brutus et Cassius dans le cadre du projet Aureus 217 Guillaume SARAH, Maxence MARTIN Le projet VisualCoins : un outil de représentation graphique des liaisons de coins 223 Murielle TROUBADY AMBACIA, faciès numismatique d'un oppidum turon (Amboise, les Châtelliers) 232 Philippe SCHIESSER La réinvention du denier comme monnaie réelle au vii e siècle 240 Guillaume SARAH, Sébastien JESSET Un denier de Charles le Chauve de l'atelier d'Orléans découvert en fouille à Saran (Loiret) 247 Jens Christian MOESGAARD, Guillaume SARAH Un affaiblissement secret à Rouen vers 970/975 254 Alain CALAMUSO, René WACK Le calcul de probabilité : science auxiliaire de la numismatique ? Une application aux blancs à la couronne frappés à Angers sous Louis XI 263 Marc BOMPAIRE, Maryse BLET-LEMARQUAND, Laurent FOURNIER Petit trésor de monnaies d'or du xvi e siècle trouvé en fouilles à Chilleurs-aux-Bois (Loiret) 269 Christian CHARLET, Olivier CHARLET Monnaies de Dombes : Rendons à Mademoiselle d'Orléans les monnaies qui n'appartiennent pas à son père Gaston 276 Jean-Pierre GARNIER Deux grandes médailles-plaquettes en métal argenté gravées par Georges Lemaire, représentant la Caisse d'épargne et la Poste d'Orléans SOCIÉTÉ 283 Compte rendu -61 es journées numismatiques PROCHAINES SÉANCES SAMEDI

Résumé – L’étude de nouveaux exemplaires conservés dans des collections privées en même temps que ceux cités dans la bibliographie, fait apparaître un groupe de bronzes lourds de 2,57 g en moyenne et de 15 à 20 mm de diamètre. Le revers présente un chrisme et le droit un monogramme qui peut être attribué par comparaison au roi franc Théodebert I (534-548). Les masses sont proches de celles des dix nummi ostrogoths. Il s’agirait donc là des seuls decanummi francs. La répartition des trouvailles connues permet de supposer qu’ils ont été frappés à Marseille. Ces bronzes sont les plus lourds qui aient été émis en Gaule durant cette époque.


Abstract – The study of new coins in private collections and those cited in the literature has revealed a group of heavy bronzes of 2.57 g on average and 15 to 20 mm in diameter. Th reverse presents a Chi-Rho and the obverse a monogram that can be attributed by parallels to the Frankish King Théodebert  I (534-548). As the weights are close to those of Ostrogothic ten nummi coins they can be interpreted as the only Frankish decanummi known to us. The distribution of the known finds allows to suppose that they were struck in Marseille. These bronzes are the heaviest emitted in Gaul during this period.

Ein Großteil des Wissens über die Geschichte der Goten in Gallien und Spanien ist uns durch die merowingische Geschichtsschreibung überliefert. Die modernen Historiker sind daher an die Sichtweisen und Urteile der merowingischen Geschichtsschreiber gebunden. Die dieser Überlieferung zugrunde liegenden Vorstellungen und Deutungsmuster sind bislang jedoch noch nicht untersucht worden. Christian Stadermann nimmt sich dieses Desiderats an: Er fragt nicht nur, wie Goten in narrativen Schriften des merowingischen Gallien beschrieben werden und welche Ereignisse der Interaktion mit Goten in die merowingische Geschichtsschreibung eingingen, sondern untersucht auch, welche Erfahrungen, welche soziokulturell determinierten Wahrnehmungsmuster diese Beschreibungen leiteten und wie sie auf die Identität der Autoren zurückwirkten. Stadermann geht dabei über die großen Werke der merowingischen Geschichtsschreibung, wie die Historien des Gregor von Tours oder die Fredegarchronik, hinaus und nimmt die merowingische Historio- und Hagiographie in ihrer Gesamtheit in den Blick.

the conference on the Merovingian kingdoms in Mediterranean perspective brought together an impressive number of internationally renowned adepts, early career scholars, and doctoral students from many corners of the world to reconsider the intriguingly complex relations between the Frankish, the Byzantine, and the Islamic worlds in the Early Middle Ages.

Please send me a message with your e-mail if you would like to have the entire paper.

Merovingian society lacked longer periods of peace as during the Pax Romana. The military was of central importance, not only on the field. Although the militarisation of post-Roman society has never seriously been in doubt, the Merovingian elite has not yet been studied more particularly in consideration of its military role. This paper analyses which military groups could be considered part of the elite and which criteria might be used to define it from a modern perspective. As the military and the secular increasingly converged, this is not an easy task indeed. The study argues that even though several groups may be gathered as being part of a military elite, this is much more difficult at less elevated levels of the upper social strata, at which the transition between the elite and the rest of the freeborn military active population is fluid.

Silver Coins of the 5th-6th Century Found in Gaul: New Considerations about Mint Sites and Mint Authorities
The study deals with the main types of 5th-6th-century silver coins found in Gaul. The find sites and above all the dielinks enable one to follow the evolution of the silver coin production during both centuries. After the last emission of imperial argentei at Trier about the middle of the 5th century (Valentinian III - Theodosius II, type of the seated Roma), a large production of pseudo-imperial argentei (type of the seated Roma or Victory to left) took place at Cologne, which was under the control of the Rhineland Franks. Furthermore, smaller workshops dispersed between the Seine and the Rhine struck the same coin types apparently beyond any control of the Roman (Aegidius, Syagrius) or Salian Frankish power. Not a single royal silver emission is attested at the Merovingian capitals of Paris, Orleans, Soissons, Reims or Metz: the royal argentei were struck exclusively in the Provence, where they had to feed the rivalries between the Merovingians and the Ostrogoths. In the whole of Gaul, the argentei formed only a marginal coinage that was hardly struck after c. 530. Afterwards, the solidi and tremisses were the only important coinages in the regnum Francorum as a support for the political statement of the Merovingians towards the emperor and as a basis of the entire fiscal system.

Bibliography and sources, descriptions, historical and archaeological, of the bishops' see of Maastricht from the 4th until the 8th centuries. Detailed knowledge of the status quaestionis of early christian Maastricht: the development of the settlement since the first century AD, the late Roman fortress, the latin names of the settlement, the christian origines, the churches (Saint Mary, Saint Servatius, Monastery, Saint Martin a.o.).

See also:
Quarante Ans d'Enquête (1972-2012) 1, Images nouvelles des Villes de la Gaule. pp. 158-159, et 2, Christianisation et Espace Urbain, Atlas, Tableaux, Index, pp. 562-563. Topographie Chrétienne des Cités de la Gaule des Origines au milieu du VIIIe siècle. Vol.  XVI, 1 et 2  (2014).

En passant par la Lorraine. Le projet diachronique MONELOR : monnaies et monnayages dans l'espace lorrain. Présentation des axes de recherches et des objectifs 316 François REINERT, Cécile ARNOULD Un parcours messin à travers les collections du Cabinet des Médailles de Luxembourg 325 Simone SCHEERS À propos de quelques petits bronzes au cavalier du Musée de Metz et du bronze BN 7979 : une série médiomatrique méconnue ? 331 Vincent DROST, Georges GAUTIER Un nouveau lot du trésor tétrarchique d'Emmersweiler conservé au Musée de la Cour d'Or (Metz) 338 Philippe SCHIESSER Les deniers au monogramme, à propos d'un deuxième exemplaire d'un denier à la tête de face casquée. Une nouvelle attribution à Trèves 346 Thibault CARDON, Bruno JANÉ, Philippe SCHIESSER L'atelier monétaire de Metz, des frappes carolingiennes à celles des comtes-évêques (milieu ix e-fin x e siècle) 353 Christian CHARLET, François RENARD Une monnaie d'argent inédite du prince-abbé de Gorze, récemment retrouvée 358 Bruno JANÉ Les monnaies royales et constitutionnelles de l'atelier de Metz conservées au

Book Description by the Editors (Stefan Esders, Yitzhak Hen, Pia Lucas, Tamar Rotman): The book explores the place of the Merovingian kingdoms in Gaul within a broader Mediterranean context. Their politics and culture have mostly been interpreted in terms of a local phenomenon, but as this book shows, the Merovingian kingdoms had complicated and multi-layered political, religious, and socio-cultural relations with their Mediterranean counterparts, from Visigothic Spain in the West to the Byzantine Empire in the East. The papers provide new insights into the history of the Merovingian kingdoms in their late-antique and early-medieval Mediterranean context, examining subjects from the formation of identity to the shape and rules of diplomatic relations, social, legal, and religious aspects that reflect cultural transfer, as well as voiced attitudes towards the other. The perspectives of the individual sources and their contextualization are at the centre of this analysis, and each paper thus begins with a short excerpt from a relevant source text, which then serves as a jumping board to the discussion of broader issues. This innovative structuring principle ensures discussions are accessible to students and non-specialists, without jeopardizing the high standard of academic debate and diligent historical analysis.

This paper takes a fresh look at the broader context of the Council of Orléans (549 AD). This church council represents the first and only collective response by the Merovingian episcopate to the Three Chapters controversy, a christological conflict that affected the entire Mediterranean region. Needless to say, this crisis did not only have an impact on theological matters, but also had political implications. This paper takes a closer look at contemporary sources and suggests that the manner in which the controversy was perceived within the different Merovingian kingdoms may have differed with regard to their respective political agendas. From this perspective, the Council of Orléans can be seen as an illustration of how bishops dealt with this diversity when being confronted with the canonical demand for dogmatic unity.