Frankish mythology comprises the mythology
of the Germanic tribal confederation 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 (c. 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 7th century.
== Pre-Christian traditions ==
The majority of pagan Frankish beliefs may
share similarities with that of other Germanic
peoples. If so, then it may be possible to
reconstruct the basic elements of Frankish
traditional religion.The migration era religion
of the Franks likely shared many 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, Germanic 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 ("All
Father"), thought to have lived in a sacred
grove. Germanic peoples may have gathered
where they believed him to live, and sacrificed
a human life to him.
Variants of the phrase All Father (like Allfadir)
usually refer to Wuotan (Wodin, Odhinn), and
the Franks probably believed in Wuoton as
"chief" of blessings, whom the first historian
Tacitus called "Mercurius", and his consort
Freia, as well as Donar (Thor), god of thunder,
and Zio (Tyr), whom Tacitus called "Mars".
According to Herbert Schutz, most of their
gods were "worldly", possessing form and having
concrete relation to earthly objects, in contradistinction
to the transcendent God of Christianity. Tacitus
also mentioned a goddess Nerthus being worshipped
by the Germanic people, in whom Perry thinks
the Franks may have shared a belief. With
the Germanic groups along the North Sea 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.In contrast to many other Germanic
tribes, no Merovingians claimed to be descended
from Wodan.Some rich Frankish graves were
surrounded by horse burials, such as Childeric's
grave.
==== Symbolism of cattle ====
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. Eduardo Fabbro has speculated
that the Germanic goddess Nerthus (who rode
in a chariot drawn by cows) mentioned by Tacitus,
was the origin of the Merovingian conception
of Merovech, after whom their dynasty would
be named. The Merovingian kings riding through
the country on an oxcart could then be an
imaginative reenactment the blessing journey
of their divine ancestor. In the grave of
Childeric I (died 481) was found the head
of a bull, craftily made out of gold. This
may have represented the symbol of a very
old fertility ritual, that centred on the
worship of the cow. According to Fabbro, the
Frankish pantheon expressed a variation of
the Germanic structure that was especially
devoted to fertility gods.However, a more
likely explanation is that the Merovingian
ox-cart went back to the Late-Roman tradition
of governors riding through the province to
dispense justice in the company of angariae,
or ox wagons belonging to the imperial post.
The bull in Childeric's grave was probably
an insignificant object imported from elsewhere,
and belongs to a wide artistic usage of bulls
in pre-historic European art.
== 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 people 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 ==
The religion of Clovis before his adherence
to Catholic faith has been disputed, and he
may have doubted between Catholicism and Arianism
for a while.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.
== Notes ==
== 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 0-14-044295-2.
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.
