Approaches to community and otherness in the late Merovingian and early Carolingian periods
Richard Broome
The aim of this study is to examine how contemporary authors approached and understood the communal identity inhabitants regnum Francorum from seventh early ninth century. In order do this, takes in a wide variety narrative sources – historical hagiographical addresses issues both ‘community’ ‘otherness’, above all relationship between two. To end, explores three related discourses that emerged developed period. first these discourse concerned Franks themselves, especially way imagined Frankish community composed single gens which overcame inherent divisions within regnum. second involved non-Franks, relied on concepts rebellion paganism rather than ethnic encourage sense exclusion. Crucially, we shall see was only really eighth third represented by case-study specific people Frisians charts they went being peripheral pagans at beginning century seen as part middle ninth. Above all, though, seek highlight different who participated discourses, emphasising that, while there were over-arching ideas each discourse, author interpreted an individual way. This provides us with much more ambivalent picture otherness period might expect.