The purpose of this paper is to examine the notion of Frankish community – that is, the communal identity of those living within the regnum Francorum – as it emerged, developed and changed during the seventh century and into the early-eighth. This examination will focus on two historical texts, the so-called Chronicle of Fredegar, composed c.6…[Read more]

Early Carolingian authors appear to have been acutely aware of ethnic and regional identities, and the sources of the late-eighth and early-ninth centuries contain many references to non-Franks. These ethnic terms alone, however, do not imply a sense of ‘otherness’. The incorporation of these non-Frankish peripheral peoples into a consolidated Fra…[Read more]