Description
Franks, Romans, pagani – ‘National’ Identity in the Poems of Ermoldus Nigellus.This paper considers cultural boundaries in 9th-century Carolingian poetry, and how Ermoldus Nigellus transversed the boundaries between what was Frank and what was Roman in terms of cultural identity. Whilst couching his patrons’ character in Roman imagery is not unique on his part, his poems exemplify the propensity of Frankish intellectuals to draw on Roman themes and character to demonstrate the stability and legitimacy of secular and spiritual administration in the Carolingian empire. This paper examines the poem’s codification of particular images of Louis and others as political and cultural heirs of Rome (for example, in the description of the paintings at Ingelheim or in imperial epithets such as ‘Augustus’) – and the inverse: those instances when Ermoldus (and presumably the Franks) throw off the façade of Romanness and become Franks. Supportive context will be provided along the lines of antecedents for Romanitas amongst the Germanic successors to the Roman west and the cultural snobbery in response from the (Gallo)-Romans (Sidonius Apollonius and Gregory of Tours, for example) – and how by Ermoldus’s era we see similar snobbery being played out, if not some complex double-speak, as he describes people beyond the borders of Louis’s empire. For example, at the same time he refers to Louis as Augustus and God as Tonitans (an avatar of Jupiter), he depicts anyone who is not (or who is a fallen) Christian as worshipping pagan idols such as Neptune – and Jupiter. Framing the discussion will be remarks about Ermoldus’s sources and what works he had at his disposal as he creates the world of the Carolingian court and countryside in his verses. This paper is part of a work-in-progress that considers the poet’s inventiveness, his powers of performance and persuasion, and commemorative imagery that would resonate with his patrons.
Carey Fleiner
Senior Lecturer, Classical and Early Medieval History
University of Winchester
[email protected]
| Period | 5 Jul 2020 → 11 Jul 2020 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Leeds, United KingdomShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |