Memory, Epistemology, and the Writing of Early Medieval Military History: The Example of Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg (1009–1018)

Abstract

In the current debates concerning the value of information that can be obtained from early medieval narrative texts insufficient attention has been paid to the wide range of tools available to scholars to test the reliability of these sources, particularly with regard to military matters. This study has a two-fold purpose. First, an effort is made to bring some clarity to the wide-ranging debate about the place of memory and epistemology in evaluating the narrative texts that survive from the early Middle Ages. The second task undertaken here is to begin the evaluation of the information provided by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg in his Chronicon regarding the military organization of Ottonian Germany. In regard to this latter objective, a thorough analysis of Thietmar’s use of the term miles makes clear that the bishop of Merseburg reserved this word to refer to professional soldiers, and that he did not use the term in a “feudal” sense. In addition, a careful examination of the contexts in which Thiemtar depicts milites being deployed suggests that they served primarily to serve the needs of siege warfare, either defending or assaulting fortified cities, fortresses, and lesser strongholds.