The Present in the Past

Abstract

Abstract The Roman past is usually conceived as foreign to the Franks. Although the Frankish world as we know it emerged from within the Roman empire, any earlier history belonging to the time before the Franks had entered Roman territory and their convergence with the empire is either lost or was subsequently reframed to fit into Roman history. This chapter discusses the place of the Franks in this history by assessing the Frankish perceptions of the past and by retracing the origins and further evolution of their historical identity. It argues that while the Franks self-confidently retained their gentile identity, they considered themselves part of the multiethnic ancient Roman world and its history. The first section focuses on the perception of time and history and how the Frankish world was designed to fit into the Roman past. The second discusses the Frankish treatment of Antiquity and its role as a past shared with the remaining parts of the empire.