Monsters Walking As Men - Early Franks PLOG

[Sven Ironhand]

“These monsters have red hair which falls over the forehead from their high crown. It is a sport for them to throw their fast axes through the air from a great distance and to know in advance where they will land; to turn their shields so fast and to leap so quickly ahead that they will get to their enemies before the spear they have hurled. In childhood, their warlike behaviour is already that of an adult.”


-Sidonius Apollinaris

Certainly, a patronizing, cruelly written, dismissive quote – as typical of Roman sources on “barbarian” cultures. But there is some truth in it. Franciscas and javelins were part of the Frankish infantryman’s kit, their effects deadly, their impact like a thunderbolt. More generally, the Franks were certainly warlike, fierce peoples. Their successes in the chaos of late Antiquity prove that beyond the shadow of a doubt.

These (still WIP) Franks are based upon "Gauls" from the SPQR starter. With a shield swap, I think they broadly fit the part.



EDIT:

Sure enough, there's the red-haired devils. Sans shields and basing, I'm leaning towards calling these dudes done.

[Sven Ironhand]

The completed stand!

[Sven Ironhand]

The Command Stand of the Warband. I'm going to be using these guys for Hail Caesar. Don't think I mentioned that.


Allow me to engage in a bit of historical fiction.

And then Wurdulf, now grey, did stand.
Firm and fixed did Chlodio's old war-leader stay.
He alone defied Merovech's ban.
Yet the king listened to a man who dare disobey.

"I served with thy late chief by the sea,
Twice the man thee are, he was, oak strong.
Now you must hear me.
This course thou set on is wrong.

Wodan was the god of thy fathers,
And their fathers, and long before thou.
Thou were taken in bondage into the Roman court,
Held and taught who knows what as a hostage in the Roman fort.

Wodan was the god of thy fathers,
He is my god too,
I was born a Frank, free,
And I am a man's son, not the bastard of a monster from the sea.

Know this - I did not dispute the Frankish throne.
Though thy father Chlodio took me in and adopted me.
I knew to do so would be the cause of many a mother's moan,
And so, I graciously ceded it to thee.

Thou hewed down the oak of Wodan and bring us a Roman faith,
Aetius taught thee this, and he beat us back, so well enough.
But the Hun is at our gates, and rusted all our war-graith,
With what Christian sword can we stand against the Mund-spilli, tanned and rough?"

Then back down he sat.
Wurdulf had the sense to hold back this spat.
Lest it boil over into feud,
And by the Huns, their ragged children pursued.

Ravings and Reflections

Note: The "bastard of a monster from the sea" quip is a reference to the Quinotaur in the Chronicle of Fredegar. This is something I feel needed elucidation for several reasons. While it is doubtful that this story of Merovech being the son of a sea monster existed during two centuries prior to the Chronicle, it feels thematic to me. In short, it is an insult that Wurdulf as both Merovech's rival to the throne and a pagan would conceivably use. It has a purpose, both politically for Wurdulf and story-wise.

Some things need to be said about the life the Quinotaur story has taken on since the 7th century. Of particular note is its role in the (factually wrong) conception of the Merovingians as descendants of Jesus Christ. This theory of the Merovingian genesis ties into claims first advanced by the French pretender Pierre Plantard and written about by Baigent, Lincoln, and Leigh. While I will not go into all the claims of the ahistorical screed that is Holy Blood, Holy Grail, it is worth noting that it reads Christian symbolism into this story.

In other words, the Quinotaur can be understood, in this conception, as a stand-in for Christ. However, the actual Merovingians derived their legitimacy not from some supposed Christ bloodline, but rather a multitude of sources.

-Clovis's call for aid from Jesus Christ at Tolbiac and conversion to Catholicism is well-recorded in Gregory of Tours and other sources, though its provenance is doubtful. This was not simply the Catholic Church of Rome giving him power; they got something out of the arrangement as well. As the only (Nicene) Catholic Kingdom in the lands known once as Babaricum, and a powerful post-Roman state, the Merovingians made good allies.
-The society of the Franks was a violent one, with retributive justice the norm. This can be understood through the anecdote of Clovis splitting the head of the Ewer thief from Gregory of Tours. As is ever the case, the state derives its power from being able to do the most violence.
-Lineage can be understood as playing a part. Clovis could trace his line to Merovech, at least a hundred years back, and possibly to Chlodio (whose existence is doubtful). He had blood roots in the ancient, albeit pagan past.

But I digress.

[FierceKitty]

I'm damned if I see one point of resemblance to early Franks.

[Sven Ironhand]

I'm damned if I see one point of resemblance to early Franks.

I have a bone to pick with this. When I saw this post, I thought sardonically to myself: “How can one be a rivet-counter about the 4th-11th centuries?” Now, this is a reductive take on my part – there is a clear difference in the equipment of, say, limitanei border troops and the Germanic tribes. Likewise, between the later Merovingian era and the earlier era I am shooting for. But there is a measure of relative uniformity in the various Germanic tribes’ equipment and clothing for – say – about eight centuries.

As a history minor, I was educated to look for both similarities and differences. However, I also acknowledge that distinct things are distinct. A Gaul is not a Frank, and I understand the impulse to say "you can't use these models". But when I look at the Germanic tribes and other "barbarian" peoples in terms of equipment and clothing, the similarities are far weightier than the differences.

So, I looked at the sources I have access to. I am open to criticism and knew the choice of miniatures might not please everyone, but I had gauged the risks accordingly.  So here’s what I have to say in response.

The image of every man of fighting age being able to afford shirts of mail is a compelling one. But on the contrary, less wealthy warriors and levies had to make do with what they could get. This was moreso pronounced in the early Migration Period before the Germanic kingdoms truly inherited Roman infrastructure and institutions. Booty could make up for these deficiencies, but not every Salian Frank had access to good equipment.

From Encyclopedia Britannica:

“Defensive arms consisted of the usual helmets, corselets, greaves, and shields—although, since metal was expensive, most warriors seem to have worn only light armour.”

Now that's a secondary source, but what do the primary sources say? From Agathias, in the sixth century. While this is a Roman writer writing about an enemy people, we can assume it has some relation to truth.

The military equipment of this people is very simple.... They do not know the use of the coat of mail or greaves and the head the majority leave uncovered, only a few wear the helmet. They have their chests bare and backs naked to the loins, they cover their thighs with either leather or line.