The Merovingian Practice of Naming after Relatives: Family Traditions and Politics. – The name-giving habits in the Early Middle Ages are often connected with the traditions of a kin group. But the Merovingian example shows the importance of politics: During the course of its existence the Merovingian Frankish Kingdom was often separated into Teilreiche. Their kings were closely related which led to a claim to succeed one another. This is the context of the beginning of the Merovingian naming after relatives. Giving a name which was a popular part of the tradition of another Teilreich was a means to express one’s political claim on said kingdom. It is interesting that Clothar I – the weakest king of his generation – used this instrument most frequently. As did his son Chilperic I who at first also was at a disadvantage compared to his half-brothers. Chilperich even used the name Merowech which shows his ambition to rule the Gesamtreich, at least around Clothar’s I death in 561. Naming after a direct ancestor (especially after the grandfather) was comparatively seldom. Maybe because naming generally did not serve as stabilisation of a family tradition (as in later centuries) but current political concerns. In the 7th century the naming after direct ancestors or relatives prevailed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:13544 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Becher, Matthias |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig |
| Publisher | Deutsche Gesellschaft für Namenforschung e.V. |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | German |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text |
| Source | Namenkundliche Informationen; 103/104(2014), S. 43-57 |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-179533, qucosa:13539 |
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