THE CAMBRIDGE MEDIEVAL HISTORY I 157
The Salian Franks and the Reversion to Paganism
10-12. The Salian Franks and the Reversion to Paganism
It would be in any case impossible to follow the history of all these Frankish tribes for want of evidence, but even if their history was known it would be of quite secondary interest, for it would have only a remote connexion with the history of France. Offshoots from these various tribes no doubt established themselves sporadically here and there in ancient Gaul, as in the case of the Attuarii. It was not however by the Franks as a whole, but by a single tribe, the Salian Franks, that Gaul was to be conquered; it was their king who was destined to be the ruler of this noble territory. It is therefore to the Salian Franks that we must devote our attention.
The Salian Franks are mentioned for the first time in A.D. 358. In that year Julian, as yet only a Caesar, marched against them. Petit primos omnium Francos, eos videlicet quos consuetudo Salios appellavit (Ammianus Marcellinus, xvii. 8). What is the origin of the name?
It was long customary to derive it from the river Yssel (Isala), or from Saalland to the south of the Zuiderzee; but it seems much more probable that the name comes from sal (the salt sea). The Salian Franks at first lived by the shores of the North Sea, and were known by this name in contradistinction to the Ripuarian Franks, who lived on the banks of the Rhine. All their oldest legends speak of the sea, and the name of one of their earliest kings, Merovech, signifies sea-born.
From the shores of the North Sea the Salian Franks had advanced little by little towards the south, and at the period when Ammianus Marcellinus mentions them they occupied Toxandria, that is to say the region to the south of the Meuse, between that river and the Scheldt. Julian completely defeated the Salian Franks, but he left them in possession of their territory of Toxandria. Only, instead of occupying it as conquerors, they held it as foederati, agreeing to defend it against all other invaders. They furnished also to the armies of Rome soldiers whom we hear of as serving in far distant regions. In the notitia Dignitatum, in which we find a sort of Army List of the Empire drawn up about the beginning of the fifth century, there is mention of Salii seniores and Salii juniores, and we also find Salii figuring in the auxilia palatina.
At the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century the Salian Franks established in Toxandria ceased to recognise the authority of Rome, and began to assert their independence. It was at this period that the Roman civilisation disappeared from these regions. The Latin language ceased to be spoken and the Germanic tongue was alone employed. Even at the present day the inhabitants of these districts speak Flemish, a Germanic dialect. The place-names were altered and took on a Germanic form, with the terminations hem, ghem, seele, and zele, indicating a dwelling-place, loo wood, dal valley. The Christian religion retreated along with the Roman civilisation, and those regions reverted to paganism. For a long time, it would seem, these Salian Franks were held in check by the great Roman road which led, by way of Arras, Cambrai, and Bavay, to Cologne, and which was protected by numerous forts.
The Salians were subdivided into a number of tribes each holding a pagus. Each of these divisions had a king who was chosen from the most noble family, and who was distinguished from his fellow Franks by his long hair — criniti reges. The first of these kings to whom we have a distinct reference bore the name of Clogio or Clojo (Clodion).
He had his seat at Dispargum, the exact position of which has not been determined — it may have been Diest in Brabant. Desiring to extend the borders of the Salian Franks he advanced southwards in the direction of the great Roman road. Before reaching it, however, he was surprised, near the town of Helena (Helesmes-Nord), when engaged in celebrating the betrothal of one of his warriors to a fair-haired maiden, by Aetius, who exercised in the name of Rome the military command in Gaul. He sustained a crushing defeat; the victor carried off his chariots and took prisoner even the trembling bride. This was about the year 431. But Clodion was not long in recovering from this defeat. He sent spies into the neighbourhood of Cambrai, defeated the Romans, and captured the town. He had thus gained command of the great Roman road. Then, without encountering opposition, he advanced as far as the Somme, which marked the limit of Frankish territory. About this period Tournai on the Scheldt seems to have become the capital of the Salian Franks.
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