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Freedom, Warriors' Bond, Legal Book. the Lex Salica Between Barbarian

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Freedom, Warriors' Bond, Legal Book. the Lex Salica Between Barbarian 1 Jean-Pierre Poly Freedom, warriors’ bond, legal book. The Lex Salica between Barbarian custom and Roman law Liberté, lien des guerriers, li re de droit. La lex salica entre coutume barbare et loi romaine !bstract" #alic Law, t$e most %amous o% t$e so-called barbarian lege, was bot$ barbarian and roman. &t was made during t$e 't$ century %or t$e Frankis$ military de(endants )dediticii* and t$eir %amilies settled in t$e Extrema Galliae, t$e Far +aul. &ts main goal was to eradicate t$e %eud system, unacce(table in t$e Roman army. &t did not succeed in t$e long run but it ga e t$e Franks t$e co$esion w$ic$ allowed t$em to con,uer +aul, t$e te-t turning ultimately into an element o% national identity down to t$e Frenc$ re olution. Résumé " La loi #ali,ue, la (lus cél.bre des lois dites barbares, était / la %ois barbare et romaine. Elle fut %aite au &1e si.cle (our les déditices Francs et leurs %amilles établis dans les Extrema Galliae, 2 les régions ultimes de la +aule 3. #on (rincipal ob4ectif était d’éradiquer le syst.me indicatoire, inacce(table dans l’armée romaine. Elle n’y réussit 5nalement (as mais elle donna aux Francs la co$ésion ,ui leur (ermit la conquête de la +aule, le te-te de enant un élément d’identité nationale 4us,u’à la Ré olution française. 8eywords" army 9 barbarians 9 custom 9 democracy 9 0uro(e’s legal $istory 9 %eud 9 Franks 9 national identities – Salic Law. :ots-clés " armée 9 barbares 9 coutume 9 démocratie 9 $istoire 4uridique de l’0uro(e 9 engeance 9 Francs – identités nationales – loi Salique ;$us, by a singular coincidence, t$e Germans %ramed t$eir artless institutions at a time w$en t$e elaborate system o% Roman 4uris(rudence was 5nally consummated. In t$e #alic law and t$e Pandects o% Justinian, we may compare t$e 5rst rudiments and t$e %ull maturity o% ci il wisdom< and w$ate er pre4udices may be suggested in %avor o% Barbarism, our calm re=ection will ascribe to t$e Romans t$e superior ad antage not only o% science and reason, but o% humanity and justice1. 1. &n t$e mont$ o% #e(tember, year 1>>?, t$e (o(e came in France to celebrate t$e 1@AA th anni ersary o% king Blo is’baptism. ;$e so ereign (ontiC called back to t$e obli ious Frenc$ t$eir ancient con ersion to B$ristianism and to Rome, alleged to be a brand o% identityD. ;aking ad antage o% t$e e ent, some $istorians assembled in R$eims to in estigate t$e conditions o% t$e royal con ersion and its su((osed 1 0. Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire )1776), J. B. Bury )ed.), London 1>A6, p. DF>. “It was probably com(osed in t$e beginning o% t$e 5H$ century, be%ore t$e era o% t$e real or %abulous P$aramond. ;$e pre%ace mentions t$e four cantons w$ic$ produced t$e %our legislators, and many pro inces, Franconia, #axony, Iano re, Brabant Jc., $ave claimed t$em as t$eir own”. Franconia, #axony and Hano re was t$e 0nglis$ (oint, t$e Law being t$us #axon and not Frenc$, c%. #$akespeare’s Henry 1, 1.1: G;$ere is no bar to stay your $ig$nesse claime to France L But one w$ic$ t$ey produce %rom Faramound / Mo %emale s$all succeed in salicke land / N$ic$ salicke land t$e Frenc$ un4ustly gloOe / To be t$e realme o% France L Pet t$eir own writers %ait$%ully affirme L ;$at t$e land salicke lyes in Germany L Between t$e =ouds o% #aleck and o% 0lme L N$ere B$arles t$e 5H$ $a ing subdued t$e #axons L ;$ere leH be$ind and settled certaine Frenc$”. Clio@Thémis - n°10, 2016 D Jean-Pierre Poly ap(urtenance, t$e making o% t$e Frankis$ law, t$e Lex salica . T$e link between t$e royal baptism and t$e lex 9 a first Frenc$ law %or a first Frenc$ king 9 $ad been already alleged in t$e 1E th century, in t$e great debate about t$e constit!tion primitive o% t$e Frenc$ kingdom. &n t$e end o% t$e !ncien Regime, Blo is (re ailed as a law-maker u(on t$e former Faramund'. D. N$at was at stake in t$e contro ersy was t$en ,uite clear" was t$e aut$or o% t$e Lex salica, t$e first law o% France, c$ristian or (aganR #urely, t$e (agan dis(ositions o% t$e old law were ob ious to t$ose w$o cared to read it, but t$e (oint was t$at t$e (agan king Blo is and $is (eo(le $ad been was$ed by baptism and t$ere%ore entitled by +od’s grace to build a nation and $ave t$eir own law. #till, at t$e time o% t$e contro ersy, t$e only (ractical interest o% t$e #alic law was to dismiss women’s claim to t$e t$rone, an old legal trick dating back to t$e 1'th century and es(ecially designed %or t$e 0nglis$. !t t$at time, t$e Frenc$ customs $ad been romaniOed, Roman law was subsidiary %or t$e king’s Iig$ Bourt, le Parlement de Paris, and in muc$ use e eryw$ere in #out$ern France. ;$e debate about t$e ancient law o% Gnos anc6tres les FrancsK had t$us become a matter o% ideology. F. ;$e 1>t$ century $istorians acce(ted t$e (ers(ecti e o% t$e 1St$, albeit wit$ some reser es now and t$en@. Blo is’ reign became a t$res$old between +ermanic #ar#arit$ and B$ristian romanit$. ;$e Franks were su((osed to $ave leH o er barbarity, beginning as Frenc$ t$eir marc$ towards enlig$tment or, as wrote +ibbon commenting u(on !gat$ias’ (raise o% t$e Franks, Gdis(laying t$e social dis(osition and li ely graces w$ic$ in e ery age $ave disguised t$eir ices and sometimes concealed t$eir intrinsic meritK. Bame t$e DAth century, t$e reser ations o% t$e (re ious $istorians were %orgotten and a somew$at $asty dating got t$e better, t$e great t$ing being t$e romano-c$ristian $eritage. T% more ancient cultures t$ere was a clean swee(, e-ce(t by t$e stark nationalists, or worse, in +ermany, w$ic$ did not make t$e matter t$e more attracti e %or ot$ers. N$at does actually t$e Lex Salica tell us about t$e (ast o% France and more broadly, o% Western Euro(e and its national kingdoms, after t$e fall o% t$e Western Roman Em(ireR 4. !t t$e end o% t$e @th century, a roman officer o% Frankis$ origin, Ilodwig, succeeded $is %at$er, king Iildri$, to t$e go ernment, bot$ military and ci il, o% t$e (ro ince o% Belgica sec!nda&. !t t$at time, t$e Frankis$ communities o% t$e (ro ince were not 4udged in roman style, by a Justice- +o ernor learned at im(erial Law sc$ools, ap(ointed by an im(erial office and (ro ided wit$ a collection o% im(erial lawsE. Mor were t$ey 4udged, %or minor cases, by some s,uireen %rom t$e c!ria m!nicipal' o% t$e near city, principal' or de(ensor. ;$eir suits went be%ore rural courts o% wise men called rachim#!rgi, G(rotectors against t$e conse,uencesK 9 an eu($emism %or %eud –, (resided o er by an officer named th!ngen or D G0n ad$érent / la %oi cat$oli,ue, ce dernier )Clo is*, / sa mani.re et selon les conceptions propres / son temps, a (u guider des (euples différents ers l’édi5cation d’une seule et m6me nationK, !dress to président Jac,ues B$irac, ;ours 1>.9.1>>6, $tt("LLwD.vatican.va/contentL4o$n-paul-iiL%r/speec$es/19>6/september/documentsL$%U4p-ii_spe_1>>?A>19_presidente- %rancia.$tml F )lov', histoire et m*moire. +cte d! )ongr,s international d-histoire de Reims, ./012 septem#re .//&, :. Rouc$e )ed.), Paris 1>>7 (abr. )H3*. For t$e historiography see L. ;$eis, )lov'4 de l-histoire a! mythe, Bruxelles, Paris, 1>>6. ' B$. Grell, “Clo is, du Grand #i.cle au- Lumi.res”, )lov' che5 le historiens, T. Guyot4eannin )ed.), %i#lioth,6!e de l-7cole de )harte, 154, 1>>?, p. 172, and B$. !malvi, “Le bapt6me de Clo is" $eurs et mal$eurs d’un myt$e %ondateur de la France contem(oraine, 1814-1914”, p. D'1. &n 0ngland, Gibbon still $eld %or Faramond, s!pra n. 1. !bout t$e male use, 0. 1iennot, La France, le femme et le pou"oir. L’in"ention de la loi sali6!e 89e0:9;e s.<, Paris, 2AA6. @ ;$us +ode%roid 8urt$" G! ant )Clo is* cette loi était dé4/ arr6tée et 5xée dans un ensemble de %ormules non écrites mais con5ées / la mémoire et con7ues dans l’idiome germani,ue des Francs.
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