The Road to Old High German The Franks, the Saxons & the rise of The Holy Roman Empire The Problem of Germania In 9 CE the Roman quest to pacify Germania came to a crashing halt The Rhein & Danube became the northern border of the Empire It was, however, a relatively porous border Interaction with Germanic tribes was hereafter a negotiated process The Franks Emerged in the 3rd century as a confederation of smaller tribes The major subgroups in this confederation: The Salians - in large parts of the modern Netherlands The Ripuarians - along the Rhein The Hessians - in the south along the Main The Franks (Regnum Francorum) By the mid-fourth century, the Franks begin displacing the Romans Their status is generally “federates” of Rome In the course of the 5th century, the Franks continue to move south and southwest The Franks (Regnum Francorum) Salian Franks bring order to Gaul Gaul had been invaded many times: Alemanni, Visigoths, Burgundians, Huns The Franks under Merovech stood with the Romans to defeat the Huns at Catalaunian Plains in 451 The Franks (Regnum Francorum) Merovech is the namesake of the Merovingian dynasty > Childeric > Clovis (Chlodwig) Clovis assumes control of the Franks, eliminating other Salian and Ripuarian leaders Clovis converts to Catholicism, displaces the Romans from Gaul (486), soundly whips the Alemanni, and goes after the Goth and Burgundian “heretics” The Franks (Regnum Francorum) Clovis’ death signals the beginning of a long period of war & subdivision of the Frankish Empire In 718 Charles Martel (Karl Martel) assumes the throne of Francia Re-centralizes Frankish rule of Francia Subjugates the Bavarians, Alemanni, Frisians & Saxons Halts Islamic advance into western Europe - Battle of Tours (732) The Franks (Regnum Francorum) Charles Martel > Pippin the Younger (a.k.a. Pippin the Short) Pippin had 2 sons: Charles and Carloman Charles (a.k.a Karl der Große / Charlemagne) remakes the Empire Charlemagne Assumed control of the Franks in 768 Laid the foundations for modern Germany & France Crowned as the first Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 Spurred the Carolingian Renaissance United western Europe under his control, Christianized various groups at sword point The Saxons Described by Roman and Frankish texts Major Old Saxon text is the Heliand - a loose Bible translation Other minor texts survived, although most destroyed in the process of Christianization Very similar to, and part of the roots of, Old English The Spread of the Franks The Frankish Empire Frankish Collection of Germanic and Italic dialects The Germanic speaking parts of the Frankish Empire were no doubt a continuum of somewhat similar dialects However, in the high mountains of what is now Bavaria & Switzerland, something was happening that would change the quality of many Germanic dialects and give birth to Old High German …...