Marcomer
Encyclopedia
Marcomer was a Frankish
leader (dux) in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire
in the year 388, when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul
, Magnus Maximus
was surrounded in Aquileia
by Theodosius I
.
The invasion is documented by Gregory of Tours
who cited the now lost work of Sulpicius Alexander
. According to this account Marcomer, Sunno
and Genobaud
invaded the Roman provinces Germania and Belgia in Gaul. They broke through the limes
, killed many people, destroyed the most fruitful lands and made the city Köln
panic. After this raid the main body of the Franks moved back over the Rhine with their booty. Some of the Franks remained in the Belgian woods. When the Roman generals Magnus Maximus
, Nanninus and Quintinus heard the news in Trier
, they attacked those remaining Frankish forces and killed many of them. After this engagement Quintinus crossed the Rhine to punish the Franks in their own country, however his army was surrounded and beaten. Some Roman soldiers drowned in the marshes, others were killed by Franks, few made it back to their Empire.
Nanninus and Quintinus were replaced by Charietto
and Syrus
, who were again confronted by an attack of unidentified Franks.
Later, after the fall of Magnus Maximus, Marcomer and Sunno held a short meeting about the recent attacks with the Frank Arbogastes, who was a general (magister militum) in the Roman army. The Franks delivered hostages as usual, and Arbogastes returned to his winter quarters in Trier.
A couple of years later when Arbogastes had seized power and the West Roman army was nearly completely in the hands of Frankish mercenaries, he crossed the Rhine with a Roman army into Germania, because he hated his own kin. Marcomer was seen as leader with Chatti
and Ampsivarii
but the two did not engage.
Later we hear from the poet Claudian
that Marcomer was arrested by Romans and banned to a villa in Tuscany. His brother Sunno
crossed the Rhine and tried to settle himself as leader of the band of Marchomir, however he was killed by his own people.
According to the later Liber Historiae Francorum
, Marcomer tried to unite the Franks after the death of Sunno. He proposed that the Franks should live under one king and proposed his own son Pharamond
(whose earliest mention is in this work, and who is considered mythological by scholars) for the kingship. This source does not relate whether Marcomer succeeded, but from other later sources that recall the account of Liber Historiae Francorum, the impression may be gained that Pharamond was regarded as the first king of the Franks. However, modern scholars, such as Edward James, do not accept this account in the Liber Historiae Francorum as historical, because Marcomer is called the son of the Trojan king Priam
, which is an obvious impossibility. Clovis I
, according to Gregory of Tours, had several other rulers or kings killed in order to manipulate control and increase his territory, and through his machinations dethroned other leaders such as the Frankish counts of Triër, but even he was not the single Frankish king, for tribes as the Thuringii
, Chamavi
and Bructeri
continued their own structures. After Clovis' death, his empire was divided again amongst his sons who ruled simultaneously over different areas.
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
leader (dux) in the late 4th century who invaded the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in the year 388, when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
was surrounded in Aquileia
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
by Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
.
The invasion is documented by Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
who cited the now lost work of Sulpicius Alexander
Sulpicius Alexander
Sulpicius Alexander was a Roman historian of Germanic tribes. His work is lost, but his Historia in at least four books is quoted by Gregory of Tours. It was perhaps a continuation of the Res gestae by Ammianus Marcellinus and dealt with events at least until the death of Valentinian II...
. According to this account Marcomer, Sunno
Sunno
Sunno was a leader of the Franks in the late 4th century that invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388 when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus was surrounded in Aquileia by Theodosius I...
and Genobaud
Genobaud
Genobaud was a leader of the Franks. He invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388.This invasion is documented by Gregory of Tours, who cited the now lost work of Sulpicius Alexander. According to this account Genobaud invaded the Roman provinces Germania and Belgia together with Marcomer and Sunno...
invaded the Roman provinces Germania and Belgia in Gaul. They broke through the limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
, killed many people, destroyed the most fruitful lands and made the city Köln
KOLN
KOLN, digital channel 10, is the CBS affiliate in Lincoln, Nebraska. It operates a satellite station, KGIN, on digital channel 11 in Grand Island. KGIN repeats all KOLN programming, but airs separate commercials...
panic. After this raid the main body of the Franks moved back over the Rhine with their booty. Some of the Franks remained in the Belgian woods. When the Roman generals Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus
Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...
, Nanninus and Quintinus heard the news in Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, they attacked those remaining Frankish forces and killed many of them. After this engagement Quintinus crossed the Rhine to punish the Franks in their own country, however his army was surrounded and beaten. Some Roman soldiers drowned in the marshes, others were killed by Franks, few made it back to their Empire.
Nanninus and Quintinus were replaced by Charietto
Charietto
Charietto was an Ancient German headhunter and bounty hunter who worked for the Romans. He operated on the Rhine frontier near Trier.According to Zosimus, Charietto saw barbarian raiders crossing the Rhine and determined to take action. Going out into the forest at night he would kill a number of...
and Syrus
Syrus
In Greek mythology, Syrus was the son of Sinope and Apollo; the syrians are named after him....
, who were again confronted by an attack of unidentified Franks.
Later, after the fall of Magnus Maximus, Marcomer and Sunno held a short meeting about the recent attacks with the Frank Arbogastes, who was a general (magister militum) in the Roman army. The Franks delivered hostages as usual, and Arbogastes returned to his winter quarters in Trier.
A couple of years later when Arbogastes had seized power and the West Roman army was nearly completely in the hands of Frankish mercenaries, he crossed the Rhine with a Roman army into Germania, because he hated his own kin. Marcomer was seen as leader with Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
and Ampsivarii
Ampsivarii
The Ampsivarii, sometimes referenced by modern writers as Ampsivari , were a Germanic tribe mentioned by ancient authors....
but the two did not engage.
Later we hear from the poet Claudian
Claudian
Claudian was a Roman poet, who worked for Emperor Honorius and the latter's general Stilicho.A Greek-speaking citizen of Alexandria and probably not a Christian convert, Claudian arrived in Rome before 395. He made his mark with a eulogy of his two young patrons, Probinus and Olybrius, thereby...
that Marcomer was arrested by Romans and banned to a villa in Tuscany. His brother Sunno
Sunno
Sunno was a leader of the Franks in the late 4th century that invaded the Roman Empire in the year 388 when the usurper and leader of the whole of Roman Gaul, Magnus Maximus was surrounded in Aquileia by Theodosius I...
crossed the Rhine and tried to settle himself as leader of the band of Marchomir, however he was killed by his own people.
According to the later Liber Historiae Francorum
Liber Historiae Francorum
Liber historiae Francorum is a book that briefly starts as secondary source for early Franks in the time of Marcomer, and it gives a short breviarum of events until the time of the late Merovingians, where it becomes an important primary source of the contemporaneous history...
, Marcomer tried to unite the Franks after the death of Sunno. He proposed that the Franks should live under one king and proposed his own son Pharamond
Pharamond
Pharamond or Faramund is a legendary early king of the Franks, first referred to in the anonymous 8th century Carolingian text Liber Historiae Francorum, also known as the Gesta regnum Francorum. In this work, which is customarily dated to 727, the anonymous author begins by writing of a mythical...
(whose earliest mention is in this work, and who is considered mythological by scholars) for the kingship. This source does not relate whether Marcomer succeeded, but from other later sources that recall the account of Liber Historiae Francorum, the impression may be gained that Pharamond was regarded as the first king of the Franks. However, modern scholars, such as Edward James, do not accept this account in the Liber Historiae Francorum as historical, because Marcomer is called the son of the Trojan king Priam
Priam
Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous".- Marriage and issue :...
, which is an obvious impossibility. Clovis I
Clovis I
Clovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
, according to Gregory of Tours, had several other rulers or kings killed in order to manipulate control and increase his territory, and through his machinations dethroned other leaders such as the Frankish counts of Triër, but even he was not the single Frankish king, for tribes as the Thuringii
Thuringii
The Thuringii or Toringi were a Germanic tribe which appeared late during the Völkerwanderung in the Harz Mountains of central Germania around 280, in a region which still bears their name to this day — Thuringia. They evidently filled a void left when the previous inhabitants — the...
, Chamavi
Chamavi
The Chamavi were a Germanic tribe of Late Antiquity and the European Dark Age. They first appear under that name in the 1st century AD Germania of Tacitus as a Germanic tribe that, for most of their history, existed along the North bank of the Lower Rhine in the region today called Hamaland after...
and Bructeri
Bructeri
The Bructeri were a Germanic tribe located in northwestern Germany , between the Lippe and Ems rivers south of the Teutoburg Forest, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia around 100 BC through 350 AD....
continued their own structures. After Clovis' death, his empire was divided again amongst his sons who ruled simultaneously over different areas.
Sources
- Gregory of ToursGregory of ToursSaint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
, Historia Francorum, Book II, paragraph 9. - ClaudianClaudianClaudian was a Roman poet, who worked for Emperor Honorius and the latter's general Stilicho.A Greek-speaking citizen of Alexandria and probably not a Christian convert, Claudian arrived in Rome before 395. He made his mark with a eulogy of his two young patrons, Probinus and Olybrius, thereby...
, Loeb Classical Library, On StilichoStilichoFlavius Stilicho was a high-ranking general , Patrician and Consul of the Western Roman Empire, notably of Vandal birth. Despised by the Roman population for his Germanic ancestry and Arian beliefs, Stilicho was in 408 executed along with his wife and son...
's Consulship (translation Platnauer) - Edward James, The Franks