The ''Annals of Metz'' ( la, Annales Mettenses) are a set of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
Carolingian annals covering the period of
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
history from the victory of
Pepin II
Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Fr ...
in the
Battle of Tertry
The Battle of Tertry was an important engagement in Merovingian Gaul between the forces of Austrasia under Pepin II on one side and those of Neustria and Burgundy on the other. It took place in 687 at Tertry, Somme, and the battle is presented as ...
(687) to the time of writing (c. 806).
Although the annals do cover events following 806, these sections are not original writings but are additions borrowed from other texts and appended to the original annals in the 9th and 12th centuries.
The annals are strongly pro-Carolingian in tone, tracing the rise of the Carolingian dynasty from Pepin of Herstall through to Charlemagne and beyond; it is considered a family history of the Carolingian dynasty.
Manuscripts
There are two main manuscripts, aside from fragmentary evidence, that contain the ''Annals of Metz.'' Both manuscripts feature text from additional sources.
''Annales Mettenses posteriores''
The title ''Annals of Metz'' is a modern addition and derives from the title given by
André Duchesne
André Duchesne (; sometimes spelled ''Du Chesne'', Latinized ''Andreas Chesneus'', ''Andreas Quercetanus'', or ''Andreas Querneus''; May 158430 May 1640) was a French geographer and historian, generally styled the father of French history.
Duch ...
for the manuscript he published in 1626: ''Annales Francorum Mettenses'', Metz annals of the Franks, with the larger collection of manuscripts titled the ''Historia Francorum Scriptores coaetanei''.
Duchesne believed that the text was written at the
Abbey of Saint-Arnould
The Abbey of Saint-Arnould, St. Arnold, Saint-Arnoult or Abbey of the Holy Apostles is a Benedictine abbey residing in Metz since the 6th century.
The origins of the abbey are a mystery. According to legend, it was founded in the 2nd century by Bi ...
in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, where the manuscript he used was found.
The version published by Duchesne is today known as the ''Annales Mettenses posteriores'', or the ''Later Annals of Metz''. The original collection that Duchesne published, in which the ''Earlier Annals of Metz'' was found, was compiled in the 12th century and includes material from many sources, which allows its narrative to extend from legendary Trojan origins into Frankish history up until 904.
''Annales Mettenses priores''
In 1895,
Karl Hampe discovered a complete manuscript in the
Durham Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...
library which formed the basis for the ''Annales Mettenses priores'', or the ''Earlier Annals of Metz''.
This original source had been used as a source by the later annals and had been considered lost since the discovery of the ''Later Annals of Metz''.
The annals feature year by year entries for the years 687–830, and have been divided by historians Paul J. Fouracre and Richard A. Gerberding into three sections, all of which show clear links to earlier and other contemporary texts, such as the ''
Royal Frankish Annals
The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...
'' (RFA), and the continuations of the ''
Chronicle of Fredegar
The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century.
The chronicle begins ...
''.
First section
The first section, 687–805, was written in 806 by a singular author. With minor additions of their own, they borrow from the continuations of the ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' exclusively until 742, from which point onwards until 768 the author includes additions from the RFA.
From 768 until 802, the annals borrow primarily from the RFA and for 803-5, the author creates their own original material.
Second section
The second, 806–829, is drawn almost verbatim from the RFA and adds very little beyond the copied text.
Third section
The third and final section is a single long entry for 830 added at a later date by another unknown author.
Composition
The ''Annales Mettenses priores'' composition has been a subject of debate, with the prevailing belief supporting Rosamond McKitterick's assertion, building on Janet Nelson's earlier arguments,
that the annals were created either under the jurisdiction of
Gisela, Abbess of Chelles Gisela (757, Aachen, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany – 810–11, Chelles, Seine-et-Marne, Ile-de-France, France) was a Frankish princess and abbess. She was the daughter of Pepin the Short and his wife Bertrada of Laon. She was the siste ...
and sister of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
at
Chelles Abbey
Chelles Abbey (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame-des-Chelles) was a Frankish monastery founded around 657/660 during the early medieval period. It was intended initially as a monastery for women; then its reputation for great learning grew, and with the a ...
in 806, or a similar monastic institute at
St. Denis in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
The monastic argument is based upon evidence from within the annals that mentions land possessions based around St. Denis and the burial of Queen Betrada at St. Denis in 783, however similar evidence such as the mentioning of Chelles twice also exists.
The most convincing evidence is rooted in the fact that the source maintains a strong, pro-Carolingian royal focus, making any involvement and 'direction', as worded by Jennifer R. Davis has suggested, of Gisela, a former member of the royal family and contemporary relation to royalty, a logical conclusion.
However, Paul J. Fouracre and Robert A, Gerberding contest Gisela's influence, or any female direction within the Chelles nunnery, in the composition, and so consider it more likely that the author belonged to the monastery at Metz.
They argue that the author 'would have been a misogynistic one' from the way she describes
Plectrude
Plectrude ( la, Plectrudis; german: Plektrud, Plechtrudis) (died 718) was the consort of Pepin of Herstal, the mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, from about 670. She was the daughter of Hugobert, seneschal of Clovis IV, and Irmina of O ...
, Pepin II's wife who opposed Charles Martel, condemning her of 'a womanly plan' that featured 'feminine cunning more cruelly than was necessary'.
Historiography
The ''Annales Mettenses priores'' has been used in medieval historiography as evidence of Carolingian rewriting of Merovingian history, as well as in the exploration of the mythology which Carolingian historians attempted to create to justify their legitimacy to rule. Historians Roger Collins and Rosamond McKitterick have both made particular note of the efforts shown in the ''Annales'' in attempting to show legitimacy by tracing noble ancestry through the
Pippinids
The Pippinids and the Arnulfings were two Frankish aristocratic families from Austrasia during the Merovingian period. They dominated the office of mayor of the palace after 687 and eventually supplanted the Merovingians as kings in 751, founding ...
,
[{{Cite book, title=Charlemagne, last=Collins, first=Roger, publisher=Macmillan Press Ltd, year=1998, isbn=0 333 65055 7, location=London, pages=3] and a prime example of this noted by Paul Fouracre is the legendary story of Pepin of Herstal and his conflict with Gundoin at the beginning of the ''Annales''.
This story is found in no other written source, and it is often cited from the ''Annales'' purely due to its unique nature.
This incident is the earliest that the ''Annales'' records; it depicts the murder of Gundoin by Pepin probably in the 670s. Gundoin supposedly murdered Pepin's father
Ansegisel
Ansegisel (c. 602 or 610 – murdered before 679 or 662) was the younger son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz.
Life
He served King Sigebert III of Austrasia (634–656) as ''domesticus''. He was killed sometime before 679, slain in a feud by his ...
and then Pepin, when he was of age, tracked down and killed Gundoin, and seized power in Austrasia.
– according to the ''Annales'', which is also the earliest source for the Merovingian "decline" narrative, and it offers a basis upon which the Carolingian's eventual ascendance to the throne is legitimate.
Upon thus rightly conquering Gundoin, Pepin is then primed to act, as the king
Theuderic III
Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king of ...
, according to the ''Annales'', had become oppressive and unjust, forcing Pepin to invade and defeat him in the great
Battle of Tertry
The Battle of Tertry was an important engagement in Merovingian Gaul between the forces of Austrasia under Pepin II on one side and those of Neustria and Burgundy on the other. It took place in 687 at Tertry, Somme, and the battle is presented as ...
in 687.
Thereafter, we are told, Pepin held the reins of the kingdom even though he oversaw the succession of Theuderic's sons. As Fouracre argues, this source demonstrates how Carolingian historians, and potentially writings that had connections to the royal courts, were actively attempting to embellish history and Carolingian lineage to further establish their claim.
Notes
Carolingian historiography
Carolingian dynasty
Carolingian Latin literature