Marcomer

Marcomer

Marcomer (Marcomeres, Marchomer, Marchomir) 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 unindentified 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.

Sources

  • Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum, Book II, paragraph 9.
  • Claudian, Loeb Classical Library, On Stilicho's Consulship (translation Platnauer)
  • Edward James, The Franks

See also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Marcomer — war ein fränkischer Heerführer im späten 4. Jahrhundert. Zusammen mit den fränkischen Heerführern Gennobaudes und Sunno führte Marcomer 388 einen erfolgreichen Überfall auf römisches Gebiet am Niederrhein an. Die Franken stießen auf… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Marcomer — Génobaud Génobaud fut un roi Franc à la fin du IVe siècle. Il fit de nombreuses incursions dans la province romaine de Germanie et notamment à Cologne dans les années 380 390. Son absence des sources historiques après 388 font penser qu il… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Marcomir — Marcomer war ein fränkischer Heerführer im späten 4. Jahrhundert. Zusammen mit den fränkischen Heerführern Gennobaudes und Sunno führte Marcomer 388 einen erfolgreichen Überfall auf römisches Gebiet am Niederrhein an. Die Franken stießen auf… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Sunno — was a leader (dux) 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 IThe invasion is documented by… …   Wikipedia

  • Sunno — war ein fränkischer Heerführer im späten 4. Jahrhundert. Sunno[1] war neben den Heerführern Marcomer und Gennobaudes Anführer eines fränkischen Raubzugs im Jahr 388 im linksrheinischen römischen Germanien. Die Franken durchstießen die römische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste des chefs francs — Avant l´unification de la Gaule entreprise par Clovis et ses fils[N 1], il existait plusieurs royaumes francs et les écrits romains ont livré le nom de plusieurs chefs et rois francs au cours des âges. Une littérature peu rationnelle a multiplié… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of Frankish kings — The Franks were originally led by dukes (military leaders) and reguli (petty kings). The Salian Merovingians rose to dominance among the Franks and conquered most of Roman Gaul. They also conquered the Visigoths in 507. The sons of Clovis… …   Wikipedia

  • Genobaud — was a leader (dux) 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… …   Wikipedia

  • Frankenkönige — Das Frankenreich ist gekennzeichnet durch eine Vielzahl von teils unübersichtlichen Teilungen und einen allmählichen Machtübergang vom Geschlecht der Merowinger auf das der Karolinger, der im Jahre 751 mit der Königswahl Pippins des Jüngeren… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Frankenreich - Liste der Könige — Das Frankenreich ist gekennzeichnet durch eine Vielzahl von teils unübersichtlichen Teilungen und einen allmählichen Machtübergang vom Geschlecht der Merowinger auf das der Karolinger, der im Jahre 751 mit der Königswahl Pippins des Jüngeren… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”