The Merovingians in Historiographical Tradition

Yaniv Fox is Associate Professor of History at Bar-Ilan University. He is the organizer of the 2021–2022 Israel Institute for Advanced Studies research group 'Purity and Pollution in Late Antique and Early Medieval Culture and Society' and the author of Power and Religion in Merovingian Gaul: Columbanian Monasticism and the Frankish Elites (2014).

• Introduction; 1. Trojans, sea-monsters, and long-haired kings: from Priam to Childeric; 2. Capud victuriarum vestrarum Chlodovechus; 3. Taedit me memorare: the middle Merovingians; 4. Omni ecclesiastica dignitate nobilitavit: 'Good King Dagobert'; 5. Regibus solo nomine regnantibus: the Late Merovingians; Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

'Demonstrating that the most foundational post-Roman dynasty also had the best stories to be retold, Yaniv Fox's sensitive reading of well and less known narratives explains the Merovingians' continuous appeal and relevance for later writers, thereby questioning commonly-held assumptions on this period and the inspiration to look at it with new eyes.' Stefan Esders, Freie Universität Berlin