I was looking forward to read The Franks by Edward James as it is a volume of The Peoples of Europe series that I plan on reading. I was not disappointed. The focus of this book was on the Merovingian Period of Frankish history, which was a big plus since the Carolingians and Charlemagne generally steal the spotlight. While I have a few critiques, overall I was pleased with this book.
Let's start with the few negatives. First, when sources are quoted, only in a few instances are they actually fully cited. Sometimes the author or name of the work is given but then the location of the passage in the stated work is not. A few times no information regarding the quote is given. In a book of over 200 pages with loads of information (a good thing) and source material, there are only twenty-four detailed footnotes. Secondly, while the analysis of cemeteries and burials are important for reconstructing aspects of the Franks, this can become tedious in this volume as it is brought up multiple times in great detail and depth. This is especially true when locations of these archaeological sites/finds are basically brought up and listed and then discussed each in turn. Still, there are many more positives than negatives in this volume.
First of all, the book is of great quality and uses heavy paper. Next, the author provides a great bibliography at the end of the book. In the contents of the book there are many great figures and plates to visually depict or represent many of the points made by the author and some of the images and maps are outstanding. Concerning the writing, the author does a good job trying to make sense of who the Franks were, usually based on meager evidence and source material. He does a fine job at describing what can be explained, but also showing restraint when there are things we simply cannot know, at least for now, and doesn't care to speculate beyond reason. He strikes a great balance between a political historical narrative and the social and economic facets of Frankish society. In regards to the political narrative, the author does well in trying to tease out the chronology of what happened in a very chaotic era full of political machinations. Lastly, I felt that the author was best at pointing out the futility of trying to determine what was technically "Gallic," "Roman," "Germanic," "Gallo-Roman," "Frankish," etc. While some general assumptions can be made, it is not easy to draw fine lines with these terms as previous historians had done (many times for ethnic/national reasons.) What was more important was that Merovingian or Frankish culture was, in essence, its own unique blend. He establishes this point throughout the book and lets the reader know up front on how "the Franks" really doesn't have an absolute meaning anyways (page 9.) He ends the book with an excellent section on the "Frankish Myth" and how other groups have either embraced or avoided associating themselves with the Franks throughout history down to our own day in modern France and Germany.
Overall I found this volume an excellent read and I will look for more books by the author, Edward James, as well as check out other books in the Peoples of Europe series.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
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