While Pirenne exaggerated Gregory while explaining a strong Merovingian poetic tradition, he takes Gregory’s writing too literally when he describes 6th century Frankish architecture and makes a claim contrary to archeological evidence concerning Merovingian architectural prowess. The Frankish city Clermont, according to Pirenne, was “marked by Byzantine luxury,” (Pirenne, 134). In this case, Gregory agrees with Pirenne, describing the church walls as, “adorned with many kinds of marble,” (Greogry of Tours, Book II, pp 16). However, Pirenne’s claim of Byzantine luxury may be too generous. Evidence of artwork from 6th century Western Europe compared to the contemporary Byzantine Empire, demonstrate a huge discrepancy in artistic ability between
…show more content…
While his economic arguments contain the most evidence and many valid points, he still exaggerates the extent of which the Mediterranean trade system survived. In many situations, there is evidence to support some level of post-Roman trade. Easterners, such as Syrians and Jews, served as professional merchants, Frankish armies sometimes used camels as beasts of burden, and gold coins still circulated in a money economy (Pirenne, 59, 81, 86). However, one of his more controversial claims weakens his overall argument. In one passage, he writes, “navigation was at least as active as under the Empire.” (Ibid, 95). That means he believes that trade remained equal to Roman times, or increased. However, his only evidence for this claim comes from Gregory of Tours, when he describes how a single ship spread a horrible plague into the town of Marseilles. His flaw in his argument is similar to believing Roman culture existed due to the existence of one royal poet: one ship is not enough to make a sweeping claim. While this demonstrates the existence of a Mediterranean trade in Merovingian Gaul, it is difficult to claim the volume of trade based on a single ship bringing disease to one town. Gregory provides some evidence, but this is not enough to argue that the entire Roman trade system, which connected Northern …show more content…
However, while coinage did not disappear, wealth significantly decreased following the Western Empire’s collapse. To a certain extent, Pirenne is correct. Merchants and kings still used coins to purchase goods, to give gifts, and to pay military expenses (Pirenne, 59). However, the numbers of gold pieces Pirenne cites from History of The Franks are small contrasted with Roman Imperial wealth. Mostly, when Gregory describes payments, Merovingian Kings usually paid tens to hundreds of gold pieces. The largest payment made from a Frankish king’s treasury was a gift from king Theodobert, who gifted the city of Verdun with 7,000 coins (Gregory of Tours, Book III, pp 34). Any payments larger were made by foreign, usually eastern or Italian kings, as gifts to the Frankish elite. However, this does not compare with the wealth of the Roman aristocracy. Melania the Younger, the member of a 5th century senatorial family, stated her family’s annual income as 120,000 gold pieces annually (Golberg, Pirenne Lecture). This puts into perspective how wealthy the Roman elite were compared to Frankish royalty. The sharp decreases in coins from the 5th to the 6th centuries demonstrate that the economy declined after 476, contrary to Pirenne’s statement. A decrease in the amount of money in circulation, according to macroeconomic theory, usually indicates there is a
While his economic arguments contain the most evidence and many valid points, he still exaggerates the extent of which the Mediterranean trade system survived. In many situations, there is evidence to support some level of post-Roman trade. Easterners, such as Syrians and Jews, served as professional merchants, Frankish armies sometimes used camels as beasts of burden, and gold coins still circulated in a money economy (Pirenne, 59, 81, 86). However, one of his more controversial claims weakens his overall argument. In one passage, he writes, “navigation was at least as active as under the Empire.” (Ibid, 95). That means he believes that trade remained equal to Roman times, or increased. However, his only evidence for this claim comes from Gregory of Tours, when he describes how a single ship spread a horrible plague into the town of Marseilles. His flaw in his argument is similar to believing Roman culture existed due to the existence of one royal poet: one ship is not enough to make a sweeping claim. While this demonstrates the existence of a Mediterranean trade in Merovingian Gaul, it is difficult to claim the volume of trade based on a single ship bringing disease to one town. Gregory provides some evidence, but this is not enough to argue that the entire Roman trade system, which connected Northern …show more content…
However, while coinage did not disappear, wealth significantly decreased following the Western Empire’s collapse. To a certain extent, Pirenne is correct. Merchants and kings still used coins to purchase goods, to give gifts, and to pay military expenses (Pirenne, 59). However, the numbers of gold pieces Pirenne cites from History of The Franks are small contrasted with Roman Imperial wealth. Mostly, when Gregory describes payments, Merovingian Kings usually paid tens to hundreds of gold pieces. The largest payment made from a Frankish king’s treasury was a gift from king Theodobert, who gifted the city of Verdun with 7,000 coins (Gregory of Tours, Book III, pp 34). Any payments larger were made by foreign, usually eastern or Italian kings, as gifts to the Frankish elite. However, this does not compare with the wealth of the Roman aristocracy. Melania the Younger, the member of a 5th century senatorial family, stated her family’s annual income as 120,000 gold pieces annually (Golberg, Pirenne Lecture). This puts into perspective how wealthy the Roman elite were compared to Frankish royalty. The sharp decreases in coins from the 5th to the 6th centuries demonstrate that the economy declined after 476, contrary to Pirenne’s statement. A decrease in the amount of money in circulation, according to macroeconomic theory, usually indicates there is a