Caius here
shock: I know of Sygraius, self styled King of the Romans, in Late 5th century Northen Gaul, however I am wondering if there is any more info on these units. Thanks in Advance Cheers Caius
As far as I know, Stilicho took away most Roman forces, and I do not exclude the possibility that Procopius presented Frankish units as Romans.
I have read two books that discuss the post-476 military in Gaul:
Merovingian military organization, 481-751 by Bernard S Bachrach ISBN: 0816606218
Fifth-Century Gaul : A Crisis of Identity? by John Drinkwater (Editor), Hugh Elton (Editor) ISBN: 0521529336
Bachrach’s book is difficult to find because it was written in 1972. He has written a book on Carolingian warfare in which he ties military organization of this dynasty to that of the Romans. This is a more recent release and is still available from Amazon or other retailers.
If you cannot find a copy of Bachrach’s older book, then please contact me as I have a copy.
Perry
Quote:As far as I know, Stilicho took away most Roman forces, and I do not exclude the possibility that Procopius presented Frankish units as Romans.
Not so.
Not only does arcaeology by no means attest that the forts were deserted, but what we can read from the
Notitia Dignitatum also by no means suggests that Stilicho did anything like that. The Rhine was not deserted, not were other troops in Gaul or Britain taken away on such a scale.
It was the
magister militum per Gallias Aegidius who in 461 rebelled with his forces, who no doubt were very Roman troops. After the Toxandrian Frankish king Clovis beat Aegidius' successor in 486, the latters' Roman army (
exercitum Romanorum) was incorporated into Clovis' Frankish army (
exercitus Francorum).