More Merovingian- Kingdom of Soissons

[Robert Vermaat]

In fact, actually, here we are talking of Merovingian Units preserving the Roman organization and marching under Roman standards in the VI century! And this this is false.
It's false until you can you proof the existence of such Roman Units in the Merovingian Kingdom. Can you? I doubt.

No Carlo, we are not talking of that, we are talking about Units preserving their traditions of the 5th century into the 6th century. No-one here has spoken about the Roman organization, and I don’t recall Procopius saying anything about a Roman army organization either. So no, I don’t need to prove all that because no-one (not even Procopius) is claiming that.

But do me a favor and think on it. The Franks did in large parts of Gaul not drive the Romans out, they were already in charge in large parts of the diocese during the later 5th century. Not as independent Franks, but as rulers of Roman army commands and of some Gallic provinces. After the influence of Rome waned, these men did not move south, nor did the local civic organization change – this was all absorbed by the emerging kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, who are not on record that they started with a blank canvas, but took over the existing institution: organization, taxes, law, defense. There was a late Roman army that was absorbed by the forces of Clovis. Did he disband the units of Roman Gaul? There’s no record of it. Did he leave them be? There’s no record of it.

About words and titles, look: The Langobards used in Italy words as Dux, Comes, Gasindius, Gastaldus, Arimannus, Iudex, Minori Homines, Equites Caballarii, Maiores et Potentes, Sequentes, Minores, and then? [/quote]

Unfair comparison. The Langobards were no tribe that functioned in connection with the Roman army, or under Roman command as long as the Franks did. They entered Italy when it had been taken over by the Ostrogoths, re-conquered by Belisarius, etc. Of course there was hardly anything left of the Roman army organization. But furthermore, the came as conquerors, fighting the Eastern Roman army – totally unlike the Franks who had been federates for more than a century! ]

So now I’m asking you to prove that all the traditions of the Roman army were lost and that all units were disbanded. Can you?

About Draco: I don't see why you insist in telling us that the Saxon Draco was a Roman relic when probably it was simply one of the various Germanic standards used in the Early Middle Age in Europe deriving from the Sarmatians and the Huns.

Yes, I propose (I do not insist) that the Frankish draco is a Roman relic. I think (assume) that the Saxon draco might also be that, or else a Frankish influence. It’s you that keeps insisting it cannot be either, but so far without any proof of influence.
I’ll repeat it for you then: the draco (we know this!) was a common standard in the Roman army from the 2nd century onwards, and therefore a common Roman standard in Gaul and Britain. Yet you want us to believe that the Franks, instead of this influence, were influenced by a very small number of Sarmatians who were settled there (and soon Romanized) instead? Or even the Huns, who barely touched Gaul but for one campaign? And you can even prove that the Huns used the draco???

About English, if you can quote one single word that is Latin and not a Norman import in English Language, also in this case I'll be very happy! We have another hidden Romance Language to discover under the old Language of Shakespeare! Sadly also in this case, I have many doubts .... :|

Well, let’s make you a happy mean! Easy, all it took was a few minutes on the internet, and I did not even have to turn to my books at home about the linguistic origins of Old English. One single word? Hope you're happy now ?

http://www.orbilat.com/Influences_of_Rom...glish.html