ABSTRACT
In this excerpt from his 1986 book Eternal Victory McCormick, professor of history at Harvard University, describes and interprets some of the public ceremony of the Merovingian kings—in particular of King Clovis, the son of Childeric whom the reader met in the previous selection. Every political entity engages in various kinds of public acts that portray power, authority, and dignity. The Romans were masters of the arts of ceremony and they communicated some of their attitudes and practices to their successors. The reader might want to ask how Roman the Merovingians wished to appear. Is Frankish behavior “barbarian” in some way? Do the ways in which the Merovingian kings presented themselves publicly suggest transformation between the Roman and Frankish periods or an abrupt rupture? What publics would have been sensitive to Clovis’ conduct? Why might Clovis have wished to appear “Roman”?
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