Ethnicity, Identity, and Difference: The Origins of Lay People in the Carolingian
Empire
Session: Carolingian Studies: Secular Culture II
By Helmut Reimitz, Princeton University
This paper discussed Frankish collective identity in the early Middle Ages.
The Carolingian period was an important period for the process of promoting Frankish names and identity. Prayers for the kingdom were said for the king, and the Frankish army. Literature of this time celebrated not just the King but the Frankish community. The concept of “the Franks” was not just about a specific group but related more to a group that agreed to Frankish rule. Ethnic categories re-emerged during the 830’s.
