CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2018
| Author | Jones, Andrew Bryan |
|---|---|
| Title | Searching for the Sacral in Gregory of Tours' Long-Haired Kings |
| Summary | The kings of the Frankish Merovingian dynasty, rulers of Gaul between the fifth and eighth centuries, were distinguished from their subjects by their long hair. St. Gregory, bishop of Tours (538-594), our chief source for the history of sixth-century Gaul, described their quarrels and conquests in fascinating detail, but is frustratingly vague when it comes to the symbolic power associated with their hair. Long hair was a sign of belonging to the royal family and a qualification for kingship; hence, cutting it off could be a temporary way of disqualifying a rival from political action. Some German historians of the late 19th and 20th centuries attempted to assign a sacral or magical quality to the Merovingian hair. Most such efforts suffered from severe methodological problems, in addition to being politically tainted by their authors’ association with National Socialism. Nevertheless, the possibility that the Merovingian hair carried some magical connotations is an interesting one, and not entirely foreclosed by the evidence. |
| Supervisor | Klaniczay, Gabor; Trencsenyi, Balazs |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/jones_andrew.pdf |
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