Genobaud (3rd century)

Genobaud, also called Gennobaudes or Genebaud, dated to the 3rd century, was the first Frankish war-leader on record. Being defeated by the Romans, he crossed the Rhine with his Franks (whether all or some is not known) and begged public mercy from Maximian. Granted it, he was assigned lands in Lower Germany, probably Batavia, then vacant. He became a Roman client-king. Maximian was hoping to form a buffer state. He enlisted them in the army as frontier guards. Subsequently Franks from Batavia plundered Gaul south to Autun, which they sieged and sacked, whether under Genobaud is not known.

Historic identity

Sources

The sources for this early Frankish leader are confined to a single collection 0f 12 orations termed the Panegyrici Latini. They are not in any special order, but have been arranged as collected. Each was delivered to a high official of the Roman Empire on some special occasion. The chronologies have been more or less deciphered by scholarship.

Mention of the early Franks in some of the Panegyrici provides only fragmentary information about them. The later career of the Franks is well-documented by such writers as Gregory of Tours in The History of the Franks. Gregory, however, under "The Early Rulers of the Franks (Book II)," working from books available to him then, but lost now, begins with the invasion of Roman Germany by Franks under the 4th-century Genobaud with the assistance of Marcomer and Sunno. The last of the early war leaders and first independent king of the Franks was Clovis I, or Hlodowig, the original "Louis." Book III goes on from his death. There were many more Clovises and then beginning with Charlemagne's son, Louises, as a single Europe became united into the Frankish empire.

Two panegyrics establish the identity of the 3rd-century Genobaud as Frankish: number X delivered in 289, and number XI delivered in 291. They have the same author, and some of the manuscripts identify him as Claudius Mamertinus, but the presence of another Claudius Mamertinus as author of a panegyric 75 years earlier makes this possibility less likely. Instead the author is usually listed as anonymous. X and XI are the order of presentation in the volume; overall they are the 2nd and 3rd composed. Mention of X in XI establishes a real-time sequence: X, XI.

X tells the basic story of Gennobaud, portraying him as a barbarian king doing the best he can to reach a settlement for his constituents in a difficult historical situation. The relationship between the Germanic-speaking people and the Romans had been troubled since its inception, when joint expeditions of Celts and Germans invaded northern Italy in the Roman Republic.

The Franks and the Roman army

Just before the Roman civil war that created the Roman Empire, Julius Caesar undertook to solve the problem by conquering Gaul. Succeeding, he found that they were being seduced to rebellion by Germanic tribes who crossed the Rhine and attempted to establish states there. He was prevented from a permanent solution by his assassination at the start of the civil war. When it was finally done and Augustus reigned as the first emperor, the Romans fortified the south bank of the Rhine, and established two buffer states of Germanic speakers, Lower Germany, located about where the Netherlands are at the mouths of the Rhine, and Upper Germany upstream. Writers now began to refer the northerners as barbarians rather than Germans, which is what they are called in the Panegyrici.

In the middle of the 3rd century the military seized control of the government. They began by assassinating Severus Alexander, emperor 222-235. Considered incompetant by the soldiery, he relied on the advice of his mother, for which he was disrespected. In 234 the barbarians crossed the Rhine-Danube frontier. Hastening to the border, he cultivated an expectation among the men of shortly solving the barbarian problem. His mother, however, urged him to buy them off instead. In a rage, the soldiers killed both him and his mother.

The subsequent 50 years are known as the Crisis of the Third Century. The Senate and the various factions of the army supported approximately 26 emperors, only to have them voted down by murder after a short reign. The economy declined, as the government was unable to perform public business. The empire divided into three states: the Gallic Empire, the Palmyrene Empire, and what was left of the Roman Empire.

The method of trial and error sooner or later turned up some capable emperors, such as Aurelian. These were men of modest means who rose through the ranks for their ability and popularity. Aurelian served as top commander for five years, 270-275, during which time he defeated the splinter states, re-united the empire, and drove the barbarians north of the frontier once more. They consisted of the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi, but not a word of Franks; however, they were on the east, while the early Franks were on the coast. He fell victim to a plot hatched by his corrupt secretary, who fearing discovery forged a document purporting to list members of the Praetorian Guard slated for denouncement and execution, and they murdered him.

The doomed Aurelian was followed by another capable but doomed emperor of the crisis, Probus, who ruled for six years, 276-282, before his assassination. He is remembered by the author of Panegyric VIII, who is anonymous now, lauding Constantius Chlorus (father of Constantine) for his recapture of Britain after it had been lost to another splinter state. In VIII, the Franks splash across an entire section for the first time.

only the subjection of Genobaud is mentioned. In the Panegyric of 291, however, the Franci are first mentioned by a contemporary Roman source. The description in the Pangeyric of 291 fits well with the earlier description of Genobaud, which is why he is considered a Frank. Perhaps he was a leader of the Chamavi, but this is not certain.

Background

Little is known about Genobaud. Germanic raids around the area of modern-day Trier had provoked a Roman counteroffensive, which took place between 287 and 289 under emperor Maximian. Maximian crossed the Rhine multiple times to confront the attackers. In this context, the submission of Genobaud is mentioned. He concluded a treaty with Rome and recognized Roman supremacy. In return, he was recognized by the Romans with the position of petty king.

Sources

• Helmut Castritius: Gennobaudes. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2. Auflage. Band 11, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015832-9, p. 77–79, esp. p. 77f.
• Eugen Ewig: Die Franken und Rom (3.–5. Jahrhundert). Versuch einer Übersicht. In: Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter. Band 71, 2007, p. 1–42.
• Erich Zöllner: Geschichte der Franken bis zur Mitte des sechsten Jahrhunderts. Auf der Grundlage des Werkes von Ludwig Schmidt unter Mitwirkung von Joachim Werner neu bearbeitet. Beck, München 1970, ISBN 3-406-02211-1.
• Nixon, C.E.V.; Rodgers, Barbara Saylor (1994). In Praise of Later Roman Emperors: The Panegyrici Latini. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08326-1