In these articles Professor Bachrach starts by looking at aspects of the ‘barbarian’ occupation of the land of the Roman Empire, from Britain to the Alan settlements in southern Gaul. His particular interest, however, is in the political and, above all, in the military structures that grew out of the Early Middle Ages. He has sought to demonstrate that there was a fundamental continuity in military organisation and tactics from the Merovingian through the Carolingian period. As he...
In these articles Professor Bachrach starts by looking at aspects of the ‘barbarian’ occupation of the land of the Roman Empire, from Britain to the Alan settlements in southern Gaul. His particular interest, however, is in the political and, above all, in the military structures that grew out of the Early Middle Ages. He has sought to demonstrate that there was a fundamental continuity in military organisation and tactics from the Merovingian through the Carolingian period. As he shows, there is no reason to connect the origins of ‘feudalism’ with Charles Martel’s wish to create a force of cavalry, and it is a fallacy that he grasped the potential of the stirrup for enabling mounted shock combat. On the contrary, its use in the West progressed only slowly, and it had nothing to do with the origins or growth of feudalism. Le professeur Bachrach debute par l’analyse de certains aspects de l’occupation barbare des terres de l’empire romain, de la Grande-Bretagne aux campements alans en Gaule meridionale. Il s’attache en suite aux structures politiques et, surtout, militaires qui furent issues du Haut Moyen Age. Selon lui, et il tente d’en faire ici la demonstration, l’organisation et les tactiques militaires ont fait preuve d’une continuite fondamentale de l’epoque merovingienne A celle des Carolingiens. Comme il le demontre, il n’y a pas lieu d’etablir de liens entre l’origine du feodalisme et le desir qu’avait Charles Martel de creer une cavalerie; il est egalement tout A fait errone de dire que ce dernier s’etait rendu compte du potentiel de l’etrier en tant que facteur de mener des combats A cheval de choc. Bien contraire, l’utilisation de l’etrier A l’Ouest ne fit que progresser lentement et aucun rapport n’existe entre cet instrument et l’origine ou la croissance de la feodalite.
