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200px Golden cicadas or bees with garnet inserts, discovered in the tomb of Childeric I (died 482). They may have symbolised eternal life (cicadas) or longevity (the bees of Artemis).〔For cicadas, cf. Joachim Werner, "Frankish Royal Tombs in the Cathedrals of Cologne and Saint-Denis", ''Antiquity'', 38:151 (1964), 202; for bees, cf. G. W. Elderkin, "The Bee of Artemis", ''The American Journal of Philology'', 60:2 (1939), 213.〕 200px Frankish mythology comprises the mythology of the Germanic tribe of the Franks, from its roots in polytheistic Germanic paganism through the inclusion of Greco-Roman components in the Early Middle Ages. This mythology flourished among the Franks until the conversion of the Merovingian king Clovis I to Nicene Christianity (c. 500), though there were many Frankish Christians before that. After that, their paganism was gradually replaced by the process of Christianisation, but there were still pagans in the Frankish heartland of Toxandria in the late 7th century. ==Pre-Christian traditions== The migration era religion of the Franks likely shared many of its characteristics with the other varieties of Germanic paganism, such as placing altars in forest glens, on hilltops, or besides lakes and rivers, and consecrating woods.〔Perry, p. 22.〕 Generally, Germanic gods were associated with local cult centres and their sacred character and power were associated with specific regions, outside of which they were neither worshipped nor feared.〔Schutz, 153.〕 Other deities were known and feared and shared by cultures and tribes, although in different names and variations. Of the latter, the Franks may have had one omnipotent god ''Allfadir'' ("All Father"), thought to have lived in a sacred grove. Germanic peoples may have gathered where they believed him to live, and sacrificed a human life to him.〔Perry, p. 22-23, paraphrasing Tacitus.〕 Variants of the phrase ''All Father'' (like ''Allfadir'') usually refer to Wuotan (Wodin, Odhinn), and the Franks probably believed in Wuoton as "chief" of blessings, whom the first historian Tacitus called "Mercurius", and his consort Freia,〔Perry, p. 23.〕 as well as Donar (Thor), god of thunder, and Zio (Tyr), whom Tacitus called "Mars". According to Herbert Schutz, most of their gods were "worldly", possessing form and having concrete relation to earthly objects, in contradistinction to the transcendent God of Christianity.〔 Tacitus also mentioned a goddess Nerthus being worshipped by the Germanic people, in whom Perry thinks the Franks may have shared a belief.〔Perry, p. 24.〕 With the Germanic groups along the North Sea the Franks shared a special dedication to the worship of Yngvi, synonym to Freyr, whose cult can still be discerned in the time of Clovis.〔Fabbro, p.17〕 The religion of Clovis before his adherence to Catholic faith has been disputed,〔Tessier, p. 427.〕〔Daly, pp. ???.〕 though it is commonly held not to have been representative of the traditional beliefs of his countrymen. The majority of pagan Frankish beliefs derived from a traditional religion the main lines of which could be traced through all Germanic peoples; it is therefore possible to reconstruct the basic elements of Frankish traditional religion.〔Fabbro, p. 5.〕 It has been argued that the Frankish pantheon expressed a variation of the Germanic structure that was especially devoted to fertility gods.〔 Rich pagan Franks were buried with movable wealth in graves surrounded by horse burials. In contrast to many other Germanic tribes, no Merovingians claimed to be descended from Wodan.〔J.M. Wallace-Hadrill - Early germanic Kingship in England and on the Continent. London, Oxford University Press.1971, p. 18.〕 Instead, the sacred tradition of a cart pulled by bulls seems to be present from the early Merovingians on.〔Fabbro, p.13 etc.〕 The bulls that pulled the cart were taken as special animals, and according to Salian law the theft of those animals would impose a high sanction. In the grave of Childeric I (died 481) was found the head of a bull, craftily made out of gold. This may have represented the symbol of a very old fertility ritual,〔Fabbro, p.14〕 that centred on the worship of the cow. This is supported by evidence of sacrifices in the fens of Drenthe associated with the Swifterbant culture.〔Raemakers, p. 5.〕〔Prummel and van der Sanden, W. A. B., "Runderhoorns uit de Drentse venen," pp. ???.〕〔Prummel and van der Sanden, W. A. B., "Een oeroshoren uit het Drostendiep bij Dalen," pp. ???.〕 Tacitus mentions rituals among the Germanic tribes of the North Sea area that include a fertility goddess Nerthus riding a chariot drawn by cows.〔Tacitus, (paragraph 40. )〕 In a later incidence, Gregory of Tours places in the mouth of Clotilda, the wife of Clovis I, an ''interpretatio Romana'' of the Frankish fertility god with the Roman Saturn in a tirade against the pagan gods, naming this god first.〔Gregory, II.29, p. 141.〕 Eduardo Fabbor has hypothesised that this Nerthus, whose worship was connected to a lake where the service was accompanied with human sacrifices, is the origin of the Merovingian conception of Merovech, after whom their dynasty would be named. The Merovingian kings riding through the country on an oxcart could then be an imaginative reenactment the blessing journey of their divine ancestor.〔Fabbro, p. 16〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Frankish mythology」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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