"The Innate Freedom of the French": the Ethnogenetic Myth in the Political Discourses of the 14th - 16th Centuries

The article is devoted to the analysis of the origins and existence in historical and political narratives of the 14th - 16th centuries of the myth of the origin of the ethnonym Franks. This myth becomes important in the context of building a national monarchical state in France. For the success of this process, a necessary element was the formation of a sense of community among the people living in the country. The mainstay of this unity was the ethnic component, the importance of which increased rapidly in the circumstances of the Hundred Years' War. Although the etymology of the ethnonym "frank" remains disputable, modern researchers agree that such a designation of the Germanic union of tribes goes back to the word frekkr, which meant "brave" or "courageous"; this is how the late Roman historians understood the meaning of this word. However, the leading interpretation of the ethnonym "frank" in the Middle Ages was the concept of freedom. For the first time such an interpretation appeared in the 7th century in the chronicle of Fredegar. It was a Trojan myth about the origin of the Franks, who allegedly fled from burning Troy, settled in Sicambria and, at the request of Emperor Valentinian, expelled the Alans, for which he exempted them from paying tribute for a period of 10 years. At the end of this period, they refused to pay tribute and left for Gaul. It was for this refusal to pay tribute that they allegedly received the name of the franks. Thanks to this historical myth, the concept of freedom of the Franks was closely linked to tax exemption. This interpretation of the ethnonym "frank" was in demand in 1300-1500, when the process of strengthening royal power required constant tax collection. By the middle of the 14th century, the meaning of the word "franc" went beyond the anti-tax framework and began to mean the special freedom of all Frenchmen. This theme of the innate freedom of the French acquired a dangerous character for the authorities in times of crisis. Tax collection without the consent of the people and other infringements of their rights and freedoms threatened the king, according to French medieval political thinkers, with the loss of the throne.