Chapter 1
Claudius, King of the Salian Franks, welcomes the Roman hostages and introduces them.
[Editor's Note: the Frankish Histories (Res Franci) were composed in the late 4th and early 5th Centuries by Ammianus Marcellinus, an obscure retainer of Ursicinus, commander of the household cavalry (Magister Equitum) during the reign of the Emperors Constantine II and Julian 'the Apostate'. During the Caesarate (vice-imperium) of Julian in Gaul, the Salian Franks were compelled to sign a treaty establishing the Franks as a foedus, or military protectorate, in the Roman province of Belgica (modern-day Belgium). Among various terms of the treaty, the Romans offered a number of hostages as guarantees of peace, one of which was Marcellinus. The Frankish king initially employed the Roman as a chronicler in the Frankish court, and later in other capacities. The Res Franci begins with Marcellinus saluting the commissioner of his history, the Frankish King Claudius, and then picks up with the arrival of Marcellinus at the court of the King in Toxandria.]
First I extend my praise to Claudius, King of Franks, the lord of Toxandria and Gallia Belgica, vanquisher of Saxons, friend to Alemanni, confirmed by Julian Caesar as kin to Rome. I thank him for his mercy, his wisdom, and his beneficence, as the recipient of which I begin the task of compiling this great history of his reign, so that future generations will not forget the deeds done. In honor of his magnanimity, I vow to insert nothing save the very truth, and to omit nothing, however incredible, unless by director order of my patron I am so compelled to avoid the remembrance of some disaster or else edit the records of history for the purpose of cultivating the good virtue and sense of posterity.
In the consulate of Julian Caesar and Constantinus Augustus I arrived in Urbe Agrippinia, that city of the Flavian emperors now accorded to the wise and beneficent lordship of Claudius, King of the Franks. I was chosen among some one-hundred and fifty others of my fellow Romans to serve the state in a different capacity than I had expected, and to keep the peace with foreign people by serving as an ambassador of the good qualities of the Roman state and an exemplar of the virtues of the Kingdom of the World, the Rome. By my endeavor and the endeavor of my compatriots, we sealed the alliance of the Romans and the Franks, and inaugurated a great and prosperous friendship between the realms.
On our arrival, we Romans were introduced to the lords of the house with great fanfare, a thing which delighted us.
First there was Claudius himself, King of Franks
His brother, prince of the realm Merovaeus
His nephew, Burtado, lord of the household spears
To our great delight, we Romans were introduced to one of our own kin, Flavus, who was Chief Magistrate of the Foedus and overseer of the Frankish affairs, much loved by the King and dear to him, an invaluable servant
Chapter 2
Of the Realm of the Franks, and the rulership of Claudius
The realm of the Franks stretches from Toxandria in the west to the River Elbe in the east. It is exceedingly wealthy, and the country is of a magnificent beauty unparalleled in any land I have ever laid eyes upon
Of the inhabitants of the realm, there are many tribes, the greatest of which is the Salians, the royal tribe. But these are but one of the outstanding nations of the Franks, who I could not possibly list given the bounteous multitude of their number, but I may briefly surmise some of the greatest in the Cherusci, the Chatti, the Alemanni, the Rugii, the Ripuari, and on.
Now of Claudius himself, he was an exceedingly wise and foresighted King. Upon assuming lordship of Belgica, as part of his foedus, he immediately made the genius decision to implement a new tax upon all merchants and to raise the property tax by ten solidii. Therefore, having taken into his bosom new lands previously unmastered, he at once made sure to bring them to heel, and also exploited the full bevy of their riches for the glory of the realm and the health of the royal coffers.
Whereas among the Cherusci, who had suffered so badly under the depredations of the Saxons, that they were in a bad way, and weeping to themselves for the injustice of their condition, Claudius brilliantly conspired to exempt them from the usual requirements of their oaths, therefore keeping the young men in the fields so that the countryside could rebuild and the battered nation of the Cherusci would not be driven to extremities by their condition, but instead remain quiescent and even grow in strength.
The result of these tax holidays was that the royal coffers were depleted somewhat, and in condition to become exhausted, but this was no matter under the stewardship of such a genius personage and leader of men
Among other virtues, Claudius was very attentive to the affairs of the other Kingdoms beyond his realm and kept abreast of all the politics of the world, even those far beneath his majesty and station in the merest of tribes and chiefs. Therefore, he kept a wide retinue of plenipotentiaries and representatives who could carry out tasks on his behalf
Chapter 3
In the Rome, Julian Caesar is proclaimed Augustus by his troops. Constantius Augustus dies suddenly and the Roman world passes to Julian. In Germany, Claudius makes some treaties with the Vandals, and inaugurates a friendship.
While he was in Paris, it came to pass that the soldiers of Julian were so much excited by his many successes against the German kingdoms, that he was offered the purple and proclaimed as Julian Augustus by the troops. This much, I heard from the report of officials and traders, being unable to see it for myself. Julian would have gone on to contend with his uncle Constantius - not out of any desire to rebel, but purely out of necessity of having been thrust into such a position - but before any blows could be exchanged Constantius Augustus died in the East and Julian became the unchallenged Augustus of the whole Rome.
At the same time this was going on, Claudius dispatched his representative Sigmar, a loyal friend of the King and a very talkative fellow, to meet with the King of the Vandals, who themselves were a smallish realm dwelling in the basin between Raetia and the North Sea.
Sigmar proposed to formalize relations. This is a thing not common among the German kingdoms, who prefer to exist in a state of war by default and only occasionally make alliances for the purpose of some campaign or another. But perhaps inspired by the humble example of the foedus, Claudius thought it would be prudent to make some formal situation with the Vandals, and exchange hostages and open economic ties and other things that great realms do. This brilliant idea of the King was happily accepted by the Vandals
Chapter 4
Claudius is challenged in his rule by a pretender. Of the armies and troops of the Franks.
Claudius had ruled for several years as King of the Franks and was an outstanding ruler by every measure of man and sovereign. But there were some brainless idiots who challenged his incredible reign, because they were dismayed at the foedus and thought that this genius arrangement with the Roman realm was somehow an obstacle to the power and independence of France, whereas it was actually a considerable boon.
The leader of these unspeakable vermin, not to be respected by anyone, was one chief of the Cherusci by the name of Adalphus, supported by a former companion of the King's own axemen with the name of Alphvi
Both of these knuckleheads had gathered together a horde of treasonous slime, barely cultivated whatsoever in the ways of war or combat, having no training, nor any gumption to speak of, but rather ineffectively flaying themselves in the face of the enemy and turning to run at the slightest disturbance in anything, even changes of the wind and season, which they readily attributed to acts of the Gods as an excuse for their perfidy and their cowardice.
The only true soldiers to speak of, at a stretch, were the personal guards of the two spineless usurpers, who were old veterans of the wars against the Saxons and therefore had some small amount of training, equipment, and prestige to speak of.
In contrast, the companions of Claudius went into battle mounted on the back of brilliant steeds, and were incredibly armored and armed in the finest of kits, so that truly they were like cataphracts of the East, or the companions of Alexander themselves.
Of the host of the Frankish King at large, the bravest and best were the household axes, commanded by the King's own nephew.
The main body of the troops were the Francisca. These men are so called because of the axes they wield, the France, which is carried in a trio: one for throwing, one for swinging, and one as an emergency France.
Then there were also the Alemannic troops, who were the tribal allies of the Frankish king and fought alongside him in battle as part of their obligation to respect the true king and do away with the disgusting false ones.
I also had the honor of being present at this battle myself, along with the rest of my fellow Romans, and I vow that we gave a good account of ourselves and our race.
Before battle, I am not ashamed to admit that I earnestly prayed to the Frankish gods for protection and I believe that the Frankish gods are the reason why we won the battle.