The identification of persons in Frankish Europe

Abstract

Though the issue of identity in the early Middle Ages has attracted considerable attention, the identification of persons deserves some, for identification is a matter of both social and state importance. While both the Greek and Islamic worlds had more advanced techniques for identifying and accrediting persons, the Franks, early and late, held fast to name, place, and function. And while the early Franks had problems with imposture and identification, the late Franks seem to have had few, which remains something of a mystery. The issue of identification is approached here through an examination of different kinds of persons: reputational (in the major annals), parchment (in polyptyques), and displaced (as in Einhard's lists of the miraculously cured). A series of questions arise. Why, for instance, did physical appearance play so small a part in identification in the Frankish world? And how did western travellers respond to other identification practices when they left Europe? Not all of the many questions concerning identification can at present be answered, but we need to make a start.