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The Franks were not French, and the original Lingua Franca, as another commenter noted, was called Sabir, a pidgin language of the eastern Mediterranean from th

The Franks were not French, and the original Lingua Franca, as another commenter noted, was called Sabir, a pidgin language of the eastern Mediterranean from the 11th through the 19th centuries. [1] Furthermore, English is our current lingua franca not because of its grammar or linguistic quirks, but rather because it has been the primary language of two consecutive world superpowers starting in the 18th century. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Lingua_Franca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Lingua_Franca

throwaway894345 5y ago
Thank you, that was bothering me. The Franks spoke Frankish which is a Germanic language. Their vassals spoke a dialect of Vulgar Latin which would eventually become French.
Bayart 5y ago
The Franks were French, after the 7th c. or so. By the time of Fredegarius, their Germanic origins were all but forgotten. For nearly the entirety of the Middle Ages, « Frank » meant a Catholic of Gaul who's cultural language is Latin or a Catholic, depending on the context.
- theli0nheart 5y ago
  Yes, for a time, there was some overlap, but regardless, the terms "Frank" and "French" are not synonymous. The two names indicate different cultures, languages, and ethnic origins. The OP's comment is misleading.
  - Bayart 5y ago
    That's a dichotomy that's fairly recent in historiography, and doesn't at all fit with historical usage. If memory serves right and came about in the wake of the rise of the Bourgeoisie and the French Revolution, with the need to conveniently give the nobility a foreign tint. Moreover the Germanicity of the so-called barbarian tribes, including Pre-Merovingian Franks, has to be reassessed now with what we know about identity politics in the Late Roman and Post-Roman World. People might have played at being barbarians a lot more than actually being it, in a very comparable way you see Americans pretending to be this or that.

throwaway894345 5y ago

Thank you, that was bothering me. The Franks spoke Frankish which is a Germanic language. Their vassals spoke a dialect of Vulgar Latin which would eventually become French.

Bayart 5y ago

The Franks were French, after the 7th c. or so. By the time of Fredegarius, their Germanic origins were all but forgotten. For nearly the entirety of the Middle Ages, « Frank » meant a Catholic of Gaul who's cultural language is Latin or a Catholic, depending on the context.

theli0nheart 5y ago
Yes, for a time, there was some overlap, but regardless, the terms "Frank" and "French" are not synonymous. The two names indicate different cultures, languages, and ethnic origins. The OP's comment is misleading.
- Bayart 5y ago
  That's a dichotomy that's fairly recent in historiography, and doesn't at all fit with historical usage. If memory serves right and came about in the wake of the rise of the Bourgeoisie and the French Revolution, with the need to conveniently give the nobility a foreign tint. Moreover the Germanicity of the so-called barbarian tribes, including Pre-Merovingian Franks, has to be reassessed now with what we know about identity politics in the Late Roman and Post-Roman World. People might have played at being barbarians a lot more than actually being it, in a very comparable way you see Americans pretending to be this or that.