Abstract
For over a century, no topic of historical inquiry has attracted more attention or been discussed with more passion than the ordinary inhabitants of the rural West in the early Middle Ages. The questions of their lineage, character, status, and profession were of great interest to those studying early medieval European history. In order to gain insight into these questions, it is necessary to examine the theories of Mark and the Mark associations (Markgenossenschaf) that enabled them to emerge. Germanic historians have proposed a theory that their ancestors were free people. This theory challenges the commonly held view that the period following the collapse of the Roman Empire was a period of darkness and decline. In the early Middle Ages, Germanic tribes rebuilt civilization in the lands of Western Europe. The Germanic historians who proposed this theory, which posited that the early Germanic people enjoyed a state of freedom, designated it the “Mark Theory.” This study, which deals with the place and importance of ordinary people in society within the framework of Mark theory, provides us with information about the early medieval European society before feudalism. Furthermore, it provides a novel approach to the study of medieval European history.
Keywords: Mark, Erken Orta Çağ, Avrupa, İngiltere, Sıradan İnsan
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