The

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called

dukes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...

Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

, who conquered most of

Roman Gaul Roman Gaul refers to GaulThe territory of Gaul roughly corresponds to modern-day France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and adjacient parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century ...

, as well as the Gaulish territory of the

Visigothic Kingdom The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic peoples, Germanic su ...

, in 507 AD. The sons of

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

, the first King of the Franks, conquered the Burgundian and the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

Kingdoms. They acquired a province, called

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, and went on to make the peoples of the Bavarii and

Thuringii The Thuringii, Toringi or Teuriochaimai, were an early Germanic people that appeared during the late Migration Period in the Harz Mountains of central Germania, a region still known today as Thuringia. It became a kingdom, which came into confl ...

their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by the new

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

dynasty in the 8th century. By the late 9th century, the Carolingians themselves had been replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. A timeline of Frankish rulers has been difficult to trace since the realm, according to old Germanic practice, was frequently

divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic, the ways that numbers are combined to make new numbers. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. At an elementary level the division of two natural numb ...

among the sons of a leader upon the leader's death. However, territories were eventually reunited through marriage, treaty or conquest. There were often multiple Frankish kings who ruled different territories, and divisions of the territories were not very consistent over time. As inheritance traditions changed over time, the divisions of

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

(the lands of the Franks) started to become kingdoms that were more permanent.

West Francia In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...

formed the heart of what was to become the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

;

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

evolved into the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...

; and

Middle Francia Middle Francia ( la, Francia media) was a short-lived Frankish kingdom which was created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun after an intermittent civil war between the grandsons of Charlemagne resulted in division of the united empire. Middle Francia ...

become the Kingdom of Lotharingia in the north, the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

in the south, and the

Kingdom of Provence The Kingdom of Lower Burgundy, or Cisjurane Burgundy, was a historical kingdom in what is now southeastern France, so-called because it was lower down the Rhône Valley than Upper Burgundy. It included some of the territory of the Kingdom of ...

in the west. West and East Francia soon divided up the area of Middle Francia, and Germany lost Carolingian control in 911 with the election of Conrad I as king. The idea of a "King of the Franks" (or ''Rex Francorum)'' gradually disappeared during the 11th and 12th centuries. The title "King of the Franks" continued to be used in the Kingdom of France until 1190. The Kingdom of the Franks had long been extinct, but the title "Queen consort of the Franks" continued to be used until 1227. That represented a shift in thinking about the monarchy from that of a

popular monarchy Popular monarchy is a term used by Kingsley Martin (1936) for monarchical titles referring to a people rather than a territory. This was the norm in classical antiquity and throughout much of the Middle Ages, and such titles were retained in some ...

, the leader of a people, sometimes without a defined territory to rule, to that of a monarchy tied to a specific territory.

King of the Franks (509–511)

Merovingian dynasty

Clovis I united all the Frankish petty kingdoms as well as most of

under his rule, conquering the

Domain of Soissons The Kingdom or Domain of Soissons was a rump state of the Western Roman Empire in northern Gaul, between the Somme and the Seine, that lasted for some 25 years during Late Antiquity. The rulers of the rump state, notably its final ruler Syagrius, ...

of the Roman general

Syagrius Syagrius (430 – 486 or 487 or 493–4) was a Roman general and the last ruler of a Roman rump state in northern Gaul, now called the Kingdom of Soissons. Gregory of Tours referred to him as King of the Romans. Syagrius's defeat by king Clovis I ...

as well as the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

Kingdom of Toulouse The Visigothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of the Goths ( la, Regnum Gothorum), was a kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to ...

. He took his seat at Paris, which along with

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, and

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and

Kings of the Neustrian Franks (511–679)

Merovingian dynasty

Kings of the Austrasian Franks (511–679)

Merovingian dynasty

Chlothar II defeated

Brunhilda Brunhilda may refer to: * Brunhild, a figure in Germanic heroic legend * Brunhilda of Austrasia (c. 543–613), Frankish queen * ''Brunhilda'' (bird), a genus of birds See also * * * Broom-Hilda, an American newspaper comic strip * Broomhild ...

and her grandson, reunifying the kingdom. However, in 623, to appease the local nobility and also secure the borders, he gave the Austrasians his young son as their own king. His son and successor,

Dagobert I Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dy ...

, emulated this move by appointing a sub-king for Aquitaine, with a seat at

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, in 629 and Austrasia in 634.

Kings of the Franks (679–840)

Merovingian dynasty

Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679. From then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unit again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the ''

roi fainéant ''Roi fainéant'' (), literally "do-nothing king", is a French term primarily used to refer to the later kings of the Merovingian dynasty after they seemed to have lost their initial powers of dominion. It is usually applied to those Frankish rulers ...

'', "do-nothing kings" who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of the palace.

Carolingian dynasty

The

Carolingians The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria and Burgundy. In 687 Pepin of Heristal took the title

Duke and Prince of the Franks The title Duke of the Franks ( la, dux Francorum) has been used for three different offices, always with "duke" implying military command and "prince" implying something approaching sovereign or regalian rights. The term "Franks" may refer to an ...

(''dux et princeps Francorum'') after his conquest of Neustria in at the Battle of Tertry, which was cited by contemporary chroniclers as the beginning of Pepin's reign. Between 715 and 716, the descendants of Pepin disputed the succession. Finally, in 747

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

became Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia in addition to that of Neustria, making him defacto ruler of the Frankish kingdom. He arranged for the deposition of the Merovingian king Childeric III and in March 752,Claudio Rendina & Paul McCusker, ''The Popes: Histories and Secrets'', (New York : 2002), p. 145 Pepin was himself anointed King of the Franks. The office of Mayor was absorbed into the Crown, and this marked the start of the Carolingians as the ruling dynasty. Louis the Pious made many divisions of his empire during his lifetime. The final division, pronounced at

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

in 838, made Charles the Bald heir to the west, including Aquitaine, and Lothair heir to the east, including Italy and excluding Bavaria, which was left for

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

. However, following the emperor's death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was then divided by the

Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...

in 843. Lothair was allowed to keep his imperial title and his kingdom of Italy, and granted the newly created Kingdom of

, a corridor of land stretching from Italy to the North Sea, and including the Low Countries, the Rhineland (including Aachen), Burgundy, and Provence. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin I's son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted

(modern France), the lands west of Lothair's Kingdom. Louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted

(modern Germany), the lands east of Lothair's kingdom. The following table does not provide a complete listing for some of the various ''regna'' of the empire, especially those who were ''subregna'' of the Western, Middle, or Eastern kingdom such as

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks. Neustria included the land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. It later ...

, and

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

King of the Franks (509–511)

Merovingian dynasty

Kings of the Neustrian Franks (511–679)

Merovingian dynasty

Kings of the Austrasian Franks (511–679)

Merovingian dynasty

Kings of the Franks (679–840)

Merovingian dynasty

Carolingian dynasty

References

Sources

Further reading

External links