*** the Germanic tribes Franks the Merovingians








Germanic Tribes: The Franks-- The Merovingians


Figure 1.-- The emergence of the Franks as a major force in European history after the fall of Rome was largely due to a youthful tribal leader--Clovis (466?-511). He suceeded in uniting the fractious Franks (481). This imagintive painting by Dutch-English Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema was title, 'The education of the children of Clovis'. Alma-Tadema focused on often senuous classical subjects. He was known for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire. I this case he has chosen the period just after the collapse of the Roman Empire.

The emergence of the Franks as a major force in European history after the fall of Rome was largely due to a youthful tribal leader--Clovis (466?-511). He suceeded in uniting the fractious Franks (481). He was noted for his physical bravery and duplicity. Clovis conveted to Christianity and made the Merovingoan dynasty. He set up an independent state centered at at Tournai (431 AD). Clovis I defeated the Roman remanant and gained control of Gaul. He built a powerful kingdom by assimilating the largely Romanized Celtic population of Gaul with his Frankish peoples. Relatively little is known about Gaul during this period, in part because that learming declined and we have few written acounts. There appears tobhave been a general societal decline. One grave study shows a general decline in the quality of grave goods during the Merovingian era. 【Lobell, pp. 49-50.】 Clovis while uniting the Franks and unifying Gaul left a terrible situation in that his four sons claimed a part of the kingdom. Clovis and his successors, however, conquered much of western Europe, included modern France and Belgium and areas of southwestern Germany. The Frankish Kingdom created by Clovis was divided into several kingdoms (Neustria, Austrasia, Burgundy, and others). Clovis converted to Christianity brining the Franks into developing Christian Europe. The Franks after Clovis, however, began to splinter and the Merovingians began to decline. It was at the end of the Merovingian rule that Charles Martel defeated the Islamic army at tours. Charles would go on to found the Carolingian Dynasty.

Frankish Tribes

There was no unified Franish states. There were several petty kings commanding dispersed tribal groups. One of those tribes was the Salain Franks centered on Tournai. Ther king of the Salain Franks was Childeric. Many historians believe that Childeric and hand his son Clovis were both commanders of the Roman military in the Province of Belgica Secunda. Before the complete collapse of oime, this was helpful in building a power base. The Salain Franks gradually came to me to dominate their neighbors which was was surely a factor in Clovis' rise to power and acendency over other Frakish tribes. 【Rosenwein, p. 43.】 Childeric died was buried in Tournai (481).

Clovis

Clovis is important to history as the first king of the geographic area that would become France. The emergence of the Franks as a major force in European history after the fall of Rome was largely due to a youthful tribal leader--Clovis (466?-511). Covis was only aged 15 years was only 15 years old. He succeeded his father, Childeric I, as king of the Salian Franks (481). He very qwuickly suceeded in uniting the fractious Franks, something hich hus father had begun. Clovis was noted for his physical bravery and duplicity. Clovis conveted to Christianity and made the Merovingoan dynasty. He set up an independent state centered at at Tournai (431 AD). Clovis I defeated the Roman remanant and gained control of Gaul. He built a powerful kingdom by assimilating the largely Romanized Celtic population of Gaul with his Frankish peoples. Relatively little is known about Gaul during this period, in part because that learming declined and we have few written acounts. There appears to have been a general Roman societal decline. One grave study shows a general decline in the quality of grave goods during the Merovingian era. 【Lobell, pp. 49-50.】 Clovis converted to Christianity bringing the Franks into developing Christian Europe. He resisted conversion for some time, but gradualy givem the widespread Christinity of Gaul began to understand the politicasl dynamics and the influence of the clergy. While resisting conversion, he did take a Catholic wife. Clovis came to the realisation that he wouldn't be able to rule Gaul without the help of the clergy and derided to please the clergy by taking a Catholic wife. 【Bachrach, p. 8.】 His eventual conversion to Catholicism is sugniicsant (496). (There is consuderabke debate as to the actual date of conversion.) This appears to have been largely the doings of his wife, Clotilde. This was a common pattern in Europe with wives leading conversion. The Church would venerate Clovis as a saint. And today this is rognized by both the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. He was formally baptized on Christmas Day (508). 【Danuta】 Importantly, Clovis adopted Catholicism and not thre Arianism prerfereed by most other Germanic tribes, especially the Vandals and Visigoths. This meant that Frsnce would become Catholic. And not only France, but the Low Countries abd eventually Germany as well. Three centuries later, Charlemagne would ally himself with the Pope (800). A campaign against the Visigoths added most of Aquitaine to Clovis's kingdom

Sucessors

The Frankish Kingdom created by Clovis was divided into several kingdoms (Neustria, Austrasia, Burgundy, and others). The Franks after Clovis, however, began to splinter and the Merovingians began to decline. Clovis while uniting the Franks and unifying Gaul left a terrible situation in that his four sons claimed a part of the kingdom. Clovis and his successors conquered much of western Europe, included modern France and Belgium and areas of southwestern Germany. It was at the end of the Merovingian rule that Charles Martel defeated the Islamic army at tours. Charles would go on to found the Carolingian Dynasty.

Sources

Bachrach, Bernard S. (1972). Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751 (University of Minnesota Press, 1972).

Danuta, Shanzer. "Dating the baptism of Clovis: The bishop of Vienne vs the bishop of Tours". Early Medieval Europe Vol. 7, No. 1 (March 1998), pp. 29–57.

Lobell, Jarrett A. "Auul after the Romans: A cemeter in northwetern France is beginning to expand our knowledge of the emergence of the Merovingian dynasty," Archaeology (January-February 2015), pp. 48-50.

Rosenwein, Barbara. A Short History of the Middle Ages (Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2004).






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Created: 8:42 AM 7/25/2018
Last updated: 11:11 PM 3/3/2023