The Franks were Germanic-speaking people that first emerged on the east bank of the lower Rhine River in the 3th century AD. In the beginning they were divided into three groups: The Salians, the Ripuarians, and the Chatti, which were related by language and customs but divided politically.
The origins of the names of the Franks is largely uncertain. Some historians claim a link between the English work “frank”, or “truthful” to the title, while others state the more likely origins to be the word “franca” of “frakka”, the Germanic-Norse word for the type of javelin the Franks used in battle. Another possible alternative is that Roman texts often referred to the Franks as ferocious warriors, especially noting there use of the throwing axe, which happens to be called a francisca in latin.
In the middle of the 3rd century, the Franks tried to expand westward across the Rhine into Roman-held Gaul, but failed. They attempted to do so again a century later, which resulted in the forced abandonment of their land between the Meuse and Scheldt rivers (in what is now Belgium) to the Salians. During these struggles, the Franks were being gradually influenced by Roman culture. As the Roman Empire declined after the 5th century CE, the Franks expanded. In 406, the Vandals launched a massive invasion of Gaul, further weakening Rome’s control, and setting the stage for the Franks to come in and take over the lands to the west of the middle Rhine River and into what is now northeaster France.
Establishing the Merovingian dynasty
Around 481 CE, Clovis succeeded his father Childeric as the ruler of the Salian Franks. Despite being only 15 at his coronation, he became a powerful ruler who took advantage of the dying Roman order. Clovis was part of what would later be known as the Merovingian dynasty, which was defined by the rulers of the Frankish lineage established by Childeric.
In order to convince the people of the legitimacy of the Merovingians as rulers, a fictional account of the origin of Childeric’s family was created. According to the account, a bull-like creature mated with the wife of Clodio, a Frankish noble, in the sea. The woman gave birth to Merovich (where the name Merovingin originates), who was supposedly the father of Childeric.
The Franks were originally mostly pagan, unlike the majority of the barbarian tribes entering Roman territories at the time who followed Arian Christianity. However, after Clovis I defeated the Alemanni in 496 and married the Burgundian princess Clotilde, and therefore the rest of the Franks converted to Catholicism, allowing the assimilation and control of the conquered Gallo- Romans much easier. After Clovis’s death in 513, in accordance with the Frankish custom, control of the kingdom was passed down to each of his four sons, who took control of a separate part of the Frankish realm. Theuderic I, Clovis’s oldest son, however, overpowered the rest of his brothers and established himself as ruler of all the Frankish territory. After Theuderic death, he was succeeded in 533 by his son Theudebert, who inherited control of the west bank of the Rhine and from the North Sea to the Alps.
Conquest of North Italy
In 536 Justinian I, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, sent a large military force to reconquer Italy from the Goths. Theudebert took advantage of this and played both sides, offering aid to both the Romans and the Ostrogoths, and when the Goths were unable to defend Province, the Franks took control of it. In 539, they then entered Northern Italy, taking Milan, and began to occupy most of Liguria. Theudebert died in 548 and was succeeded by his son Theudebald, who immediately lost control of northern Italy to the Byzantines. He died in 555 and the crown was passed to his great uncle Clothar I until his death in 561. Lothar’s death resulted in the division of the kingdom into four parts, each ruled by one of Theudebald’s sons: Charibert, Sigebert, Chilperic, and Guntram. Civil war broke out between Sigebert and Chilperic over a shared claim of land, which Charibet died in. The political turmoil resulted in the four kingdoms coalescing into three subkingdoms: Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. Despite the new division, the conflict between the sub-kingdoms continued.
End of the Merovingian dynasty
In 613, the Franks were again united by Chlotar II, son of Chilperic, but the effects of the decades of divisions were still felt, undermining the stability of the kingdom and resulting in the escalation of internal struggles. The battle of Terty in 687 between Austrasia on one side and Neustria and Burgundy on the other side marked the loss of power and the authority of the Frankish kings gradually declined. This began the era of the “lazy kings”, when the king was only a figure who had the title “king” but no power at all. In this period the kingdom was ruled by mayordomos (major domus, mayors of the palace). This lasted until the last Merovingian king was deposed by Pope Zachary in 752, beginning a new Frankish dynasty, the Carolingian.