Merovingian dynasty
Oil on board of the Master of San Gil.
The Merovingian dynasty was a family of Germanic ancestry that ruled present-day France, Belgium, a part of Germany and Switzerland, from the middle of the century V until 751, when the last Merovingian king Childeric III was deposed by Pepin the Short, from the Carolingian dynasty. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army in northern Gaul. By the year 509 they had already united all the Franks and Romans in northern Gaul under their rule. They conquered most of Gaul, defeating the Visigoths (507) and the Burgundians (534), and also extended their rule to Recia (537). In Germany, the Alemanni, the Bavarians and the Saxons accepted his lordship. The Merovingian kingdom was the largest and most powerful of the Western European states after the dissolution of Theodoric the Great's empire.
The dynastic name, in Medieval Latin Merovingi or Merohingii (“sons of Merovean”), derives from an unattested Frankish form, close to that attested in Old English Merewīowing, the final -ing being a typical Germanic patronymic suffix. The name derives from King Meroveo, a Frankish military leader. This was the founder of the dynasty and he also gave it his name, and many legends surround him. Unlike Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies, the Merovingians never claimed descent from a god, nor is there evidence that they were considered holy kings.
The long hair of the Merovingians distinguished them from the Franks, who tended to have very short hair. They were sometimes referred to by contemporaries as the "long-haired kings" (reges criniti in Latin). A Merovingian with short hair could not rule, and a rival could be removed from the succession by being tonsured and sent to a monastery. The Merovingians also used a different breed of names. One of his names, Clovis (Clovis), evolved into Louis and remained common among French royalty until the 19th century.
The first historical representative of the Merovingian dynasty, Childeric I (died 481), son of Meroveus, ruled the ancient Roman province of Second Belgium which included the territories of Ciuitas Remorum, Ciuitas Suessionum, Ciuitas Veromanduorum, Ciuitas Atrebatium, Ciuitas Silvanectum, Ciuitas Bellovacorum, Ciuitas Ambianensium, also known as Ambianorum, Ciuitas Morinorum, Ciuitas Camaracensium, ancient c. Nerviorum, Ciuitas Catalaunorum and Ciuitas Bononensium. His son Clovis I (d. 511) converted to Christianity, united the Franks, and conquered most of Gaul. The Merovingians treated his kingdom as unique but divisible. The four sons of Clovis divided the kingdom among themselves and it remained divided—with the exception of four brief periods (558-561, 613-623, 629-634, 673-675)—until the year 679. After that, only divided once more (717-718). The main divisions of the kingdom were Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy, and Aquitaine.
During the last century of Merovingian rule, kings were increasingly relegated to a ceremonial role. Royal power was increasingly in the hands of the palace steward, the highest-ranking official under the king. In 656, the steward Grimoald I attempted to place his son Childebert on the throne of Austrasia. Grimoald was arrested and executed, but his son ruled until 662, when the Merovingian dynasty was restored. When King Theodoric IV died in 737, the steward Charles Martel continued to rule the kingless kingdoms until his death in 741. The dynasty was restored again in 743, but in 751 Charles's son Pepin the Short He deposed the last king, Childeric III, and had himself crowned, inaugurating the Carolingian dynasty.
Introduction
The kingdom of francs, in Latin Regnum francrumalso known (although less usually) as France (Latin work that did not refer to the present France), or simply the Franco Kingdom, are historiographic denominations that identify the Germanic kingdom of the francs established at the end of the centuryV taking advantage of the decay of Roman authority in the Galias, during the time of so-called barbaric invasions. Merovingia dynasty, the ruler of the francs since the mid-centuryV up to 751, it will establish the largest and most powerful kingdom in Western Europe after the fall of the empire of Theodorico the Great, a state that will exercise control over an extensive territory: the present Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland; the almost all of the Netherlands, France and Austria; and the western part of Germany. It was the first lasting dynasty in the territory of today's France.
Of all the tribes in which the francs were divided, were the Psalms—who had settled within the tribes of the limes (frontier) as a federated people occupying the Gaul Belgium—those who managed to eliminate all competition and secure the dominion for their leaders: first, they appear as "rules of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Galia; then, about 509, and headed by Clodoveo I, they had already unified all the French and Romans of the north under their rule; and finally, since their initial establishment in theDiocesis Viennensis and Diocesis Galliarum— previously occupied by other Germanic kingdoms: they defeated the Visigoths in 507 and the Burgundians in 534 and also extended their dominion to Raetia in 537. In Germania, the unromanized villages of alamanes, Bavarians, Turingians and Saxons accepted their dominion.
The dynastic name, in medieval Latin Merovingi or Merohingii ('sons of Meroveo'), it derives from an untested form, similar to the one accredited Merewīowing, of ancient English, being the final «–» a typical Germanic patronymic suffix. The name derives from King Meroveo, to whom many legends surround. Unlike the Anglo-Saxon royal genealogies, the Merovingians never claimed to descend from a god, nor is there evidence that they were considered sacred. The long hair of the Merovingians distinguished them among the Frank peoples, who generally cut their hair. The contemporaries sometimes referred to them as "long haired or scalp earrings" (in Latin reges criniti). A merovingio to whom the hair was cut could not rule, and a rival could be removed from the succession being tonsured and sent to a monastery.
The first known merovingian king was Childerico I (fallen in 481). His son Clodoveo I (r. 481-511), ally with the riparian francs, installed in the rivers Rin and Mosela, was the one who, with his military campaigns, truly enlarged the kingdom between 486 and 507 and joined all the francs, conquering most of the Galia. This expansion was made possible by its conversion to Orthodox Christianity (as opposed to the Arian heresy) and its baptism in Reims towards 496, which led him to the support of the Roman aristocracy and the Western Church. He installed the capital in Paris in 507. At his death the kingdom was divided between his four sons, according to the German custom: Clotary I, was king of Soissons (511-561) (and after Reims (555-561) and the Franks (558-561)); Childebert I, was king of Paris (511-558); Clodomiro, king of Orleans (511-524); and Theodorico I, king of Reims (511-564). The kingdom remained divided, with the exception of four short periods (558-561, 613-623, 629-634, 673-675), to 679. After that, it was only divided once again (717-718). The main divisions of the kingdom give rise to Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundia and Aquitaine.
During the last century of the Merovingian rule, kings, having no more land than to distribute among their warriors, were abandoned by these being increasingly relegated to a ceremonial role. Power will be exercised by the Franciscan aristocracy and above all by the stewards of the palace (major domus), a kind of prime ministers, officials of the highest rank under the king. In 656, Grimoaldom I tried to place his son Childeberto on the throne in Austrasia. Grimoaldo was arrested and executed, but when the Merovingia dynasty was restored his son ruled up to 662. The family of the Pipinosides, originally from Austrasia, took over the stewardships of the palace of Austrasia and later those of Neustria and again placed Provence, Burgundy and Aquitaine, regions then almost independent, within the merovingian orbit and began the conquest of Frisia, north of the kingdom. One of the most famous palace stewards, Carlos Martel, rejected in 732 a Muslim army not far from Poitiers, considered the decisive battle that prevented the conquest of all Europe. To reward his faithful, Martel entrusted immense territories to the Church and redistributed them. This allowed him to ensure the fidelity of his men without getting rid of their own property.
As King Theoderico IV died in 737, Martel was so sure of his power that he continued to rule the kingdoms without the need to proclaim a new king nominal until his death in 741. The dynasty was restored again in 743, but in 751 the son of Charles, Pipino the Breve, deposed the last Merovingian king, Childerico III, to whom he locked up in a convent, and made himself a king among the French warriors. Pipino took the precaution of being crowned in 754 by Pope Stephen II, in the royal abbey of Saint-Denis, an event that provided him with a new legitimacy, that of being chosen by God, inaugurating the caroling dynasty. It will be especially from the imperial coronation of Charlemagne in the year 800, when the usual historiographic denomination of the Frank kingdom will become of Carolingian Empire.
The baptism of Clodoveo I by Saint Remigio with the miracle of the Holy Ampoule. Ivory binding plate, Reims, last quarter of the centuryIX. Amiens, Picardy Museum.
Victories of Carlos Martel against the Saracens in Tours-Poitiers (732), Great Chronicles of France
Recreation of the coronation of Pipino el Breve on Sunday, July 28, 754 by Pope Stephen II, in the royal abbey of Saint-Denis. It meant the start of the government of the caroling dynasty.
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Merovingian kings
The Merovinian kings who were kings of the Franks are shaded. There were times when that post was vacant.
| Clodoveo I (first king of francs, 481-511) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Theoderico I (Roy of Metz, 511-534) (Roy of Orléans, 524-534) | Clodomiro (Roy of Orléans, 511-524) | Childeberto I (Royalty of Paris, 511-558) (Roy of Orléans, 524-558) | Closing I (Soissons, 511-558) (Roy of Orléans, 524-558) (Roy of Metz, 555-558) (Franium royalty, 558-561) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teodeberto I (Roy of Metz la, 534-548) | Caribbean I (Royalty of Paris, 561-567) | Sigeberto I (rey de Reims, 561-575) | Chilperico I (Land of Soissons, 561-584) (Royalty of Paris, 567-584) | Gontrán I (Roy of Orléans, 561-592) (Paris, 584-592 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teodebaldo (Roy of Metz, 548-555) | Childeberto II (Austrasia royalty, 575-596) (Paris, 592-596) | Cloister II (Neustria, 584-613) (Franium royalty, 613-629) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Theodebert II (Austrasia royalty, 596-612) | Theoderico II (Laughs, 596-613) (Austrasia royalty, 612-613) | Dagoberto I (Franium royalty, 629-639) | Caribbean II (Aquitaine, 629-632) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sigeberto II (Right of Austrasia and the Burgunds, 613) | Clodove II (Neustria, 639-657) | Sigeberto III (Austrasia royalty, 639-656) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cloister III (Neustria, 657-673) | Childerico II (Austrasia royalty, 662-673) (Franium royalty, 673-675) | Theoderico III (Rey of Neustria, 673, 675-679) (Franium royalty, 679-691) | Dagobert II (Austrasia royalty, 676-679) | Childeberto el Adoptado (Austrasia royalty, 656-662) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clodove III (Austrasia royalty, 675-676) | Chilperico II (Neustria, 715-719) (Franium royalty, 719-721) | Clothes IV (Franium royalty, 691-695) | Childeberto III (Franium royalty, 695-711) | Closing IV (Austrasia Day, 717-719) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dagoberto III (Franium count, 711-715) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Childerico III (Franium royalty, 743-751) | Theoderico IV (French rule, 721-737) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Government
The Merovingian basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains in Metz capital of Austrasia
The Merovingian king redistributed the conquered wealth among his followers, both material wealth and land, including the indentured peasantry, though these powers were not absolute. As Rouche points out, "when he died, his property was divided equally among his heirs as if it were private property: the kingdom was a form of patrimony". [10] Some scholars have attributed this to the Merovingians' lack of a sense of res publica, but other historians have criticized this view as an oversimplification.
The kings appointed the magnates to be comites (counts), entrusting them with the defense, administration and judgment of disputes. This happened against the backdrop of a newly isolated Europe without its Roman systems of taxation and bureaucracy, administration having been taken over by the Franks as they gradually penetrated fully Romanized western and southern Gaul. Counts had to provide armies, enlisting their milites and giving them land in return. These armies were subject to the king's call for military support. The annual national assemblies of the nobles and their armed servants decided the main war policies. The army also hailed the new kings by raising them on their shields, continuing an ancient practice that made the king the leader of the warrior band. In addition, the king was expected to support himself from the proceeds of his private domain (royal domain), which was called fisc. This system eventually became feudalism, and expectations of royal self-sufficiency lasted until the Hundred Years War. Trade declined with the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and agricultural holdings were mostly self-sufficient. The rest of the international trade was dominated by traders from the Middle East, often Jewish Radhanites.
Law
Merovingian law is not a universal law equally applicable to all; it was applied to each man according to his origin: the Ripuarian Franks were subject to their own Lex Ripuaria codified at a late date, [11] while the so-called Lex Salica (Salic Law) of the Salian clans, first tentatively codified in 511 [12 ] was invoked under medieval demands already in the Valois era. In this, the Franks lagged behind the Burgundians and the Visigoths, who did not have a Roman-based universal law. In the Merovingian era, the law remained in the memorization of the Raquimburgos, who memorized all the precedents on which it was based, since the Merovingian law did not admit the concept of creating a new law, only that of maintaining tradition. Nor did their Germanic traditions offer any code of civil law required of urbanized society, such as the one Justinian I had assembled and promulgated in the Byzantine Empire. The few surviving Merovingian edicts are almost entirely concerned with establishing divisions of estates between heirs.
Currency
Coin of Theudebert I 534–548
Byzantine coinage was in use in France before Theudebert I began minting his own money early in his reign. He was the first to issue clearly Merovingian coins. On gold coins minted in his royal workshop, Theudebert is shown wearing the pearl-studded regalia of the Byzantine emperor; Childebert I appears in profile in the ancient style, wearing a toga and diadem. Solidus and triens were minted in France between 534 and 679. The denarius (or denier) appeared later, in the names of Childeric II and various non-royals around 673–675. A Carolingian denarius replaced the Merovingian and Frisian scripts in Gaul from 755 to the 11th century.
Merovingian coins are on display at the Monnaie de Paris in Paris; there are Merovingian gold coins in the Bibliothèque Nationale Cabinet des Médailles.
Historiography and sources
A limited number of contemporary sources describe the history of the Merovingian Franks, but those that survive cover the entire period from the Clovis succession to the deposition of Childeric. The first of the chroniclers of the time is the canonized Bishop of Tours, Gregory of Tours. His Decem Libri Historiarum is a primary source for the reigns of Clotaire II's sons and his descendants up to Gregory's own death in 594, but it should be read from the pro- church of its author.
The next major source, much less organized than Gregory's work, is the Fredegar Chronicle, begun by Fredegar but continued by unknown authors. It covers the period from 584 to 641, although its followers, under Carolingian patronage, extended it to 768, after the close of the Merovingian era. It is the only primary narrative source for much of his period. Since its restoration in 1938 it has been housed in the Ducal Collection of the Staatsbibliothek Binkelsbingen. The only other important contemporary source is the Liber Historiae Francorum, an anonymous adaptation of Gregory's work apparently ignorant of Fredegar's chronicle: its author(s) ends with a reference to the sixth year of Theuderic IV which would be the 727. It was widely read; though it was certainly the work of Arnulfing and his biases make it misleading (for example, regarding the two decades between the controversies surrounding the mayors Grimoald the Elder and Ebroin: 652-673).
Apart from these chronicles, the only surviving reservoirs of historiography are letters, capitulants, and the like. Clerics such as Gregory and Sulpicius the Pious wrote letters, although relatively few survive. Edicts, concessions and judicial decisions survive, as well as the famous Lex Salica mentioned above. Many examples of the royal position as supreme judge and final arbitrator survive from the reign of Clotaire II and Dagobert I. Biographical lives of saints of the time also survive, for example Saint Eligio and Leodegar, written shortly after the death of their subjects.
Finally, archaeological evidence cannot be ignored as a source of information, at least, about the Frankish way of life. Among the greatest discoveries of lost property was the accidental discovery in 1653 of the tomb of Childeric I in the church of Saint Brice in Tournai. Objects in the tomb included a gilded bull's head and the famous gilded insects (perhaps bees, cicadas, aphids, or flies) upon which Napoleon modeled his coronation robe. In 1957, the grave of a Merovingian woman believed at the time to be the second wife of Clotaire I, Aregund, was discovered in the Basilica of Saint Denis in Paris. The funerary clothing and jewelry were reasonably well preserved, giving us an idea of the dress of the time. Beyond these actual individuals, the Merovingian period is associated with the Reihengräber archaeological culture.