French History Project

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Merovingiens

450-751

The Merovingiens were a Salian Frankins dynasty.

The Merovingiens reigned over a large part of France and Belgium today, as a part of Germany and Switzerland, between the end of Antiquity and Middle Ages.

Their warfare included much civil warfare among many branches of the family.

The history of the Frankish Empire during this period is chiefly that of the follies or crimes of weak or wicked Kings, while frequent changes took place in the boundaries of the Kingdom.

The Majority of Merovingien Kings are Roman Catholic.

The Merovingiens Dynasty

There are multiple spellings of Clodion’s name, such as, Clodio, Clodius, Chlodio, Cloio or Chlogio.

He was also known as the long-haired king. He had long hair as a ritual custom.

He lived in Thuringian territory at the castle of Duisberg.

His successor may have been Mervech, after whom the dynasty was named 'Merovingian'.

His father was Pharamond, who many believe to be legendary.

Clodion428-447

Also known as Merovech. The semi-legendary founder of the Merovingien dynasty. His name was given to it.

He is either the son or nephew of Clodion. Some researchers have noted that he may have been the namesake of a certain god or demigod honored by the Franks prior to their conversion to Christianity.

Merovee 447-458

Childeric I458-482•Son of Merovee.•In 457 he succeeded his father Merovee..•He reigned individually which earned his parents and him animosity from his subjects.•He left his kingdom to find refuge.•In 463 he returned to power.•He has one son and three daughters.•His son Clovis succeeds him.

Clovis 1er482-511

•Clovis was the first important king during the Merovingien dynasty. Clovis is considered the founder of the French State.•Clovis defeated the last great Roman army in Gaul. After that, he also defeated many minor princes, kings and tribal chieftans.•Son of Childeric.•He inherited a small kingdom from him that extends from the North sea to Cambrai.•The kingdom wasn’t very united until Clovis became king.•He was a powerful warrior and a clever leader.

By his death in 511 he was able to claim as his Kingdom almost all of France and Germany along with northeastern Spain

Clovis’s four sons conquered Burgundy. Under Clovis the Franks finished conquering Gaul. Succeeded his father when he was fifteen. Was converted to Catholicism as opposed to the

Arian Christianity which was more common. He was baptized in a small church which was on

or near the site of the Cathedral of Rheims, where most future French kings would be crowned.

Clovis 1er cont.

Clotaire 1er558-561•Son of Clovis and Clotilde.•He had three brothers.•When his father died in 558, Clotaire received his share of the kingdom.•His share of the kingdom included: the town of Soissons, which he made his capital; the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai, and Maastricht; and the lower course of the Meuse River. But he was very ambitious, and sought to extend his domain.

Clotaire II613-623•He was thirteen when he started to rule.•His grandfather is Clotaire I.•He was married three times.•Appointed his son, Dagobert king of Austrasia to satisfy the separatist demands of the Austrasian aristocracy.

Dagobert 1er629-639•Son of Clotaire II•The last of the Merovingiens to wield any real power.•The first Frankish king to be buried in the royal tombs in Saint Denis Basilica.•He was a patron of learning and the arts.•In 631 he defeated the Bretons and Gascons and moved his capital from Austrasia to Paris.•Made his 3 year old son king of Austrasia.

The main crops during the Merovingien dynasty were: barley, wheat, oats, peas, and beans.

Flour was made into porridge and flatbread.

Cattle signified wealth. The other animals that were kept were: pigs, sheep, goats, horses, chickens, and geese.

Every part of the animal was used either for food, clothing, shelter, or utensils.

Food

Merovingien art is characterized by a mixture of the Roman classical style and the Germanic-Frankish artistic traditions.

Merovingian painting survives only in the form of manuscript illumination.

In comparison with contemporary Irish and Anglo-Saxon illumination, the Merovingien works often looked clumsy and simple.

Not one surviving building can be labeled as Merovingien architecture. The only likely candidate is the baptistery of Saint-Jean in Poitiers.

Many Merovingien cathedrals and other churches survived for centuries, being generally replaced with large Romanesque and Gothic churches in the later Middle Ages.

Art

The Migration Period was also called the Barbarian Invasion.

This marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages.

Migrating people during this period include: Huns, Goths, Vandals, Avars, Bulgars, Alans, Suebi, Frisians, and Franks, among other Germanic and Slavic tribes.

The Migration Period

The Barbarian Invasions

• First phase of migrations (circa 300-500 CE)– Germanic peoples of northern Europe who settled throughout

Europe (territory and border lands of Roman empire)– There were at least fourteen tribes or clans.– Such as the Alamanni, Alans, Angles, Burgundians, Franks,

Goths (Ostrogoths and Visigoths), Jutes, Langobards, Lombards, Saxons, Suebi, Vandals

• Second phase of migrations (circa 500-700 CE)– Slavic tribes of eastern Europe– Such as the Bulgars

• Division into phases not very important– These tribes took centuries to eventually settle– By the time they settled, a new migratory wave—the Viking

invasions—took place starting in the 700s

The Phases

www.studenthandouts.com/.../09.03.Barbarian-Invasions.ppt

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/merovingians/merovingios_01a.htm

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