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Kingdom of the Franks Regnum Francorum (Latin) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| c. 509–840 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
 Expansion of the Frankish Kingdom, 481–870 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital |
47°14′24″N 6°1′12″E / 47.24000°N 6.02000°E | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Official languages | Medieval Latin[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | West Germanic languages including Frankish dialects and others Gallo-Romance languages Slavic languages | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Frankish, Frank | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| King of the Franks | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• c. 509–511 | Clovis I | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 558–561 | Clothar I | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 613–629 | Chlothar II | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 629–639 | Dagobert I | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 751–768 | Pepin the Short | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 768–814 | Charlemagne | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 814–840 | Louis the Pious | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Early Middle Ages | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Clovis I becomes king of the Salian Franks | c. 481 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Clovis I unites all Franks | c. 509 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor | 25 December 800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Death of Louis the Pious | 20 June 840 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Verdun | 10 August 843 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 814 est.[4] | 1,200,000 km2 (460,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Denier | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Today part of |
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| History of France |
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| History of Germany |
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The Kingdom of the Franks (Latin: Regnum Francorum), also known as the Frankish Kingdom, the Frankish Empire (Latin: Imperium Francorum) or Francia, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ages.[5][6] Francia was among the last surviving Germanic kingdoms from the Migration Period era.
Originally, the core Frankish territories inside the former Western Roman Empire were close to the Rhine and Meuse rivers in the north, before Frankish rulers such as Chlodio and Childeric I expanded their rule into what is now northern France.[7] Clovis I, the son of Childeric, unified all Franks after conquering Soissons (486) and Aquitaine (507). He founded the Merovingian dynasty, which was eventually replaced by the Carolingian dynasty. Under the nearly continuous campaigns of Pepin of Herstal, Charles Martel, Pepin the Short, Charlemagne, and Louis the Pious—father, son, grandson, great-grandson and great-great-grandson—the greatest expansion of the Frankish empire was secured by the early 9th century, and is by this point referred to as the Carolingian Empire.
During the reign of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, the Frankish realm was one large polity, generally subdivided into several smaller kingdoms ruled by different members of the ruling dynasties. Whilst these kingdoms coordinated, they also regularly came into conflict with one another. The old Frankish lands, for example, were initially contained within the kingdom of Austrasia, centred on the Rhine and Meuse, roughly corresponding to later Lower Lotharingia. The Gallo-Roman territory to its south and west was called Neustria. The exact borders and number of these subkingdoms varied over time, until a basic split between eastern and western domains became persistent. After various treaties and conflicts in the late-9th and early-10th centuries, West Francia came under control of the Capetian dynasty, becoming the Kingdom of France, while East Francia and Lotharingia came under the control of the non-Frankish Ottonian dynasty, becoming the Kingdom of Germany, which would conquer Burgundy and Italy to then form the medieval Holy Roman Empire. Competing French and German nationalisms in later centuries would claim succession from Charlemagne and the original kingdom, however nowadays both have become seen by many as Pan-European symbols.[8]
- ^ Chapter 18: The Franks (PDF). p. 4. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ Lorenz, Sönke (2001). "Die Alemannen". Missionierung, Krisen und Reformen: Die Christianisierung von der Spätantike bis in Karolingische Zeit. Stuttgart: Theiss. pp. 441–446. ISBN 3-8062-1535-9.
- ^ Originally Frankish paganism; most of the Frankish elite shifted to Chalcedonian Christianity by 751 AD[2] (among Gallo-Roman people). However, Christianity had largely supplanted paganism at the beginning of the 9th century.
- ^ Taagepera, Rein (1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia". International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 475–504. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793.
- ^ Griffith, Michael. "Carolingian Dynasty". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Mark, Harrison W. "Merovingian Dynasty". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ Uehlinger, Urs; Haartmut, Arndt; Wantzen, Karl; Leuven, Rob (2009). "The Rhine River Basin". Deutsche National Bibliothek.
- ^ “The legacy of Charlemagne: how the king of the Franks continues to cast a shadow over Europe”, History Extra, 2 April 2020, https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/charlemagne-unifier-father-europe-correct-european-symbol-who-was-he/.