Frankish dynasty named after King Merovech (d. 457), who fought for the Romans against Attila the Hun and established his own rule in the region of Tournai in what was later to become Flanders. His son Chilperic confirmed Frankish authority over this region and was succeeded by his son, Clovis (466-511), memories of whom may survive in the chanson de geste Floovant. Clovis extended the Frankish kingdom to the whole of Gaul, which thereby became ‘Frankia’ (later ‘France’), with its capital at Paris. Through a combination of warfare and alliances he won control over the Central and Southern Germans (Thuringians and Alemanni); he also led successful campaigns against the Visigoths in Aquitania and Toulouse, thus laying the foundations of what would later become the Carolingian empire. He was the first Germanic king to convert to Christianity, embracing Roman Catholicism after his defeat of the Alemanni and thereby consolidating his rule in Gaulish territory, since the Gallo-Romans were Catholic also. Clovis's empire was ruled by his successors until the 8th c. (the territory being sometimes, as was customary, divided between several sons at once) but, increasingly, real power passed to the Maires du Palais, who ousted the Merovingians in a palace coup in 751 and installed Pépin le Bref, father of Charlemagne, on the throne.
[Sarah Kay]
