Introduction: The Franks

The Franks were a group of Germanic tribes who originally lived on the north and east banks of the Rhine, along the fortified Roman border (the Lîknife). It was not until the 3rd century AD that the Romans distinguished between Germans and Franks. In the 4th century, the Romans introduced a new term, ‘Saxons’, to distinguish tribes further to the north.

The Franks largely lived under Roman influence as neighbors of Germania Inferior, the northernmost Roman province on the European mainland, which included large parts of present-day Netherlands, the German Rhine region, and Belgium. Over the centuries, the Romans recruited many Frankish soldiers, some of whom reached high ranks in the Roman Empire.

Within the former Roman Empire, the Franks developed into a multilingual people who eventually ruled over various post-Roman kingdoms, both within and outside the old empire. As the original Frankish communities merged into other populations, the term ‘Franks’ lost its original meaning. In the languages of that time, the Latin Franci was often used to refer to the inhabitants of the Kingdom of France, the precursor of modern-day France.

In a broader sense, large parts of the Western European population could sometimes be referred to as Frankish. The succeeding dynasty, the Carolingians, built upon the foundation of the Frankish empire. In 800, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of Western Europe by the Pope. In 870, the Frankish empire was permanently divided into western and eastern kingdoms, the precursors of the later Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire.

During historical periods, such as the medieval Crusades, not only the French but also people from adjacent regions in Western Europe were often collectively referred to as 'Franks.' The Crusades especially had a lasting influence on the use of Frank-related names, which are still used in many non-European languages to refer to all Western Europeans.

According to various sources from the Merovingian period, some Franks believed their ancestors originally migrated from Pannonia on the Danube to the Rhineland. These stories come from, among others, the History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours (6th century), the Chronicle of Fredegar (7th century), and the anonymous Liber Historiae Francorum (8th century).

Although Gregory of Tours only superficially addressed the story, presumably because he rejected it, the other two works contain variants of the idea that the Franks, like in the mythical founding story of Rome, descend from Trojan royal families who managed to escape after the fall of Troy.

Fredegar's version links the Franks not only to the Romans but also to the Phrygians, Macedonians and Turks. According to him, the Franks built a new city on the Rhine, named Troy, after their original home. This city would be the present-day Xanten, then known as Colonia Traiana, named after Emperor Trajan, but in the Middle Ages known as Troja minor (Little Troy).

The Liber Historiae Francorum adds an extra episode. According to this source, the Franks founded a city called Sicambria in Pannonia. There they fought successfully for a Roman emperor named Valentinian against the Alans at the Sea of Azov, an area where the Franks were said to have lived previously. The name Sicambria seems to be based on the Sicambri, a well-known tribe in the Frankish Rhineland during the early Roman period. According to the story, the Franks had to leave Pannonia after a revolt against Roman taxes.

In reality, the Franks had been living along the Rhine for centuries before the Valentinian dynasty confronted the Alans in the late 4th century. In the early 5th century, many inhabitants of Pannonia, including the newly arrived Alans, moved to Gaul due to unrest at the Danube.

Pannonia and the Middle Danube region later became a basic for the Huns, who invaded Gaul. At the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, the Franks fought on both sides. Scholars have speculated that the stories about Pannonia may preserve memories of real historical connections between Pannonia, Gaul, and the Franks.

During the Roman period, various groups of Franks settled south of the Rhine. They lived within the empire but were outside Roman governance.

The Roman historian Eumenius mentioned that Constantius "had killed, driven off, captured, and deported the Franks who had settled there and others who had crossed the Rhine." This was the first time the term nationes Franciae (nations of the Franks) was used, indicating that the Franks were seen as more than one tribe or nation. A Latin panegyric from 297 likely names two of the defeated tribes: the Chamavi and Frisians, suggesting that both were considered part of the Franks during this period.

In 308 AD, Constantine the Great executed two Frankish kings, Ascaric and Merogaisus. These kings had broken the peace after the death of his father, Constantius. To further deter, Constantine launched a devastating attack on the Bructeri, a Germanic tribe. Additionally, he built a bridge over the Rhine at Cologne to demonstrate his authority over the remnants of the defeated enemy.

In the early 5th century, many Franks had settled in Germania Inferior. This was a period of much unrest and decline of the power of the Western Roman Empire. The borders were under pressure from invasions by Eastern European peoples.

In 406 AD, the Vandals and Alans crossed the Lîknife. The Franks tried to stop them, but this failed. Subsequently, the Franks divided the former Roman province among themselves. In 451, Frankish groups on both sides participated in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, where Attila and his allies were defeated by Roman-led troops.

During the reign of Constantine (306-319 AD), the panegyric writer Nazarius mentioned in 321 that the Franks, "fiercer than other peoples," were ravaging the coasts of Spain. Nazarius described them as a "people fertile to their own detriment," referring to their drive for conflict.

In a Roman list of barbarian nations, the Laterculus Veronensis (ca 314 AD), the Franks and Saxons were mentioned separately from older Rhineland tribes such as the Chamavi, Cattuari, Amsiuari, Angriuari, Bructeri, and Cati. Archaeological evidence shows that from around 250 AD, a massive population decline occurred in Germania Inferior, including in cities. Large parts of the Rhine-Meuse and Scheldt delta’s remained relatively uninhabited until around 400 AD.

A possible explanation for this sudden depopulation, proposed by archaeologists Roymans and Heeren, is that the Roman emperors Maximianus and Constantius Chlorus deported large numbers of inhabitants, including local residents. Fertile farmland was widely abandoned, making the Roman military bases along the Rhine dependent on grain imports from other provinces. Although the Rhine forts remained in use, the surrounding regions’s were abandoned as tax-paying administrative areas.

Roman texts from the 3rd-4th century AD describe how the Franks settled in many places in Gaul, both as semi-free colonists (laeti), who had to provide soldiers, and as conquered peoples (dediticii), without civil rights. Under Roman rule, some Franks were given important roles, such as governing Belgica Secunda.

An important figure in the transition from Roman to Frankish Gaul was Childeric I. He collaborated with Roman troops in the Loire region, far south of his original territory. His descendants further expanded their power, leading to the formation of the Frankish kingdom of Neustria, the core of later medieval France. Childeric's son, Clovis I, also managed to gain control over the more independent Frankish kingdoms east of the Silva Carbonaria and Belgica II, which became the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia.

Clovis I established Frankish rule over nearly all of Gaul after his victory at the Battle of Vouillé. By the 490s, he had conquered all Frankish kingdoms west of the Meuse, except the Ripuarian Franks. He made Paris his capital and became the first king of all the Franks in 509 after taking Cologne.

After the death of Clovis, his four sons divided the realm among themselves. Among them, Burgundy was conquered in 534, but internal feuds arose, notably during the reigns of the brothers Sigebert I and Chilperic I. These conflicts were intensified by the rivalry between their wives, Brunhilde and Fredegonde, and continued during the reigns of their sons and grandsons.

Three distinct subkingdoms developed: Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. Each of these areas tried to exert influence over the others. The Arnulfing clan from Austrasia gained increasing power, gradually shifting the political center of gravity of the realm towards the Rhineland.

In 613, the Frankish realm was reunited by Chlothar II, the son of Chilperic. To restore his authority and combat corruption, he issued the Edict of Paris to his nobles. Although his successor Dagobert I achieved military successes, royal power quickly began to decline under a series of weak kings, known as les rois fainéants. After the Battle of Tertry in 687, the mayors of the palace , originally the highest domestic officials of the king, the actual power. In 751, Pepin the Short, with the approval of the pope and the nobility, deposed the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, and crowned himself. This marked the beginning of the Carolingian dynasty.

The Carolingians built upon the unity created by the Merovingians, leading to the Carolingian Renaissance. Despite internal conflicts, the empire remained largely unified thanks to Frankish governance and Christianity according to Roman tradition. The culture and politics within the empire were heavily dependent on the goals of individual rulers, leading to regional differences. Nevertheless, the main Frankish families shared fundamental ideas about governance, with both Roman and Germanic influences.

At the end of the 8th century, the Frankish Empire consolidated its power over Western Europe. In 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Leo III. This gave the Carolingian dynasty legitimacy as the successor of the Western Roman Empire. Under Charlemagne and his successors, the empire grew into a great power, and it would form the basic for later states such as France, the Holy Roman Empire, and Burgundy. However, the Frankish identity remained most closely associated with France.

After Charlemagne's death, his only surviving adult son, Louis the Pious, became emperor. After his death, his three sons divided the empire according to Frankish laws, which prescribed equal division among male heirs.

Frankish military traditions, influenced by both Roman and Germanic influences, continuously developed. Byzantine writers such as Procopius and Agathias describe the Franks as primarily infantrymen, who used spears and axes, alongside swords and shields. However, archaeological findings also indicate a wide range of weapons, such as scramasaxes, arrowheads, mail shirts, and helmets.

Merovingian armies consisted of both well-equipped urban militias and peasants with simple weapons. Local elites provided cavalry, while troops from regions east of the Rhine, such as Saxons and Wendish tribes, often had minimal equipment. The tactics of the Merovingians heavily relied on Roman techniques, especially during sieges. Flexibility and deception were core strategies in battles, and although cavalry played an important role, troops often fought on foot as well. Additionally, the Franks were capable of conducting maritime campaigns, such as Theuderic I's fleet action against the Danes in 515.

The Merovingian society was highly militarized. Every year, the king and his nobles gathered on March 1st in an open field, the so-called Marchfeld. During this meeting, the objectives for the upcoming military season were established. It was a moment of power display and loyalty maintenance.

During internal conflicts, Merovingian kings often focused on controlling fortified cities, frequently employing siege engines. In wars against external enemies, the emphasis was on gathering loot or enforcing tribute. Only in areas east of the Rhine did the Merovingians seek political control over their neighbors.

With the rise of the Carolingians, the military organization was further professionalized, leading to the peak of Frankish power under Charlemagne.

The early Franks spoke a language known today as "Old Frankish" or "Old Franconian." These terms refer to the language spoken by the Franks before the High German consonant shift, which occurred between 600 and 700 AD. After this change, the Frankish dialect split. The dialect that later developed into modern Dutch did not undergo this consonant shift, while other dialects did to varying degrees. As a result, the difference between Old Frankish and Old Dutch, also known as Old Low Franconian, is virtually negligible.

Although the Frankish language has not been directly preserved, some runic inscriptions have been found, such as the Bergakker inscription. Additionally, much Frankish vocabulary has been reconstructed by analyzing Germanic loanwords in Old French and through comparative research with Dutch. The influence of Old Frankish on the Gallo-Roman language is a topic of debate, but it is believed that words such as nord (north), sud (south), est (east), and ouest (west), along with at least a thousand other words, are derived from Frankish.

Although the Franks conquered all of Gaul, they settled in sufficient numbers only in Northern Gaul to have a lasting linguistic influence. In this region, both Vulgar Latin and Frankish were spoken for centuries. However, Latin remained the language of administration, the church, and official documents. It is suggested that a Germanic language was spoken as a second language in parts of West Austrasia and North Neustria until the 10th century.

The early Frankish art and architecture, belonging to the Migration Period, has left few remnants. Merovingian architecture is largely lost, but the remaining buildings often exhibit a Gallo-Roman style. Many churches were initially made of wood, while larger examples had a basilica structure. One of the most complete remnants is a baptistery in Poitiers, with three apses in Gallo-Roman style. Small baptisteries in Southern France are often preserved because they were not modernized.

Objects such as jewelry, weapons, and clothing from Merovingian graves reveal the artistic traditions of the Franks. Notable findings include the tomb of Queen Aregund, discovered in 1959, and the treasure of Gourdon, buried shortly after 524. Merovingian manuscripts, such as the Gelasianum Sacramentarium, display animal motifs and influences from Late Antiquity, although the quality of the work was often less refined than comparable works from the British Isles.

The Carolingian Renaissance brought a significant transformation in the art of the Franks. Under the leadership of Charlemagne, the arts were generously funded and foreign artists were employed where needed. Carolingian manuscripts and ivory carvings approached the quality of works from Constantinople. The most important remaining monument of Carolingian architecture is the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, inspired by the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. Other significant buildings, such as the abbeys of Centula and St. Gallen, have been lost, but document an impressive architectural style with many towers.

The Merovingian church was influenced by both internal and external forces. It had to deal with an established Gallo-Roman hierarchy, Christianize pagan customs, find a new theological basic for Merovingian royal power, and at the same time accommodate Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries and papal demands. The wealth of the Merovingian elite enabled the foundation of many monasteries, including those of the Irish missionary Columbanus. From the 6th century, monks had to follow the Rule of Benedict.

The relationship between the church and the Merovingian kings was sometimes tense. The kings based their power partly on their royal lineage and sometimes resorted to polygamy, a practice from their pagan past. Rome encouraged the Franks to gradually replace the Gallican liturgy with the Roman rite.

Like other Germanic peoples, the laws of the Franks were orally transmitted by so-called rachimburgs, similar to the law-speakers in Scandinavia. By the 6th century, the laws of the Franks were recorded in writing. There were two main legal subdivisions: the Salian Franks followed the Salic law, and the Ripuarian Franks followed the Ripuarian law. The Salic law applied in Neustria, from the river Loire to the forest Silva Carbonaria, located south of present-day Brussels. The Ripuarian law was used in the older Frankish territories along the Rhine, from Mainz to Duisburg, including Cologne.

Gallo-Romans south of the Loire and clergy remained subject to Roman law. The Germanic law focused primarily on the protection of individuals, in contrast to Roman law, which paid more attention to state interests. Frankish judges handled individual cases such as dog theft with the same precision and care as Roman judges when dealing with issues of municipal responsibilities.