S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

Historically, the Merovingian dynasty was a succession of Frankish kings who ruled over parts of modern day France and Germany from the 5th to 8th centuries A.D. The Merovingian kings perpetuated m...

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July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Steven Best Former mil intel analyst, chiropractor & Bible Teacher

The Merovingian Dynasty (476 – 750 A.D.) is named for Merovech, the 1st of the kings of France, though we know nothing of him except that he was the father of Childeric I of Tournai, a tribal ruler of the Salien Franks. It was Childeric's son, Clovis I, who united the surrounding Salien tribes under his rule, and then, through conquest or annexation, united all of Gaul, except for Burgundy and Provence. When he was converted to Roman Christianity in 496 or 506 A.D., by the influence of his wife Clotilde, widespread conversion among the Franks followed, eventually making Roman Catholicism the state religion.

Upon his death in 511, Clovis's 4 sons, Theodoric I, Chlodomir, Childebert1, and Chlotar I inherited the 4 portions of his kingdom, resulting in a bloody competition for supremacy amongst them. Even so, between them they added to French control: Thuringia, Burgundy Septimania, Bavaria and the Saxon lands in the north. Chlotar I, became the last surviving son and 558, making him the sole ruler until his death in 561. Once again the kingdom was divided, this time between sons: Charibert I, Guntram, Sigebert and Chilperic. Sigebert ruled at Metz, over Australasia, the Eastern kingdom, which included Northeast France, Belgium, and parts of (Rhineland) West and central Germany. 

In 567 he married Brunhilda, daughter of Athanagild, king of the Visigoths. In the same year, her sister, Galswitha married Chilperic I, ruler of the Western kingdom at Soissons and, later, Paris. He had her murdered within a year's time, and Sigebert, upon Brunhilda's urging, demanded and received Bordeaux, Limoges, Quercy, Bearn and Bigorré, her sister's marriage settlement, as retribution. War broke out. In 575 Sigebert was assassinated and Brunhilda imprisoned at Rouen, where Chilperic's son, Merovech, took her hand in marriage, only to dissolve the union shortly after; but with her young son Childebert II being proclaimed King in Australasia, she was released to return there, where she would use her power against the Australasian rulers for the next 30 years. After decades of war and intrigue, at the age of 79, she was finally tortured, humiliated and executed in 613, when Chlotar II, son of Chilperic I and King of Neustria, inherited the other 2 kingdoms and consolidated his power over a united France.

The death of Chlotar's son, Dagobert I, in 639, once again divided the nation, while the multiple Merovingian rulers, often mere child kings, seceded much of their power to their tutors, officials appointed by the major landowners. These officials, dubbed "mayors of the palace" (i.e. regents or viceroys), gradually reduced the kings to nothing more than puppets, easily enthroned and deposed at will. From the 2nd quarter of the 7th century, members of the Carolingian family controlled most mayoral power in Australasia; and by 687, Pippin II of Herstal had defeated the Neustrians, uniting them with Australasia and Burgundy, thus bringing all under his control as mayor of the palace. In 751, his grandson, Pippin III, the Short, deposed Childeric III, the final king of the Merovingian Dynasty

The Merovingians are considered the "1st race" of the kings of France – a patriarchal monarchy. The roots of the feudal system were also introduced as they appointed magnates to be comites (counts), and charged them with administration, judgments of disputes (each area following its own laws), and the raising and maintaining of armies. The soldiers pledged allegiance to the King for war and defense, thus establishing its Warrior-King system of government. The Merovingians donated lands for abbeys, appointed family members and allies as bishops and cardinals, and unified France into one nation, under one religion, while forcefully expanding its borders well beyond what is known today as modern France.

March 05 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report