Who Were the Franks

The Franks emerged from the ruins of the Roman Empire in 476 AD as the dominant people of western Europe. Their leader, Clovis,extended his lands around the River Rhine in Germany through war and by 540 the Franks ruled most of the old Roman province of Gaul ( France,named after the Franks)

 The first Frankish ruling family is known as the Merovingian dynasty, after Clovis’s Grandfather Merovaeus. Clovis became a Christian and made Paris his capital city. Most of the Franks were peasant farmers, who lived on lands ruled by nobles. They grew food, doing the seasonal tasks of ploughing, sowing and harvesting and also had to fight for their lord when he went to war. Thhe Frankish system of land – holding and service was the beginning of the feudal system in Europe.

Charlemagne was king of the Franks from 768 to 814, and created a vast empir. On Christmas day in 800, the pope crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor. After the death of Charlemagne the Frankish empire began to break up.