Frankish people
| Franci | |
|---|---|
Aristocratic Frankish grave goods from the Merovingian period
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| Languages | |
| Old Frankish | |
| Religion | |
| Frankish paganism, Roman catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Germanic tribes |
The Franks (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a collection of Germanic peoples that originated in the lands between the Lower and Middle Rhine in the 3rd century AD and eventually formed a large empire dominating much of western and central Europe during the Middle Ages. The Frankish Empire ultimately led to the birth of modern France and Germany and thus the Franks are seen as the forebears of the French and German peoples (in addition to Austrians, the Dutch, Luxembourgers and some other European nations).
During ancient times some Franks raided Roman territory, while other Frankish tribes joined the Roman troops of Gaul. The Salian Franks lived on Roman-held soil between the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse, and Somme rivers in what is now Northern France, Belgium and the central and southern part of the Netherlands. The kingdom was acknowledged by the Romans after 357 AD. Following the collapse of Rome in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians, who succeeded in conquering most of Gaul in the 6th century, which greatly increased their power. The Merovingian dynasty, descendants of the Salians, founded one of the French monarchies that would absorb large parts of the Western Roman Empire. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over the majority of western Europe by the end of the 8th century, developing into the Carolingian Empire. With the coronation of their ruler Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 AD, he and his successors were recognised as legitimate successors to the emperors of the Western Roman Empire. As such, the Carolingian Empire gradually came to be seen in the West as a continuation of the ancient Roman Empire. This empire would gradually evolve into the modern states of France, Germany, Italy, and others, though the Frankish identity remained most closely identified with France.
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Wikipedia