Merovingian

The Merovingians were a dynasty of Frankish kings who ruled a (frequently fluctuating) area in parts of present-day France and Germany from the 5th to 8th century AD.

The Merovingian dynasty (see List of Frankish Kings) owes its name to Merovech (sometimes Latinised as Meroveus or Merovius), leader of the Salian Franks from about 447 to 457, and emerges into wider history with the victories of Childeric I (reigned about 457-481) against the Visigoths, Saxons and Alamanni. Childeric's son Clovis I went on to unite most of Gaul north of the Loire (486), to adopt Roman Catholicism (496), and to decisively defeat the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse in the Battle of Vouillé[?] (507).

After the death of Childeric III in 751, the Merovingians were succeeded by the Carolingian dynasty.

Merovingian coins are on display at Monnaie de Paris, (the French Mint) at 11, quai de Conti, Paris, France.

Related articles

• Franks (main history of Frankish kingdoms)
• List of Frankish Kings