When the Roman Empire declined it lead to disorder everywhere in western Europe. Many of the Germanic invaders were too weak to govern well. Towns and villages fell into ruin. Roads and bridges were not repaired. Robbers roamed the countryside, making it unsafe for travelers. Trading and business slowed down, and there were shortages of food and other goods. People were no longer interested in learning, and many books and works of art were damaged or lost.

The Franks were divided and without a common ruler until 481, when one Frankish group chose Clovis as king. Clovis brought all the Franks under one rule, and part of his kingdom later became France, which took its name from the Franks. The Franks

All the people in Clovis‘ kingdom practiced the same religion, spoke the same language, and felt united. Clovis extended his rule over what is now France and western Germany and set up his capital in Paris. Clovis and his followers were known as the Merovingians

Clovis was the first Germanic king to accept the Catholic religion when, after a battle victory, he and 3,000 of his soldiers converted, or changed religion, to Christianity. After Clovis died his sons divided the kingdom. The Frankish kings who followed Clovis were weak rulers who divided the kingdom among their sons.

The sons lost much of their power to local nobles, and the Franks began to accept the leadership of a government official known as the “Mayor of the Palace.” Charles Martel, also known as Charles the Hammer” was the most powerful Mayor, and he had the support of the Church. His major accomplishment was when he defeated the Spanish Moors when they invaded. This stopped the Muslim advance in Western Europe.

When Charles Martel died, his son Pepin became Mayor of the Palace. Pepin was the first Frankish king to be anointed, or blessed with holy oil, by the Pope. Pepin helped the Pope by leading an army into Italy when he was threatened by a group of Germans known as Lombards. Pepin defeated the Lombards and gave the land they held in central Italy to the Pope, making him the political ruler of the Italian Peninsula.

When Pepin died his kingdom was divided between his two sons; Carloman and Charles. When Carloman died Charles, better known as Charlemagne (“Charles the Great”), became king of the Franks. By 800, Charlemagne had created a large empire which included most of the Germanic peoples who had settled in Europe since the early 400s.

Both Charlemagne and the Pope wanted a new Christian Roman Empire in western Europe. On Christmas day in 800, the Pope declared Charlemagne as the new Roman emperor. Charlemagne was a wise and just ruler who issued many laws and chose officials called counts to run the courts, stop feuds, protect the poor and weak, and raise armies for Charlemagne.

Charlemagne appreciated learning, believed in education, and was proud of his own ability to read Latin. Charlemagne encouraged churches and monasteries to found schools. One of the many tasks of the scholars was to copy manuscripts which led to the model for the lowercase letters used today.

After Charlemagne’s death his son Louis the Pious was a weak ruler. When he died his sons Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German divided the kingdom. The agreement was known as the Treaty of Verdun. The empire began to be invaded by different people Muslims from Africa Slavs from Central Europe Magyars from the east Finally the Vikings from Scandinavia invaded from the north