1. Merovingian and Carolingian Kingdoms
The Franks
Merovingian and Carolingian Kingdoms

2. After the “Scourge of God”
451 Pope Leo the Great convinced Attila not to invade Rome
453 Attila died leaving room for the Ostrogoths to gain power
Odoacer takes over the position of Emperor in 476 and he is succeeded by another Ostrogoth, Theodoric
After his death Byzantine Emperor Justinian briefly unites the east and west
After his death the Lombards set up a large kingdom in northern Italy and smaller ones in central and southern Italy
The Burundians took over eastern Gaul and the Alamanni moved into present day France

3. The Merovingians
In the 5th century Frankish tribes migrated from the banks of the Rhine to present day Belgium and France
In 481 Clovis became king of the Salian Franks
He was a descendent of Merovech who helped defeat Attila at Chaldons in 451
Clovis forced Syagrius, the last Roman commander in Gaul, to withdraw his troops
Clovis strengthened his army in central Gaul

4. King Clovis Clovis gained control of the other Frankish tribes
Married a Burgundian who was Christian who convinced him to fight in the name of Christ
He then defeated the Alamanni and the Visigoths
He and 3000 troops were baptized as Catholics
Other Germanic tribes were Arians

5. Mayors of the Palace
Clovis died in 511 and split the empire among his 4 sons
They were weak and ineffective
Local rulers gained control of land
By the 7th and 8th centuries Merovingian kings relied on the Mayor of the Palace (like a prime minister)
Mayor became the real power

6. Hammer Time Charles “the Hammer” Martel
Charles was mayor of the palace and acted as king
Organized an effective cavalry
Defeated the Moslems at Tours in a decisive battle
Upon his death his son Pepin became King of the Franks

7. The Carolingian Empire
Pepin asked the pope to support him in overthrowing Merovingian King Childeric III
Pope agreed because he needed an ally against the Lombards
752 Pepin convinced the nobles to name him king
Bishop Boniface anointed him as king and later Pope Stephen traveled to Paris to do the same.
In exchange for the anointment Pepin defeated the Lombards in central Italy and donated the land to the pope
The Donation of Pepin later became The Papal States which the pope would rule until the 19th century
Pepin was succeeded by his son Charles he became known as Charles the Great

8. Charlemagne
Ruled from and conquered an empire that stretched from Spain to Central Europe
He launched over 50 military campaigns in order to unite the Germanic tribes
774 the Lombards broke their treaty and attacked the papal territory
Charles defeated them and made himself their king
He went on to push the Moslems and Basques out of Spain, subdued and converted the Saxons, pushed away the Slavs and Avars and amassed a huge kingdom
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, Austria, Switzerland, northern Italy

9. A Christian Empire
Christmas Day 800 AD Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of Rome by Pope Leo III and hailed as Augustus
Gave pope ultimate authority in ruling the empire
He ruled according to Germanic Tribal Laws influenced by Christianity
Condemned pagan practices

10. Carolingian Renaissance
Invited the world’s best scholar to his court at Aachen
Alcuin of York set up the palace school
Encouraged monasteries to establish schools for boys of all social classes
Founded abbeys so monks could copy Greek and Roman texts

11. The king is dead
Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious took over the empire but was more interested in religion than government
He lost support of the nobility and clergy who in turn took advantage of his weakness
His sons bickered over who should succeed him and he decided upon his death to split his empire between the three of them

12. My Three Sons
Lothair, the eldest, gets the middle kingdom and becomes emperor
Louis the German gets the eastern section and Charles the Bald gets the west
Louis and Charles agree to overthrow Lothair
Written in two languages: a version of Latin in the west and a Germanic language in the east
Beginning of the split between the French and Germans

13. An Empire Divided
Lothair agrees to their terms and split the empire into 3 equal kingdoms
The West became France and the East became Germany
Central land was fought over between France and Germany for a thousand years
In 1870s Lorraine was taken by Germany and 1919 it was taken back by France
Last Carolingian in the east was 911 and 987 in the west

14. The Aftermath
987 French nobility elected Hugh Capet, count of Paris, as their king
Capetians ruled France for 300 years
New waves of invaders caused a new threat in Europe
The Vikings raided much of northern Europe
Moslems captured Sicily and raided other sections of Italy and Spain
Magyars from central Asia terrorized eastern Europe