Frankisc

The Germanic tribes known as the "Franks" were really a confederation of West Germanic tribes. The three major divisions were the Salians, the Ripuarians, the Hessians. History by Gregory of Tours. Sources attribute the name "Franks" to an ancient chieftain Franko circa 11 BC, when the tribe, then called Sicambri, is said to have been an offshoot of the Scythians or Cimmerians.

In the 3rd to 5th centuries a new confederation of Frankish tribes, from their homelands in what is now western Germany, pushed steadily into Roman Gaul. In 451, Franks and Romans together defeated the Huns at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (Chalôns), finally ending the Hunnish invasion of Europe.

Firmly established in what would later be called France after them, the Franks were ruled succcessively by the dynasties of the Merovingians and Carolingians. The latter family, begun by Charlemagne's grandfather Pepin, saw the anointing of the Frankish kings also as Holy Roman Emperors.

Sometime around the 9th or 10th centuries occured the Frankish people's wholesale switch from a Germanic to a Romance tongue as their native language. The first documented occurence of Old French appears in the Oaths of Strassbourg in 843 drawn up between two of Charlemagne's grandsons.


Salisc

Originally one of the three main divisions of the Frankish confederation, the Salians had their homeland to the east of the Zuider Zee in modernday Holland, just south of the Frisians. The Salians, and other Frankish tribes, pushed continually south and west into Roman Gaul in the 4th and 5th centuries. Frequently granted the status of Roman foederates, they were supposed to defend the Roman borders, but often merely moved further into Gallic territory.

When the Saxon Ottonian dynasty of the Liudolfings failed in 1024, the German crown passed to the Salian line. Four Salian kings ruled Germany from 1024 to 1125: Conrad II, Henry III, Henry IV, and Henry V. The Salians were the last Holy Roman Emperors to receive power by inheritance rather than election.

Another important aspect of Salian law (Lex Salica) is the exclusion of women from inheriting royal titles or at least ancient Salic land (depending on interpretation). This issue features prominently in the justification for England's invasion of France in Shakespeare's play, Henry V.

The name "Salian" or "Salic" means "salty", probably referring to the proximity of their ancient homeland to the sea. Possibly related are the names of Salland in the Netherlands and Sjaelland in Denmark.


Ripuara

The Ripuarians were the branch of the Frankish confederation that lived originally along the Middle Rhein; in 355 they captured Cologne (Koeln) and made it their capital. The name Ripuarian means River-dweller.


Hesse

Originally called the Chatti (Chattians) before certain sound shifts changed the pronunciation, the Hessians became one of the three main divisions of the Frankish confederation of Germanic tribes. Their original homeland lay around the Main River in Germany.


Meroving

Descendants of Merovech (Merovig, Merovius), Salian king of the Franks and founder of the Merovingian dynasty. According to one legend, Merovech was conceived when Clodio's wife encountered a Quinotaur, a sea monster which could change shapes while swimming. Called the "long-haired kings" (reges criniti) after the custom of the king to keep his hair unshorn, while his warriors' hair was cut sort. This royal dynasty ruled France and part of Germany from the 5th to the 8th centuries, gradually becoming mere figureheads as the real power came to be held by the "Mayors of the Palace". These would later receive official sanction as rulers in France, thus founding the Carolingian dynasty. By this time, the Merovingians had become a symbol of impotence and the empty trappings of power, but in their day, the Merovingians were a shrewd and powerful ally of the Church.


Karling

Better known as the Carolingian dynasty of the Frankish kingdom, founded by Pippin I of Austrasia, who had de facto power as "Mayor of the Palace" to the decaying Merovingian line. This power passed through his grandson Pippin II of Heristal, who under the Merovingian figurehead, took control of not just Austrasia but the whole Frankish kingdom. His son Charles Martel stopped Muslim expansion into Europe at the Battle of Poitiers, and extended Frankish control into Frisia and Saxony. Charles' son Pippin the Short officially ended the Merovingian dynasty and was anointed King of the Franks by the Pope.

Pippin was succeeded by his son Charles, who was crowned on Christmas Day, A.D. 800, not just King of the Franks, but Holy Roman Emperor. He was a great promotor of culture and learning, as well as a fearsome general. He consistently put down revolts of Saxons chafing under Frankish control. His dedication to the language of learning and of the Church was so great, and so widely shared, that even in his own day the Franks were in the bilingual stage of a wholesale switch from a Germanic language as their native tongue, to a form of late Latin that would become Old French. History would call Charles "the Great" ("Carolus Magnus", "Charlemagne"). The Scandinavian name Magnus comes from Charles' title of "Great".

The Carolingian dynasty was succeeded by the Capetians in France and by the Ottonians (Liudolfings) in Germany.


Liudolfing

Taking over the crown of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire after the Carolingians, the Liudolfings were conscious of their place as successors to the line of Charles the Great. Named after its earliest known member Liudolf, the dynasty is also called the Ottonian or Saxon dynasty, after the first Liudolfing to become emperor, Otto the Great, who was also Duke of Saxony.



BIBLIOGRAPHY

ONLINE
Wikipedia, s.v. "Germanic peoples", "Franks", "Frankish Kings", "Salian Franks", "Ripuarian Franks", "Merowig", "Merovingian", "Clovis I", "Pippin the Younger", "Carolingian", "Charlemagne", "Pope Leo III", "Holy Roman Empire", "Salian".

IN PRINT
Warren H. Carroll, "A History of Christendom, vol. 2: The Building of Christendom".
John C. Waterman, "A History of the German Language".
Orrin W. Robinson, "Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages"
Ekkehard König & Johan van der Auwera, eds., "The Germanic Languages"