Merovingian Dynasty - History

History

Upon Clovis' death in 511, the Merovingian kingdom included all the Franks and all of Gaul but Burgundy. To the outside, the kingdom, even when divided under different kings, maintained unity and conquered Burgundy in 534. After the fall of the Ostrogoths, the Franks also conquered Provence. After this their borders with Italy (ruled by the Lombards since 568) and Visigothic Septimania remained fairly stable.

Internally, the kingdom was divided among Clovis' sons and later among his grandsons and frequently saw war between the different kings, who quickly allied among themselves and against one another. The death of one king created conflict between the surviving brothers and the deceased's sons, with differing outcomes. Later, conflicts were intensified by the personal feud around Brunhilda. However, yearly warfare often did not constitute general devastation but took on an almost ritual character, with established 'rules' and norms.

Eventually, Clotaire II in 613 reunited the entire Frankish realm under one ruler. Later divisions produced the stable units of Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitania.

The frequent wars had weakened royal power, while the aristocracy had made great gains and procured enormous concessions from the kings in return for their support. These concessions saw the very considerable power of the king parcelled out and retained by leading comites and duces (counts and dukes). Very little is in fact known about the course of the 7th century due to a scarcity of sources, but Merovingians remained in power until the 8th century.

Clotaire's son Dagobert I (died 639), who had sent troops to Spain and pagan Slavic territories in the east, is commonly seen as the last powerful Merovingian King. Later kings are known as rois fainéants ("do-nothing kings"), despite the fact that only the last two kings did nothing. The kings, even strong-willed men like Dagobert II and Chilperic II, were not the main agents of political conflicts, leaving this role to their mayors of the palace, who increasingly substituted their own interest for their king's. Many kings came to the throne at a young age and died in the prime of life, weakening royal power further.

The conflict between mayors was ended when the Austrasians under Pepin the Middle triumphed in 687 in the Battle of Tertry. After this, Pepin, though not a king, was the political ruler of the Frankish kingdom and left this position as a heritage to his sons. It was now the sons of the mayor that divided the realm among each other under the rule of a single king.

After Pepin's long rule, his son Charles Martel assumed power, fighting against nobles and his own stepmother. His reputation for ruthlessness further undermined the king's position. Under Charles Martel's leadership, the Franks defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours in 732, limiting the expansion of Islam onto the European continent. During the last years of his life he even ruled without a king, though he did not assume royal dignity. His sons Carloman and Pepin again appointed a Merovingian figure-head to stem rebellion on the kingdom's periphery. However, in 751, Pepin finally displaced the last Merovingian and, with the support of the nobility and the blessing of Pope Zachary, became one of the Frankish Kings.

The Merovingians derived their royal power from their long hair, which was thought to confer upon them martial prowess. Childeric III, the last Merovingian king, was notable for his thick golden-red hair, which was said to reach to his lower back. This was unusual; it was customary for men of the Early Middle Ages to wear their hair at or near the shoulders, which made Childeric's hair exceptionally long even by Merovingian standards. Childeric's mane, with its striking color and length, was a major asset to him (and possibly his greatest claim to hold the throne) at a time when the Merovingian dynasty was faltering. As such, the usurper Pepin made shearing Childeric his foremost strategic goal, correctly reasoning that the psychological impact of cutting Childeric's famed hair would be more critical in deposing the dynasty.

When Childeric was captured he was forcibly tonsured. It is not clear if Pepin himself wielded the scissors, but after a brief struggle the king's hair was severed. Pepin shortly thereafter ordered the shearing of Childeric's teenage son Theuderic, whose blonde hair was reported to reach nearly to his waist.

The impact of these twin haircuts was immediate; both Childeric and Theuderic, whose exceptionally long hair endowed them with royal mystique in the eyes of their countrymen, were rendered ineligible to hold the throne.

Childeric and Theuderic, bereft of their long hair (Pepin was said to have kept the two severed manes as trophies), were sent to live in monastic confinement. With Pepin, the Carolingians ruled the Franks as Kings.