Franks

Encyclopædia Orbis Latini

A West Germanic people, who invaded Roman Gaul from the Rhineland between the 3rd and 5th centuries  AD. One of the Frankish tribes, the Salian Franks, gained control of most of Gaul under their ruler Clovis (d. 511) and were converted to Christianity. The Frankish state was ruled by the Merovingian dynasty (named after Clovis' grandfather, Merovech) until its replacement by the Carolingians (named after Charlemagne) in 751. The Carolingian empire lasted until its division in 843. The western Frankish kingdom was the nucleus of France.