1.
King of the Franks
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The Franks were originally led by dukes and reguli. The Salian Merovingians rose to dominance among the Franks and conquered most of Roman Gaul and they also conquered the Gaulish territory of the Visigothic Kingdom in 507. The sons of Clovis conquered the Burgundians and Alamanni and they acquired Provence and made the Bavarii and Thuringii their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by a new dynasty called the Carolingians in the 8th century, by the end of the 9th century, the Carolingians themselves were replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. The idea of a King of the Franks or Rex Francorum gradually disappeared over the 12th and 13th centuries. A timeline of Frankish rulers is difficult since the realm was, according to old Germanic practice, frequently divided among the sons of a leader upon his death and this list of early rulers is incomplete, as our sources leave open many gaps. He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons, Reims, Metz, upon his death, the kingdom was split among his four sons, Chlothar I eventually inherited all of the Frankish kingdoms after the deaths of his brothers or their successors. After his own death, the kingdom was again split among his four sons, Chlothar II defeated Brunhilda and her grandson. However, in 623, in order to appease particularistic forces and also to secure the borders and his son and successor, Dagobert I, emulated this move by appointing a sub-king for Aquitaine, with a seat at Toulouse, in 629 and Austrasia in 634. Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679, from then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unity again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the kings who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of the palace. The Carolingians were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria, between 715 and 716, the descendants of Pippin disputed the succession. The Carolingians displaced the Merovingians as the ruling dynasty, however, following the emperors death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin Is son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia, louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia, the lands east of Lothairs kingdom
2.
Charles Martel
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Charles Martel was a Frankish statesman and military leader who as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. After work to establish a unity in Gaul, Charles attention was called to foreign conflicts, apart from the military endeavours, Charles is considered to be a founding figure of the European Middle Ages. Moreover, Charles—a great patron of Saint Boniface—made the first attempt at reconciliation between the Franks and the Papacy. Pope Gregory III, whose realm was being menaced by the Lombards, wished Charles to become the defender of the Holy See and offered him the Roman consulship and he divided Francia between his sons Carloman and Pepin. The latter became the first of the Carolingians, Charles grandson, Charlemagne, extended the Frankish realms to include much of the West, and became the first Emperor in the West since the fall of Rome. Charles The Hammer Martel was the son of Pepin of Herstal and he had a brother named Childebrand, who later became the Frankish dux of Burgundy. In older historiography, it was common to describe Charles as illegitimate and this is still widely repeated in popular culture today. But, polygamy was a legitimate Frankish practice at the time and it is likely that the interpretation of illegitimacy is an idea derived of Pepins first wifes desire to see her progeny as heirs to Pepins power. After the reign of Dagobert I the Merovingians effectively ceded power to the Pippinids and they controlled the royal treasury, dispensed patronage, and granted land and privileges in the name of the figurehead king. Charles father, Pepin, was the member of the family to rule the Franks. Pepin was able to all the Frankish realms by conquering Neustria. He was the first to call himself Duke and Prince of the Franks, in December 714, Pepin of Herstal died. Prior to his death, he had, at his wife Plectrudes urging, designated Theudoald, his grandson by their late son Grimoald and this was immediately opposed by the nobles because Theudoald was a child of only eight years of age. To prevent Charles using this unrest to his own advantage, Plectrude had him imprisoned in Cologne and this prevented an uprising on his behalf in Austrasia, but not in Neustria. The Austrasians were not to be supporting a woman and a young child. Before the end of the year, Charles Martel had escaped from prison and that year, Dagobert III, a Merovingian, died and the Neustrians proclaimed Chilperic II, the cloistered son of Childeric II, as king. In 716, Chilperic and Ragenfrid together led an army into Austrasia, the Neustrians allied with another invading force under Radbod, King of the Frisians and met Charles in battle near Cologne, which was still held by Plectrude. Charles had little time to gather men, or prepare, the king and his mayor besieged Plectrude at Cologne, where she bought them off with a substantial portion of Pepins treasure
3.
Pepin the Short
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Pepin the Short was the King of the Franks from 751 until his death. He was the first of the Carolingians to become king, the younger son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude, Pepins upbringing was distinguished by the ecclesiastical education he had received from the monks of St. Denis. Succeeding his father as the Mayor of the Palace in 741, Pepin ruled in Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence, while his brother Carloman established himself in Austrasia, Alemannia and Thuringia. The brothers were active in suppressing revolts led by the Bavarians, Aquitanians, Saxons, in 743, they ended the Frankish interregnum by choosing Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian monarch, as figurehead king of the Franks. After Carloman, who was a pious man, retired to religious life in 747. He suppressed a revolt led by his half-brother Grifo, and succeeded in becoming the master of all Francia. Giving up pretense, Pepin then forced Childeric into a monastery and had himself proclaimed king of the Franks with support of Pope Zachary in 751. The decision was not supported by all members of the Carolingian family and Pepin had to put down a revolt led by Carlomans son, Drogo, as King, Pepin embarked on an ambitious program to expand his power. He reformed the legislation of the Franks and continued the reforms of Boniface. Pepin also intervened in favour of the Papacy of Stephen II against the Lombards in Italy and he was able to secure several cities, which he then gave to the Pope as part of the Donation of Pepin. This formed the basis for the Papal States in the Middle Ages. The Byzantines, keen to make good relations with the power of the Frankish empire. Pepin was, however, troubled by the revolts of the Saxons. He campaigned tirelessly in Germany, but the final subjugation of tribes was left to his successors. Pepin died in 768 and was succeeded by his sons Charlemagne, although unquestionably one of the most powerful and successful rulers of his time, Pepins reign is largely overshadowed by that of his more famous son. Pepins father Charles Martel died in 741, Grifo, Charless son by his second wife, Swanahild, demanded a share in the inheritance, but he was imprisoned in a monastery by his two half-brothers. In the Frankish realm the unity of the kingdom was connected with the person of the king. So Carloman, to secure this unity, raised the Merovingian Childeric to the throne, then in 747 Carloman either resolved to or was pressured into entering a monastery
4.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
5.
Merovingian dynasty
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The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a region known as Francia in Latin, beginning in the middle of the 5th century. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior and the southern part of Germania. The Merovingian dynasty was founded by Childeric I, the son of Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, after the death of Clovis there were frequent clashes between different branches of the family, but when threatened by its neighbours the Merovingians presented a strong united front. During the final century of Merovingian rule, the kings were increasingly pushed into a ceremonial role, the Merovingian rule ended in March 752 when Pope Zachary formally deposed Childeric III. Zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, confirmed and anointed Pepin the Short in 754, the Merovingian ruling family were sometimes referred to as the long-haired kings by contemporaries, as their long hair distinguished them among the Franks, who commonly cut their hair short. The Merovingian dynasty owes its name to the semi-legendary Merovech, leader of the Salian Franks, the victories of his son Childeric I against the Visigoths, Saxons, and Alemanni established the basis of Merovingian land. Childerics son Clovis I went on to unite most of Gaul north of the Loire under his control around 486, when he defeated Syagrius, the Roman ruler in those parts. He won the Battle of Tolbiac against the Alemanni in 496, at time, according to Gregory of Tours. He subsequently went on to defeat the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse in the Battle of Vouillé in 507. After Cloviss death, his kingdom was partitioned among his four sons, leadership among the early Merovingians was probably based on mythical descent and alleged divine patronage, expressed in terms of continued military success. In 1906 the British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie suggested that the Marvingi recorded by Ptolemy as living near the Rhine were the ancestors of the Merovingian dynasty, upon Cloviss death in 511, the Merovingian kingdom included all of Gaul except Burgundy and all of Germania magna except Saxony. To the outside, the kingdom, even when divided under different kings, maintained unity, after the fall of the Ostrogoths, the Franks also conquered Provence. After this their borders with Italy and Visigothic Septimania remained fairly stable, internally, the kingdom was divided among Cloviss 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 brothers and the deceaseds 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 these concessions saw the very considerable power of the king parcelled out and retained by leading comites and duces. Very little is in fact known about the course of the 7th century due to a scarcity of sources, clotaires son Dagobert I, who sent troops to Spain and pagan Slavic territories in the east, is commonly seen as the last powerful Merovingian King
6.
Chilperic II
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Chilperic II, born Daniel, the youngest son of Childeric II and his cousin Bilichild, was king of Neustria from 715 and sole king of the Franks from 718 until his death. As an infant, he was spirited to a monastery to protect his life from the feuding of his family. He took the name of Chilperic, though due to his monastic upbringing. First, it appears he was supposed to be but a tool in the hands of Ragenfrid, Chilperic, however, was his own man, both a fighter and a leader, always at the forefront in battle at the head of his troops. In 716, he and Ragenfrid together led an army into Austrasia, then being warred over by Plectrude, on behalf of her grandson Theudoald, and Charles Martel, the son of Pepin of Heristal. The Neustrians allied with another invading force under Radbod, King of the Frisians and met Charles in battle near Cologne, Chilperic was victorious and Charles fled to the mountains of the Eifel. The king and his mayor then turned to besiege their other rival in the city, Plectrude acknowledged Chilperic as king, gave over the Austrasian treasury, and abandoned her grandsons claim to the mayoralty. At this juncture, events took a turn against Chilperic, as he and Ragenfrid were leading their triumphant soldiers back to Neustria, Charles fell on them near Malmedy and in the Battle of Amblève, Charles routed them and they fled. Thereafter, Charles Martel remained virtually undefeated and Chilperics strong will was subdued in a series of campaigns waged in Neustrian territory, in 717, Charles returned to Neustria with an army and confirmed his supremacy with a victory at Vincy, near Cambrai. He chased the king and mayor to Paris before turning back to deal with Plectrude. On succeeding there, he proclaimed Chlothar IV king of Austrasia in opposition to Chilperic. In 718, Chilperic, in response, allied with Odo the Great, the duke of Aquitaine who had made himself independent during the contests in 715, the king fled with his ducal ally to the land south of the Loire and Ragenfrid fled to Angers. In 719, he was raised on the shield as king of all the Franks. He died in Attigny and was buried in Noyon, from Merovingians to Carolingians, Dynastic Change in Frankia
7.
Pope Zachary
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It can also refer to Pope Zacharias of Alexandria. Pope Zachary reigned from 3 December or 5 December 741 to his death in 752, a Greek from Santa Severina, Calabria, he was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy. Most probably he was a deacon of the Roman Church and as signed the decrees of the Roman council of 732 and was on intimate terms with Gregory III. Zachary was a wise and subtle diplomat and his predecessors alliance with the Lombard Duke of Spoleto put papal cities at risk when the Dukes of Spoleto and Benevento rebelled. Zachary turned to King Liutprand the Lombard directly, out of respect for Zachary the king restored to the church of Rome all the territory seized by the Lombards and sent back the captives without ransom. The contemporary history dwells chiefly on Zacharys great personal influence with Liutprand and his tact in dealing with these princes in a variety of emergencies contributed to save the Exarchate of Ravenna from the Lombard attacks. He encouraged the deposition of the last Merovingian king of the Franks, Childeric III, Zachary is stated to have remonstrated with the Byzantine emperor Constantine V Copronymus on the part he had taken in the iconoclastic controversy. In the effort to Christianize Rome, Zachary built the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva over an ancient temple to Minerva near the Pantheon. He also restored the Lateran Palace, moving the relic of the head of Saint George to the church of San Giorgio al Velabro, Pope Zachary died on 15 March 752 and was buried in St. Peters Basilica. His successor was Stephen, who died soon before his consecration and is not considered a valid pope and he was then succeeded by another Stephen who became Stephen II. The letters and decrees of Zachary are published in Jacques Paul Migne, augustinus Theiner, ed. Annales ecclesiastici denuo excusi et ad nostra usque tempora perducti ab Augustino Theiner. The Lives of the Eighth-century Popes, The Ancient Biographies of Nine Popes from AD715 to AD817, zaccaria, santo, Enciclopedia dei papi Treccani. Duchesne, Louis, Le Liber Pontificalis, texte, introduction et commentaire par L. Duchesne Tome I, hallenbeck, Jan T. Pavia and Rome, The Lombard Monarchy and the Papacy in the Eighth Century. The Republic of St. Peter, The Birth of the Papal State, List of Catholic saints List of popes Herbermann, Charles, ed. Pope St. Zachary. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
8.
Charlemagne
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Charlemagne or Charles the Great, numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774 and Emperor of the Romans from 800. He united much of Europe during the early Middle Ages and he was the first recognised emperor in western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state which Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire, Charlemagne was the oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. He became king in 768 following his fathers death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, carlomans sudden death in 771 in unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He continued his fathers policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and he campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianising them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peters Basilica. Charlemagne has been called the Father of Europe, as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire and his rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. All Holy Roman Emperors considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagnes empire, up to the last Emperor Francis II and these and other machinations led to the eventual split of Rome and Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054. Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for thirteen years and he was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. He married at least four times and had three sons, but only his son Louis the Pious survived to succeed him. By the 6th century, the western Germanic Franks had been Christianised, Francia, ruled by the Merovingians, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that succeeded the Western Roman Empire. Following the Battle of Tertry the Merovingians declined into powerlessness, for which they have dubbed the rois fainéants. Almost all government powers were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, in 687, Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry. He became the governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pepin was the grandson of two important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen, Pepin of Herstal was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel. After 737, Charles governed the Franks in lieu of a king, Charles was succeeded in 741 by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. In 743, the brothers placed Childeric III on the throne to curb separatism in the periphery and he was the last Merovingian king. Carloman resigned office in 746, preferring to enter the church as a monk, Pepin brought the question of the kingship before Pope Zachary, asking whether it was logical for a king to have no royal power
9.
Carolingian dynasty
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The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name Carolingian derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel, the Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began a period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today, the greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire, the Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons kings in the various regions of the Empire. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888 and they ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Eudes, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122, the Carolingian dynasty has five distinct branches, The Lombard branch, or Vermandois branch, or Herbertians, descended from Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne. Though he did not outlive his father, his son Bernard was allowed to retain Italy, Bernard rebelled against his uncle Louis the Pious, and lost both his kingdom and his life. Deprived of the title, the members of this branch settled in France. The counts of Vermandois perpetuated the Carolingian line until the 12th century, the Counts of Chiny and the lords of Mellier, Neufchâteau and Falkenstein are branches of the Herbertians. With the descendants of the counts of Chiny, there would have been Herbertian Carolingians to the early 14th century, the Lotharingian branch, descended from Emperor Lothair, eldest son of Louis the Pious. At his death Middle Francia was divided equally between his three surviving sons, into Italy, Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy, the sons of Emperor Lothair did not have sons of their own, so Middle Francia was divided between the western and eastern branches of the family in 875. The Aquitainian branch, descended from Pepin of Aquitaine, son of Louis the Pious, since he did not outlive his father, his sons were deprived of Aquitaine in favor of his younger brother Charles the Bald. The German branch, descended from Louis the German, King of East Francia, since he had three sons, his lands were divided into Duchy of Bavaria, Duchy of Saxony and Duchy of Swabia. His youngest son Charles the Fat briefly reunited both East and West Francia — the entirety of the Carolingian empire — but it again after his death. With the failure of the lines of the German branch, Arnulf of Carinthia
10.
Dagobert I
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Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia, king of all the Franks, and king of Neustria and Burgundy. He was the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield any real royal power, Dagobert was the first of the Frankish kings to be buried in the royal tombs at Saint Denis Basilica. Dagobert was the eldest son of Chlothar II and Haldetrude, Chlothar had reigned alone over all the Franks since 613. In 623, Chlothar was forced to make Dagobert king of Austrasia by the nobility of that region, the rule of a Frank from the Austrasian heartland tied Alsace more closely to the Austrasian court. Dagobert created a new duchy in southwest Austrasia to guard the region from Burgundian or Alemannic encroachments, the duchy comprised the Vosges, the Burgundian Gate, and the Transjura. Dagobert made his courtier Gundoin the first duke of this new polity that was to last until the end of the Merovingian dynasty, upon the death of his father in 629, Dagobert inherited the Neustrian and Burgundian kingdoms. His half-brother Charibert, son of Sichilde, claimed Neustria but Dagobert opposed him, brodulf, brother of Sichilde, petitioned Dagobert on behalf of his young nephew, but Dagobert assassinated him and gave the Aquitaine to his own younger sibling. Charibert and his son Chilperic were assassinated in 632, Dagobert had Burgundy and Aquitaine firmly under his rule, becoming the most powerful Merovingian king in many years and the most respected ruler in the West. In 631, Dagobert led three armies against Samo, the ruler of the Slavs, but his Austrasian forces were defeated at Wogastisburg, also in 632, the nobles of Austrasia revolted under the mayor of the palace, Pepin of Landen. As king, Dagobert made Paris his capital, during his reign, he built the Altes Schloss in Meersburg, which today is the oldest inhabited castle in that country. Devoutly religious, Dagobert was also responsible for the construction of the Saint Denis Basilica and he also appointed St. Arbogast bishop of Strasbourg. Dagobert died in the abbey of Saint-Denis and was the first Frankish king to be buried in the Saint Denis Basilica, the author of the Chronicle of Fredegar criticises the king for his loose morals in having three queens almost simultaneously, as well as several concubines. The chronicle names the queens, Nanthild and the otherwise obscure Wulfegundis and Berchildis, in 625/6 Dagobert married Gormatrude, a sister of his fathers wife Sichilde, but the marriage was childless. After divorcing Gormatrude in 629/30 he made Nanthild, a Saxon servant from his personal entourage and she gave birth to, Clovis II later king of Neustria and Burgundy. Shortly after his marriage to Nanthild, he took a girl called Ragnetrude to his bed and it has been speculated that Regintrud, abbess of Nonnberg Abbey, was also a child of Dagobert, although this theory does not fit Regintruds supposed date of birth between 660 and 665. She married into the Bavarian Agilolfing family
11.
Francia
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The kingdom was founded by Clovis I, crowned first King of the Franks in 496. The tradition of dividing patrimonies among brothers meant that the Frankish realm was ruled, nominally, even so, sometimes the term was used as well to encompass Neustria north of the Loire and west of the Seine. Most Frankish Kings were buried in the Basilica of Saint Denis, modern France is still named Francia in Spanish and Italian. The Franks emerged in the 3rd century as a confederation of smaller Germanic tribes, such as the Sicambri, Bructeri, Ampsivarii, Chamavi and Chattuarii, in the area north and east of the Rhine. Some of these peoples, such as the Sicambri and Salians, already had lands in the Roman Empire, in 357 the Salian king entered the Roman Empire and made a permanent foothold there by a treaty granted by Julian the Apostate, who forced back the Chamavi to Hamaland. As Frankish territory expanded, the meaning of Francia expanded with it, after the fall of Arbogastes, his son Arigius succeeded in establishing a hereditary countship at Trier and after the fall of the usurper Constantine III some Franks supported the usurper Jovinus. Jovinus was dead by 413, but the Romans found it difficult to manage the Franks within their borders. The Frankish king Theudemer was executed by the sword, in c, around 428 the Salian king Chlodio, whose kingdom included Toxandria and the civitatus Tungrorum, launched an attack on Roman territory and extended his realm as far as Camaracum and the Somme. The kingdom of Chlodio changed the borders and the meaning of the word Francia permanently, Francia was no longer barbaricum trans Rhenum, but a landed political power on both sides of the river, deeply involved in Roman politics. Chlodios family, the Merovingians, extended Francia even further south, the core territory of the Frankish kingdom later came to be known as Austrasia. Chlodios successors are obscure figures, but what can be certain is that Childeric I, possibly his grandson, Clovis converted to Christianity and put himself on good terms with the powerful Church and with his Gallo-Roman subjects. In a thirty-year reign Clovis defeated the Roman general Syagrius and conquered the Roman exclave of Soissons, defeated the Alemanni, Clovis defeated the Visigoths and conquered their entire kingdom with its capital at Toulouse, and conquered the Bretons and made them vassals of Francia. He conquered most or all of the neighbouring Frankish tribes along the Rhine, by the end of his life, Clovis ruled all of Gaul save the Gothic province of Septimania and the Burgundian kingdom in the southeast. The Merovingians were a hereditary monarchy, the Frankish kings adhered to the practice of partible inheritance, dividing their lands among their sons. Cloviss sons made their capitals near the Frankish heartland in northeastern Gaul, Theuderic I made his capital at Reims, Chlodomer at Orléans, Childebert I at Paris, and Chlothar I at Soissons. During their reigns, the Thuringii, Burgundes, and Saxons and Frisians were incorporated into the Frankish kingdom, the fraternal kings showed only intermittent signs of friendship and were often in rivalry. Theuderic died in 534, but his adult son Theudebert I was capable of defending his inheritance, which formed the largest of the Frankish subkingdoms and the kernel of the later kingdom of Austrasia. Theudebert interfered in the Gothic War on the side of the Gepids and Lombards against the Ostrogoths, receiving the provinces of Rhaetia, Noricum, and part of Venetia
12.
Neustria
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Neustria or Neustrasia was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks that was created in 511 upon the division of the Merovingian kingdom of Clovis I to his four sons following his death. Neustria was made up of the regions between Aquitaine and the English Channel, approximately the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities. It later referred to the region between the Seine and the Loire rivers known as the regnum Neustriae, a constituent subkingdom of the Carolingian Empire, Neustria was also employed as a term for northwestern Italy during the period of Lombard domination. It was contrasted with the northeast, which was called Austrasia, for this meaning of the term, see Neustria. Despite the wars, Neustria and Austrasia re-united briefly on several occasions, the struggle for power continued with Queen Fredegund of Neustria unleashing a bitter war. Clotaire had Brunhilda put to the rack and stretched for three days, then chained between four horses and eventually ripped limb from limb, Clotaire now ruled a united realm, but only for a short time as he made his son Dagobert I king of Austrasia. Dagoberts accession in Neustria resulted in another temporary unification, when in Austrasia, the Arnulfing mayor Grimoald the Elder attempted a coup against his liege, Clovis II had him removed and again reunited the kingdom from Neustria, but again temporarily. During or soon after the reign of Cloviss son Chlothar III, in 678, Neustria, under Mayor Ebroin, subdued the Austrasians for the last time. In 687, Pippin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of the King of Austrasia, defeated the Neustrians at Tertry, the writers who lived in Austrasia proved more loyal to their mayor. Pippins descendants, the Carolingians, continued to rule the two realms as mayors, with Pope Stephen IIs blessing, after 751 the Carolingian Pippin the Short, formally deposed the Merovingians and took control of the empire, he and his descendants ruling as kings. Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy then became united under one authority, in 748, the brothers Pepin the Short and Carloman gave their younger brother Grifo twelve counties in Neustria centred on that of Le Mans. This polity was termed the ducatus Cenomannicus, or Duchy of Maine, the term Neustria took on the meaning of land between the Seine and Loire when it was given as a regnum by Charlemagne to his second son, Charles the Younger, in 790. At this time, the city of the kingdom appears to be Le Mans. Under the Carolingian dynasty, the duty of the Neustrian king was to defend the sovereignty of the Franks over the Bretons. Neustria, along with Aquitaine, formed the part of Charles West Frankish kingdom carved out of the Empire by the Treaty of Verdun. Charles continued the tradition of appointing an elder son to reign in Neustria with his own court at Le Mans when he made Louis the Stammerer king in 856. Louis married the daughter of the King of Brittany, Erispoe, Louis was the last Frankish monarch to be appointed to Neustria by his father and the practice of creating subkingdoms for sons waned among the later Carolings. In 861, the Carolingian king Charles the Bald created the Marches of Neustria that were ruled by officials appointed by the crown, known as wardens, prefects or margraves
13.
Austrasia
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Austrasia was a territory which formed the northeastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. In AD567, it became a kingdom within the Frankish kingdom and was ruled by Sigebert I. In the 7th and 8th century it was the powerbase from which the Carolingians, originally mayors of the palace of Austrasia, Austrasia gradually lost its territorial character after the disintegration of the Carolingian Empire in the second half of the 9th century. The name Austrasia is not well attested in the Merovingian period and it is a latinisation of an Old Frankish name recorded first by Gregory of Tours in c. AD580 and then by Aimoin of Fleury in c, Austrasia was centered on the Middle Rhine, including the basins of the Moselle and Main, and the Meuse rivers. It bordered on Frisia and Saxony to the north, Thuringia to the east, Swabia and Burgundy to the south and to Neustria, metz served as the Austrasian capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled from Reims, Trier, and Cologne. Other important cities included Verdun, Worms and Speyer, fulda monastery was founded in eastern Austrasia in the final decade of the Merovingian period. In the High Middle Ages, its territory divided among the duchies of Lotharingia and Franconia in Germany, with some western portions including Reims. After the death of the Frankish king Clovis I in 511, his four sons partitioned his kingdom amongst themselves, with Theuderic I receiving the lands that were to become Austrasia. Descended from Theuderic, a line of kings ruled Austrasia until 555, when it was united with the other Frankish kingdoms of Chlothar I and these three kingdoms defined the political division of Francia until the rise of the Carolingians and even thereafter. From 567 to the death of Sigbert II in 613, Neustria and Austrasia fought each other almost constantly and these struggles reached their climax in the wars between Brunhilda and Fredegund, queens respectively of Austrasia and Neustria. Finally, in 613, a rebellion by the nobility against Brunhilda saw her betrayed and handed over to her nephew and foe in Neustria, Chlothar then took control of the other two kingdoms and set up a united Frankish kingdom with its capital in Paris. During this period the first majores domus or mayors of the palace appeared and these officials acted as mediators between king and people in each realm. The first Austrasian mayors came from the Pippinid family, which experienced a slow, in 623, the Austrasians asked Chlothar II for a king of their own and he appointed his son Dagobert I to rule over them with Pepin of Landen as regent. Dagoberts government in Austrasia was widely admired, in 629, he inherited Neustria and Burgundy. Austrasia was again neglected until, in 633, the demanded the kings son as their own king again. Dagobert complied and sent his elder son Sigebert III to Austrasia, historians often categorise Sigebert as the first roi fainéant or do-nothing king of the Merovingian dynasty. His court was dominated by the mayors, in 657, the mayor Grimoald the Elder succeeded in putting his son Childebert the Adopted on the throne, where he remained until 662
14.
Carloman (mayor of the palace)
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Carloman was the eldest son of Charles Martel, majordomo or mayor of the palace and duke of the Franks, and his wife Chrotrud of Treves. On Charless death, Carloman and his brother Pepin the Short succeeded to their fathers legal positions, Carloman in Austrasia, and Pepin in Neustria. He was a member of the later called the Carolingians. After the death of his father, power was not initially divided to include Grifo, another of Charless sons and this was per Charles wishes, though Grifo demanded a portion of the realm from his brothers, who refused him. Unlike most medieval instances of fraternal power sharing, Carloman and Pepin for seven years seemed at least willing to work together, certainly, Carloman joined Pepin against Hunald of Aquitaines rising in 742 and again in 745. Carloman was instrumental in convening the Concilium Germanicum in 742, the first major synod of the Catholic Church to be held in the regions of the Frankish kingdom. His father had frequently confiscated church property to reward his followers, by 742 the Carolingians were wealthy enough to pay their military retainers and support the Church. For Carloman, a religious man, it was a duty of love. Both saw the necessity of strengthening the ties between their house and the Church, Carloman donated the land for one of Bonifaces most important foundations, the monastery of Fulda. Despite his piety, Carloman could be ruthless towards real or perceived opponents and these actions strengthened Carlomans position, and that of the family as a whole, especially in terms of their rivalries with other leading barbarian families such as the Bavarian Agilolfings. On 15 August 747, Carloman renounced his position as majordomo and withdrew to a monastic life, Carloman founded a monastery on Monte Soratte and then went to Monte Cassino. All sources from the period indicate that he believed his calling was the Church and he withdrew to Monte Cassino and spent most of the remainder of his life there, presumably in meditation and prayer. His son, Drogo, demanded from Pepin the Short his fathers share of the family patrimony, seven years after Carlomans retirement and on the eve of his death, he once more stepped briefly on the public stage. In 754, Pope Stephen II had begged Pepin, now king, to come to his aid against the king of the Lombards, Carloman left Monte Cassino to visit his brother to ask him not to march on Italy. Pippin was unmoved, and imprisoned Carloman in Vienne, where he died on 17 August and he was buried in Monte Cassino. The Long Shadow of the Merovingians in, Charlemagne, Empire and Society, ed. Joanna Story
15.
Bullock cart
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A bullock cart or ox cart is a two-wheeled or four-wheeled vehicle pulled by oxen. It is a means of transportation used since ancient times in many parts of the world and they are still used today where modern vehicles are too expensive or the infrastructure does not favor them. Used especially for carrying goods, the cart is pulled by one or several oxen. The cart is attached to a team by a special chain attached to yokes. The driver and any other passengers sit on the front of the cart, traditionally the cargo was usually agrarian goods and lumber. The invention of the used in India transportation most likely took place in Europe. Evidence of wheeled vehicles appears from the mid 4th millennium BC near-simultaneously in the Northern Caucasus, the earliest vehicles may have been ox carts. In Australia, bullock carts were referred to as bullock drays and were used to carry large loads. Drays were pulled by teams which could consist of 20 or more animals. Bullock teams were used extensively to produce from rural areas to major towns. Because of Australias size, these journeys often covered large distances and could take many days, Costa Rican parades and traditional celebrations are not complete without a traditional ox cart parade. In 1988, the ox cart was declared as National Symbol of Work by the Costa Rican government. In 2005, the Oxherding and Oxcart Traditions in Costa Rica were included in UNESCOs Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In Indonesia, bullock carts are used in the rural parts of the country. But it is common in Indonesia that there are horsecars. In Indonesia, ox cart driver called a bajingan, bullock carts were widely used in Malaysia before the introduction of automobiles, and many are still used today. These included passenger vehicles, now used especially for tourists, passenger carts are usually equipped with awnings for protection against sun and rain, and are often gaily decorated
16.
Tonsure
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Tonsure /ˈtɒnʃər/ is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp, as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word tōnsūra and referred to a practice in medieval Catholicism. Current usage more generally refers to cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of any religion as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem. Tonsure also refers to the practice of shaving all or part of the scalp to show support or sympathy. Tonsure is still a practice in Catholicism by specific religious orders. It is also used in the Eastern Orthodox Church for newly baptized members and is frequently used for Buddhist novices. It exists as a practice in Islam after completion of the hajj and is also practiced by a number of Hindu religious orders. Tonsure is usually the part of three rites of passages in the life of the individual in Hinduism, the first is called Chudakarana, also known as choulam, caula, chudakarma, or mundana marks the childs first haircut, typically the shaving of the head. The mother dresses up, sometimes in her wedding sari, and with the father present, sometimes, a tuft of hair is left to cover the soft spot near the top of babys head. Both boys and girls go through this ceremony, sometimes near a temple or a river. The significance of Chudakarana rite of passage is the babys cyclical step to hygiene, the ritual is typically done about the first birthday, but some texts recommend that it be completed before the third or the seventh year. Sometimes, this ritual is combined with the rite of passage of Upanayana, the second rite of passage in Hinduism that sometimes involves tonsure is at the Upanayana, the sanskara marking a childs entry into school. Another rite of passage where tonsure is practiced by Hindus is after the death and completing the last rites of a family member. This ritual is found in India among male mourners, who shave their heads as a sign of bereavement. According to Jamanadas, tonsure was originally a Buddhist custom and was adopted by Hinduism, however, Pandey and others trace the practice to Sanskrit texts dated to have been composed before the birth of Buddha, which mention tonsure as a rite of passage. In Buddhism, tonsure is a part of the rite of pabbajja and this involves shaving head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven, the purification process of the metzora involved the ritual shaving on the metzorahs entire body except for the afflicted locations. Tonsure was not widely known in antiquity, tradition states that it originated with the disciples of Jesus, who observed the Torah command not to shave the hair around the sides of ones head
17.
Abbey of Saint Bertin
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The Abbey of St. Bertin was a Benedictine monastic abbey in Saint-Omer, France, which now in ruins that are open to the public. It was initially dedicated to St. Peter but was rededicated to its second abbot, the abbey is known for its Latin cartulary whose first part is attributed to St Folquin. The abbey was founded on the banks of the Aa in the 7th century by Bishop Audomar of Thérouanne and he sent the monks Bertin, Momelin, and Ebertram from Sithiu to proselytize among the pagans in the region. The abbey soon became one of the most influential monasteries in northern Europe and ranked in importance with Elnon and its library included the codex of the Leiden Aratea, from which two copies were made. The Annals of St Bertin are an important source of the history of 9th-century France, already in the 9th century, the abbey had a priory in Poperinge. A Romanesque church was constructed in the mid-11th century and it was 25 m high with a 48-meter tower. It included a large 14th-century semi-circular sanctuary with five side-chapels and it served as a model for the church, whose construction was not completed until the beginning of the 16th century. Bishop Herman of Ramsbury was a monk at the abbey from 1055 to 1058, having abandoned his duties but not his title, from 1106, the abbey had the right of appointing the priests at Lissewege and Ruiselede. William Clito was buried here in 1128, the abbey had a refuge-house in the now-demolished Sint-Lodewijkscollege in Bruges. The abbey ceased to flourish after the 13th century, although it survived until its closure during the French Revolution, in 1830, the commune ordered the demolition of the church, though they spared the tower. The buttress they erected to support it is visible, although the tower itself collapsed in 1947 owing to damage sustained in the shelling of the town during World War II. St-Omers town hall was constructed with stone removed from the site in 1834
18.
Saint-Omer
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Saint-Omer is a commune in France. It is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department 68 km west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, the town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area. The canalised portion of the river Aa begins at Saint-Omer, reaching the North Sea at Gravelines in northern France, below its walls, the Aa connects with the Neufossé Canal, which ends at the River Leie. Saint-Omer first appeared in the writings during the 7th century under the name of Sithiu, Omer, bishop of Thérouanne, in the 7th century established the Abbey of Saint Bertin, from which that of Notre-Dame was an offshoot. In the 9th century, the village grew up round the monasteries took the name of St Omer. The Normans laid the place waste about 860 and 880, ten years later the town and monastery had built fortified walls and were safe from their attack. Situated on the borders of territories frequently disputed by French, Flemish, English and Spaniards, St Omer for most of its history continued to be subject to sieges and military invasions. In 932 Arnulf of Flanders conquered the County of Artois and Saint-Omer became part of the County of Flanders for the three centuries. Along with its industry, St-Omer flourished in the 12th and 13th century. In 1127 the town received a charter from the count, William Clito. Later on the city lost its position in the textile industry to Brugge. After the mysterious death of Count Baldwin I, the County of Flanders was weakened, in 1214 Philip II of France captured Baldwins daughter Joan and her husband Ferdinand, Count of Flanders and forced them to sign the Treaty of Pont-à-Vendin, in which Artois was yielded to France. Ferdinand did not take this lying down, and allied with Emperor Otto IV and John, King of England, he battled Philip II at Bouvines, despite the political separation for the next 170 years, the city remained part of the economic network of Flanders. In 1340 a large battle was fought in the suburbs between an Anglo-Flemish army and a French one under Eudes IV, Duke of Burgundy, in which the Anglo-Flemish force was forced to withdraw. From 1384, St-Omer was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 of the Habsburg Netherlands, the French made futile attempts against the town between 1551 and 1596. During the Thirty Years War, the French attacked in 1638, finally in 1677, after a seventeen day siege, Louis XIV forced the town to capitulate. The peace of Nijmegen signed in the fall of 1678 permanently confirmed the conquest, in 1711, St-Omer was besieged by the Duke of Marlborough. The College of Saint Omer was established in 1593 by Fr Robert Persons SJ, after the Protestant Reformation, England had established penal laws against Catholic education in the country
19.
Saint-Wandrille
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Saint-Wandrille-Rançon is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north west France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Rives-en-Seine, a village of farming and forestry situated by the banks of the Seine, some 18 miles north-west of Rouen at the junction of the D22, D33 and the D982 roads. Until 1960, the Pont de Brotonne was the first bridging point of the Seine, today it carries the D490 over the river. It is celebrated for the ruins of its Benedictine abbey, the Abbey of Saint Wandrille, the church is joined to cloisters from which an interesting door of the Renaissance period opens into the refectory. Beside this entrance is a richly ornamented lavabo of the Renaissance period, the refectory is a room over 100 ft. long and lit by graceful windows of the same period. The abbey was founded in the 7th century by Saint Wandrille and it soon became renowned for learning and piety. In the 13th century it was burnt down, and rebuilding was not completed till the beginning of the 16th century, later in the same century it was practically destroyed by the Huguenots, and again the restoration was not finished for more than a hundred years. The demolition of the church began at the time of the Revolution, communes of the Seine-Maritime department INSEE Website about the village of Saint-Wandrille-Rançon Website of the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille Saint-Wandrille-Rançon on the Quid website
20.
Pope Stephen II
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In sources prior to the 1960s, this Pope is sometimes called Stephen III and Pope-elect Stephen is sometimes called Stephen II. See Pope-elect Stephen for a detailed explanation, Pope Stephen II was Pope from 26 March 752 to his death in 757. He succeeded Pope Zachary following the death of Pope-elect Stephen, Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy. The Lombards to the north of Rome had captured Ravenna, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire Exarchate of Ravenna, in 751, relations were very strained in the mid-8th century between the papacy and the Eastern Roman emperors over the support of the Isaurian Dynasty for iconoclasm. Likewise, maintaining control over Rome became untenable as the Eastern Roman Empire itself was beset by the Abbasid Caliphate to the south. As a result, Rome was unable to secure support from Constantinople to push back Lombard forces. Stephen turned to Pepin the Younger, the recently crowned King of the Franks, on 6 January 754, Stephen re-consecrated Pepin as king. In return, Pepin assumed the role of ordained protector of the Church and set his sights on the Lombards, as well as addressing the threat of Islamic Al-Andalus. Pepin invaded Italy twice to settle the Lombard problem and delivered the territory between Rome and Ravenna to the papacy, but left the Lombard kings in possession of their kingdom. Prior to Stephens alliance with Pepin, Rome had constituted the city of the Duchy of Rome. At Quiercy the Frankish nobles finally gave their consent to a campaign in Lombardy, known as the Donation of Pepin, no actual document has been preserved, but later 8th century sources quote from it. Stephen now anointed Pepin at Saint-Denis in a ceremony that was evoked in the coronation rites of French kings until the end of the ancien regime in 1789. The gift included Lombard conquests in the Romagna and in the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento, for the first time, the Donation made the pope a temporal ruler over a strip of territory that extended diagonally across Italy from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic. Pepin confirmed his Donation in Rome in 756, and in 774 Charlemagne confirmed the donation of his father, in, Massimo Bray, Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Vol.1, Rome,2000, OCLC313504669, pp. 660–665. Rudolf Schieffer, Stephan II in, Lexicon of the Middle Ages, Vol.8, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-89659-908-9, Col. 116–117. Catholic Encyclopedia, Papal States, section 3, Collapse of the Byzantine Power in Central Italy Medieval Sourcebook, in, Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, online at fiu. edu, Website of Florida International University, retrieved 28 December 2011
21.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
22.
Wikisource
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Wikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project, the projects aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, the project officially began in November 24,2003 under the name Project Sourceberg. The name Wikisource was adopted later that year and it received its own domain name seven months later, the project has come under criticism for lack of reliability but it is also cited by organisations such as the National Archives and Records Administration. The project holds works that are either in the domain or freely licensed, professionally published works or historical source documents, not vanity products. Verification was initially made offline, or by trusting the reliability of digital libraries. Now works are supported by online scans via the ProofreadPage extension, some individual Wikisources, each representing a specific language, now only allow works backed up with scans. While the bulk of its collection are texts, Wikisource as a whole hosts other media, some Wikisources allow user-generated annotations, subject to the specific policies of the Wikisource in question. Wikisources early history included several changes of name and location, the original concept for Wikisource was as storage for useful or important historical texts. These texts were intended to support Wikipedia articles, by providing evidence and original source texts. The collection was focused on important historical and cultural material. The project was originally called Project Sourceberg during its planning stages, in 2001, there was a dispute on Wikipedia regarding the addition of primary source material, leading to edit wars over their inclusion or deletion. Project Sourceberg was suggested as a solution to this, perhaps Project Sourceberg can mainly work as an interface for easily linking from Wikipedia to a Project Gutenberg file, and as an interface for people to easily submit new work to PG. Wed want to complement Project Gutenberg--how, exactly, and Jimmy Wales adding like Larry, Im interested that we think it over to see what we can add to Project Gutenberg. It seems unlikely that primary sources should in general be editable by anyone -- I mean, Shakespeare is Shakespeare, unlike our commentary on his work, the project began its activity at ps. wikipedia. org. The contributors understood the PS subdomain to mean either primary sources or Project Sourceberg, however, this resulted in Project Sourceberg occupying the subdomain of the Pashto Wikipedia. A vote on the name changed it to Wikisource on December 6,2003. Despite the change in name, the project did not move to its permanent URL until July 23,2004, since Wikisource was initially called Project Sourceberg, its first logo was a picture of an iceberg
23.
Jean-Jacques Chifflet
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Jean-Jacques Chifflet was a physician, antiquary and archaeologist from the County of Burgundy. He visited Paris and Montpellier, and travelled in Italy and Germany, by appointment of Philip IV of Spain he was physician to the Brussels court. In 1655, Chifflet published a report on his findings entitled Anastasis Childerici I. Francorvm Regis, sive Thesavrvs Sepvlchralis Tornaci Neruiorum and this report is today considered to be the worlds first scientific archaeological publication. He began the publication of the texts of treaties, chifflets son Jules was a jurist and historian who wrote Breviarium ordinis velleris aurei. Another son, Jean, was a priest and historian who wrote about Pope Joan, Jean-Jacques was himself the nephew of Claude Chifflet. Francorvm Regis, sive Thesavrvs Sepvlchralis Tornaci Neruiorum, scanned from a volume in the collection of Biblioteca Complutense Ildefonsina. Political writings upholding the rights of the House of Austria and Burgundy against France Bouillet, Marie-Nicolas, Chassang, dictionnaire universel dhistoire et de géographie. Works by or about Jean-Jacques Chifflet at Internet Archive Media related to Jean-Jacques Chifflet at Wikimedia Commons
24.
Antwerp
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Antwerp is a city in Belgium, the capital of Antwerp province in the region of Flanders. With a population of 510,610, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium and its metropolitan area houses around 1,200,000 people, which is second behind Brussels. Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary, the Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe and within the top 20 globally. Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, the inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren, after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur, lord, referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century. The city hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics, according to folklore, notably celebrated by a statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend about a giant called Antigoon who lived near the Scheldt river. He exacted a toll from passing boatmen, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands, eventually the giant was killed by a young hero named Silvius Brabo, who cut off the giants own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen, akin to Old English hand and wearpan, a longstanding theory is that the name originated in the Gallo-Roman period and comes from the Latin antverpia. Antverpia would come from Ante Verpia, indicating land that forms by deposition in the curve of a river. Note that the river Scheldt, before a period between 600 and 750, followed a different track. This must have coincided roughly with the current ringway south of the city, however, many historians think it unlikely that there was a large settlement which would be named Antverpia, but more something like an outpost with a river crossing. However, John Lothrop Motley argues, and so do a lot of Dutch etymologists and historians, aan t werp is also possible. This warp is a hill or a river deposit, high enough to remain dry at high tide. Another word for werp is pol hence polders, historical Antwerp allegedly had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt, 1952–1961, produced pottery shards, the earliest mention of Antwerp dates from the 4th century. In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic Franks, the name was reputed to have been derived from anda and werpum. The Merovingian Antwerp was evangelized by Saint Amand in the 7th century, at the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire. Antwerp became a margraviate in 980, by the German emperor Otto I, in the 11th century Godfrey of Bouillon was for some years known as the marquis of Antwerp. In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten established a community of his Premonstratensian canons at St. Michaels Abbey at Caloes
25.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
26.
Ernest Lavisse
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Ernest Lavisse was a French historian. He was born at Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache, Aisne and he was an eloquent professor and very fond of young people, and played an important part in the revival of higher studies in France after 1871. His works of learning are lucid and vivid, avant son avènement when studying the modern German empire and the grounds for its strength. With his friend Alfred Rambaud he conceived the plan of LHistoire générale du IVe siècle à nos jours, to which, however and this section occupies the whole of volume VII. Lavisse was admitted to the Académie française on the death of Admiral Jurien de la Gravière in 1892 and he is, however, chiefly a master of pedagogy. When the école normale was joined to the university of Paris, Lavisse was appointed director of the new organization, after World War One, he edited the Histoire contemporaine de la France. Writing History in the Third Republic excerpt and text search Works by Ernest Lavisse at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Ernest Lavisse at Internet Archive
27.
Chronicle of Fredegar
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The Chronicle of Fredegar is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century, the chronicle begins with the creation of the world and ends in AD642. There are also a few references to events up to 658, none of the surviving manuscripts specify the name of the author. The name Fredegar was first used for the chronicle in 1579 by Claude Fauchet in his Recueil des antiquitez gauloises et françoises. The question of who wrote this work has been debated, although the historian J. M. Wallace-Hadrill admits that Fredegar is a genuine, if unusual. The Vulgar Latin of this work confirms that the Chronicle was written in Gaul, beyond this, little is certain about the origin of this work. As a result, there are theories about the authorship, The original view. Ferdinand Lot critiqued Kruschs theory of authorship and his protests were supported in 1928 by Marcel Bardot. In 1934, Siegmund Hellmann proposed a modification of Kruschs theory, in 1963, Walter Goffart renewed the notion of a single author, and this view is now generally accepted. Fredegar is usually assumed to have been a Burgundian from the region of Avenches because of his knowledge of the alternate name Wifflisburg for this locality and this assumption is supported by the fact that he had access to the annals of many Burgundian churches. He also had access to documents and could apparently interview Lombard, Visigoth. His awareness of events in the Byzantine world is usually explained by the proximity of Burgundy to Byzantine Italy. The chronicle exists in over thirty manuscripts, which both Krusch and the English medievalist Roger Collins group into five classes, the original chronicle is lost, but it exists in an uncial copy made in 715 by a Burgundian monk named Lucerius. A diplomatic edition was prepared by the French historian Gabriel Monod, the Codex Claromontanus was also the basis of the critical edition by Krusch published in 1888 and of the partial English translation by Wallace-Hadrill published in 1960. Most of the surviving manuscripts were copied in Austrasia and date from the early ninth century or later. The first printed version, the princeps, was published in Basel by Flacius Illyricus in 1568. He used MS Heidelberg University Palat, the next published edition was Antiquae Lectiones by Canisius at Ingolstadt in 1602. In the critical edition by Krusch the chronicle is divided into four sections or books, in fact, Fredegar quotes from sources that he does not acknowledge and drastically condenses some of those he does
28.
Connecticut
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Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State Area and it is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport, the state is named for the Connecticut River, a major U. S. river that approximately bisects the state. The word Connecticut is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for long tidal river, Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is known as the Constitution State, the Nutmeg State, the Provisions State, and it was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Connecticuts center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, Connecticuts first European settlers were Dutch. They established a small, short-lived settlement in present-day Hartford at the confluence of the Park, initially, half of Connecticut was a part of the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware rivers. The first major settlements were established in the 1630s by England, the Connecticut and New Haven Colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in North America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. This colony was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution, the Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along the Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition which continues today. The state also has a history of hosting the financial services industry, including insurance companies in Hartford. As of the 2010 Census, Connecticut features the highest per-capita income, Human Development Index, and median household income in the United States. Landmarks and Cities of Connecticut Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on the west by New York, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state capital and third largest city is Hartford, and other cities and towns include Bridgeport, New Haven, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, New Britain, Greenwich. Connecticut is slightly larger than the country of Montenegro, there are 169 incorporated towns in Connecticut. The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state, the highest point is just east of where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet, on the southern slope of Mount Frissell, whose peak lies nearby in Massachusetts. At the opposite extreme, many of the towns have areas that are less than 20 feet above sea level. Connecticut has a maritime history and a reputation based on that history—yet the state has no direct oceanfront
29.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
30.
Childeric I
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Childeric I was a Merovingian king of the Salian Franks and the father of Clovis I, who would unite the Franks and found the Merovingian dynasty. Childeric succeeded his father Merovech as king of the Salian Franks, traditionally in 457 or 458, by 457 at the latest he was the ruler of the Franks in the territory covering Tournai and the Lys valley. He may have had power over further territories to the south, according to Gregory of Tours, Childeric was exiled at some point, the reason being traditionally given as Frankish unhappiness with Childerics private life. Gregory further records that the Franks recalled Childeric after 8 years of exile, after the death of Aegidius, Childeric assisted Comes Paul of Angers, together with a mixed band of Gallo-Romans and Franks, in defeating the Goths and taking booty. Saxon raiders under the command of Eadwacer reached Angers and captured it, Childeric, having delivered Angers, followed a Saxon warband to the islands on the Atlantic mouth of the Loire, and massacred them there. In the period around 476 to 481, he and Odoacer were discussing the possibility of an alliance against the Alamanni who wished to invade Italy, Gregory of Tours, in Libri Historiarum, records the story of the expulsion of Childeric by the Salian Franks for seducing their wives. He was exiled for eight years in Thuringia with King Basin and his wife and he returned only when a faithful servant advised him that he could safely do so by sending him half of a gold piece that Childeric had split with him before his exile. The book also describes his arrival in Tournai with Basina, who had left her husband to be with him, Childeric married Basina of Thuringia, daughter of Basin, and they had the following children, Clovis I. Audofleda, Queen of the Ostrogoths, wife of Theodoric the Great, Childeric died in 481 or 482 and was buried in Tournai. His son Clovis succeeded him as king of the Salian Franks, Childerics tomb was discovered in 1653 not far from the 12th-century church of Saint-Brice in Tournai, now in Belgium. Numerous precious objects were found, including jewels of gold and garnet cloisonné, gold coins, a bulls head. Some 300 golden winged insects were found which had been placed on the kings cloak. Archduke Leopold William, governor of the Southern Netherlands, had the find published in Latin, napoleon was more impressed with Childerics bees and when he was looking for a heraldic symbol to trump the Bourbon fleur-de-lys, he settled on Childerics bees as symbols of the French Empire. On the night of November 5–6,1831, the treasure of Childeric was among 80 kilos of treasure stolen from the Library, a few pieces were retrieved from where they had been hidden in the Seine, including two of the bees. The record of the treasure, however, now only in the fine engravings made at the time of its discovery. The Fall of the Roman Empire, A New History of Rome, the Inheritance of Rome, Illuminating the Dark Ages 400–1000
31.
Clovis I
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He is considered to have been the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries. Clovis was the son of Childeric I, a Merovingian king of the Salian Franks, and Basina, in 481, at the age of fifteen, Clovis succeeded his father. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as the first king of what would become France and his name is Germanic, composed of the elements hlod and wig, and is the origin of the later French given name Louis, borne by 18 kings of France. Dutch, the most closely related language to Frankish, reborrowed the name as Lodewijk from German in the 12th century. Clovis was baptized on Christmas Day in 508, numerous small Frankish kingdoms existed during the 5th century. After the collapse of Roman power in the last days of 406 the Salian Franks had expanded to the south of the military highway Boulogne-Cologne. The powerbase of Clovis father was the area around Tournai, in the current province of Hainault, upon the death of his father, Merovech in 457 Childeric I, Clovis father, became king of the subgroup of the Salian Franks based around Tournai. In 463 he fought in conjunction with Aegidius, the magister militum of northern Gaul, Childeric died in 481 and was buried in Tournai, Clovis succeeded him as king, aged just 15. Under Clovis, the Salian Franks came to dominate their neighbours, historians believe that Childeric and Clovis were both commanders of the Roman military in the Province of Belgica Secunda and were subordinate to the magister militum. Clovis then had the Frankish king Chararic imprisoned and executed, a few years later, he killed Ragnachar, the Frankish king of Cambrai, along with his brothers. Another victory followed in 491 over a group of Thuringians to the east. By this time Clovis had conquered all the Frankish kingdoms to the west of the River Maas and he secured an alliance with the Ostrogoths through the marriage of his sister Audofleda to their king, Theodoric the Great. With the help of the Ripuarian Franks he narrowly defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac in 496 and he made Paris his capital and established an abbey dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul on the south bank of the Seine. In 500 Clovis fought a battle with the Burgundian kingdom at Dijon but was unable to subdue them, the battle added most of Aquitaine to Clovis kingdom and resulted in the death of the Visigothic king Alaric II. According to Gregory of Tours, following the Battle of Vouillé, since Clovis name does not appear in the consular lists, it is likely he was granted a suffect consulship. Clovis became the first king of all Franks in 508, after he had conquered Cologne and this contrasted with Catholicism, whose followers believe that God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are three persons of one being. By the time of the ascension of Clovis, Gothic Arians dominated Christian Gaul and this included his wife, Clotilde, a Burgundian princess who was a Catholic in spite of the Arianism that surrounded her at court. Clotilde evangelized Clovis to convert to Catholicism, which he initially resisted, Clotilde had wanted her son to be baptized, but Clovis refused to allow it, so Clotilde had the child baptized without Cloviss knowledge
32.
Childebert I
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Childebert I was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their fathers death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clotilda, born at Reims and he reigned as King of Paris from 511 to 558 and Orléans from 524 to 558. In the partition of the realm, he received as his share the town of Paris, the country to the north as far as the river Somme, to the west as far as the English Channel, and the Armorican peninsula. His brothers ruled in different lands, Theuderic I in Metz, Chlodomer in Orléans, in 523, Childebert participated with his brothers in a war against Godomar of Burgundy. Chlodomer died in the Battle of Vézeronce, thereafter, concerned that the three sons of Chlodomer would inherit the kingdom of Orléans, Clothar conspired with Childebert to oust them. They sent a representative to their mother Clotilde, who as the mother had authority as the head of the family line. She famously replied, It is better for me to see them dead rather than shorn, after the murder of Chlodomers two elder children—the third, Clodoald, escaping to a monastic life—Childebert annexed the cities of Chartres and Orléans. He took part in various expeditions against the kingdom of Burgundy. When Witiges, the king of the Ostrogoths, ceded Provence to the Franks in 535, the annexation of that province was completed, with Clotaires help, in the winter of 536–537. In 531, he received pleas from his sister Chrotilda, wife of King Amalaric of the Visigoths, the Arian king of Hispania, Chrotilda claimed, was grossly mistreating her, a Catholic. Childebert went down with an army and defeated the Gothic king, Amalaric retreated to Barcelona, where he was assassinated. Chrotilda died on her journey to Paris of unknown causes. Childebert made other expeditions against the Visigoths, in 542, he took possession of Pamplona with the help of his brother Clotaire and besieged Zaragoza, but was forced to retreat. He died on 13 December 558, and was buried in the abbey he had founded, st-Germain-des-Prés became the royal necropolis for the Neustrian kings until 675. He left no sons, only two daughters, Chrodoberge and Chrodesinde, by his wife Ultragotha and he expanded his domains in more foreign wars than any of his brothers, fighting in Burgundy, Spain, Provence, and elsewhere in Gaul. Gregory of Tours, a contemporary Neustrian, cites Childebert as saying, Velim unquam Arvernam Lemanem quae tantae jocunditatis gratia refulgere dicitur, oculis cernere. Childbert was also one of the religious of the sons of Clovis, cooperating with his brothers, rescuing his sister
33.
Chlodomer
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Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers, Theuderic I, Childebert I, and Clotaire I. Although Theuderic, the eldest, had a claim, Chlodomer divided half of the kingdom with his two other brothers. This was the kingdom of Orléans, taken from the kingdom of Syagrius. This kingdom included, most notably, the bishoprics of Tours, Poitiers, Chlodomer married Guntheuc, with whom he had three sons, Theodebald, Gunthar, and Clodoald. After capturing Sigismund, Chlodomer returned to Orléans, however, Sigismunds brother Gondomar returned triumphantly to Burgundy at the head of the troops sent by his ally, the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. There, he massacred the garrison the Franks had left behind, although victorious, Chlodomer had Sigismund and his sons Gisald and Gondebaud assassinated on 1 May 524. He then led an expedition against the Burgundians. He was killed on expedition, in the spring or summer of the same year. His three sons were entrusted to his mother until his widow married Clotaire I, Clotaire, however, had Chlodomers children killed, although Clodoald managed to escape. Better known as Saint Cloud, he became abbot of Nogent, having given up his hair. Bachrach, Bernard S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751, minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0-8166-0621-8. Before France and Germany, The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World, Oxford, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-504458-4. The Long-Haired Kings, and Other Studies in Frankish History
34.
Theuderic I
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Theuderic I was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 533 or 534. He was the son of Clovis I and one of his wives or concubines. He inherited Metz in 511 at his fathers death, in accordance with Salian tradition, the kingdom was divided between Cloviss four surviving sons, Childebert I in Paris, Chlodomer in Orléans, and Clotaire I in Soissons. Early in his reign, he sent his son Theudebert to kill the Scandinavian King Chlochilaich who had invaded his realm, Theuderic got involved in the war between the Thuringian King Hermanfrid and his brother Baderic. Theuderic was promised half of Thuringia for his help, Baderic was defeated, the four sons of Clovis then all fought the Burgundian kings Sigismund and Godomar, Godomar fled and Sigismund was taken prisoner by Chlodomer. Godomar rallied the Burgundian army and won back his kingdom, Chlodomer, aided by Theuderic, defeated Godomar, but died in the fighting at Vézeronce. Theuderic then, with his brother Clotaire and his son, attacked Thuringia to revenge himself on Hermanfrid, Thuringia was conquered, and Clotaire received Radegund, daughter of King Berthar. After making a treaty with his brother Childebert, Theuderic died in 534, upon his death the throne of Metz, passed to Theudebert. Theuderic also left a daughter Theodechild, Theodechild founded the Abbey of St-Pierre le Vif at Sens. Bachrach, Bernard S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, ISBN 0-8166-0621-8, before France and Germany, The Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World. Oxford, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-504458-4, the Long-Haired Kings, and Other Studies in Frankish History
35.
Theudebert I
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Theudebert I was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 to his death in 548. He was the son of Theuderic I and the father of Theudebald, most of what we know about Theudebert comes from the Histories or History of the Franks written by Gregory of Tours in the second half of the sixth century. In addition, we have diplomatic correspondence composed at the Austrasian court, the poems of Venantius Fortunatus, an account from Procopius work, during his fathers reign, the young Theudebert had shown himself to be an able warrior. In about 516 he defeated a Danish army under King Chlochilaich after it had raided northern Gaul and his reputation was further enhanced by a series of military campaigns in Septimania against the Visigoths. Upon his fathers death, Theudebert had to both his uncles Childebert and Clotaire to inherit his fathers kingdom. In the end, his military prowess persuaded Childebert to abandon the dispute, together they campaigned against Clotaire but sued for peace after their armies were hit by storm. Justinian saw Theudebert as an ally, Austrasian lands flanked the Ostrogoths in northern Italy. The emperor paid Theudebert handsomely for his assistance, but Theudebert proved an untrustworthy ally, the Frankish armies saw the Italian conflict as an opportunity for plunder and a chance to exert their own claims to northern Italy. In the event the Byzantines were forced to fight the Franks as much as the Ostrogoths, Theudebert seems to have revelled in his power growing on the European stage. His letters show him laying claim to a vast array of lands around Austrasia, hitherto former Frankish kings had respected imperial convention and circulated gold coins with the image of the emperor. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the Byzantine chronicler Agathias recorded the rumour in Constantinople that the Byzantines suspected Theudebert of planning an invasion of Thrace, in common with other Frankish rulers at the time, Theudebert took several wives as and when he wanted. As heir to his fathers kingdom, he was betrothed to Wisigard, daughter of Wacho and this sort of political match was rare for the Merovingian kings. Theudebert abandoned her for Deuteria, a Gallo-Roman he had met while on campaign in southern Gaul, however, his supporters were not best pleased by his treatment of Wisigard, perhaps because of the political dimension, and persuaded Theudebert to take her back. Wisigard, though, soon died, and Theudebert married again, as well as being renowned for his military prowess, Theudebert was lauded by contemporaries for his patronage of the Gallic Church. Gregory of Tours reserves special praise for him in this regard, Theudebert died in the 14th year of his reign and Theudebald, his son by Deuteria, succeeded him. In contrast to that experienced by many Merovingian kings, Theudebalds accession was peaceful
36.
Theudebald
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Theudebald or Theodebald, son of Theudebert I and Deuteria, was the king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as its variously called—from 547 or 548 to 555. He was only thirteen years of age when he succeeded and of ill health, however, the loyalty of the nobility to his fathers memory preserved the peace during his minority. He married Waldrada, daughter of the Lombard king Wacho and his step-aunt and this marriage fortified the alliance between Austrasia and Lombardy. Nevertheless, Theudebald could not hold on to the conquests of his father in the north of Italia, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I sent an army under the command of Narses in 552 and, like his father before him, Theudebald avoided direct confrontation with it. After a prolonged sickness and prostration, he died in 555 and his realm passed finally outside of the family of Theuderic I and was united to the kingdoms of his granduncle Clotaire I, who would soon become king of all the Franks
37.
Chlothar I
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Chlothar I, also called Clotaire I and the Old, King of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis I of the Merovingian dynasty. Although his father, Childeric I, had united Francia for the first time, in 511 at the age of circa 14, Clothar I inherited two large territories on the Western coast of Francia, separated by the lands of his brother Charibert Is Kingdom of Paris. Chlothar spent most of his life in a campaign to expand his territories at the expense of his relatives. His brothers avoided outright war by cooperating with his attacks on neighbouring lands in concert or by invading lands when their rulers died, the spoils were shared between the participating brothers. By the end of his life, Chlothar had managed to reunite Francia by surviving his brothers, but upon his own death, the Kingdom of the Franks was once again divided between his own four surviving sons. A fifth son had rebelled and was killed, along with his family, Frankish customs of the day allowed for the practice polygamy, especially among royalty. So it was not uncommon for a king to have multiple wives and this was a major deviation from the monogamy of late Roman customs, influenced by the Church. Frankish rulers followed this practice mainly to increase their influence across larger areas of land in the wake of the Roman empires collapse, the aim was to maintain peace and ensure the preservation of the kingdom by appeasing local leaders. In the Germanic tradition succession fell, not to sons, but to younger brothers, uncles, but under Salic law, Clovis I instituted the custom of sons being the primary heirs in all respects. However, it was not a system of primogeniture, with the eldest son receiving the vast majority of an inheritance, therefore, the greater Frankish Kingdom was often splintered into smaller sub-kingdoms. Chlothar was the son of Clovis I and the fourth son of Queen Clotilde. Chlothar was born around 497 in Soissons, but he was very ambitious and sought to extend his domain. Upon the death of Clovis I in the year 511, the Frankish kingdom was divided between Chlothar and his brothers, Theuderic, Childebert, and Chlodomer, because of the rights of mothers, queens were granted a portion of their sons kingdom. Clovis I, who had two wives, divided his kingdom into two for each of his wives, then parceled out pieces to his respective sons. The eldest, Theuderic, son of the first wife, had the benefit of receiving one half of the kingdom of Francia, Chlothar shared the second half of the kingdom with his brothers Childebert and Chlodomer. Chlothar received the northern portion, Childebert the central kingdom of Paris, in 516 Gundobad, king of Burgundy, died, and the throne passed to his son Sigismund, who converted to Catholicism. Sigismund adopted an extreme anti-Arian policy, going so far as to execute his Arian son Sigeric, in 523, at the instigation of their mother, Clotilde, Chlothar, Childebert, and Chlodomer joined forces in an expedition against the Burgundians. The Burgundian army was defeated, and Sigismund was captured and executed, sigismunds brother Godomar replaced him on the throne, with the support of the aristocracy, and the Franks were forced to leave
38.
Charibert I
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Charibert I was the Merovingian King of Paris, the second-eldest son of Chlothar I and Ingund. His elder brother was Gunthar, who died sometime before their fathers death, in 556, Chlothar sent Charibert and his next youngest brother Gunthram against their stepmother Chunna and their younger stepbrother Chram who was in revolt. Chramn was hiding out on Black Mountain in the Limousin, negotiations failed and the two armies prepared for battle. A thunderstorm prevented any engagement and Chramn sent forged letters to his brothers, Charibert and Guntram immediately returned to Burgundy to secure their positions. After the actual death of Chlothar in 561, the Frankish kingdom was divided between his sons in a new configuration. Each son ruled a realm, which was not necessarily geographically coherent. Charibert received Neustria, Aquitaine, and Novempopulana with Paris as his capital and his chief cities were Rouen, Tours, Poitiers, Limoges, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Cahors, and Albi. Guntram received Burgundy, then Sigebert received Austrasia with his capital at Metz, Charibert married Ingoberga, of unknown parentage. By Merofleda, a daughter, and her sister Marcovefa, he had daughters. By Theodogilda, a daughter, Charibert had a son who died in infancy. His brutal behavior resulted in his excommunication, the first ever of a Merovingian king, Charibert was scarcely more than king at Paris when he married his daughter Bertha to Æthelberht, the pagan King of Kent. She took with her Bishop Liudhard as her private confessor and her influence in the Kentish court was instrumental in the success of St. Augustine of Canterburys mission in 597. Though Charibert was eloquent and learned in the law, he was one of the most dissolute of the early Merovingians and he was excommunicated, and his early death in 567 was brought on by his excesses. He was buried in Blavia castellum, a fort in the Tractatus Armoricani. At his death his brothers divided his realm between them, agreeing at first to hold Paris in common and his surviving queen, Theudechild, proposed a marriage with Guntram, though a council held at Paris in 557 had outlawed such matches as incestuous. Guntram decided to house her more safely, though unwillingly, in a nunnery at Arles, the main source for Chariberts life is Gregory of Tours History of the Franks, and from the English perspective Bedes Ecclesiastic History of the English People. Bachrach, Bernard S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751, minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press,1971. Historia Francorum Books I-IX at Medieval Sourcebook
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Guntram
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St. Guntram, also called Gontram, Gontran, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the King of Burgundy from AD561 to AD592. He was the third eldest and second eldest surviving son of Chlothar I, on his fathers death in 561, he became king of a fourth of the Kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orléans. The name Guntram denotes war raven, later he married Marcatrude, daughter of Magnar, and sent his son Gundobad to Orléans. But after she had a son Marcatrude was jealous, and proceeded to bring about Gundobads death and she sent poison, they say, and poisoned his drink. And upon his death, by Gods judgment she lost the son she had and incurred the hate of the king, was dismissed by him, after her he took Austerchild, also named Bobilla. He had by her two sons, of whom the older was called Clothar and the younger Chlodomer, Guntram had a period of intemperance. He was eventually overcome with remorse for the sins of his past life, in atonement, he fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to God. Throughout the balance of his prosperous reign he attempted to govern by Christian principles, according to St. Gregory of Tours, he was the protector of the oppressed, caregiver to the sick, and the tender parent to his subjects. He was generous with his wealth, especially in times of plague and he strictly and justly enforced the law without respect to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offences against himself, including two attempted assassinations. Guntram munificently built and endowed many churches and monasteries, St. Gregory related that the king performed many miracles both before and after his death, some of which St. Gregory claimed to have witnessed himself. In 567, his elder brother Charibert I died and his lands of the Kingdom of Paris were divided between the brothers, Guntram, Sigebert I, and Chilperic I. They shared his realm, agreeing at first to hold Paris in common, chariberts widow, Theudechild, proposed a marriage with Guntram, the eldest remaining brother, though a council convened at Paris as late as 557 had forbidden such tradition as incestuous. Guntram decided to house her more safely, though unwillingly, in a monastery in Arles, in 573, Guntram was caught in a civil war with his brother Sigebert I of Austrasia, and in 575 summoned the aid of their brother Chilperic I of Soissons. He reversed his allegiance later, due to the character of Chilperic, if we may give him the benefit of the doubt in light of St. Gregorys commendation and he thereafter remained an ally of Sigebert, his wife, and his sons until his death. Mummolus defeated Chilperics general Desiderius and the Neustrians forces retreated from Austrasia. In 577, Chlothar and Clodomir, his two surviving children, died of dysentery and he adopted as his son and heir Childebert II, his nephew, Sigeberts son, however, Childebert did not always prove faithful to his uncle. In 581, Chilperic took many of Guntrams cities and in 583, he allied with Childebert and this time Guntram made peace with Chilperic and Childebert retreated. Supposed to take place on 4 July, the feast of St. Martin of Tours, in Orléans, it did not, Guntram marched against him, calling him nothing more than a millers son named Ballomer
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Sigebert I
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Sigebert I was the Germanic king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the surviving son out of four of Clotaire I. His reign found him mostly occupied with a civil war against his half-brother. Incursions by the Avars, a nomadic tribe related to the Huns. He repelled their attacks twice, in 562 and c, about 567, he married Brunhilda, daughter of the Visigothic king Athanagild. She was a maiden beautiful in her person, lovely to look at, virtuous and well-behaved, with good sense and her father did not refuse, but sent her to the king I have named with great treasures. And the king collected his men, made ready a feast. And she still remains catholic in Christs name, upon seeing this, his brother Chilperic sent to Athanagild for his other daughters hand. This daughter, Galswintha, was given him and he abandoned his other wives, however, he soon tired of her and had her murdered in order to marry his mistress Fredegund. Probably spurred by his wife Brunhildas anger at her sisters murder, the two brothers had already been at war, but their hostility now elevated into a long and bitter war that was continued by the descendants of both. In 573, Sigebert took possession of Poitiers and Touraine, but at Sigeberts moment of triumph, when he had just been declared king by Chilperics subjects at Vitry-en-Artois, he was struck down by two assassins working for Fredegund. He was succeeded by his son Childebert under the regency of Brunhilda, Brunhilda and Childebert quickly put themselves under the protection of Guntram, who eventually adopted Childebert as his own son and heir. With Brunhilda he had two daughters, Ingund and Chlodosind, history of the Franks, Books I-X at Medieval Sourcebook
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Childebert II
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When his father was assassinated in 575, Childebert was taken from Paris by Gundobald, one of his faithful lords, to Metz, where he was recognized as sovereign. He was then five years old, and during his long minority the power was disputed between his mother Brunhilda and the nobles. Chilperic I, king at Paris, and the Burgundian king Guntram, sought an alliance with Childebert, because Guntram was lord of half of Marseille, the district of Provence became a centre of a brief dispute between the two. While Jovinus and Theodore, Bishop of Marseille, were travelling to the court of Childebert, Dynamius, meanwhile, blocked Gundulf, a duke of an important senatorial family and Childeberts former domesticus, from entering Marseille on behalf of Childebert. Eventually he was forced to yield, though he later arrested Theodore again and had him sent to Guntram, Childebert replaced him in Provence by Nicetius. Despite his revolt, Childebert formally restored Dynamius to favour on 28 November 587, by the Treaty of Andelot of 587, Childebert was recognised as Guntrams heir, and with his uncles help he quelled the revolts of the nobles and succeeded in seizing the castle of Woëwre. Many attempts were made on his life by Fredegund, wife of Chilperic, on the death of Guntram in 592, Childebert annexed the kingdom of Burgundy, and even contemplated seizing Clotaires estates and becoming sole king of the Franks. Childebert II had relations with the Byzantine Empire, and fought on occasions in the name of the Emperor Maurice, against the Lombards in Italy. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain
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