Chilperic I was the king of Neustria from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund.
Portrait of Chilperic I from a 16th-century medal
Le jugement de Chilpéric, a tyrannical portrayal of Chilperic by Jean-Paul Laurens
The Frankish Realm in 561, after the death of Clothar I
The Frankish Kingdom after the death of Charibert I of Paris
The Franks were a western European people during the Roman Empire and Early Middle Ages. They began as a Germanic people who lived near the Lower Rhine, on the northern continental frontier of the empire. They subsequently expanded their power and influence during the Middle Ages, until much of the population of western Europe, particularly in and near France, were commonly described as Franks, for example in the context of their joint efforts during the Crusades starting in the 11th century. This expansion came about because the romanized Frankish dynasties based within the collapsing Western Roman Empire first became the rulers of the whole region between the rivers Loire and Rhine, and then subsequently imposed power over many other post-Roman kingdoms both inside and outside the old empire.
Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
A 19th century depiction of different Franks (AD 400–600)
Detail of the Tabula Peutingeriana, showing Francia at the top
A 6th–7th century necklace of glass and ceramic beads with a central amethyst bead. Similar necklaces have been found in the graves of Frankish women in the Rhineland.
