Decline Of Frankish Empire

After the Roman Empire fell in about 500 CE, Western Europe saw a decline in centralized authority, trade, culture, education, etc. that flourished under the Romans. (Watts, 2017 ). This era became known as the “Dark Ages” or Early Middle Ages from about 500 CE to 1050 CE. During this time, waves of migrating barbarian tribes began to take over Western Europe. They replaced former Roman rule, creating their own empires and kingdoms. Among these barbarians were people the Franks.
The Frankish, were originally Germanic people. They invaded Gaul from the third to fifth century. They were united into a small kingdom named Francia by Clovis I in the late 700’s (“The Frankish Kingdom,” n.d). Clovis I was the first Frankish king. The Frankish Empire
It was threatened by the Slavs and Avars to the north, the Lombards to the southeast, and the Muslims to the southwest. Finally, in 613, Clotaire III successfully united the smaller political units under one power and created its new capital in Paris. Royal power continued to weaken over the course of the next century. Clotaire’s son, Dagobert I is considered to be the last powerful monarch of the Merovingian dynasty. The final Merovingian ruler was Childeric III, who was forcefully removed from office in 752 by Pope Zachary. Pope Stephen II, Zachary’s successor, appointed Pepin the Short as king in 754. Pepin was the first major ruler of the Carolingian dynasty.
Not only was Clovis the first king of the Frankish, he was also the first Catholic king of Francia. He converted to Catholicism after his wife, Clotilde, urged him to in 496. This conversion united the Franks under one religion. The king set the path for future kings to rule as Catholics. His conversion to Catholicism helped him gain support and aid from Catholic Rome. Being a Catholic also helped ease tension between the Franks and the Catholic population of Gaul at the time. Clovis’s religion impacted the future course of Western and Central
It was known as the Carolingian Renaissance. Charlemagne worked to protect the church from its enemies and to keep the people of Europe united under the church. Although Charlemagne never learned to write, he did improve education. Religious leaders opened schools at cathedrals and monasteries to teach boys to read and write, and to improve the education of priests. He used his power and wealth to attract leading scholars from all over Western Europe. Monasteries copied many classical manuscripts and religious works (“The Early Middle Ages,” n.d). Monks invented Carolingian minuscule, a uniform system of letters that for the first time included lowercase letters. These monks also developed medieval Latin, which became the period's universal language of scholars, traders, and officials. The Carolingian Renaissance also included works of art and new architectural