Franks aregermanic peopleA powerful tribe in China, moved southward in the 3rd centuryGaul(TodaySouthern France）Northeast, settled inRhineThe downstream area is in the stage of primitive clan and tribal society.Western Roman EmpireWhen it began to disintegrate, the Franks took the opportunity to expand their territory.481,Clovis After the tribal chiefs, they began to expand with all their strength and defeated the Huns,roen Other Frankish forces, such as the Awal people and the Germanic tribes.In 486, when the Western Roman Empire was defeatedGaulThe remnants ofMerovian Dynasty, withParisWeidu.[1]751,Palace physiognomyPiping the DwarfSeize the throne, startCarolingian dynastyThe rule of.PipingCharles, his son, expanded abroad on a large scale during his reign.In 800 AD, Charles was crowned emperor and becameCharlemagne Empire 。
843 A.D. According to《Treaty of Verdun》The interior is divided into three parts, namelyWest Francia (843-987)Middle Francia (843-855) andEast Frankish Kingdom (843-911) Three countries.855 yearsLothair I (Middle Franks) died. In 870, the eastern and western Franks officially signed a treaty in Melbourne, dividing up most of the Middle Franks.This《Treaty of Meerssen 》ToMiddle Francia The small part left has become modernItalyRudiment of;The eastern and western Frankish kingdoms were established respectivelyGermanyandFrenchNational foundation.[2]
The establishment of the Frankish Kingdom (at the end of the fifth century)
At the beginning of the 4th century, the Franks settled inImperium RomanumDomesticGaulnortheast corner.Roman Empiremilitary forceUnable to guarantee all its borders, the Romans allowed some friendly nations called federalists to enter their borders to help Rome maintain its borders.Western Roman EmpireAt the beginning of the collapse, the Franks took the opportunity to expand their territory, while the Visigoths in their south were also expanding their territory.At first, in northern GaulSuvasonThere is also an enclave nearby that is isolated from other parts of the empire but still loyal to Rome.
In 486 AD, the FranksClovis I Under the leadership ofImperium RomanumSigrius, the last ruler of Gaul in the northPicardi RegionThe ruler of the kingdom of Suvason).This victory expanded the rule of the Franks toLoireTo the north, the Frankish Kingdom was founded and named after his grandfatherMerovian Dynasty。Clovis Originally, he was just one of the many small Frankish kings. He accepted the still effective Roman management institution, eliminated other small Frankish kingdoms, and established a Germanic Roman country.
In 491 AD, Clovis I won a series of victories in Thuringia, east of his territory;In 496, Clovis I conquered the Alamanni;In 500, Clovis conquered Dijon, but failed to conquer the Kingdom of Burgundy.
In 507 AD, with the help of the Amorika, Clovis I defeated Toulouse'sThe Kingdom of Visigoth, drive them toSpainAnd took the opportunity to occupy todayaquitaine Most of the area.
Feudal reform
Frankish Kingdom at the Beginning of the 6th Century
During the expansion of the Franks, Clovis confiscated the land of the slain or fugitive landlords and took it back to the king.Clovis used this wealth to consolidate the monarchy and continue to expand.He became the largest landowner in the whole kingdom.By giving his land to other nobles to buy people's hearts, gradually evolvedfiefs 。The king leased his territory to his servants for a limited period of time, so that he also solved the problem of managing huge property.At the same time, there are almost noCurrency trade。This is the Frankish Kingdom, early Europefeudal societyThe foundation of.
exceptfiefs In addition, the Catholic Church became the second pillar of the king.Under the influence of Claude, Clovis converted to Christianity.Through his baptism (probably in 498, the exact time is controversial), he won the support of the Catholic Church.In this way, the Franks were supported by the local Gauls and Romans.This also marked the end of the late Gaul era and the beginning of the early Middle Ages.The king made his orders obeyed by sending messengers (earls and bishops).
At the imperial assembly in 511 AD, Clovis also achieved the right that the Frankish king could influence the naming of bishops.At the same time, he tried to establish a unifiedEcclesiastical law。
Early 6th century (after 507)《Lex Salica 》Is determined.This is aLatinThe Frankish National Law Collection.[2]
After Clovis died in 511, his kingdom was divided by four sons.Although his descendants were able to unify the whole kingdom from time to timeSuccession systemAfter the death of each king, his son divided the land equally.After the death of Dagber I in 639, his son was able to inherit a unified kingdom again.Feudal lordThe strength of the power weakened the royal power, and the power of the kingdom gradually fell to the ministers who controlled the court affairsCharles Martel Hands.Also known as the Frankish King“Lazy King”。
These ministers tried to control the power of the whole kingdom.From 657 to 662, the son of a palace minister was adopted by the king to the throne.
In 687, the court minister Piping II of Australasia defeated the rulers of the whole kingdom and became the only court minister in the countryCarolingian dynasty But Piping did not dare to usurp power at that time.
After Piping's death in 714, there was power struggle and internal strife in China. In 719, Charlie Matt won.Matt, who is famous for his ferocity, is facing internal and external troubles.There were always different tribes in the kingdom trying to overthrow his rule.
732 Hammer Charlie（Charles Martel ）OnBattle of PoitiersTo defeat the Arabs and prevent them from further movingWestern EuropeExpansion, which is considered aswestern worldThe savior of the Catholic faith.Forced in 733BurgundyBecame a courtier and conquered again in 734FrisianPeople.Later, he defeated the Frislands, Saxons, Bavarians and Alamanni eastwards, which further consolidated his rule.It also supportsSaint Boniface Missionary work in these areas.
After the death of King Frank in 737, Charles Matt did not set up a new king. He became the only ruler of the empire.But he did not have time to usurp the throne and died of edema in 741.According to Germanic tradition, Matt distributed the empire to his two sons before he diedPepin III And Kaloman.
In the subsequent struggle, Piping III won, and his brother and the last Merovian king of the Frankish Kingdom were forced to enterMonastery。In 751, he followed the rites of the Old TestamentOilingWhen he ascended the throne and became king, Pope Zacharias son of Polichronius sent the archbishop to Paris to crown him.
In 754, Pope Stephen III (reigning Stephen III 752-757) anointed him again to confirm his throne and the legitimacy of his sons Charlie and Kaloman.In 754, Piping agreed to send Ravenna to the Pope（Piping offered soil）The Pope recognized the Carolingian Dynasty as the king of the Frankish Kingdom.
From 755, the Pope began to ask Piping to keep his promise. Piping fought against the Lombards twice and gave all the land he won to the Pope, so Piping actually becamePapal StatesFounder of.When Piping died in 768, he left his sons a thriving kingdom politically and economically.
CharlemagneHis brother Kaloman died on October 14, 771, making Charlie the sole ruler of the empire.Charlie was still bound by the treaty between his father and the pope. Since the Lombards did not recognize the treaty, he continued to fight with the Lombards.
In 774, he occupied the whole placeLombardy kingdom.At the same time, he supported the missionary work to the east.By 785, his war with the Saxons had determined his politics.
In 785,Duke of Saxony Widgent surrendered to Charlie, but the war between the two sides lasted until 804.
The continuous wars promoted the feudalization of the Frankish Kingdom, and the number of peasants under feudal rule increased greatly.The power of feudal rulers, especially kings (later emperors) and dukes, increased greatly.The rights of the Church have also been consolidated.In order to consolidate the country's rights, Charlie established a series of border areas on the border, which are the national defensebufferAnd attack assembly areas.
Carolingian Dynasty (814)
These border areas were granted to privileged earls. In fact, these border areas were outside the empire, not part of the empire.He immigrated to these areas and let farmers go there to guard these areas and build castles there.Particularly important border areas include Kernton and its northern border area, which later formed Austria.
In 793, Charles reformed the internal management of the kingdom to further consolidate the internal rule.The king's direct management institutions are the royal palace, the royal court and the prime minister's office.In the kingdom, the count administered the king's property.The king, through his messenger, issued orders to the count and decided on disputes between them.AhernIt became the center of the imperial palace and the Frankish kingdom under Charles.
Christmas 800 Charlie was in RomeLeo III He was crowned emperor, which was the peak of his power.
Encyclopedia x Knowledgeable: Illustrated Charlemagne
Tripartite separation
Charlie's Will
Expansion process of Frankish Kingdom
Charles stipulated in his will that the empire should be distributed to himThree sonsPiping, Louis and Charles Jr., but because Piping and Charles Jr. died in 810 and 811, the three-way plan was invalid. Louis was promoted to the vice emperor in 813 and succeeded his father in 814.
Louis decided not to divide the kingdom and fought with his sons.At the beginning of 830Court CoupIn China, Louis was detained by his sons and lost real power, while his sons became more and more independent in their respective territories. Louis was actually just a nominal emperor.
twoEast Frankish Kingdom It existed from 843 to the 10th century, and its territory is in the central and western GermanyAustria、SwitzerlandandAlsace(finally annexed by France).The last monarch of East Franks in 911Child Louis(Louis the child),Carolingian dynastyThe rule of the Eastern Frankish Kingdom ended and the inheritance system was abolished.February 962Otto I Was crowned in RomeHoly Roman Emperor, the Eastern Frankish Kingdom evolved intoHoly Roman EmpireThis historical event is generally regarded as the beginning of Germany as an independent feudal country.
In 855 AD, Lotaire distributed his Middle Frankish Kingdom to his sons in the division of Prum.When Lottel's sons died,Baldy CharlieandGerman LouisIn 870《Treaty of Meerssen 》Middle, divide upMiddle Francia 。Finally, the West and East Franks split upLorraineandProvenceTwo places, and northItalyThen continue to maintain the status quo.
Treaty of Liebermon
Baldy Charlie tried to take the whole placeMiddle Francia , but failed.Louis III The western part of the Middle Frankish Kingdom was acquired, and the partition of the Frankish Empire was roughly formed.The boundary between the east and the west had hardly changed throughout the Middle Ages.
King Louis III of the West Franks died in 882,carloman Died in 884Charles IIIIn 888, he was regarded as the emperor of the whole empire.Until the 20th century, France and Germany regarded each other as "heritage rivals".
Charles ruled for 46 years and died in 814.His son Louis became emperor.Charles has stipulated the kingdom's rules after his death in 806GermanicTradition was divided up by his son, but Louis decided to keep the unity of the empire regardless of this will.
In 817 AD, he issued a decree to prevent the division of the empire. His reason was that the name of the emperor wasIndivisibleHe appointed his son Lotaire as the deputy emperor.He stipulated in his decree that the emperor's eldest son should inherit the throne.His decision was supported by the church, which believed that the unity of the empire was the same as that of the church.Thus the bishops of the empire intervened in politics: they became rivals to the emperor's sons.These sons certainly want to divide the country.From 829, there was armed conflict between the emperor and his sons.
Louis died in 840, and his son Lotaire became the only ruler. But in 843, his three sons decided to divide the Frankish Empire into three parts in the Treaty of Verdun.Later, the empire was divided by Prum in 855Treaty of Meerssen And the treaty of Liebermon in 880.Since then, the Frankish Empire has never been unified.Different parts of the empire developed different customs, folkways and languages, and became independent countries.For a while, people also called the separated countriesEastern Frankish Empire、Middle Francia andWest Francia , but about a hundred years laterCarolingian dynastyThe names of death also disappeared.Only "France" in the west continued to use the name of Frank, while the eastern Frankish Empire evolved intoHoly Roman Empire, continue to maintainRoman emperorTradition.[3]
Politics
Announce
edit
Feudal system
The "golden bee" flag, the legendary symbol of the Merovian Dynasty
The Frankish Kingdom adoptedFeudal system, that is, the king grants the territory to his subordinates (Feudal lord）, and his subordinates will assign the territory to their subordinates (small feudal lords).But the lord can only directly control his own vassal, not the vassal of the vassal, that is, the so-called "vassal of my vassal, not my vassal", while the peasants rely on the small feudal lord, not the vassal of my vassalPersonal freedom。[4]
"Golden Flame Flag", the legendary battle flag of the Carolingian Dynasty
The Frankish royal family adopted the policy of dividing the territory equally among the sons after the death of the kingSuccession systemThe kingdom is often in the repeated process of division, scuffle and reunification, while constantly expanding outward.CharlemagneDuring the rule period (771~814), the Frankish Kingdom became the ruleWestern EuropeMost areas include a large empire of various tribes.Due to the lack of economic and cultural ties in various regions of the territory, the feudal separatist forces were strong. Shortly after the death of Charlemagne, the empire fell into a melee.
