The "Long-Haired Kings" aka "Shadow Kings" aka "Do-Nothing Kings"

A series on all things Merovingian - Part I

When you think about the history of France, most people think of Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire. But there was a dynasty before them who held the throne way longer than they did, over a hundred years more. But they’re not as popular. This is partly due to the smearing campaign the Carolingians did to tarnish the name of the dynasty whose throne they essentially took…but that is for a future post. The Carolingians’ predecessors were the first ruling dynasty of the Franks, they should get a little attention. Not to mention, their escapades and personalities are pure entertainment. They are my favorite group of people in medieval history! They are the “Long Haired Kings,” aka, the Merovingians.

“It has become almost commonplace to assert that no period of our history is so confusing or so dull as the Merovingian. This is the age which historians are most inclined to abridge, to slip through, and to pass over with few qualms. Their disdain is the result of laziness rather than reflection; and if the history of the Merovingians is somewhat hard to disentangle, it is certainly not dull. On the contrary, it is teeming with curious facts, eccentric characters, and such a variety of dramatic incidents that one’s only difficulty is to impose some order on the mass of details.” - Tales of the Early Franks, by Augustin Thierry

There is too much to tell in one post and too many great characters from this bunch to just summarize. So I thought I’d do a series! I want to share some of these intriguing people and the world they lived in. So buckle up. Because the Merovingians were a colorfully crazy lot!

SETTING THE SCENE

Within the span of a century, c. 400-500 AD, a lot happened. Initially, the Roman Empire dominated the map. But by the end of the century you see that same empire shrinking and ceding land to a smattering of new kingdoms. We refer to them with multiple names they’ve accumulated over the centuries: barbarian kingdoms, Gothic groups, Germanic groups, post-Roman or successor states. More specifically, the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Suevi, and the Angles and Saxons…to name a few.

The Franks were one of these new “barbarian” kingdoms who had spent the fifth century taking over a part of the declining western part of the Roman Empire, the area known as Gaul (to us, parts of modern day France and Germany). As far as I can tell, the Franks have at least three origin stories. Gregory of Tours quotes Roman sources that claim the Franks originally came from Pannonia (to us, think Central Europe, parts of Hungary and Austria), but migrated and eventually settled in Gaul. According to the Roman sources, they were Germanic and were named Franci by the Romans, which meant ‘savage’ or ‘proud’ and came from near the North Sea, hence the title Salian (or salty) Franks.¹ The Salian Franks fought against the empire at first, but then became foederati and fought for the Empire, being allowed to establish settlements in Gaul in exchange for their military service. Then in the wake of the waning empire, they eventually took over. The Chronicles of Fredegar and the Liber Historiae Francorum give the Franks a Trojan origin, claiming Priam (the last king of Troy during the Trojan Wars in The Iliad) was the first Frankish king who led his army to fight for the Romans against another barbarian group the Alans but then fell out with Emperor Valentinian so he took his people and fled to the Rhine…then slowly migrated and settled in Gaul.²

I love a good origin story tied to myth, but my favorite part isn’t the Trojan element but what came later. The Fredegar Chronicles claim Merovech (the leader whom the Merovingians get their name from) was the offspring of his mother (wife to the Frankish leader Chlodio) who went swimming and “encountered” a Quinotaur…a sea creature that was half-man and half-bull! This adds a little fantastical, supernatural panache to the Merovingians, don’t you think?

Image of the military triumph of Merovech and the Salian Franks against Attila and the Huns, on a cabinet in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. Click HERE to view.

Essentially, it all adds up to a group of descendants from Troy morphing into a Germanic people migrating from somewhere east of the Rhine, over the river and through the woods, to settle in Gaul. Then a little supernatural element gets mixed into a bloodline and one family rises up, establishing dominance as the leading ruling dynasty circa mid-fifth century. And voila, you’ve got the Merovingians!

Our most popular source on the Merovingians is Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks. It’s a colorful narrative rife with the author’s bias and agenda. It is purely entertaining and he paints such a vivid picture of life in Francia (Gaul) that it is hard to divorce his tales from reality. I know as a historian I must read Gregory’s depiction of the Merovingian Realm with a sceptic eye and keep in mind the complexities and nuances, blah, blah, blah. But the lover of a good story in me just wants to take his word as is.

Gregory seems to have had a love-hate relationship with the Merovingians. He loved them because they were the first of these new barbarian kingdoms to convert to Roman Christianity. Many of the other groups became Christian, but were a part of a heretical sect known as Arianism, who claimed Jesus wasn’t divine, but rather, created by God. Gregory, a Catholic bishop, had a scathing tone towards Arians. He saw the Merovingians as a saving grace for the Church, seeing them to be favored by God to be the ones who would restore the empire in Western Europe. However, he also had a strong dislike for the Merovingians because many of them didn’t behave like he would like good God-fearing Christians to behave. He viewed them as depraved ruffians and marauders. His work is full of the typical tropes you’d expect from a supposedly pagan barbarian group. They were wild, temperamental, promiscuous, revengeful, greedy, and debaucherous. Gregory doesn’t hold back in painting his saints saintly and his heathens heathenly…is that a word? I’m making it up.

So there you have it! This series will focus on the Merovingians and the world of the early Middle Ages. It will mainly be about engaging with these people to introduce you to this lesser known medieval world. So I will lean more heavily on the narrative side of history, simply telling their story, but then add a little historical context afterward. I’m learning as I go, so please chime in if you have anything to add, contest, or have any questions! We’ll kick things off with the first “king” mentioned by Gregory of Tours, Childeric, and his fascinating queen, Basina. I’ll post their stories in a few days!

Below are some excellent scholarly resources to go into more depth, detail, and debate on the academic nuances and complexities of the information…if your curiosity is piqued!

Further Reading & Recommended Resources

1. The History of the Franks, Gregory of Tours

2. Merovingian Worlds, James T. Palmer (this was just published and an excellent overview and introduction to all things Merovingian)

3. The Oxford Handbook of The Merovingian World, ed. by Bonnie Effros

4. The Merovingian Kingdoms: 450-751, Ian Wood

5. Women in Frankish Society: Marriage & the Cloister, 500-900, Suzanne Wemple

6. Queens, Consorts, Concubines: Gregory of Tours and Women of the Merovingian Elite, E.T. Dailey

7. Before France & Germany, Patrick J. Geary

8. The Barbarian West: 400-1000, J.M. Wallace-Hadrill

9. Barbarian Migrations and the Roman West: 376-568, Guy Halsall

10. Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe, Peter Heather

Note: Some of these sources are dated, there is a lot of more recent scholarship to be found. These are just the books I have collected over the years, reference frequently, and can therefore personally recommend. Enjoy!

1. Hadrill, 67.

2. Wood, 34.