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Μεροβίγγειοι (Merovingi)

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THE STATE OF THE FRANCS UNDER THE TWO FIRST DYNASTIES

a. The period of the Merovingian and the crisis in the state of the Francs.

The most important “ barbaric” state in Western Europe was the Christian state of the Francs that was founded by Chlodovicus. His successors however did not have his abilities and they led the state to civil wars. The state was politically divided. The crisis influenced both the civilization and the economy of the Francs. There was no commerce or industry, the roads were destroyed and the cities lost their power. Thus the political system founded by this first dynasty reached a dead end. Change in all levels was in need, whereas the church had a lot of power if not the only power.

b. The second dynasty and the peak of the power for the state of the Francs.

In the state of the Francs the office of majordomos was very important and it became even more important when Carolus Martello won the Arabs in the battle at Poitiers on 732. He became the founder of a new dynasty that came into power under the following circumstances: The Pope, threatened by the Lombardi that were ready to invade Rome, was forced to abandon Byzantium and ask for help by the Francs. He crowned the son of Carolus Martello, Pipinus, king of the Francs. The blessing given by the pope was of great moral value for the Francs and from that point the idea of the king representative of god dominated in Europe.
Pipinus as an exchange donated the area from Ravenna to Rome to the Pope. Pipinus and his sons were nominated patricians of the Romans a title that obliged them to protect Rome. Thus the bond between the western church and the Francs became very tight, whereas the gap between East and West caused by the battle against the icons became wider.
When Pipinus died the kingdom of the Francs included France and a part of Germany. His successor Carolus the Great conquered a lot of new territories and made his state even bigger.
In order to organize his state Carolus took the following measures:
- He divided its state in 200 provinces with a count in charge. The counts along with the bishops had the political and military administration, they collected the taxes and were judges.
- He sent royal representatives in all the state to secure that all the laws and orders were kept.
- He reformed the church that became a factor of unity.

c. The problem of the two empires

Carolus’s interference in Italy begun when he abolished the state of the Lombardi. After that its state became the most powerful of the German states. The Byzantine Empire tried at the beginning to approach diplomatically the new opponent by asking in marriage Carolus’s daughter Rotroude with the successor in the Byzantine throne. The marriage was cancelled dew to a crisis between the two states. After a while internal problems forced the Pope to ask for help, promising to crown Carolus emperor. Carolus accepted the offer.
After his nomination on Christmas of the year 800 in the Church of Saint Peter in Rome, Carolus chose Ashen as his capital and built there a huge palace.
His nomination as an emperor had as a result the existence of two empires one in the East and one in the West. Carolus’s coronation was considered a scandal by the Byzantines. They considered themselves as the only heirs in the heritage of the Roman state. The gap between East and West became political and the known world was divided into two opposite worlds.
Even though the Byzantines thought that Carolus was going to submit the eastern empire, he achieved a compromise with the Byzantine emperor after long and difficult negotiations.

d. The division of Carolus’s empire.

This dynasty managed to unite the larger part of the Western world. When Carolus died however the unity of the state collapsed. His son Ludovicus made serious mistakes that obliged his sons to share his heritage with the treaty of Virden (843). The first son took the areas on the eastern side of Rhine, the second areas in France, and the third a zone from Belgium to central Italy.
These three territorial unities became the basis for the formation of three of the largest states in Modern Europe: France, Italy and Germany.