Frankish Empire (Frankish State). Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties. The emergence of a state among the Franks

The Franks were a large tribal union formed from several more ancient Germanic tribes (Sigambri, Hamavs, Bructeri, Tencteri, etc.). They lived east of the lower reaches of the Rhine and were divided, like a wall, by the Charbonniere forests into two groups: the Salii and the Ripuarii. In the second half of the 4th century. The Franks occupied Toxandria (the area between the Meuse and the Scheldt), settling here as federates of the empire.

Orange shows the territory inhabited by the Ripuarian Franks in the second half of the 5th century.

During the great migration of peoples, the Merovingian dynasty took the dominant position among the Salians. At the end of the 5th century, one of its representatives, Clovis (466-511), stood at the head of the Salic Franks. This cunning and enterprising king laid the foundation for the powerful Frankish monarchy.

Reims Cathedral - where kings take their oaths

The first king to be crowned in Reims was the Frankish leader Clovis. This happened in 481. Tradition tells that on the eve of the coronation a miracle happened: a dove sent from heaven brought in its beak a vial full of oil necessary to anoint the king as king.

The last Roman possession in Gaul was Soissons and its surrounding territories. Holdwig, who knew from the experience of his father about the untouched riches of the cities and villages of the Paris Basin, and about the precariousness of the authorities that remained the heirs of the Roman Empire, in 486. in the battle of Soissons, he defeated the troops of the Roman governor in Gaul, Syagrius, and seized power in this region of the former empire.

To expand his possessions to the lower reaches of the Rhine, he goes with an army to the Cologne region against the Alemanni, who have ousted the Ripuarian Franks. The Battle of Tolbiac took place on the Wollerheim Heath field near the German town of Zulpich. This battle is extremely important in its consequences. Clovis's wife, the Burgundian princess Clotilde, was a Christian and had long convinced her husband to leave paganism. But Clovis hesitated.

They say that in the battle with the Alemanni, when the enemy began to gain the upper hand, Clovis vowed in a loud voice to be baptized if he won. There were many Gallo-Roman Christians in his army; upon hearing the vow, they were inspired and helped win the battle. The Alemanni king fell in battle, his warriors, in order to stop the murder, turn to Clovis with the words: “Have mercy, we obey you” (Gregory of Tours).

This victory makes the Alemanni dependent on the Franks. The territory along the left bank of the Rhine, the area of the Neckar River (the right tributary of the Rhine) and the lands up to the lower reaches of the Main pass to Clovis...

François-Louis Hardy Dejuynes - The Baptism of Clovis at Reims in 496

Holdvig donated a lot of wealth to the church and replaced the white banner on his banner, which depicted three golden toads, with a blue one, later, with the image of a fleur-de-lis, which was a symbol of St. Martin, the patron saint of France. Clovis allegedly chose this flower as a symbol of purification after baptism.

Along with the king, a significant part of his squad was baptized. The people, after the king’s speech, exclaimed: “Dear king, we renounce mortal gods and are ready to follow the immortal God whom Remigius preaches.” The Franks received baptism from the Catholic clergy; Thus, they became of the same faith with the Gallo - Roman population, and could merge with them into one people. This clever political move provided Clovis with the opportunity, under the banner of the fight against heresy, to oppose the neighboring Visigoth tribe and other barbarian tribes.

In 506, Clovis created a coalition against the Visigothic king Alaric II, who owned a quarter of south-west Gaul. In 507, he defeated Alaric's army at Vouillet, near Poitiers, pushing the Visigoths beyond the Pyrenees. For this victory, the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I granted him the honorary title of Roman consul, sending him the signs of this rank: a crown and a purple mantle, and thereby, in the eyes of the Gallic population, seemed to confirm the power of Clovis in the newly conquered regions. He enjoys the support of the bishops, who see Clovis as a winner in the fight against Arianism, which they consider heresy.

Many of the Roman and Gallic nobility hastened to recognize the power of Clovis, thanks to which they retained their lands and dependent people. They also helped Clovis rule the country. The rich Romans became related to the Frankish leaders and gradually began to form a single ruling stratum of the population. At the same time, the Eastern Empire was primarily focused on its own benefits, primarily in foreign policy terms.

The efforts of imperial diplomacy around the Frankish “kingdom” of Clovis were aimed both at achieving a favorable balance of power in the West and at creating a stronghold here against other Germans, in particular the Goths. In this regard, Byzantine diplomacy continued the traditional policy of the Roman Empire: it was preferable to deal with the barbarians with their own hands.

By order of Clovis, the law was codified, the ancient judicial customs of the Franks and the new decrees of the king were recorded. Clovis became the sole supreme ruler of the state. Not only all Frankish tribes, but also the population of the entire country now submitted to him. The power of the king was much stronger than the power of the military leader. The king passed it on as inheritance to his sons. Actions against the king were punishable by death. In each region of the vast country, Clovis appointed rulers from people close to him - counts. They collected taxes from the population, commanded detachments of warriors, and supervised the courts. The highest judge was the king.

In order to conquer and, most importantly, retain new lands, a military leader must rely on the proven loyalty of his military retinue, which accompanies and protects him everywhere. Only a full treasury can give him such an opportunity, and only the seizure of funds contained in the treasury of his rivals can make him able to acquire the loyalty of new warriors, and this is necessary if territorial claims extend to the whole of Gaul. Clovis and his successors, strengthening their power and ensuring themselves the ability to control the acquired territories, generously gave away lands to their associates and warriors as a reward for their service. The result of such donations was a sharp intensification of the natural process of “settlement of the squad to the ground.” The endowment of warriors with estates and their transformation into feudal landowners took place in almost all countries of feudal Europe. Very soon, noble people turned into large landowners.

At the same time, Clovis tried to unite the Frankish tribes subordinate to the other Merovingians under his rule. He achieved this goal by cunning and atrocities, destroying the Frankish leaders who were his allies in the conquest of Gaul, while showing a lot of cunning and cruelty. The Merovingians were called “long-haired kings” because, according to legend, they did not have the right to cut their hair, because this could bring misfortune to the kingdom and was punishable by immediate deprivation of the throne. Therefore, at first the rulers of the Franks did not kill their rivals, but simply cut off their hair. But the hair grew back quickly... and soon they began to cut it off along with the head. The beginning of this “tradition” was laid by the son of Childeric and the grandson of Merovey - Clovis, who exterminated almost all relatives - the leaders of the Salic Franks: Syagray, Hararic, Ragnahar and their children, his brothers Rahar and Rignomer and their children.

He eliminated the king of the Ripuarian Franks, Sigebert, by persuading his own son to kill his father, and then sent assassins to his son. After the murder of Sigebert and his son, Clovis also proclaimed himself king of the Ripuarian Franks. At the end of the 5th century, tribes of Germans calling themselves Franks formed a new state (the future France), which, under the Merovingians, covered the territory of present-day France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and part of Germany.

The long-awaited moment came for Clovis - he became the sole ruler of the Franks, but not for long, he died in the same year. He was buried in Paris in the Church of the Holy Apostles, which he himself built with his wife (now the Church of Saint Genevieve).

Considering the kingdom as his own, he left it to his four sons. Thierry, Chlodomir, Childebert and Chlothar inherited the kingdom and divided it among themselves into equal parts, only occasionally uniting for joint campaigns of conquest. There were several kings, the kingdom was still one, although divided into several parts, to which German historians gave the name “Shared Kingdom”. The power of the Frankish kings underwent changes in the period from the end of the 5th to the middle of the 6th century. Having been at first only a power over one people or nationality, uniting people for war, it became a power over a certain territory, and because of this, a permanent power over several peoples.

The fragmentation of the kingdom did not prevent the Franks from uniting their efforts for joint action against the Burgundians, whose state was conquered after a protracted war in 520-530. The annexation of the region of the future Provence, which turned out to be bloodless, also dates back to the time of the sons of Clovis. The Merovingians managed to achieve the transfer of these lands from the Ostrogoths, who were embroiled in a long war against Byzantium. In 536, the Ostrogothic king Witigis abandoned Provence in favor of the Franks. In the 30s In the 6th century, the Alpine possessions of the Alemanni and the lands of the Thuringians between the Weser and Elbe were also conquered, and in the 50s. - lands of the Bavarians on the Danube.

But the apparent unity could no longer hide the signs of future strife. An inevitable consequence of the partition was civil strife in the Merovingian family. These civil strife were accompanied by cruelties and treacherous murders.

Jean-Louis Besard as Childebert I, third son of King Clovis I and Clotilde of Burgundy

In 523-524. Together with his brothers, he took part in two campaigns against Burgundy. After the death of Chlodomer during the second campaign, a bloody conspiracy between Childeber and Chlothar occurred, who plotted to kill their nephews and divide their inheritance among themselves. So Childebert became king of Orleans, recognizing Chlothar as his heir.

In 542, Childebert, together with Chlothar, organized a campaign in Spain against the Visigoths. They captured Pamplona and besieged Zaragoza, but were forced to retreat.

From this campaign, Childebert brought to Paris a Christian relic - the tunic of St. Vincent, in whose honor he founded a monastery in Paris, later known as the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In 555, together with his nephew Temple, Childebert rebelled against Chlothar I and plundered part of his lands. After Childebert's death, Chlothar took possession of his kingdom.

In 558, all of Gaul was united under the rule of Clothar I. He also had four heirs, which led to a new division of the state into three parts - Burgundy, Austrasia and Neustria. In the southeast was Aquitaine, which was considered the common territory of all three Frankish kings. The Merovingian power was an ephemeral political entity. It lacked not only economic and ethnic community, but also political and judicial-administrative unity. The social system of different parts of the Frankish state was not the same. At the beginning of the 7th century, under King Clothar II, the landed nobility obtained from him major concessions listed in the edict of 614, and thereby limited his power.

The last significant Merovingian king was Dagobert (son of Clothar II). The Merovingians who followed were more insignificant than each other. Under them, the decision of state affairs passes into the hands of the mayors, appointed by the king in each kingdom from representatives of the most noble families. Amid this chaos and turmoil, one position particularly stood out and achieved the highest power: that of the palace manager. The manager of the palace, the chamber mayor, or major domus, in the 6th century did not yet stand out from many other positions; in the 7th century he began to occupy first place after the king.

The Frankish state split into two main parts: the eastern, Austrasia, or the German lands proper, and the western, Neustria, or Gaul.

One Austrasian mayor, Pishsh of Geristal, was already so powerful that he forced himself to be recognized as mayor in Neustria. As a result of his campaigns of conquest, he expanded the territory of the state and the tribes of the Saxons and Bavarians paid him tribute. His son Charles, by his side wife Alpaida, also kept both halves under his rule.

In 725 and 728, Charles Pepin undertook two campaigns in Bavaria, as a result of which it was subordinated to his kingdom, although it continued to be governed by its duke. In the early 730s he conquered Alemannia, which in the past was part of the Frankish state.

Charles significantly strengthened the military power of the Frankish kingdom. Under him, the military art of the Franks received further development. This was due to the appearance of heavily armed cavalry of the Frankish nobility - which in the near future became knightly cavalry.

Karl came up with an original move. He began to issue state lands not as full, but as conditional ownership. Thus, in the Frankish state, a special type of land ownership developed - benefices. The condition was complete “self-arming” and performing mounted military service. If the owner of the land refused, for whatever reason, his plot was confiscated back to the state.

Charles carried out a wide distribution of benefices. The fund for these grants was at first the lands confiscated from the rebellious magnates, and when these lands dried up, he carried out partial secularization (the removal of something from ecclesiastical, spiritual jurisdiction and transfer to the secular, civil), due to which he allocated a large number of beneficiaries. Using part of the church lands to strengthen the beneficiary system, Charles at the same time actively contributed to the spread of Christianity and the enrichment of churchmen in the lands he conquered, and saw in the church a means of strengthening his power. His patronage of the missionary activities of St. is known. Boniface - "Apostle of Germany".

The Arabs, having conquered Spain, invaded Gaul. Near the city of Poitiers in 732, the troops of the Frankish mayor Charles defeated the army of the Andalusian emir Abderrahman al-Ghafaki, who decided to punish the Duke of Aquitaine Ed.

A battle took place in which the desperate courage of the Muslims was crushed by the fortress of the Franks. The battle turned out to be in many ways a turning point in the history of medieval Europe. The Battle of Poitiers saved it from Arab conquest, and at the same time demonstrated the full power of the newly created knightly cavalry. The Arabs returned to Spain and stopped advancing north of the Pyrenees. Only a small part of Southern Gaul - Septimania - was now left in the hands of the Arabs. It is believed that it was after this battle that Charles received the nickname “Martell” - Hammer.

In 733 and 734 he conquered the lands of the Frisians, accompanying the conquest with the active planting of Christianity among them. Repeatedly (in 718, 720, 724, 738) Charles Martell made campaigns across the Rhine against the Saxons and imposed tribute on them.

However, he stood only on the threshold of the true historical greatness of the Frankish state. Before his death, he divided the Frankish kingdom between his two sons, Carloman and Pepin the Short, the first of them received majordom in Austrasia, Swabia and Thuringia, the second in Neustria, Burgundy and Provence.

Charles Martell was succeeded by his son Pitsch the Short, so nicknamed for his small stature, which did not prevent him from possessing great physical strength. In 751, Major Pepin the Short imprisoned the last Merovingian (Childeric III) in a monastery and turned to the Pope with the question: “Who should be called king - the one who has only the title, or the one who has real power?” and the understanding dad answered exactly as the questioner wanted. This seemingly simple question challenged the ancestral sacredness of the Franks embodied in the Merovingians.

Francois Dubois - Anointing of Pepin the Short in the Abbey of Saint-Denis

Holy Bishop Boniface anointed Pepin as king, and then Pope Stephen II, who arrived to ask for help against the Lombards, himself repeated this rite of anointing. In 751, at a meeting of the Frankish nobility and his vassals in Soissons, Pepin was officially proclaimed king of the Franks. Pepin knew how to be grateful: by force of arms he forced the Lombard king to give the pope the cities of the Roman region and the lands of the Ravenna exarchate that he had previously captured. On these lands in Central Italy, the Papal State arose in 756. So Pepin became a monarch, and the pope who sanctioned the coup received an invaluable gift, an enormously important precedent for the future: the right to remove kings and entire dynasties from power.

Charles Martell and Pepin the Short understood that the spread of Christianity and the establishment of church government in the German countries would bring the latter closer to the Frankish state. Even earlier, individual preachers (missionaries), especially from Ireland and Scotland, came to the Germans and spread Christianity among them.

After the death of Pepin the Short in 768, the Crown passed to his son Charles, later called the Great. The mayors of Austrasia from the house of Pipinids (descendants of Pepin of Geristal), becoming the rulers of the united Frankish state, laid the foundation for a new dynasty of Frankish kings. After Charles, the Pipinid dynasty was called the Carolingians.

During the reign of the Carolingians, the foundations of the feudal system were laid in Frankish society. The growth of large landed property accelerated due to social stratification within the community where it remained, the ruin of the mass of free peasants who, losing their allods, gradually turned into land-owning and then personally dependent people. This process, which began under the Merovingians, in the 8th-9th centuries. took on a violent character.

Continuing the aggressive policy of his predecessors, Charles in 774 made a campaign in Italy, overthrew the last Lombard king Desiderius and annexed the Lombard kingdom to the Frankish state. In June 774, after another siege, Charles took Pavia, proclaiming it the capital of the Italian kingdom.

Charlemagne went from defensive to offensive and against the Arabs in Spain. He made his first trip there in 778, but was only able to reach Saragossa and, without taking it, was forced to return beyond the Pyrenees. The events of this campaign served as the plot basis for the famous medieval French epic “Songs of Roland”. Its hero was one of Charles’s military leaders, Roland, who died in a skirmish with the Basques along with the rearguard of the Frankish troops, covering the Franks’ retreat in the Roncesvalles Gorge. Despite the initial failure, Charles continued to try to advance south of the Pyrenees. In 801, he managed to capture Barcelona and establish a border territory in the northeast of Spain - the Spanish March.

Charles fought the longest and bloodiest wars in Saxony (from 772 to 802), located between the Ems and Lower Rhine rivers in the west, the Elbe in the east and the Eider in the north. In order to break the rebellious, Charles entered into a temporary alliance with their eastern neighbors, the Polabian Slavs, the Obodrites, who had long been at enmity with the Saxons. During the war and after its completion in 804, Charles practiced mass migrations of Saxons to the interior regions of the Frankish kingdom, and Franks and Obodrites to Saxony.

Charles's conquests were also directed to the southeast. In 788, he finally annexed Bavaria, eliminating the ducal power there. Thanks to this, the influence of the Franks spread to neighboring Carinthia (Horutania), inhabited by the Slavs - the Slovenes. On the southeastern borders of the expanding Frankish state, Charles encountered the Avar Khaganate in Pannonia. The nomadic Avars carried out constant predatory raids on neighboring agricultural tribes. In 788, they also attacked the Frankish state, marking the beginning of the Frankish-Avar wars, which continued intermittently until 803. A decisive blow to the Avars was dealt by the capture of a system of ring-shaped fortifications called “hrings”, surrounded by stone walls and a palisade made of thick logs; Many settlements were located among these fortifications. Having stormed the fortifications, the Franks enriched themselves with countless treasures. The main hring was protected by nine successive walls. The war with the Avars lasted for many years, and only the alliance of the Franks with the southern Slavs allowed them, with the participation of the Khorutan prince Voinomir, who led this campaign, to defeat the central fortress of the Avars in 796. As a result, the Avar state collapsed, and Pannonia temporarily found itself in the hands of the Slavs.

Charlemagne is the first ruler who decided to unite Europe. The Frankish state now covered a vast territory. It extended from the middle reaches of the Ebro River and Barcelona in the southwest to the Elbe, Sala, the Bohemian Mountains and the Vienna Woods in the east, from the border of Jutland in the north to Central Italy in the south. This territory was inhabited by many tribes and nationalities, varying in level of development. From the moment of its inception, the administrative organization of the new Frankish empire was aimed at universal education, the development of art, religion and culture. Under him, capitularies were issued - acts of Carolingian legislation, and land reforms were carried out that contributed to the feudalization of Frankish society. By forming border areas - the so-called Marches - he strengthened the defense capability of the state. The era of Charles went down in history as the era of the “Carolingian Renaissance”. It was at this time that the Frankish Empire became the link between antiquity and medieval Europe. Scientists and poets gathered at his court, he promoted the spread of culture and literacy through monastic schools and through the activities of monastic educators.

Under the leadership of the great Anglo-Saxon scientist Alcuin, and with the participation of such famous figures as Theodulf, Paul the Deacon, Eingard and many others, the education system was actively revived, which was called the Carolingian Renaissance. He led the church's struggle against the iconoclasts and insisted that the pope include the filioque (the provision of the procession of the Holy Spirit not only from the Father, but also from the Son) in the Creed.

Architectural art is experiencing a great boom; numerous palaces and temples are being built, the monumental appearance of which was characteristic of the early Romanesque style. It should be noted, however, that the term “Renaissance” can be used here only conditionally, since Charles’s activities took place in the era of the spread of religious-ascetic dogmas, which for several centuries became an obstacle to the development of humanistic ideas and the true revival of cultural values created in the ancient era.

Through his vast conquests, Charlemagne demonstrated a desire for imperial universality, which found its religious counterpart in the universality of the Christian Church. This religious and political synthesis, in addition to being symbolic, also had great practical significance for organizing the internal life of the state and ensuring the unity of its heterogeneous parts. Secular power, when necessary, used the authority of the church to assert its prestige. However, this was an unstable union: the church, seeing its support in the state, laid claim to political leadership. On the other hand, the secular power, whose strength gradually grew, sought to subjugate the papacy. Therefore, the relationship between church and state in Western Europe included confrontation and inevitable conflict situations.

Charles could no longer rule numerous countries and peoples while continuing to bear the title of King of the Franks. In order to reconcile and merge together all the heterogeneous elements in his kingdom - the German tribes of the Franks, Saxons, Frisians, Lombards, Bavarians, Alamanni with the Roman, Slavic and other components of the state - Charles needed to accept a new, so to speak, neutral title that could would give it undeniable authority and significance in the eyes of all subjects. Such a title could only be that of a Roman emperor, and the only question was how to obtain it. The proclamation of Charles as emperor could only happen in Rome, and the opportunity soon presented itself. Taking advantage of the fact that Pope Leo III, fleeing from the hostile Roman nobility, took refuge at the court of the Frankish king, Charles undertook a campaign to Rome in defense of the pope. The grateful pope, not without pressure from Charles, crowned him with the imperial crown in 800 in St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, solemnly placing on him the imperial crown with the title "Charles Augustus, crowned by God the great and peace-making Roman Emperor."

Charlemagne's new Roman Empire was half the size of the previous one, Charlemagne was German rather than Roman, preferring to rule from Aachen or wage war. The Holy Roman Empire of the German nation lasted a thousand years until it was destroyed by another great conqueror - Napoleon, who called himself the successor of Charlemagne.

The word king did not exist before Charlemagne. It came from his name. The anagram of Charlemagne encrypts his name - Karolus.

Despite the efforts of Charlemagne, the Frankish state never achieved political unity, and weakening as a result of external threats accelerated its collapse. From that time on, only church unity was preserved in Europe, and culture found refuge in monasteries for a long time.

The fragmentation of the empire by the grandchildren of Charlemagne in 843 meant the end of the political unity of the Frankish state. Charlemagne's empire collapsed due to feudalization. Under the weak sovereigns, who turned out to be his son and grandsons, the centrifugal forces of feudalism tore it apart.

According to the Treaty of Verdun in 843, it was divided between the descendants of Charlemagne into three large parts: the West Frankish, East Frankish kingdoms and an empire that included Italy and the lands along the Rhine (the empire of Lothair, one of Charles's grandsons). The partition marked the beginning of the history of three modern European states - France, Germany and Italy.

The formation of the “kingdom” of the Franks is a kind of result of the long historical path traversed by the West German tribal world over hundreds of years. Of all the “states” formed by the Germans, the state of the Franks lasted the longest and played the most important role. Perhaps this is explained by the fact that the Franks settled in large numbers, completely displacing the “Roman” population from certain territories.

In place of the slaveholding territories of Ancient Rome, free peasant communities were formed, the formation of large feudal estates began - the era of feudalism, or the era of the Middle Ages, began. And the formation of French civilization begins, as part of European civilization.

In modern Europe, Charlemagne is considered one of the forerunners of European integration. Since 1950, the annual Charlemagne Prize for contributions to European unity has been awarded in Aachen, the capital of Charles' empire.

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The Frankish state occupied vast territories in Central and Western Europe until the 5th century. were part of the Western Roman Empire. The chronological framework of the existence of Frankia is 481-843. Over the 4 centuries of its existence, the country has gone from a barbarian kingdom to a centralized empire.

Three cities were the capitals of the state at different times:

Tour;
Paris;
Aachen.

The country was ruled by representatives of two dynasties:

From 481 to 751 — Merovingians;
From 751 to 843 – Carolingians (the dynasty itself appeared earlier - in 714).

The most prominent rulers, under whom the Frankish state reached the peak of its power, were Charles Martel, Pepin the Short and Charlemagne.

The formation of Frankia under Clovis

In the mid-3rd century, Frankish tribes first invaded the Roman Empire. They twice attempted to occupy Roman Gaul, but both times they were expelled. In the 4th-5th centuries. The Roman Empire began to be increasingly attacked by barbarians, which included the Franks.

By the end of the 5th century. part of the Franks settled on the coast of the Rhine - within the modern city of Cologne (at that time it was the settlement of Colonia). They began to be called Rhenish or Ripuarian Franks. Another part of the Frasnian tribes lived north of the Rhine, so they were called northern or Salic. They were ruled by the Merovingian clan, whose representatives founded the first Frankish state.

In 481, the Merovingians were led by Clovis, the son of the deceased king Childeric. Clovis was greedy for power, self-interested and sought at all costs to expand the borders of the kingdom through conquest. From 486, Clovis began to subjugate the outlying Roman cities, the population of which voluntarily came under the authority of the Frankish ruler. As a result, he was able to grant property and land to his associates. Thus began the formation of the Frankish nobility, which recognized themselves as vassals of the king.

In the early 490s. Clovis married Chrodechild, who was the daughter of the King of Burgundy. His wife had a huge influence on the actions of the king of Frankia. Chrodehilda considered her main task to be the spread of Christianity in the kingdom. On this basis, disputes constantly occurred between her and the king. The children of Chrodechild and Clovis were baptized, but the king himself remained a convinced pagan. However, he understood that the baptism of the Franks would strengthen the prestige of the kingdom in the international arena. The approach of war with the Alamanni forced Clovis to radically change his views. After the Battle of Tolbiac in 496, in which the Franks defeated the Alamanni, Clovis decided to convert to Christianity. At that time, in Western Europe, in addition to the classical Western Roman version of Christianity, the Arian heresy also dominated. Clovis wisely chose the first creed.

The baptismal ceremony was performed by the bishop of Reims, Remigius, who converted the king and his soldiers to the new faith. To enhance the significance of the event for the country, the whole of Reims was decorated with ribbons and flowers, a font was installed in the church, and a huge number of candles were burning. The baptism of Frankia elevated Clovis above other German rulers who disputed their right to supremacy in Gaul.

Clovis's main opponent in this region were the Goths, led by Alaric II. The decisive battle between the Franks and the Goths took place in 507 at Vouillet (or Poitiers). The Franks won a major victory, but they failed to completely subjugate the Gothic kingdom. At the last moment, the ruler of the Ostrogoths, Theodoric, came to the aid of Alaric.

At the beginning of the 6th century. The Byzantine emperor honored the Frankish king with the titles of proconsul and patrician, which elevated Clovis as a Christian ruler.

Throughout his reign, Clovis defended his rights to Gaul. An important step in this direction was the transfer of the royal court from Tournai to Lutetia (modern Paris). Lutetia was not only a well-fortified and developed city, but also the center of all of Gaul.

Clovis had many more ambitious plans, but they were not destined to be realized. The last great act of the Frankish king was the unification of the Salic and Ripuarian Franks.

Frankish state in the 6th-7th centuries.

Clovis had four sons - Theodoric, Childerbert, Clodomer and Clothar, who, unlike their wise father, did not see the point in creating a single centralized state. Immediately after his death, the kingdom was divided into four parts with capitals at:

Reims (Theodoric);
Orleans (Chlodomer);
Paris (Hilderbert);
Soissons (Chlothar).

This division weakened the kingdom, but did not prevent the Franks from conducting successful military campaigns. The most significant victories for the Frankish kingdom include the successful campaigns against the Thuringian and Burgundian kingdoms. They were conquered and incorporated into Frankia.

After the death of Khdodvig, the kingdom plunged into internecine wars for two hundred years. Twice the country found itself under the rule of one ruler. The first time this happened was in 558, when Clovis's youngest son Clothar the First was able to unite all parts of the kingdom. But his reign lasted only three years, and civil strife again overwhelmed the country. The Frankish kingdom was united for the second time only in 613 by Chlothar the Second, who ruled the country until 628.

The results of long-term civil strife were:

Constant change in internal boundaries;
Confrontations between relatives;
Murders;
Dragging vigilantes and ordinary peasants into political confrontation;
Political rivalry;
Lack of central authority;
Cruelty and licentiousness;
Violation of Christian values;
Decline in the authority of the church;
Enrichment of the military class due to constant campaigns and robberies.

Socio-economic development under the Merovingians

Despite the political fragmentation of the 6th-7th centuries, it was at this time that Frankish society experienced rapid development of social ties. The basis of the social structure was feudalism, which arose under Clovis. The king of the Franks was the supreme overlord who granted land to his vassal warriors in exchange for faithful service. This is how two main forms of land ownership arose:

Hereditary;
Alienable.

The warriors, receiving land for their service, gradually grew rich and became large feudal landowners.

There was a separation from the general mass and strengthening of noble families. Their power undermined the power of the king, which resulted in the gradual strengthening of the positions of the mayordomos - managers at the royal court.

The changes also affected the peasant community-mark. Peasants received land as private property, which accelerated the processes of property and social stratification. Some people became fabulously rich, while others lost everything. Landless peasants quickly became dependent on the feudal lords. In the early medieval kingdom of the Franks there were two forms of enslavement of peasants:

Through comments. The impoverished peasant asked the feudal lord to establish protection over him and transferred his lands to him for this, recognizing his personal dependence on the patron. In addition to the transfer of land, the poor man was obliged to follow any instructions of the lord;
Through bakery - a special agreement between the feudal lord and the peasant, according to which the latter received a plot of land for use in exchange for fulfilling duties;

In most cases, the impoverishment of the peasant inevitably led to the loss of personal freedom. In a matter of decades, most of the population of Frankia became enslaved.

Rule of mayors

By the end of the 7th century. royal power was no longer an authority in the Frankish kingdom. All levers of power were concentrated at the mayors, whose position in the late 7th - early 8th centuries. became hereditary. This caused the rulers of the Merovingian dynasty to lose control of the country.

At the beginning of the 8th century. Legislative and executive power passed to the noble Frankish family of Martells. Then the position of royal majordomo was taken by Charles Martell, who carried out a number of important reforms:

On his initiative, a new form of ownership arose - benefices. All lands and peasants included in the benefices became conditionally their own vassal. Only persons who performed military service had the right to hold benefices. Leaving service also meant loss of benefit. The right to distribute benefits belonged to large landowners and the mayordomo. The result of this reform was the formation of a strong vassal-feudal system;
An army reform was carried out, within the framework of which a mobile cavalry army was created;
The vertical of power was strengthened;
The entire territory of the state was divided into districts, headed by counts appointed directly by the king. Judicial, military and administrative power was concentrated in the hands of each count.

The results of Charles Martell's reforms were:

Rapid growth and strengthening of the feudal system;
Strengthening the judicial and financial systems;
The growth of the power and authority of the feudal lords;
Increasing the rights of landowners, especially large ones. At that time, in the Frankish kingdom there was a practice of distributing letters of immunity, which could only be issued by the head of state. Having received such a document, the feudal lord became the rightful owner in the territories under his control;
Destruction of the property donation system;
Confiscation of property from churches and monasteries.

Martell was succeeded by his son Pepin (751), who, unlike his father, was crowned king. And already his son, Charles, nicknamed the Great, in 809 became the first emperor of the Franks.

During the era of the rule of mayors, the state became significantly stronger. The new state system was characterized by two phenomena:

Complete elimination of local authorities that existed before the mid-8th century;
Strengthening the power of the king.

The kings received broad powers. Firstly, they had the right to convene a national assembly. Secondly, they formed a militia, a squad and an army. Thirdly, they issued orders that applied to all residents of the country. Fourthly, they had the right to occupy the post of supreme commander. Fifthly, kings administered justice. And finally, sixthly, taxes were collected. All orders of the sovereign were mandatory. If this did not happen, the violator faced a huge fine, corporal punishment or the death penalty.

The judicial system in the country looked like this:

The king has the highest judicial power;
Locally, cases were heard first by community courts, and then by feudal lords.

Thus, Charles Martel not only changed the country, but created all the conditions for the further centralization of the state, its political unity and the strengthening of royal power.

Carolingian rule

In 751, King Pepin the Short from a new dynasty, which was called the Carolingians (after Charlemagne, the son of Pepin), ascended the throne. The new ruler was short, for which he went down in history under the nickname “Short”. He succeeded Hillderic the Third, the last representative of the Merovingian family, on the throne. Pepin received a blessing from the Pope, who sanctified his ascension to the royal throne. For this, the new ruler of the Frankish kingdom provided the Vatican with military assistance as soon as the Pope requested it. In addition, Pepin was a zealous Catholic, supported the church, strengthened its position, and donated extensive possessions. As a result, the Pope recognized the Carolingian family as the legitimate heirs to the Frankish throne. The head of the Vatican declared that any attempts to overthrow the king would be punishable by excommunication.

After the death of Pepin, control of the state passed to his two sons Karl and Carloman, who soon died. All power was concentrated in the hands of the eldest son of Pepin the Short. The new ruler received a remarkable education for his time, knew the Bible very well, was involved in several sports, was well versed in politics, and spoke classical and folk Latin, as well as his native Germanic language. Carl studied all his life because he was naturally inquisitive. This passion led to the sovereign establishing a system of educational institutions throughout the country. So the population began to gradually learn to read, count, write and study science.

But Charles's most significant successes were the reforms aimed at unifying France. First, the king improved the administrative division of the country: he determined the boundaries of the regions and installed his own governor in each.

Then the ruler began to expand the borders of his state:

In the early 770s. conducted a series of successful campaigns against the Saxons and Italian states. Then he received a blessing from the Pope and went on a campaign against Lombardy. Having broken the resistance of local residents, he annexed the country to France. At the same time, the Vatican repeatedly used the services of Charles’s troops to pacify its rebellious subjects, who from time to time raised uprisings;
In the second half of the 770s. continued the fight against the Saxons;
He fought with the Arabs in Spain, where he tried to protect the Christian population. In the late 770s - early 780s. founded a number of kingdoms in the Pyrenees - Aquitaine, Toulouse, Septimania, which were supposed to become springboards for the fight against the Arabs;
In 781 he created the Kingdom of Italy;
In the 780s and 790s he defeated the Avars, thanks to which the borders of the state were expanded eastward. In the same period, he broke the resistance of Bavaria, incorporating the duchy into the empire;
Charles had problems with the Slavs who lived on the borders of the state. At different periods of the reign, the tribes of the Sorbs and Lutich offered fierce resistance to Frankish domination. The future emperor managed not only to break them, but also to force them to recognize themselves as his vassals.

When the borders of the state were expanded as much as possible, the king began to pacify the rebellious peoples. Uprisings constantly broke out in different regions of the empire. The Saxons and Avars caused the most problems. Wars with them were accompanied by large casualties, destruction, hostage-taking and migrations.

In the last years of his reign, Charles faced new problems - attacks by the Danes and Vikings.

The following points are worth noting in Charles’s domestic policy:

Establishing a clear procedure for collecting the people's militia;
Strengthening the borders of the state through the creation of border areas - stamps;
Destruction of the power of the dukes who claimed the power of the sovereign;
Convening of Sejms twice a year. In the spring, all people endowed with personal freedom were invited to such a meeting, and in the fall, representatives of the highest clergy, administration and nobility came to the court;
Agricultural development;
Construction of monasteries and new cities;
Support for Christianity. A tax was introduced in the country specifically for the needs of the church - tithe.

In 800, Charles was proclaimed emperor. This great warrior and ruler died of fever in 814. The remains of Charlemagne were buried in Aachen. From now on, the late emperor began to be considered the patron saint of the city.

After the death of his father, the imperial throne passed to his eldest son, Louis the First Pious. This was the beginning of a new tradition, which meant the onset of a new period in the history of France. The power of the father, like the territory of the country, was no longer to be divided between his sons, but to be passed on by seniority - from father to son. But this became the cause of a new wave of internecine wars for the right to hold the imperial title among the descendants of Charlemagne. This weakened the state so much that the Vikings, who reappeared in France in 843, easily captured Paris. They were driven out only after paying a huge ransom. The Vikings left France for some time. But in the mid-880s. they appeared again near Paris. The siege of the city lasted more than a year, but the French capital survived.

Representatives of the Carolingian dynasty were removed from power in 987. The last ruler of the family of Charlemagne was Louis the Fifth. Then the highest aristocracy chose a new ruler - Hugo Capet, who founded the Capetian dynasty.

The Frankish state was the greatest country of the medieval world. Under the rule of his kings there were vast territories, many peoples and even other sovereigns who became vassals of the Merovingians and Carolingians. The legacy of the Franks can still be found in the history, culture and traditions of the modern French, Italian and German nations. The formation of the country and the flourishing of its power are associated with the names of outstanding political figures who forever left their traces in the history of Europe.

Larger territorial associations were created on the border of the country - duchies, consisting of several districts. Dukes, those who headed their administration were primarily commanders of the local militia. They were entrusted with border defense. Otherwise, they had the same powers as the counts. In the original German lands (the eastern regions of the Frankish state), ducal power was of a slightly different nature. It had its roots in the past, to the time of tribal leaders, whose descendants became dukes of the Frankish kings.

The emergence of a state among the Franks

A contemporary tells how Clovis's power increased during the conquest of Gaul. One day, after a fierce battle, the Franks, among other spoils of war, captured a precious cup. According to ancient custom, all war booty was divided by lot among the warriors. But Clovis asked to give him this cup in addition to his share. “Do whatever you want,” the warriors answered. “No one can resist your power!” But one of the warriors stepped forward and, cutting the bowl with a battle ax, declared: “You will receive nothing except what you get by lot!” Clovis remained silent, but decided to take revenge on the warrior. A year later, at a military review, he accused the rebellious warrior of keeping his weapons in disarray, and cut off his head with a battle axe. “That’s what you did with the cup!” - he exclaimed at the same time. After the review, the warriors dispersed in fear. So, relying on his loyal squad, Clovis forced the Franks to submit.

State and law of the Franks

Private ownership of land arose as a result of donations, purchases from the Romans, and seizures of unoccupied land. Later these lands were called allod. Along with them, there were lands transferred by the owners for use and possession for certain services and payment in kind, the so-called precaria. In troubled times, when the nobility waged wars for the possession of land, many owners of allods deliberately transferred it to powerful magnates under the condition of patronage, i.e. protection from attacks from other tycoons.

State and law of the Franks

Inheritance under a will was carried out by donation (affatomy), performed publicly in the people's assembly in a strictly established form: the property was transferred to a third party, who was obliged no later than a year after the death of the donor to transfer this property to the specified person.

General characteristics of the Frankish state

Even at the first demand, the creditor received from Tungin the right to protest in the presence of witnesses against any payment to anyone and against any pledge that could be made to his detriment by his debtor. Finally, the creditor went to the count, who, together with him and the seven Rahinburgs, went to the debtor’s house, seized his property and transferred to the creditor property commensurate with the amount of the debt. The third part of the fine went to the count as a fredus (fine for breaking the peace).

STATE OF THE FRANKS

The highest judicial power was in the hands of the monarch. Most cases were heard by the main courts—the “courts of the hundred.” Gradually, judicial power began to pass into the hands of feudal lords. The count, centenary or vicar convened a molberg - a meeting of hundreds of free people. They chose judges from among themselves - Rakhinburgs. The trial took place under the leadership of an elected chairman - Tungin. All free and full-fledged residents of the hundred were to be present at the meeting. Royal commissioners monitored only the correctness of legal proceedings.

Topic 4: Brief lecture notes on the topic: “State and Frankish law”

The center of government of the empire was the imperial court with its officials - the palace count, who combined in his hands the leadership of the royal administration along with the administration of justice; the chancellor is the custodian of the state seal, responsible for drawing up royal acts and heading the office; Count Palatine, in charge of palace management; archchaplain - head of the Frankish clergy, confessor of the king and his adviser on church affairs, custodian of the special shrine of the Frankish monarchs - the cloak of St. Martin Tulsky. Most of the other positions that existed earlier (marshal, seneschal, etc.) were preserved under the Carolingians.

State of the Franks in brief

The main differences between them were related to the origin and legal status of the person or the social group to which he belonged. Over time, the factor influencing the legal differences of the Franks became their membership in the royal service, the royal squad, and the emerging state apparatus. Feature of the V - VI centuries. in Western Europe marks the beginning of the ideological offensive of the Christian Church. The growing ideological and economic role of the church began to manifest itself in its power claims. The church at this time was not yet a political entity and did not have a unified organization, but it had already begun to become a large landowner, receiving numerous land donations from both rulers and ordinary people. Religious power is increasingly intertwined with secular power.

State of the Franks in brief

Local forms of self-government—traditional meetings of villages and their associations (hundreds)—were gradually eliminated. They were replaced by a system of officials appointed initially from the center - the king's commissioners. The entire territory of the country was divided into districts - pagi. Management of the district was entrusted to the count. He was assigned a military detachment.

STATE OF THE FRANKS

Charles Martell “The Hammer”, who ruled the Frankish state as major-duke from 715 to 741, put an end to the donation of lands into full ownership and began distributing them in the form of benefices; carried out the confiscation of lands from rebellious (non-submissive) secular and spiritual feudal lords; carried out mainly the unification of many parts of the Frankish state into a single whole; laid the foundation for a professional knightly army.
In 800, Charlemagne took the title of emperor. The evolution of the political system during this period went in two directions: the strengthening of royal power itself and the elimination of local self-government.

Free collection of essays

Tribal relations as a structure of power did not meet the emerging requirements, and they begin to give way to a new organization in which the power of the military leader turns into royal power. This was a special “public power” that no longer coincided directly with the population. The establishment of public power was inextricably linked with the introduction of territorial division of the population. The territories inhabited by the Franks were divided into districts - paci, which consisted of smaller units - hundreds. Population management in these territorial divisions was entrusted to special officials.

State of the Franks

The decline of imperial power and the growing unpopularity of Roman rule created favorable conditions for the allied kings of Rome to expand their powers and satisfy their political claims. They often, with reference to the imperial commission, appropriated full power, levied taxes from the local population, etc.

Frankish Empire (Frankish State)

Abstract: State of the Franks

The growing ideological and economic role of the church could not but manifest itself sooner or later in its claims to power. However, the church at that time was not yet a political entity, did not have a unified organization, representing a kind of spiritual community of people led by bishops, of whom, according to tradition, the most important was the Bishop of Rome, who later received the title of Pope.

The emergence of the Frankish kingdom

The Franks were courageous and fearless warriors. Contemporaries said about them that if the Frank could not win in battle, then he would rather die than show his back to the enemy. Leader of the Franks Clovis(486-511) managed to unite these warlike tribes and became their king. In 486 he conquered the lands of the former Roman province Gaul and founded his kingdom here.