The Rule of Clovis
The longest lasting German state in the European continent was the Frankish kingdom, which was created by Clovis (c. 482-511), Frank leader and eventual king. One of the most remembered things about Clovis was that he was the first Germanic ruler to convert to Roman Catholic Christianity, not Arian Christianity. This was a very important move, as it gained him the support of the Roman Church, it lead the Franks to Roman Catholic Christianity and it gave him an excuse to lead a territorial expansion campaign in the 6th century. He quickly defeated the Alemanni in the southwest Germany and the Visigoths in southern Gaul. These conquests lead to the creation of a very strong Frankish kingdom that expanded from the Pyrenees to the eastern German lands. Clovis was thus known as the man who established a Frankish kingdom under the Merovingian dynasty. Merovech was the ancestor of the Franks. Clovis then spent the last years of his life maintaining his dynasty by killing relatives who lead other Frankish groups.
The Successors of Clovis
As customary in Frankish tradition, the three sons of Clovis divided the kingdom into three parts after his death, each ruled over one of the regions. The Frankish kingdom, that had been great was separated into the areas of Nustria, in northern Gaul, Austrasia, that included all of the land around the Rhine river, and Burgundy. The king of each region was helped by noble families in the area; the nobility of the Franks was now a class that had been formed by the fusing of the old Frankish nobility and the Gallo-Roman senatorial class. The king also had a cheif officer, called the major domus. Both the major domus and the nobility helping the king, used their close position with the king to expand their own land and power, and eventually the role of the major domus began to become more important than that of the king's.
The single most important event in Frankish history of the 8th century was the rise of Charles Martel who was made a major domus in Austrasia in 714. Charles helped the Franks militarily on multiple occasions; for example in 732 he defeated the Muslim near Poitiers. His role in the affairs of the Franks became so important that he had almost become the ruler of all three regions of the Frankish kingdom by 741.
The single most important event in Frankish history of the 8th century was the rise of Charles Martel who was made a major domus in Austrasia in 714. Charles helped the Franks militarily on multiple occasions; for example in 732 he defeated the Muslim near Poitiers. His role in the affairs of the Franks became so important that he had almost become the ruler of all three regions of the Frankish kingdom by 741.