List of Frankish kings

A page from Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum

The Franks were originally led by dukes (military leaders) and reguli (petty kings). The Salian Merovingians rose to dominance among the Franks and conquered most of Roman Gaul. They also conquered the Gaulish territory of the Visigothic Kingdom in 507. The sons of Clovis conquered the Burgundians and Alamanni. They acquired Provence and made the Bavarii and Thuringii their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by a new dynasty called the Carolingians in the 8th century. By the end of the 9th century, the Carolingians themselves were replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. The idea of a "King of the Franks" or Rex Francorum gradually disappeared over the 12th and 13th centuries.

A timeline of Frankish rulers is difficult since the realm was, according to old Germanic practice, frequently divided among the sons of a leader upon his death and then eventually reunited.

Dukes and reguli

Early rulers and Ripuarians

This list of early rulers is incomplete, as our sources leave open many gaps.

Ruler Description
Ascaric
Merogais
Mallobaudes
Genobaud
Sunno
Marcomer
Pharamond son of Marcomer, semi-legendary king. (Pharamond reigned with Chlodio 420–448)[1]
Chlodio (Chlodio reigned with Pharamond 420–448)[1]
Theudemeres son of Richomeres, King circa 422
Aegidius
Sigobert the Lame King 483–507, killed by his son Chloderic the Parricide
Chlodoric the Parricide son of Sigebert, King 507, dethroned by Clovis

Rulers of the Salians

See also: Salian Franks
Ruler Description
Clodio son of Theudemeres, King at Dispargum and later Tournai (426–447)
Merovech possible son of Chlodio, King at Tournai (447–458) (Merovee or Merovaeus reigned 448–458)[1]
Childeric I son of Merovech, King at Tournai (458–481)[1]
Clovis I son of Childeric I, King at Tournai (481–511), later united most of the Franks and Roman Gaul.[1]

All of the following may have been related to Clovis in some degree and eventually removed by before 509:

Ruler Description
Chararic
Ragnachar probably king at Cambrai from before 486, killed by Clovis
Ricchar brother of Ragnachar, killed by Clovis at Cambrai
Rignomer brother of Ragnachar, killed by Clovis at Mans

Merovingian kings of the Franks

All the Franks
Image Name Date of Birth Date of Death Reign Relationship with predecessor
 Clovis I c. 466 27 November 511 509–511 (481–511)[1] N/A

Clovis I united all the Frankish petty kingdoms as well as most of Roman Gaul under his rule, conquering the Domain of Soissons of the Roman general Syagrius as well as the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse. He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons, Reims, Metz, and Orléans became the chief residences. Upon his death, the kingdom was split among his four sons:

Soissons Paris Orléans Reims
Picture Name Picture Name Picture Name Picture Name
Chlothar I
511–561 (Clotaire r. 511–558) (Neustria)[1]		 Childebert I
511–558 (Neustria)[1]		 Chlodomer
511–524 (Neustria)[1]		 Theuderic I (Thierry I r. 511–534) (Austrasia)[1]
511–534
[2]
Passed to Paris then to Soissons
Theudebert I
534–548 (Austrasia)[1]
Theudebald
548–555 (Austrasia)[1]
Passed to Soissons in 558 Passed to Soissons in 555

Chlothar I eventually (558-561)[1] inherited all of the Frankish kingdoms after the deaths of his brothers or their successors. After his own death, the kingdom was once again split among his four sons:

Soissons
(eventually Neustria)		 Paris Orléans
(eventually Burgundy)		 Reims and Metz
(eventually Austrasia)
Picture Name Picture Name Picture Name Picture Name
Chilperic I
561–584 (Neustria)[1]		 Charibert I
561–567 (Caribert r. 561–593) (Neustria)[1]		 Guntram
561–592 (Gontran r. 561–570) (Neustria)[1]
[3]		 Sigebert I
561–575 (Austrasia)[1]
Partitioned in 567, eventually
falling in the hands of Soissons
Childebert II
575–595
Chlothar II
584–629 (Clotaire II, son of Chilperic, r. 584-628)[1]
Passed to Reims and Metz in 592
Theuderic II
595–613		 - Theudebert II
595–612
Passed to Orléans in 612
then to Soissons
- Sigebert II
613
Passed to Soissons in 613
Dagobert I
623–629 (r. 628–638)[1]

Chlothar II defeated Brunhilda and her grandson, reunifying the kingdom. However, in 623, in order to appease particularistic forces and also to secure the borders, he gave the Austrasians his young son as their own king. His son and successor, Dagobert I, emulated this move by appointing a sub-king for Aquitaine, with a seat at Toulouse, in 629 and Austrasia in 634.

Neustria, Austrasia & Burgundy Aquitaine
Picture Name Picture Name
Dagobert I
629–634		 Charibert II
629–632
Chilperic
632
autonomy until c. 767.
Neustria and Burgundy Austrasia
Picture Name Picture Name
Dagobert I
634–639		 Sigebert III
634–656/660
Clovis II
639–655
Chlothar III
655–673		 - Childebert the Adopted
656–661
Inherited by Chlothar III, but given to Childeric II in 662.
Childeric II
662–675
Unified rule from 673–675
Theuderic III
673
Childeric II
673–675
Displaced Theuderic III until his death in 675
Theuderic III
675–691
Unified rule after 679
Clovis III
675–676
Dagobert II
676–679
Passed to Neustria and Burgundy

Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679. From then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unity again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the "idle kings" who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of the palace.

Image Name Date of Birth Date of Death Reign Relationship with predecessor
 Theuderic III c. 654 12 April 691 679–691 N/A
 Clovis IV c. 678 c. 695 691–695 son of
 Childebert III c. 670/683 23 April 711 695–711 brother of
Dagobert III c. 699 31 December 715 711–715 son of
 Chilperic II c. 672 13 February 721 715–720 first cousin once removed of
Chlothar IV ? c. 719 717–718
rival puppet king in Austrasia		 relative of
 Theuderic IV c. 712 16 March/30 April 737 720–737 son of Dagobert III
interregnum 737–743
 Childeric III c. 717 c. 754 743–752 relative of

Carolingians

Mayors of the palace

The Carolingians were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria and Burgundy. In 687, Pippin of Heristal took the title Duke and Prince of the Franks (dux et princeps Francorum) after his conquest of Neustria in at the Battle of Tertry, which was cited by contemporary chroniclers as the beginning of Pippin's reign. Between 715 and 716, the descendants of Pippin disputed the succession.

In March 752,[4][5] Pippin III became the King of the Franks and the office of mayor disappeared. The Carolingians displaced the Merovingians as the ruling dynasty.

Kings of the Franks

Louis the Pious made many divisions of his empire during his lifetime. The final division, pronounced at Worms in 838, made Charles the Bald heir to the west, including Aquitaine, and Lothair heir to the east, including Italy and excluding Bavaria, which was left for Louis the German. However, following the emperor's death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was then divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Lothair was allowed to keep his imperial title and his kingdom of Italy, and granted the newly created Kingdom of Middle Francia, a corridor of land stretching from Italy to the North Sea, and including the Low Countries, the Rhineland (including Aachen), Burgundy, and Provence. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin I's son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia (modern France), the lands west of Lothair's Kingdom. Louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia (modern Germany), the lands east of Lothair's kingdom.

The following table does not provide a complete listing for some of the various regna of the empire, especially those which were subregna of the Western, Middle, or Eastern kingdom such as Italy, Provence, Neustria, and Aquitaine.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Western Kingdom (eventually France)

Names marked with an asterisk (*) were not Carolingians, but Robertians.

After this, the House of Capet ruled France. For the continuation, see the list of French monarchs.
Middle Kingdom

After Lothair's death in 855, his realm was divided between his sons:

  • Louis II, 855–875, the eldest son, succeeded his father as Emperor and received Italy. For the continuation, see King of Italy.
  • Lothair II, 855–869, the second son, received the northern half of Middle Francia, which came to be named "Lotharingia" (Lorraine) from his name. For the continuation, see the list of rulers of Lorraine.
  • Charles, 855–863, the youngest son, received the southern half of Middle Francia, consisting of Provence and Burgundy. For the continuation, see King of Burgundy.
Eastern Kingdom (eventually Germany)
  • Louis II, called the German, 843–876
    • Bavaria: Carloman, with his father 864–876

Louis divided his lands between his three sons, but they all ended up in the hands of the youngest by 882:

  • Carloman, King of Bavaria 876–880. King of Italy 877
  • Louis III, called the Younger, King of Saxony, Franconia, and Thuringia 876–882, inherited Bavaria from his brother Carloman in 880
  • Charles III, called the Fat, King of Swabia, Alemannia and Rhaetia 876–887, inherited Italy from his brother Carloman in 879, and inherited the remainder of East Francia from his brother Louis in 882. Emperor 881

On the deposition of Charles the Fat, East Francia went to his nephew:

Louis the Child was the last East Frankish Carolingian ruler. He was succeeded by Conrad of Franconia and then the Saxon Ottonian dynasty. For the continuation, see the list of German monarchs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 William Deans; Frederick Martin (1882). A History Of France: From The Earliest Times To The Present Day. 1. Edinburgh & London: A. Fullarton & Co. pp. 420-1792, Table Of Sovereigns Of France, vi-ix.
  2. ↑ Contested by Munderic, 533, rival king in the Auvergne
  3. ↑ Contested by Gundoald, 584 – 585, rival king in Aquitaine
  4. ↑ Charles Knight, The English Cyclopaedia: Volume IV, (London : 1867); pg 733 "We have no circumstantial account of this important event, except that Pepin was anointed at Soissons, in March 752, by Boniface, bishop of Mainz, called the Apostle of Germany, before the assembly of the nation."
  5. ↑ Claudio Rendina & Paul McCusker, The Popes: Histories and Secrets, (New York : 2002), pg 145

Further reading

  • The history of France as recounted in the "Grandes Chroniques de France", and particularly in the personal copy produced for King Charles V between 1370 and 1380 that is the saga of the three great dynasties, the Merovingians, Carolingians, and the Capetians, that shaped the institutions and the frontiers of the realm. This document was produced and likely commissioned during the Hundred Years' War, a dynastic struggle between the rulers of France and England with rival claims to the French throne. It should therefore be read and considered carefully as a source, due to the inherent bias in the context of its origins.
  • The Cambridge Illustrated History of France – Cambridge University Press
  • The Origins of France: Clovis to the Capetians 500-1000 by Edward James ISBN 0-333-27052-5
  • Late Merovingian France: History and Hagiography, 640-720 (Manchester Medieval Sources); Paul Fouracre (Editor), Richard A. Gerberding (Editor) ISBN 0-7190-4791-9
  • Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, eds. W. Kibler and G. Zinn. New York: Garland Publishing, 1995.
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