Die Merowinger

As the first long-term successful royal dynasty of the Middle Ages, the Frankish Merovingians shaped the period from the early 5th to the middle of the 8th century. Even though their epoch was overshadowed by military conflicts with their neighbours and bloody disputes within the ruling dynasty, they succeeded in building a stable empire - an empire that passed to the Carolingians with the removal from power of the last Merovingian, Childeric III. This volume offers an overview of the course of Merovingian history and illuminates basic features of society, culture, religion, economy, law, life and everyday life of the Merovingians.