* Pagus of Brabant, a pagus ( or Carolingian shire, the territory of a count ) within the Frankish Empire, much of which became part of the counties of Flanders and Hainaut

Also during the fifth century, the Western Roman Empire declined and was overrun by German and Frankish peoples.

Of all of the Germanic peoples, the Franks would rise to a position of Hegemony over western Europe, the Frankish Empire reaching its peak under Charlemagne around AD 800, when he was crowned Emperor of the West.

When the Frankish Empire was divided among Charlemagne's heirs in 843, the eastern part became East Francia.

Expansion of the Frankish Empire: Blue = realm of Pippin III in 758, Red = expansion under Charlemagne until 814, Yellow = marches and dependencies

Swabia became a duchy under the Frankish Empire in 496, following the Battle of Tolbiac ; in 530 Saxons and Franks destroyed the Kingdom of Thuringia.

Regions of the Frankish Empire were placed under the control of autonomous dukes of mixed Frankish and native blood.

For the first time, the term " Kingdom ( Empire ) of the Germans " ( Regnum Teutonicorum ) was applied to a Frankish kingdom, although Teutonicorum at its founding originally meant something closer to " Realm of the Germanic peoples " or " Germanic Realm " than " realm of the Germans ".

The Western Roman Empire was thus revived ( Latin: renovatio Romanorum imperii ) by transferring it to the Frankish king.

The Anglo-Saxon mission on the continent took off in the 8th century, leading to the Christianisation of practically all of the Frankish Empire by 800.

In 554, a large-scale Frankish invasion was defeated at Casilinum, and Italy secured for the Empire, even though it would take Narses several years to reduce the remaining Gothic strongholds.

In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, and integrated into his Empire.

Frankish gold Tremissis, imitation of Byzantine Empire | Byzantine Tremissis, mid-500s.

In addition to their promised allegiance to the other, Louis and Charles pledged their solidarity to oppose their eldest brother Lothair, ruler of Middle Francia and, nominally, emperor of all the Carolingian Empire Frankish kingdoms as well as Holy Roman Emperor.

The Ottonian rulers are also regarded as the first dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, as successors of the Frankish Carolingian dynasty and Charlemagne, who is commonly viewed as the founder of the Holy Roman Empire.

In 800 Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish ruler Charlemagne as Roman Emperor, a major step toward establishing what later became known as the Holy Roman Empire ; from that date onward the popes claimed the prerogative to crown the Emperor, though the right fell into disuse after the coronation of Charles V in 1530.

Leo, who was of non-noble birth, had risen in the hierarchy of Rome and was elected Pope only one day after the burial of his predecessor, Pope Adrian I, who had worked for good relations between Rome and the Frankish Empire under Charlemagne.

The reasons for the coronation of Charlemagne, the involvement beforehand of the Frankish court, and the relationship to the Eastern Roman Empire are all matters of debate among historians.

In his contest with the Eastern Roman Empire and the Lombard dukes of Benevento, Adrian remained faithful to the Frankish alliance.

The purpose the journey was to attend a diet after being summoned by the Frankish King Charles III, the Fat, to settle the succession to the Holy Roman Empire and discuss the rising power of the Saracens.

Gregory ’ s pontificate witnessed the end of the iconoclasm controversy in the Byzantine Empire, while Gregory himself promoted the celebration of the feast of All Saints within the Frankish kingdom on both sides of the Rhine River.

The common contemporary Latin legal term used in documents of the Holy Roman Empire was for a long time regnum (" rule, domain, empire ", such as in Regnum Francorum for the Frankish Kingdom ) before imperium was in fact adopted, the latter first attested in 1157, whereas the parallel use of regnum never fell out of use during the Middle Ages.

At times it was applied to various priests, e. g. at the court of the Frankish monarchy the Abbas palatinus (' of the palace ') and Abbas castrensis (' of the camp ') were chaplains to the Merovingian and Carolingian sovereigns ’ court and army respectively.

He was of noble Frankish parentage, and educated at the palace school in Aquae Grani ( Aachen ) under Alcuin.

In 746, Carloman ended an uprising by summarily executing all Alemannic nobility at the blood court at Cannstatt, and for the following century, Alemannia was ruled by Frankish dukes.

In 394 Alaric led a Gothic force of 20, 000 that helped the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius defeat the Frankish usurper Arbogast at the Battle of Frigidus.

In 891, the Danes invaded Lotharingia, and crushed an East Frankish army at Maastricht.

A Benedictine monastery at the place was founded around 748 by a Frankish noble, Gumbertus, who was later canonized.

In 736, the Aquitanian duke Hunald led a rebellion after his father Eudes's death, at which Charles responded by sending an expedition that captured and plundered Bordeaux again, while the Frankish commander didn't retain it for long, since he left south-east to wage war in Narbonnaise.

Charles Martel () ( 23 August 686 – 22 October 741 ), also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum ( 737 – 43 ) at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks.

The Frankish kingdoms at the time of the death of Pepin of Heristal.

The German duchies to the east of the Rhine were de facto outside of Frankish suzerainty at this time.

The Frankish bishops were not well disposed towards this stranger abbot, because of his ever-increasing influence, and at last they showed their hostility.

In 546 Victor of Capua discovered such a mixed manuscript ; and, further corrected by Victor so as to provide a very pure Vulgate text within a modified Diatessaron sequence, this harmony, the Codex Fuldensis, survives in the monastic library at Fulda, where it served as the source text for vernacular harmonies in Old High German, Eastern Frankish and Old Saxon ( the alliterative poem ' Heliand ').

Æthelberht ’ s wife was a Christian and brought a Frankish bishop with her, to attend her at court, so Æthelberht would have had knowledge of Christianity before the mission reached Kent.

Another perspective on the marriage may be gained by considering that it is likely that Æthelberht was not yet king at the time he and Bertha were wed: it may be that Frankish support for him, acquired via the marriage, was instrumental in gaining the throne for him.

The two monks later canonized as Saints Cyril and Methodius, the brothers from Thessaloniki, were sent to Great Moravia in 862 by the Byzantine emperor at the request of Knyaz ( Duke ) Rastislav, who wanted to weaken the dependence of his country on East Frankish priests.

The nailed iron horseshoe first appeared in the archaeological record in Europe about 5th century A. D. when a horseshoe, complete with nails, was found in the tomb of the Frankish King Childeric I at Tournai, Belgium.

Bolstered by Frankish and Visigothic troops ( under King Theodoric ), Aetius ' own Roman army met the Huns at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains also known as the Battle of Châlons.

He defeated Alaric II at Vouillé in 507 and annexed Aquitaine, and thus Toulouse, into his Frankish kingdom.

The mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated that raiding party at the Battle of Tours ( although the battle took place between Tours and Poitiers ) and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdom.

19th century depiction of Julian being proclaimed Emperor in Paris at the Thermes de Cluny, standing on a shield in the Franks | Frankish manner, in February 360.