250 Years of Thugs & Miracles: Kingdom of the Franks

The Merovingians ruled Francia for 250 years. Too often, their reign is seen as a gap in the late antique period, a dark age preceding the Carolingian renaissance. But that is a disservice to the Merovingians, without whom there would have been no Carolingians, and no Charlemagne. This is the second episode in a series covering the Holy Roman Empire. Sources & further reading: History of the Franks (Gregory of Tours) Chronicle of Fredegar + Continuations Liber Historiae Francorum Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (Peter H. Wilson) The Merovingian Kingdoms (Ian Wood) From Roman to Merovingian Gaul: A Reader (Alexander Callander Murray) Music & footage: Scenes from Sopranos HBO Beethoven Symphony 9, Op. 125 - "Choral": 2 Molto vivace Beethoven Symphony 9 in D Minor "Choral": 1 Allegro ma non troppo Requiem II, Krie Molto espressivo Chopin Fantaisie Impromptu Verdi La forza del destino overture Verdi Nabucco Act 3 Gyorgy Ligeti Atmospheres - Gyorgy Ligeti Lux Aeterna Carnival of the Animals -March and Canzona for Queen Mary's Funeral Gabriel Faure Pavane in F-sharp minor Maurice Ravel Bolero 0:00 - Thugs & Miracles 3:38 - The sons of Clovis 8:16 - The scissors or the sword 10:21 - Attack on the Thuringians 12:47 - Assassination attempt on Chlotaire 14:13 - Childebert's Visigothic adventure 17:13 - Succession of Theudebert 19:52 - The final victory of Chlotaire 24:12 - Start of the great Merovingian feud 28:26 - Assessment of Chilperic's reign 33:13 - The end of the great Merovingian feud 37:05 - Introduction of the palace mayors 44:55 - Introduction of Charles Martel (yes, THAT one) 51:21 - The end of the Merovingians 54:18 - Assessing Merovingian rule 57:53 - Thugs & Miracles