ABSTRACT
At the time of Childeric Ill's deposition the Merovingians were the longest established ruling dynasty in western Europe. From 719, admittedly, their authority was insignificant, although the Carolingians seem to have thought that a Merovingian was still necessary to give their own power legitimacy, and to limit aristocratic opposition. Before Eudo handed Chilperic II over to Charles Mattel, however, matters had been very different. That the Merovingians had been powerful from the reign of Clovis I until that of Dagobert I is generally accepted. But even after that there were strong monarchs. Clovis II was a figure to be reckoned with, as was his son Childeric II. So too was Dagobert II, to judge by the hostility he engendered. In the next generation Childebert III operated successfully in collaboration with the aristocracy, or so the Liber Historiae Francorum implies. 1 And even Chilperic II was a significant figure before the failure of his allies, Ragamfred and Eudo. Few dynasties had been so powerful for so long.
