ABSTRACT
This chapter, divided into two parts, provides a historical and cultural introduction to the Kingdom of the Franks necessary to contextualize subsequent chapters. The first section traces early Frankish history from Antiquity up through the reign of Charlemagne, covering Frankish origins, early Frankish paganism, the conversion of Clovis to Christianity, and brief overviews of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties. The second part of the chapter focuses on Frankish society more broadly, including Frankish geography, Frankish socio-political structures, methods of war, and daily life. By the conclusion of the chapter, readers will have an understanding of what made the Frankish rise to power successful, namely, their military prowess, the fusion of Germanic and Gallo-Roman Christian culture, and the adoption of Roman models of law and administration.
