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preface
In medieval Europe, the Frankish kingdom (5th century AD - 9th century AD) was a unique existence. It was founded by a foreign race and ruled the entire region of Western Europe for 500 years, and has a considerable place in European history.
In Western Europe, the historical status of the Frankish kingdom is more complicated. In general, the Frankish kingdom politically unified Western Europe, establishing a unified political system centered on the pope.
Economically regained control of land and resources in Western Europe and greatly increased agricultural productivity; Culturally contributed to the formation of the Reformation movement and the nation-state in Europe.
But on the other hand, the Frankish kingdom was an unorthodox and unorthodox kingdom, whose kings were called "kings of kings" or "great emperors", and they did not have the authority and status necessary for a true ruler.
From the 5th to the 9th century AD, the Frankish kingdom ruled roughly all of Europe except the British Isles. At the end of the 5th century, the Frankish king Clovis led an army of the Roman Church to conquer the city of Rome and southern Italy; After Clovis' death in the early 6th century, his descendants founded a kingdom that bears their own names in Italy.
In the mid-7th century, the Frankish kingdom was replaced by one of its main feudal lords, King Charlemagne. During Charlemagne's reign (630-742 AD), the Frankish kingdom annexed Lombardy, Valois and Poitiers.
However, Charlemagne's reign did not result in a large-scale unification of Western Europe. It was founded after Charlemagne's death by his heir, Pepin. After Pepin's death, his son Pepin III was overthrown by his son Pepin IV and forced to abandon the unification of Western Europe.
From the 8th century to the middle of the 9th century (late 9th century), the Frankish kingdom was replaced by Aquitaine, Normandy, Brittany and Flanders.
Between 910 and 917 AD (917-1042 AD), the Frankish kingdom conquered Burgundy, Aquitaine, Anjou, Castile, Catalonia and the Basque Country. By the end of the 10th century (1046-1068 AD), the Frankish kingdom had largely achieved the unification of Western Europe.
From the 9th century to the beginning of the 12th century (early 11th century AD), the Frankish kingdom entered a period of relative stability. From the 9th century to the end of the 12th century (1131-1220 AD), the Frankish kingdom controlled most of Western Europe in two periods.
The first was during the 10th-11th centuries (10th-11th centuries AD), when the Frankish kingdom became a major force in Western European society; The second was during the 12th-13th centuries (13th-15th centuries AD), when the Frankish kingdom became a relatively powerful force among the feudal lords of Western Europe.
During the 8th-9th centuries (9th-13th centuries) and the 10th-11th centuries (13th-14th centuries AD), the Frankish kingdom fought two major wars with the feudal lords of Western Europe.
The first is a war of unification initiated by Charlemagne in the 8th-9th centuries, which was a large-scale war in the history of Western Europe; The second is a war of unification launched during Charlemagne's reign in the 10th and 11th centuries.
Both wars had a significant impact on Western European society. The War of Unification, which took place during the 8th-9th centuries (10th-11th CE era), had a huge impact on Western European society. The war ended the division between the feudal lords within the Frankish kingdom and laid the foundation for the further development of Western European society. However, this unification war also greatly damaged the vitality of the Frankish kingdom and weakened its national strength.
History of the Frankish Kingdom
The history of the Frankish Kingdom is a very important period in the history of the European Middle Ages, starting from around 500 AD, the Frankish Kingdom began to transform from feudal division to a unified empire, experienced 800 years of development, and finally achieved unification around 1000 years, the history of the Frankish Kingdom can be divided into two periods: early and late.
The early Frankish kingdom was formed around 500 AD, and at its peak, its territory mainly included the regions of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, and Spain. However, due to its geographical location, and because of this, its territory expanded, gradually forming a semi-independent kingdom centered on the capital.
Although the Frankish kingdom established a centralized regime a long time ago, the rulers at that time were only the form of the king and the nobles ruling the country together, and there was no centralized power in the strict sense. From the perspective of their early rulers, they had a certain aristocratic background and were also relatively literate.
In the early 6th century AD, some local chiefs within the Frankish kingdom began to call the king king, an attempt by the early Frankish kingdom to carry out a major reform of its political system. Since then, this absolute monarchy, based on military aristocracy, has been established.
At the beginning of the 7th century AD, a new group of powers began to emerge in the Frankish kingdom, which took some extraordinary political measures to strengthen the centralization. By the mid-7th century, the main emerging powers in the Frankish kingdom were the Duchy of Burgundy, the Duchy of Aquitaine, the Po and Loire valleys.
By the middle of the 8th century, large groups of feudal lords and vassals had emerged in various regions of the Frankish kingdom. By the mid-8th century, several large aristocratic groups and numerous small and medium-sized aristocratic groups had formed in the Frankish kingdom.
The Frankish kingdom worked for generations to form a unified centralized regime. Its political system was: the Frankish king was the supreme chief executive and commander of the army; Members of the royal family form a council of nobles composed of great nobles; The king rules over the country; feudal hierarchies between princes and subjects; Implement the separation of powers.
However, for various reasons, some feudal separatist forces inevitably appeared in the Frankish kingdom. The most representative of these are the Visigoths and Vandals.
The Visigothic kingdom was originally established by a local government of a people called the Gothic on the Arabian Peninsula. During his reign, its territory expanded, its population increased rapidly, and it formed a political, economic and cultural center centered on "Gothic".
In the late 7th century, the Visigothic leader Attila began to expand and invade, and established the most powerful military feudal state outside the Eastern Roman Empire.
In 791 AD, the Visigoths established the Visigothic Kingdom (i.e. the Eastern Roman Empire) after conquering Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire; In 793 AD, the Visigoths conquered Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, and established the Eastern Roman Empire; In 887 AD, the Visigoths established the Western Roman Empire after conquering Rome, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In 888 AD, the Visigoths established the Western Roman Empire after conquering Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Thus, a regime centered on Byzantium, including most of Western Europe, established by Germanic tribes, the Union of Slavic Peoples of Western Europe, was born.
In the early 8th century AD, some feudal lords and vassal groups began to appear in the Frankish kingdom; By the end of the 8th century, these feudal lords and vassal groups had formed a group of states in the Frankish kingdom equivalent to a separatist or independent regime.
The historical place of the Frankish kingdom
In the history of Western Europe, the Frankish kingdom was a very long-standing state. In the 7th century, the Frankish kingdom was established, but it only existed for more than 700 years, and the Frankish kingdom during this period was still very unstable, many places were divided, and its territory was also unstable.
But the place of the Frankish kingdom in European history is very important. In the 7th century, the Frankish kingdom established Charlemagne's Empire, a relatively unified state whose territory was also one of the largest in Europe.
During the reign of Charlemagne's empire, its territory included parts of what is now France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, and its territory was also the largest in Europe.
Charlemagne's empire was then known as the "Holy Roman Empire" or "Plantagenet", because the countries of Europe were independent of each other, so the "Holy Roman Empire" was actually a loose federation.
Although Charlemagne's empire was a loose federation, the territory it possessed was very large. And Charlemagne's empire was a relatively unified country, because it was large in size and had a large population. During this period, the regimes established in other European countries were basically divided, such as France, Spain, Italy and other countries did not have a unified state.
During the period from the mid-7th to the mid-8th century, Charlemagne's empire was divided. At the time, Charlemagne believed that he had conquered all of Europe and built a vast empire in Europe.
So he expanded outward and divided the territories he conquered among the people he ruled. During this period, the countries of Western Europe were divided. Even so, Western European countries are constantly evolving.
During Charlemagne's empire, the countries of Central and Western Europe were also divided during this period due to the constant wars between various countries. However, during this period, fierce struggles were also fought between the Frankish kingdom and other countries.
The mid-8th century to the mid-9th century AD was one of the most glorious periods in the history of the Frankish kingdom. At that time, a number of great heroes appeared in the Frankish kingdom: such as King Charles VI of France, King Frederick I of Germany, King Philip II of Spain, and King Pyrrhus of Italy.
The most famous of these great figures were Clovis (also translated as "Clotairvi"), the first king of the Frankish kingdom, and Clotairvi, the second king of the Frankish kingdom.
The author's opinion
Based on the above, we believe that the existence of the Frankish kingdom was indispensable throughout the historical process of the European Middle Ages. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
The Frankish kingdom gradually became one of the most important parts of European medieval political life, and its great influence in politics made up for the various defects caused by the spread of religion on the European continent to a certain extent; It exerted great influence in the military field.
making it one of the most powerful military forces on the entire European continent; Its enormous cultural influence laid the most solid and enduring intellectual foundation in Christendom.
To some extent, the role of the Frankish kingdom in the political life of the entire European Middle Ages was irreplaceable. For the Frankish kingdom,
The political civilization it created not only provided a complete, systematic, reliable and mature model of rule for the entire Christian world, but also provided a unique and enduring political form for the entire European continent.
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