Chronology of the history of the Frankish state. The formation of the Frankish state and its features The creation of the Frankish empire in what year

At the end of the 7th century. actual power in all areas of the kingdom was in the hands of the mayors. Initially, these were officials who headed the royal palace administration (majordomus - senior at home, managing the household of the court). Then the mayors became the largest landowners. All management of each of the named areas Frankish Kingdom was concentrated in their hands, and the majordomo acted as the leader and military leader of the local landed aristocracy. The kings of the Merovingian house, having lost all real power, were appointed and removed at the will of the majordomos.

After a long struggle among the Frankish nobility in 687, Pepin of Geristhal became major of Austrasia majordomo of the entire Frankish state . He succeeded because in Austrasia, where the process of feudalization proceeded more slowly than in other parts of the kingdom, the mayors could rely on a fairly significant layer of small and medium-sized feudal lords, as well as free allodists of the peasant type, interested in strengthening the central government to combat oppression large landowners, suppression of the enslaved peasantry and to conquer new lands. With the support of these social strata, the mayors of Austrasia were able to reunite under their rule all Frankish state .

During the period of disunity and confusion of the 670s and 680s, attempts were made to re-establish the supremacy of the Franks over the Frisians, but these attempts were unsuccessful. However, in 689, Pepin began a campaign to conquer West Frisia (Frisia Citerior) and defeated King Radbod of Frisia in a battle near the town of Dorestad, then an important trading post. As a result, the Frankish state included all the lands located between the Scheldt River and the Vlie estuary at that time.

Then, around 690, Pepin attacked central Frisia and captured Utrecht. In 695, Pepin even contributed to the formation of the Archdiocese of Utrecht to convert the Frisians to Christianity, headed by Bishop Willibrord. However, East Frisia (Frisia Ulterior) remained free from Frankish protectorate.

Having achieved great success in conquering the Frisians, Pepin turned his attention to the Alemanni. In 709, he began a war against Villehari, Duke of Ortenau, presumably for inheriting the dukedom of the deceased Godfrey for his young sons. Various outside interventions led to another war in 712, after which the Alemanni were returned to Frankish rule for a time. However, the regions of southern Gaul, which was not under the influence of the Arnulfing family, began to move away from the royal court, which was facilitated in every possible way by their leaders - the warrior and then the bishop Savaric of Auxerre, the aristocrat Antenor of Provence who did not recognize the Arnulfings, and the Duke of Aquitaine Ed the Great.

The power of, in fact, the royal appointee acquired an independent character in relation to the royal one. The position of mayor of the kingdom became hereditary, and this was not disputed by either the kings or the nobility. From the turn of the 7th – 8th centuries. inheritance of individual managerial positions has generally become a state tradition.

By the beginning of the 8th century. in the lands Frankish Kingdom The process of formation of new social forces was clearly evident. On the one hand, these are large landowners of Gallo-Roman origin and, less so, of Germanic origin (whose possessions were mostly formed through royal grants and protected by immunities). On the other hand, there is a large category of dependent peasants, freedmen, who entered into bondage or under the protection of large landowners and acquired a status similar to Roman colons.

The largest land holdings were concentrated in the Catholic Church, which began to play almost a state-political role in the kingdom. The objective task of the new Frankish states was to link the new social structure with political institutions - without such a connection, any statehood would not have gone beyond the royal palaces.

The years of the reign of Clovis IV, who died at the age of 13, and his brother Childebert III - from 691 to 711 - were marked by all the characteristic signs of the reign of the so-called lazy kings, although it has been proven that Childebert made decisions that ran counter to the interests of the supposed patron from the Arnulfing family .

Formation of the new Frankish state (8th century)

Formation of the Frankish state. The Frankish tribal union formed in the 3rd century. in the lower reaches of the Rhine. It included the Hamavs, Bructeri, Sugambri and some other tribes. In the 4th century. The Franks settled in Northeast Gaul as allies of the Roman Empire. They lived separately from the Gallo-Roman population and were not subject to Romanization at that time. The Franks were divided into two groups - the Salic, who lived near the sea coast, and the Ripuarian, who settled east of the Meuse River. Individual regions were headed by independent princes. Of the princely dynasties, the most powerful were the Merovingians, who ruled the Salic Franks. Merovei (“born of the sea”) was considered their legendary ancestor. The third representative of the Merovingian dynasty, Clovis (481-511), extended his power to all Franks. With the help of bribery, betrayal, and violence, he exterminated all other princes, including many of his relatives, and began to rule as a single king. Gathering a large army, Clovis defeated the Roman ruler Syagrius, captured Soissons and all of Northern Gaul up to the Loire River. The Franks subjugated the Alemanni in the east and tried to conquer the Burgundians. In 507 they defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Poitiers and captured Aquitaine. Thus, already at the beginning of the 6th century. most of Gaul (except Burgundy in the southeast, Septimania in the south and Brittany in the west) was conquered by the Franks; In order to strengthen his power and gain the support of the Christian clergy and the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, Clovis, together with his squad and associates, adopted the Roman Christian faith in 496. From that time on, friendly relations were established between the Frankish kings and popes. Clovis divided the kingdom between his sons. In the house of the Merovingians, it became a tradition to divide the state into appanages, but in principle it was considered united and at times was united under the rule of one king.

Expansion of the Frankish Kingdom. Under the sons and grandsons of Clovis, Burgundy was subjugated and the German duchies of Thuringia and Bavaria were made dependent. At this time, the Franks colonized the area east of the Rhine, called Franconia. During the war between Byzantium and the Ostrogoths, the Franks captured Provence, which belonged to the Ostrogothic state. Thus, the Frankish state occupied almost all of Gaul and a significant part of Germany, being the largest barbarian kingdom in the West. It included different ethnic territories. Individual regions - Neustria, Austrasia and Burgundy - differed in the level of their socio-economic development. In Neustria and Burgundy, which included the old Gallo-Roman territories, large landholdings had a large share and the process of feudalization advanced significantly. In Austrasia, where the Germanic population predominated, medium and small landownership was more common.

At the head of individual regions of the Frankish state were independent kings from the Merovingian dynasty, who sought to seize each other's possessions, which led to long internecine wars, which ended only after a single king, Clothar II ( 613-629). During times of unrest, magnates strengthened their positions, seized lands and began to subjugate the population to their power.

State structure in the VI-VII centuries. Before the conquest of Gaul, the Franks had not yet developed a state organization. The highest power was exercised by military leaders, public and judicial matters were decided at popular assemblies with the participation of all male warriors. This primitive patriarchal system turned out to be unsuitable for organizing domination over the conquered country and its population, which had previously been under the rule of the Roman slave state. “The organs of the clan system had therefore to turn into organs of the state.”

The government system during the reign of the Merovingians (VI-VII centuries) was relatively primitive. The local court remained popular, the army consisted of the militia of all free Franks and the royal squad. There was no clear division of management functions. The administration, the fiscal, the police service, and the highest judicial power were exercised by the same bodies and persons. Royal power was already quite strong. The throne was inherited. The population swore an oath to the king. The royal court was in charge of all administrative matters. Legislation was carried out by the king with the consent of the magnates. Twice a year - in spring and autumn - meetings of the nobility took place, at which published legislative acts were announced and new laws were discussed. General meetings of all soldiers turned into military reviews (March Fields). The basic laws and legal codes were barbarian truths, written down at different times at the behest of the kings. The administration of regions and districts was carried out by counts and centurions, whose main duty was to collect taxes, fines and duties into the royal treasury. In places of Frankish settlements, counties and hundreds were created on the basis of the German judicial and military organization, in Central and Southern Gaul - on the basis of the Roman provincial structure.

At first, free Franks were only obliged to perform military service. But already at the end of the 6th century. they began to be taxed on the same basis as the Gallo-Roman population. This caused mass discontent and popular uprisings.

The system of political power created as a result of the conquest served primarily the interests of the feudalizing Frankish nobility. It ensured dominance over the conquered population and made it possible to keep its own people in obedience.

Frankish Society for "Salic Truth". The Salic Truth (Lex Salisa), apparently written down under Clovis, contains rich material about the economic life and social structure of the Franks during the time of the first Merovingians. Unlike other barbarian truths, the “Salic truth” reflected relatively archaic orders that were not influenced by Roman law. This makes it possible to trace the early stage of the decomposition of primitive communal relations and the formation of the early non-feudal system among the Franks. Later additions to Pravda make it possible to judge the further development of these processes in the 6th-7th centuries.

The level of economic life of the Franks was much higher than what we know about the economy of the ancient Germans as described by Tacitus. The land was plowed up with a plow with an iron share, harrowed and manured. Bulls, horses, donkeys and mules were used as draft animals. In addition to cereal crops, legumes and fibrous crops (flax) were sown; cultivated vegetable gardens, orchards and vineyards. Periodic redistribution of arable land ceased. In agriculture, apparently already everywhere, two-field system dominated.

Along with agriculture, the Franks were engaged in cattle breeding: they raised cattle and small livestock, as well as various birds. Hunting, fishing, and beekeeping continued to play a significant role in the Frankish economy.

Economic progress among the Franks was accelerated as a result of the influence of the more developed economy of the Gallo-Romans.

In the social structure of the Franks, clan ties also played an important role. The free Frank was a member of the clan, enjoyed its patronage and was responsible for his relatives. The accused was responsible for crimes not to the state, but to the victim and his relatives. For the murder of a member of another family, all relatives of the killer up to the third generation of kinship on the paternal and maternal lines were financially responsible. On the other hand, a member of the clan had the right to receive a share of the vira for the murder of a relative and participated in the inheritance of the property of deceased relatives. Movable property

inherited by men and women, land - only by men.

Community among the Franks. At the time of the recording of the Salic Truth, the Franks still had a large family (consisting of several families of undivided brothers). Members of a large family jointly ran the household and owned movable and immovable property. Several closely related households made up a settlement - an agricultural community. However, the Franks were already in the process of disintegrating clan ties and breaking up large families. A person who wanted to break ties with his relatives and get rid of financial responsibility for them had to perform the following symbolic procedure before the court meeting: break three branches above his head and scatter them in different directions, saying at the same time that he renounces all accounts with your relatives. Apparently, this right was used primarily by wealthier relatives who did not want to bear responsibility for impoverished members of the clan.

Social differentiation among the Franks was accelerated by the emergence of private land ownership. According to the edict of King Chilperic (561-584), land plots could be inherited not only by men (sons and brothers), as was the case before, but also by women (daughters and sisters). Over time, allod took shape - freely alienable land property. The agricultural community lost its unlimited property on cultivated land and turned into a neighboring community (marka). The neighboring community included separate independent households that owned arable land as full property rights and shared undivided lands. The collapse of the clan organization was completed:

“the clan dissolved in the community-brand.”

Social structure of Frankish and Gallo-Roman society.

In the VI-VII centuries. In the Frankish state, different economic structures were still preserved - slave-owning and patriarchal. At the same time, early feudal forms of dependence became increasingly widespread. This nature of economic relations determined a very complex social structure of society. The Salic Pravda mentions eight categories of the population, differing in legal and partly economic status. Free francs occupied a central place. For the murder of a free franc, a wergeld (vir) of 200 solids was paid. Free Franks were considered people of different property status, from small communal peasants to large allodists who did not personally serve the king. For the murder of a royal warrior (antrustion) or another servant of the king, a wergeld of 600 solidi was due. This category existed primarily through the exploitation of dependent people (colons, litas) and slaves, as well as through military spoils. Below the free Franks were the Litas - semi-free peasants of German origin. Their wergeld is believed to have been 100 solidi. The Franks, like the Roman Gauls, had slaves (servi). Their number increased significantly as a result of the conquest of Gaul and constant wars of conquest, as well as due to the enslavement of ruined free people. The life of a slave was not protected by the wargeld; compensation was paid for his murder or theft, as for other movable property. The Gallo-Roman population was legally inferior to the Franks. The most privileged were the “Romans - the royal dinner companions”, i.e. noble Romans who were in the service of the king. Their wergeld was 300 solids - 2 times lower than the wergeld of the royal warriors. The main part of the Roman nobility - the “Roman landowners” (possessors) - in their legal status stood below the free Franks; her wergeld was 100 solidi. The entire exploited mass of the Gallo-Roman population, excluding slaves, constituted the category of “Roman tributars” (taxpayers). Apparently these were mainly columns. Their wergeld was equal to 63 solids - lower than the wergeld of the Frankish litas. Slaves and freedmen did not differ ethnically. However, according to German customs, the position of slaves was somewhat softer than under Roman law. In the Frankish state, slaves (servs) were one of the main sources of the formation of the serf peasantry.

In general, the entire Franco-Roman population, according to the Salic Truth, can be divided into the following social groups: the exploitative elite, which included Roman landowners and royal warriors along with other employees of the king, and the exploited mass of the Roman and Germanic population (colons, slaves, freedmen, litas) . An intermediate position was occupied by free community members - the Franks and other barbarians, who retained personal freedom and property and were not exploited. However, being dependent on the king, free Frankish peasants were gradually drawn into the sphere of royal fiscal exploitation - they were subject to taxes and other state duties.

Judicial device. The Frankish court on the “Salic truth” was still in the full sense of the people. Litigations were dealt with at meetings of hundreds of free people under the chairmanship of an elected judge - Tungin. The verdict was passed by elected assessors - Rakhinburgs. If it was unfair, the offender could immediately demand that the meeting cancel it.

The judicial procedure among the barbarians was very primitive. Cases were decided based on the testimony of the parties and their witnesses without preliminary investigation. In doubtful cases, they turned to ordeals - a test with boiling water. It was the victim himself who called to court, since a special judicial-administrative apparatus did not yet exist.

In the Salic Truth there is already a noticeable tendency towards the subordination of the people's judicial organization to the royal power. The court meeting was attended and sometimes presided over by a royal official, the centurion. Part of the court fines and wergelds went to the royal treasury. Subsequently, the court was completely subordinated to state power. The elected judges were replaced by royal centurions and counts, and the assessors elected by the people by royal scabini. Thus, the process of creating the provincial and local state judicial-administrative apparatus was completed.

The growth of large land ownership. The registration of allod - freely alienable land ownership - accelerated the stratification of property among the free Franks and the formation of large land ownership: “... from the moment the allod arose, freely alienable land property, land property as a commodity, the emergence of large land ownership became just a question time." Free Frankish peasants went bankrupt, lost land property and, becoming dependent on the propertied, began to be subjected to feudal exploitation.

Large land ownership existed among the Franks even before the conquest of Gaul. The king, having appropriated the lands of the Roman fisc and undivided communal estates (forests, wastelands), distributed them as property to his associates and the church. But the growth of large land ownership occurred mainly due to the appropriation of the lands of impoverished community members.

Large landowners had complete power over their slaves and litas. To keep them in obedience and force them to work for themselves, they created a judicial-administrative apparatus and started their own armed squads. These powerful people (magnates), not wanting to obey the king and share with him the rent collected from the population, often rebelled against the king. The royal power was unable to cope with the magnates and made concessions to them. Royal lands were distributed or stolen by the nobility, and unrest continued in the state.

Unification of the Frankish state by mayors. The last kings of the Merovingian dynasty lost all real power, retaining only the title. They were disparagingly called "lazy kings." In fact, power passed to the majordomos (majordomus - senior in the courtyard, manager of the royal household), who were in charge of collecting taxes and royal property, and commanded the army. Having real power, the mayors disposed of the royal throne, erected and removed kings. Being large landowners themselves, they relied on the local nobility. But in the Frankish state, fragmented into appanages, there was no single majordomo. Each of the three regions was ruled by its own mayor, who had hereditary power. The most powerful was the mayor of Austrasia. In 687, the Austrasian majordomo Pepin of Geristal defeated his rivals and began to rule the entire Frankish state. Relying on the small and medium-sized landowners of Austrasia, Pepin of Geristal pursued an active policy of conquest. Later, the dynasty he founded began to be called Carolinga-uts after Charlemagne, the most prominent Frankish king.

Frankish state under the Carolingian dynasty

During the Carolingian period, the Frankish state significantly strengthened and expanded, turning into an empire. This was due to the fact that the rulers of the new dynasty enjoyed the support of a large layer of middle and small landowners interested in external conquests and strengthening state power to subjugate and enslave free peasants.

A revolution in land relations. In the 8th century In Frankish society there was an intensive process of the formation of feudal relations. It began in previous centuries as a result of the growth of large landownership and the ruin of free communal peasants. As a result of incessant internecine and external wars and heavy exactions, the peasants became poor and became dependent on monasteries, bishops and secular feudal lords, who, through extortion and often direct violence, took possession of their allods. Finding themselves in land dependence, the peasants were forced to bear feudal duties in favor of their masters.

This is how two opposing social groups emerged - large landowners and dependent peasants, deprived of land ownership and subjected to feudal exploitation. Large landowners were the Gallo-Roman nobility and church prelates, as well as the wealthy Frankish magnates. Their composition was constantly replenished by the serving nobility, who received royal land grants and seized peasant allods. The dependent population consisted of the descendants of Gallo-Roman slaves and coloni, as well as Germanic slaves and litas. It was composed of communal peasants of German origin who had lost their property and freedom.

However, Frankish society at this time was not yet divided into two hostile classes. A significant layer of medium and small allodists of the small estate and peasant type remained. Their erosion during the agrarian revolution led to the final formation of the class structure of feudal society on the territory of the Frankish Empire.

Military reform of Charles Martell. Benefits. After the death of Pepin of Geristal, unrest resumed in the country. However, his successor, Charles Martel (715-741), managed to suppress the protests of the Austrasian nobility and strengthen his sole power.

The Frankish state strengthened its northern and eastern borders and resumed its policy of conquest. The previously conquered Germanic peoples - the Frisians, Alemanni, and Bavarians - were pacified and imposed tribute. But in the south it was necessary to fight difficult defensive wars. The Arabs, who took possession of the Iberian Peninsula, invaded Aquitaine all the way to the Loire. In 732, Charles Martel, having gathered a large army of infantry and cavalry, defeated the Arabs at the Battle of Poitiers. The Arab leader Abderrahman died in the battle. In honor of this victory, Charles was nicknamed "Martellus" (hammer). Although the predatory Arab invasions had ceased, they still held part of southern Gaul.

To conduct wars of conquest and defend against Arab cavalry, it was necessary to create a more combat-ready army of infantry and cavalry. The ancient Frankish peasant militia did not satisfy these new needs. In addition, the peasants were ruined under the burden of heavy state duties and could not go on long military campaigns. All this prompted Charles Martell to carry out a military reform - to create, along with the peasant militia, a professional cavalry army. Horse warriors, naturally, could only be wealthy people who had the means to maintain a war horse and have the necessary equipment and weapons. Charles Martell distributed lands to them in benefice (lat. beneficium beneficium).

Previously, the royal warriors received ready-made maintenance or feeding. The druzhina nobility were also given full ownership of lands. This led to the fact that a significant part of the royal lands ended up in the hands of feudal lords. Charles Martell applied a new principle of granting - conditionality: land was given for service and only for the life of the recipient and holder. The recipient of the beneficiary became a vassal (dependent under the terms of ownership), took an oath of fidelity and performance of the required service; the one who granted the beneficiary was a seigneur (senior, master) and retained the right of supreme ownership of the granted land, and could take it away if the vassal violated his duty. Since state land had already been previously distributed into the ownership of the nobility, warriors and the church, Charles Martell allocated benefices at the expense of church lands (secularization of church land ownership). The clergy was forced to agree to this measure. Later, a resolution was adopted at the church synod that the secularized land remained the property of the churches and the owners of the benefices were obliged to pay a small fee for it. Besides. Charles Martel rewarded the church with new land grants in the conquered areas where Christianity was spreading.

The system of benefices that arose as a result of the disintegration of small allodial property caused profound social consequences. It accelerated the process of formation of feudal ownership of land and feudal subordination of peasants. The military profession was turning into a monopoly of feudal lords - knights; peasants turned from warriors to dependent farmers. Often lands inhabited by free people, who were now exploited by the royal vassals, were given out as benefices. Peasants from being subjects of the king became privately dependent. Subsequently, this led to the weakening of royal power and the strengthening of feudal lords.

The beneficial reform initially contributed to the strengthening of state power and an increase in its military power. The owners of benefices, under the threat of losing their land holdings, performed the service entrusted to them. But in the end result, the distribution of land in benefice, as before in property, strengthened the position of the feudal lords - royal vassals - and weakened royal power. Benefices eventually became hereditary possessions, and then the property of vassals. In addition, the royal vassals, who had a lot of land, distributed part of it as benefices to their vassals and became lords who were only formally dependent on the king.

Assignment of royal title by the Carolingians. Having strengthened his position in all areas of the Thracian state, the majordomo had to sooner or later lay claim to the royal throne. This is what Charles Martel’s son Pepin II the Short (741-768) did. To legitimize the seizure of the throne, he sent a message to the pope, in which he asked to clarify who should be the king of the Franks: the one who has power, or the one who uses only the title? The Pope, who wanted to receive military assistance from the Frankish state against the Lombards who were oppressing him, replied that the king should be the one who has real power. In 751, Pepin gathered the Frankish nobility in Soissons and was proclaimed king by them, and the last Merovingian, Childeric III, and his son were tonsured as monks. For the support of the pope, Pepin generously presented the church with new land grants and provided the papacy with the expected military assistance. In 754 and 757 The Franks made two campaigns against the Lombards. The lands conquered from them in the region of Rome and Ravenna (Ravenna Exarchate) were given to Pope Stephen II (“gift of Pepin”). This is how the Papal States arose - the secular possession of the Roman throne. To give greater legitimacy to this deal, a false document was drawn up - the “Donation of Constantine”, according to which Emperor Constantine (IV century) transferred the Roman region and all of Italy to the rule of the Roman Bishop Sylvester I, making him his “vicar” over the entire western part of the Roman Empire. empires. The falsity of this letter was proven only in the 15th century. Italian humanist Lorenzo Balla, although its truth was doubted before. The papal state lasted until 1870. Its

the remnant is the modern Vatican.

Conquests of Charlemagne. The Frankish state reached its greatest power under Charlemagne (768-814). He was an outstanding commander and statesman; who later became the hero of legends, tales and songs. According to the description of his biographer, Eingard, a prominent scientist of the time, Charlemagne was simple in manners and dressed in the usual clothes of a Frankish warrior. He possessed great eloquence, knew several languages, including Latin, studied science and made attempts to master the “art of writing,” but “his work, begun so late, had little success” (Eingard). In every other way he was typical

ruler of that era.

Charlemagne pursued a policy of conquest with the goal of creating a world empire. In 774, he made a campaign in Italy against the Lombards and captured all their possessions. A small part was transferred to the pope, the remaining areas were annexed to the Frankish state. The Lombards' attempt to free themselves from Frankish rule was brutally suppressed.

The Frankish state also waged wars with the Arabs. In 778, Charlemagne made a campaign of conquest in Spain and reached Saragossa, but met strong resistance and was forced to retreat. On the way back, the rearguard of his troops under the command of Margrave Roland was ambushed by the Basques and was destroyed; Roland also died. This episode was later glorified in the French heroic epic The Song of Roland. As a result of subsequent campaigns, the Franks conquered the northeastern part of Spain with Barcelona from the Arabs and formed the “Spanish March” beyond the Pyrenees, which served as a barrier against the Arabs.

Conquest of Saxony. Charlemagne had to wage the longest and most difficult war with the Saxons, who inhabited the territory between the lower reaches of the Rhine and Elbe. This war lasted over 30 years (772-804) and cost great sacrifices for both sides.

In terms of social development, the Saxons were far behind the Franks. The bulk of the population were free peasants - freelings, who became dependent on the nobility - edelings. A numerous layer was represented by semi-free litas, exploited by the Edelings. They still retained some of the rights of free people and participated in meetings along with the Freelings and Edelings. The Saxons, like other Germanic peoples, had slavery.

All segments of the Saxon population participated in the war of liberation against Frankish enslavement. But the main force was the Freelings and Liths, who defended their freedom both against the Frankish conquerors and against their own.

The first invasion of Frankish troops into Saxony was a success - the Westphals (West Saxons), and then the Eastphals (East Saxons) were subdued and subject to tribute. But when Charlemagne withdrew his main forces from the country, the Saxons rebelled and freed themselves from Frankish dependence. “A new conquest of Saxony began. At the same time, the Frankish king showed extreme cruelty. After the defeat of the Saxons on the Weser River in 782, more than 4 thousand hostages were executed. The death penalty was established in the specially published “Capitulary for Saxony” behind resistance to the power of the Frankish king and for hostile actions against the Christian church and clergy. The Frankish system of government was introduced in Saxony. The population had to pay church tithes and other taxes. The Saxon nobility stopped resisting. The leader of the uprising, Duke Vidukivd, went over to the side of the conquerors and adopted the Christian faith. But the population continued to resist. The Nordalbings, who lived at the mouth of the Elbe, defended their independence most stubbornly. “Only in 804 was their resistance suppressed. A huge number of Saxons were evicted to the left bank of the Rhine. Frankish colonists moved to Saxony, the lands were distributed to the serving nobility. The population was ruled by Frankish counts and bishops. From that time on, the rapid development of feudal relations among the Saxons began.

Subjugation of the Bavarians, wars with the Slavs and Avars. Charlemagne finally subjugated the Bavarians, who had previously been dependent on the Frankish state. The Bavarian Duke tried to get rid of Frankish rule and create an independent Bavarian kingdom. He made an alliance with the Avars. In 778, Charlemagne abolished the Duchy of Bavaria and placed the country under the control of the counts he appointed.

The Frankish state tried to extend its dominance further east, into the lands of the Slavs. During the Saxon Wars, the Franks came into contact with the Polabian Slavs. The Obodrites, who were constantly at enmity with the Saxons, became allies of the Franks; the Luticians, Sorbs and Czechs were subject to tribute. In the southeast, the Franks subjugated Slovenia (Carinthia) and Croatia, which occupied the northwestern part of the Balkans.

After the annexation of Bavaria to the Frankish kingdom, wars between the Franks and the Avars, cruel and warlike nomads who came from the depths of Asia and created a predatory military alliance in Pannonia, rocked. The Avars plundered and brutally exploited neighboring peoples, primarily the Slavs. In 788, the Avars invaded the Frankish state, and a difficult Avar war began. The Franks won victory over the Avars thanks to joint military operations with the Slavs. As a result of a long siege, the Avar ring was captured - a defensive line consisting of nine concentric ramparts built of logs, stone and clay, and the khan's fortress in its center. Charlemagne captured huge booty - the Khan's treasures, for the removal of which he had to equip a whole convoy. The Avar Kaganate collapsed, the oppressed peoples along the Middle Danube gained independence.

"Roman Empire" by Charlemagne. The conquest of vast territories greatly expanded the borders of the Frankish state. Now it extended from the Ebro River and Barcelona to the Elbe and the Baltic coast, from the English Channel to the Middle Danube and. Adriatic, including almost all of Italy. The empire created by Charlemagne thus occupied a significant part of the territory of the former Western Roman Empire, including its capital Rome. This revived the Roman sovereign tradition. Charlemagne did not want to be content with the title of King of the Franks, but laid claim to the title of universal monarch, “Emperor of the Romans.” In 800, while he was in Rome, Pope Leo III crowned him in the Lateran Church with the crown of the “Roman Emperors.” At the cost of significant territorial concessions, it was possible to achieve recognition of the imperial title of the Frankish king by the Eastern Roman emperor.

The empire recreated by the Frankish king was similar in name only to the ancient Roman Empire. It was not only territorially smaller, but also much weaker in military and administrative terms. Charlemagne tried to use his newly acquired imperial title to strengthen his power within the state and increase international prestige. The entire population, from nobles to slaves, had to swear an oath of allegiance to him.

Attempts were made to create a centralized administrative apparatus on the Roman model. The emperor's submission to the Roman church and its head, the pope, was important. Dominion over the Western Church became an instrument of the empire's international policy.

Organization of judicial and administrative power. In conditions early feudal socio-economic system, when the bulk of the population was not yet in personal and land dependence on the feudal lords, a territorial system of government existed in the Frankish state. The population was subordinate to royal officials and performed government duties. The entire territory of the state was divided into counties, headed by royal commissioners - graphs. They were in charge of judicial and administrative affairs, convened and commanded the military militia, and collected taxes and other levies in favor of the king. As a reward for their service, the counts kept 1/3 of the fines in their favor and received benefits from the king. Counties were divided into hundreds, headed by ientenaries(centurions), who exercised judicial, administrative and fiscal power at the local level. Centenaries were appointed by the royal court, but were directly subordinate to the counts. The hundred included several villages that had their own community self-government.

In the conquered border areas, Charlemagne created marques - fortified military-administrative districts that served as outposts for attacking neighboring countries and organizing defense. The margraves, who headed the marks, had broad judicial, administrative and military powers. They had a permanent military force at their disposal.

The highest state power was concentrated in the royal palace (palatium) and was exercised by the dignitaries and ministerials (officers and servants) of the king. The main ones were the count palatine (comes palatii), who managed the staff of palace servants and presided over the palace court, the referendar - who led the state chancellery, the “guardian of treasures” (camerarium) - who was in charge of the treasury, and the chief chaplain - who was in charge of church affairs. The management of the royal estates and food affairs was handled by the stolnik and the cup maker; hunting was in charge of the royal huntsmen. There were many other secular and clergy at court who received food and benefits from the king. The highest court nobility constituted the royal council, at which the most important state affairs were discussed. Although laws were issued in the name of the king (emperor), nobles of the court and magnates of the state took part in their preparation and discussion. According to the old tradition, congresses of the nobility met annually - in spring and autumn, at which legislative and military issues were discussed. The decisions made at the spring congresses became laws and were announced in the king's capitularies. Under the Carolingians, these meetings were held in May (May Fields) and were also military reviews. The nobility brought gifts to the king. During the time of Charlemagne, the legislative activity of the monarchy increased significantly; over 250 capitularies (laws) were issued.

The main legislative monuments and judicial codes in the Frankish state remained barbarian truths, the main of which was the “Salic truth”. In addition to its outdated provisions, separate capitularies were issued. Most of the capitularies of Charlemagne relate to the Affairs of the Royal Administration (“Capitularies to Envoys”). The state's punitive measures were significantly strengthened and administrative fines were increased. The emperor, in his capitularies, obliged employees to treat the common people more strictly, to force them to obey and fulfill duties. At the same time, he tried to prevent the growth of independence of royal officials and strengthen their responsibility to the king. For these purposes, the ducal power, which in some areas was almost independent, was abolished. Charlemagne endowed bishops with judicial-administrative powers and broad immunity privileges, seeking to make them the pillar of his power in the districts. The counts were placed under the control of royal envoys periodically sent to the region. The institution of royal envoys with temporary powers was supposed to prevent the feudalization of local power. However, after Charlemagne their activities soon ceased.

The Frankish state did not have a permanent capital even during the time of Charlemagne. The king traveled with the court to his estates. Only at the end of his reign did Charlemagne begin to live for a long time in his palace in Aachen. He was subsequently buried in this city.

By the end of the 8th century. There were significant changes in the judicial organization of the Frankish state. The ancient barbarian court, recorded in the Salic Truth, has completely disintegrated. He has already presided over court meetings Not Tungin, elected by the people, and the count and centenarius, appointed by the king. People's assessors from Rakhinburg disappeared. Charlemagne replaced them with royal scabins. The people attended court meetings only as the public, without taking part in decisions. However, according to the old tradition, the mandatory presence of all free people at court meetings was required, and failure to appear was fined. Subsequently, Charlemagne established compulsory attendance at only three court meetings per year.

Development of feudal relations in the Frankish state.

In the second half of the 8th - beginning of the 9th century. In the Frankish state, the process of feudal subjugation of the peasantry was intensively going on. Already under the Merovingians, precarious relations became widespread, now acquiring a hereditary character.

The peasant, having lost his land, turned to the master with a request to give him a plot of land (precaria, that is, a plot transferred by request); for this, he promised to fulfill the established "duties. The deal was formalized in writing: the land owner received a completed precarious letter from the peasant and gave him a senior letter. The letters indicated the terms of use of the land and the size of the peasant quitrent, the land owner promised not to violate the rights of the peasant and not to take away arbitrarily the plot transferred to him. But usually, after several generations, the peasant turned not only into a land owner, but also into a personally dependent one.

Not only people deprived of land ownership fell into precarious dependence, but also small free landowners who, by renouncing their property, sought to get rid of state duties, as well as to receive protection and patronage from the church or other land owner. The so-called “precarity with reward” was often used. The peasant who entered into land dependence, as in the second case, renounced his ownership right to the transferred plot, but at the same time received for use an additional plot, usually of not yet cultivated land.

The last two types of precaria served as a means of mobilizing the land ownership of peasants by the church and secular feudal lords.

The so-called commendation led to the loss of freedom. Helpless poor people entrusted themselves to ecclesiastical institutions or secular masters, promising to obey and serve them as a servant to a master. Often people enslaved themselves for debts, obliging themselves to perform slave duties. Unpaid debt turned them into hereditary slaves (servs).

The feudal lords did not hesitate to forcibly convert free people into serfs and dependents. This is stated in the capitularies of Charlemagne. In one of them we read: “If someone refuses to hand over his property to a bishop, abbot, count... they look for an opportunity to condemn such a poor man and force him to go to war every time, so that he willy-nilly sell or give them his property.” . The emperor warned bishops, abbots and counts not to "buy or seize by force the property of poor and weak people... because of which the royal service suffers." This was the reason for the king’s concern for weak, defenseless people.

The transformation of free people into dependents and serfs caused great changes in the political structure. Previously, all communal peasants were obliged to perform state duties and perform military service. Now, having become feudal dependents, they had to serve first of all their master.

Immunity. The royal power did not resist the growth of the private power of the feudal lords; and even contributed to this. The king gave ecclesiastical and secular feudal lords letters of immunity that freed their possessions from any interference by government officials. At the same time, judicial and administrative power over the population and all the funds that previously went to the state treasury passed into the hands of the immunoists.

Immunity strengthened the right of feudal property. In the immune territory, the patrimonial owner was the only master. He had power not only over the dependent, but also over the free population living within his domain. Charlemagne tried to use immunity as a tool to strengthen state power, placing responsibility for justice and maintaining order on immuneists and the gathering of the militia. However, the expansion of immunity privileges it's gone benefited only large feudal lords and was one from premises the ensuing political fragmentation.

Vassalage. Vassalage had no less influence on the evolution of the early feudal Frankish state. By the end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th century. Vassal-feudal relations became widespread in the military organization and political structure. The army largely consisted of mounted warriors endowed with benefices; Royal vassals were appointed to government positions. At first, this even strengthened the state system: vassals, bound to the king by conditional possessions and personal oath, served more reliably than independent masters. But soon the vassals began to turn their benefices into hereditary possessions and refused to perform permanent service for them. Ultimately, this led to the collapse of the former territorial judicial-administrative organization and its replacement by a multi-level vassal-fief hierarchy. The king became the supreme overlord over the large feudal lords - his vassals, who in turn became lords over smaller vassals. This trend began already under Charlemagne, but it was finally developed half a century later.

Although the military profession was turning into a monopoly of the feudal lords, the peasants nevertheless did not get rid of the hardships of war. They were forced to pay war taxes and participate in campaigns as auxiliary forces. Charlemagne, taking care of better equipping his troops and increasing their combat effectiveness, carried out military reform. Only wealthy people who had at least 4 manses (plots) of land were supposed to go on a campaign; the peasants who owned 2 mansas had to equip two of one warrior, those who had 1 mansa - four of one, those who owned at least some property - five of one. This put an end to the old national militia. The army acquired a feudal-knightly appearance.

Carolingian estate. Sources of the late 8th - early 9th centuries. - The Capitulary of the Estates, which was apparently published by Charlemagne, and the Polypticus of Abbot Irminon (a scribal book of the Saint-Germain monastery near Paris) - depict in detail a large feudal estate of the time.

The land on the estate was divided into master's land and allotment land. The lord's land (master's domain), scattered in separate plots between peasant plots, was usually cultivated by dependent peasants with the help of their draft animals and equipment. Household slaves also worked on the lord's farm. The master's domain, in addition to arable land, included forests and meadows, which peasants could use only for a special fee. Peasant plots (mansy), under which most of the land on the estate was located, included, in addition to arable land, certain shares of communal land. They lay in stripes between the plots of other holders and the master's plots. In the fortress village, communal orders regarding crop rotation and grazing were preserved, to which the lordly economy was also subject.

Economy VIII-IX centuries. in its level it was already far superior to the economy of the Franks during the “Salic truth”. Two-field gave way to three-field. The cultivation of the land improved and the yield increased, although it still did not exceed two to three. The economy remained essentially natural. As the “Capitulary of the Estates” testifies, the king’s possessions, scattered over a large territory (mainly to the northeast of Paris), were supposed to provide the royal court with food, household crafts, as well as various supplies for military campaigns. In addition, food reserves were created in case of crop failure. In each estate, all branches of the economy developed - field cultivation, vegetable gardening, horticulture, cattle breeding, and various crafts. Cereals, legumes, oilseeds and fiber crops, millet were sown in the fields, and vegetables were sown in the gardens; Different varieties of fruit trees were planted in the gardens. They raised cattle and small livestock, horses, and various types of poultry. At the same time, each estate produced home craft products, from blacksmithing and weaving to handicrafts and jewelry. Peasants were also engaged in household crafts, as evidenced by peasant quitrent payments for handicraft products.

Categories of serf and dependent population. Forms of annuity. The largest group of dependent peasants were columns, which in their legal status differed significantly from the Roman colons. These were personally free peasants, obliged to bear land duties - quitrent and corvée. The main category of the personally dependent population was servo(slaves). Most of them had allotments and bore corvée and quitrent duties (their quitrents often consisted of products of particularly labor-intensive household crafts). The rest of the serfs did not have allotments and constantly worked at the court and in the lordly household, receiving the master's allowance (yard servants, slave artisans, etc.). Higher in legal status than the serfs were the litas - semi-free peasants who had allotments and performed corvée and quitrent duties. A very small group consisted of “free” people who lived within the estates and were, according to immunity, under the jurisdiction of the patrimonial owner. Their duties consisted mainly of taxes and various fees received in favor of the lord of the estate.

Peasant manses (allotments) were divided respectively into “free”, “lithic” and “servile” (slave). But it is characteristic that in most cases in the inventories of the 9th century. there is no longer any correspondence between the categories of manses and holders. Free mansas often belonged to litas and even slaves, and lithic and servile mansas were often owned by colons. This indicates the leveling of the serf and dependent population, who were equally subjected to feudal exploitation.

In general, in the estates of the Carolingian period, labor rent predominated, with product rent in second place. Cash rent still occupied an insignificant place. This is explained by the dominance of subsistence farming and the weak development of commodity-money relations. Nevertheless, trade developed, although neither handicrafts nor agricultural products were produced specifically for the market.

Organization of power in the estate. Peasant resistance.

Each feudal possession was not only a self-sufficient economic unit, but also a separate political whole. Judicial and administrative power over the population of the estate was exercised by the estate owner himself with the help of his employees (ministerials). There was no special judicial-administrative apparatus; its functions were performed by economic employees. Thus, on royal estates, serfs and even free people were judged and punished by the managers of these estates. They had all the means of coercion at their disposal. They imposed fines, corporal punishment and imprisonment, and imposed and carried out death sentences. Such a system of organizing judicial-administrative power ensured the functioning of the patrimonial economy and the implementation of feudal exploitation of the population, which presupposed non-economic coercion, in the best possible way. At the same time, the patrimonial apparatus suppressed the resistance of the peasants to feudal exploitation.

Depriving peasants of property and freedom and burdening them with feudal obligations led to an intensification of class struggle, which manifested itself not only in the form of passive disobedience and escapes, but also in mass uprisings. In the capitularies of Charlemagne and his successor Louis the Pious, there is information about the “deeds” of people who cause harm on estates, about mass escapes of serfs to overseas countries, about secret sworn alliances directed against the masters. Major uprisings took place. In 841-842 The Saxon Freelings and Liths rebelled against the Frankish and local feudal lords for the preservation of their former freedom. According to the chronicle, the peasants drove out the masters and “began to live according to the old laws.” The uprising was called "Stellinga" - "children of the ancient law." It was hardly suppressed by the nobility and the king.

Collapse of the Carolingian Empire. Created As a result of the conquest of weaker tribes and nationalities by the Franks, the empire was a fragile state formation and collapsed soon after the death of its founder, Charlemagne. The reasons for its inevitable collapse were the lack of economic and ethnic unity and the growing power of large feudal lords. The forced unification of ethnically and culturally alien peoples could persist as long as the central state power was strong. But already during the life of Charlemagne, symptoms of its decline were revealed: the centralized control system began to disintegrate and degenerate into a fief-seigneurial system; the counts became disobedient and sought to turn the counties into their lordships. Separatist movements on the outskirts intensified. The royal power was deprived of the previous political support from the feudal nobility and did not have sufficient material resources to continue the policy of conquest and even to retain the captured territories. The free population was subjected to enslavement or fell into land dependence on the feudal lords and did not fulfill the previous state natural and military duties. Thus, the king was deprived of material resources and military strength, while the feudal lords expanded their possessions and created their own troops from vassals. All this inevitably led to feudal fragmentation.

Civil strife and the Verdun partition. The struggle of the feudal nobility against royal power was aggravated by dynastic unrest. The sons of Louis the Pious, who inherited imperial power from Charlemagne, demanded the division of the empire and the allocation of an independent kingdom to each. In 817 the first partition was made. However, there was no peace. The feudal nobility supported the rival parties and stirred up new unrest. Louis the Pious was defeated in the war with his sons and was even captured by them. After his death, civil strife broke out with renewed vigor. Two younger brothers - Louis the German and Charles the Bald - united against the elder - Lothair and defeated him in the Battle of Fontenoy (841). The following year they renewed their alliance at a meeting near Strasbourg, taking a mutual oath. It is characteristic that this oath was pronounced in two different languages ​​- Romance (Old French) and Germanic, which was spoken east of the Rhine, which indicated the beginning of the formation of new nationalities in the Carolingian empire, in particular French and German.

Lothair was forced to make concessions and agree to the proposed conditions. In 843, an agreement was concluded in Verdun on the division of Charlemagne's empire between his grandchildren - Lothar, Louis the German and Charles the Bald. The first, while retaining the title of emperor, received Italy (except for the south, which belonged to Byzantium) and the intermediate territories between the West Frankish and East Frankish states, the first of which went to Charles the Bald, and the second to Louis the German. Thus, the partition was carried out mainly along ethnic lines. On the territory of the newly formed states, three Western Jewish nationalities were subsequently formed - French, German and Italian. The lot of Lothair was the most variegated in its ethnic composition. In addition to Italy, it included the Romanesque regions of Burgundy and Lorraine and the German region of Frisia. This lot soon fell apart. Lotharingia and Frisia passed to Germany, Provence and Burgundy became a separate kingdom. The descendants of Lothair I held for some time only certain regions of Italy, while losing the imperial crown, which passed either to the French or to the German branch of the Carolingians. By the beginning of the 10th century. the imperial title lost its meaning and disappeared.

Frankish state (kingdom; fr. royaumes francs, lat. regnum (imperium) Francorum), less often Francia(lat. Francia) - the conventional name of a state in Western and Central Europe from the 9th century, which was formed on the territory of the Western Roman Empire simultaneously with other barbarian kingdoms. This territory has been inhabited by the Franks since the 3rd century. Due to the continuous military campaigns of the Frankish majordomo Charles Martel, his son Pepin the Short, as well as his grandson Charlemagne, the territory of the Frankish empire by the beginning of the 9th century had reached the largest size during its existence.

Due to the tradition of dividing inheritance among sons, the territory of the Franks was only nominally governed as a single state; in fact, it was divided into several subordinate kingdoms ( regna). The number and location of kingdoms varied over time, and initially Francia only one kingdom was named, namely Austrasia, located in the northern part of Europe on the rivers Rhine and Meuse; however, sometimes the kingdom of Neustria, located north of the Loire River and west of the Seine River, was also included in this concept. Over time, the use of the name Francia shifted towards Paris, eventually settling over the area of ​​the Seine River basin that surrounded Paris (today known as Ile-de-France), and which gave its name to the entire kingdom of France.

History of appearance and development

origin of name

First written mention of the name Frankia contained in eulogies, dating from the beginning of the 3rd century. At that time, the concept referred to the geographical area north and east of the Rhine River, approximately in the triangle between Utrecht, Bielefeld and Bonn. This name covered the land holdings of the Germanic tribes of the Sicambri, Salic Franks, Bructeri, Ampsivarii, Hamavians and Hattuarii. The lands of some tribes, for example, the Sicambris and the Salic Franks, were included in the Roman Empire and these tribes supplied warriors to the Roman border troops. And in 357, the leader of the Salic Franks incorporated his lands into the Roman Empire and strengthened his position thanks to an alliance concluded with Julian II, who pushed the Hamavi tribes back into Hamaland.

Meaning of the concept Francia expanded as the Frankish lands grew. Some of the Frankish leaders, such as Bauto and Arbogast, swore allegiance to the Romans, while others, such as Mallobaudes, acted in Roman lands for other reasons. After the fall of Arbogast, his son Arigius succeeded in establishing a hereditary earldom in Trier, and after the fall of the usurper Constantine III, some Franks sided with the usurper Jovinus (411). After the death of Jovinus in 413, the Romans were no longer able to contain the Franks within their borders.

Merovingian period

Historical contributions of successors Chlodione not known for certain. It can definitely be said that Childeric I, probably the grandson Chlodione, ruled the Salic kingdom centered in Tournai, being federal Romans Historical role Childerica consists of bequeathing the lands of the Franks to his son Clovis, who began to extend his power over other Frankish tribes and expand the areas of his possession into the western and southern parts of Gaul. The Kingdom of the Franks was founded by King Clovis I and over the course of three centuries became the most powerful state in Western Europe.

Clovis converted to Christianity and took advantage of the power of the Roman Catholic Church. During his 30-year reign (481 - 511), he defeated the Roman commander Syagrius, conquering the Roman enclave of Soissons, defeated the Alemanni (Battle of Tolbiac, 504), putting them under the control of the Franks, defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Vouilles in 507, conquering their entire kingdom (except Septimania) with its capital at Toulouse, and also subdued Bretons(according to the statements of the Frankish historian Gregory of Tours), making them vassals of Frankia. He subjugated all (or most) of the neighboring Frankish tribes along the Rhine and incorporated their lands into his kingdom. He also subjugated various Roman militarized settlements ( bark) scattered throughout Gaul. By the end of his 46-year life, Clovis ruled all of Gaul, with the exception of the province Septimania And Kingdom of Burgundy in the southeast.

Governing body Merovingian was a hereditary monarchy. The Frankish kings followed the practice of divisible inheritance: dividing their possessions among their sons. Even when several kings reigned Merovingian, the kingdom - almost like in the late Roman Empire - was perceived as a single state, led collectively by several kings, and only a series of different kinds of events led to the unification of the entire state under the rule of one king. The Merovingian kings ruled by right of the anointed of God and their royal majesty was symbolized by long hair and acclamation, which was carried out by their mounting on a shield according to the traditions of the Germanic tribes at the choice of the leader. After death Clovis in 511, the territories of his kingdom were divided among his four adult sons so that each would receive approximately an equal portion of the fiscus.

The sons of Clovis chose as their capitals the cities around the northeastern region of Gaul - the heart of the Frankish state. Eldest son Theodoric I ruled in Reims, second son Chlodomir– in Orleans, third son of Clovis Childebert I- in Paris and, finally, the youngest son Chlothar I- in Soissons. During their reign, tribes were included in the Frankish state Thuringian(532), Burgundov(534), and also Saksov And Frisov(approximately 560). The remote tribes living beyond the Rhine were not securely subject to Frankish rule and, although they were forced to participate in Frankish military campaigns, in times of weakness of the kings these tribes were uncontrollable and often tried to secede from the Frankish state. However, the Franks preserved the territoriality of the Romanized Burgundian kingdom unchanged, turning it into one of their main regions, including the central part of the kingdom of Chlodomir with its capital in Orleans.

It should be noted that relations between the brother kings could not be called friendly; for the most part they competed with each other. After death Chlodomira(524) his brother Chlothar killed the sons of Chlodomir in order to take possession of part of his kingdom, which, according to tradition, was divided between the remaining brothers. The eldest of the brothers Theodoric I, died of illness in 534 and his eldest son, Theodebert I managed to defend his inheritance - the largest Frankish kingdom and the heart of the future kingdom Austrasia. Theodebert became the first Frankish king to officially break ties with the Byzantine Empire by minting gold coins with his image and calling himself Great King (magnus rex), implying its protectorate extending all the way to the Roman province of Pannonia. Theodebert joined the Gothic Wars on the side of the Germanic tribes of the Gepids and Lombards against the Ostrogoths, annexing the provinces of Raetia, Noricum and part of the Veneto region to his possessions. His son and heir, Theodebald, could not hold on to the kingdom and after his death at the age of 20, the entire huge kingdom went to Chlothar. In 558, after death Childebert, the rule of the entire Frankish state was concentrated in the hands of one king, Chlothar.

This second division of the inheritance into four was soon thwarted by fratricidal wars, which began, according to the concubine (and subsequent wife) Chilperic I Fredegonda, due to the murder of his wife Galesvinta. Spouse Sigebert Brünnhilde, who was also the sister of the slain Galesvintha, incited her husband to war. The conflict between the two queens continued until the next century. Guntramn tried to achieve peace, and at the same time twice (585 and 589) tried to conquer Septimania the Goths, but were defeated both times. After sudden death Hariberta in 567, all the remaining brothers received their inheritance, but Chilperic was able to further increase his power during the wars, again conquering Bretons. After his death, Guntram needed to conquer again Bretons. Prisoner in 587 Andelo Treaty-in the text of which the Frankish state is clearly called Francia-between Brunnhilde And Guntram secured the latter's protectorate over Brünnhilde's young son, Childebert II, who was successor Sigebert, killed in 575. Taken together, the possessions of Guntram and Childebert were more than 3 times the size of the heir's kingdom Chilperic, Chlothar II. In this era Frankish state consisted of three parts and this division will continue to exist in the future in the form Neustria, Austrasia And Burgundy.

After death Guntramna in 592 Burgundy went entirely to Childebert, who also died soon (595). The kingdom was divided by his two sons, the eldest Theodebert II got Austrasia and part Aquitaine, which was owned by Childebert, and the younger - Theodoric II, went Burgundy and part Aquitaine, which was owned by Guntram. Having united, the brothers were able to conquer most of the territory of the kingdom of Chlothar II, who ultimately had only a few cities left in his possession, but the brothers could not capture him. In 599, the brothers sent their troops to Dormel and occupied the region Dentelin, however, later they stopped trusting each other and they spent the remaining time of their reign in enmity, which was often incited by their grandmother Brunnhilde. She was unhappy that Theodebert had excommunicated her from his court, and subsequently convinced Theoderic to overthrow his elder brother and kill him. This happened in 612 and the entire state of his father Childebert was again in the same hands. However, this did not last long, as Theodoric died in 613 while preparing a military campaign against Chlothar, leaving an illegitimate son, Sigibert II, who was approximately 10 years old at the time. Among the results of the reign of the brothers Theodebert and Theodoric was a successful military campaign in Gascony, where they founded Duchy of Vasconia, and the conquest of the Basques (602). This first conquest of Gascony also brought them lands south of the Pyrenees, namely Vizcaya and Guipuzkoa; however, in 612 the Visigoths received them. On the opposite side of your state Alemanni During the uprising, Theodoric was defeated and the Franks lost their power over the tribes living beyond the Rhine. Theodebert in 610, through extortion, received the Duchy of Alsace from Theodoric, marking the beginning of a long conflict over the ownership of the region Alsace between Austrasia and Burgundy. This conflict will end only at the end of the 17th century.

As a result of civil strife between representatives of the house of the ruling dynasty - the Merovingians, power gradually passed into the hands of the mayordomos, who held the positions of managers of the royal court. During the short young life of Sigibert II, the position majordomo, which had previously been rarely noticed in the kingdoms of the Franks, began to occupy a leading role in the political structure, and groups of the Frankish nobility began to unite around the mayors of Barnachar II, Rado and Pepin of Landen, in order to deprive them of real power Brünnhilde, the great-grandmother of the young king, and transfer power Chlothar. Varnahar himself by this time already held the post Majordomo of Austrasia, while Rado and Pepin received these positions as rewards for a successful coup d'état Chlothar, execution of a seventy-year-old Brünnhilde and the murder of the ten-year-old king.

Immediately after his victory, the great-grandson of Clovis Chlothar II in 614 proclaimed the Edict of Chlothar II (also known as Edict of Paris), which is generally considered to be a set of concessions and relaxations for the Frankish nobility (this view has recently been called into question). Provisions edict were primarily aimed at ensuring justice and ending corruption in the state, however edict also recorded the zonal features of the three kingdoms of the Franks and probably gave representatives of the nobility greater rights to appoint judicial bodies. By 623 representatives Austrasia began to insistently demand the appointment of their own king, since Clothar was very often absent from the kingdom, and also because he was considered a stranger there, due to his upbringing and previous rule in the Seine River basin. Having satisfied this demand, Clothar granted his son Dagobert I the reign of Austrasia and he was duly approved by the soldiers of Austrasia. However, despite the fact that Dagobert had complete power in his kingdom, Chlothar retained absolute control over the entire Frankish state.

During the years of joint rule Chlothar And Dagoberta, often referred to as the "last ruling Merovingians", not completely conquered since the late 550s Saxons, rebelled under the leadership of Duke Berthoald, but were defeated by the joint troops of father and son and again included in Frankish state. After the death of Clothar in 628, Dagobert, according to his father's behest, granted part of the kingdom to his younger brother Charibert II. This part of the kingdom was re-formed and named Aquitaine. Geographically, it corresponded to the southern half of the former Romanesque province of Aquitaine and its capital was located in Toulouse. Also included in this kingdom were the cities of Cahors, Agen, Périgueux, Bordeaux and Saintes; Duchy of Vasconia was also included among his lands. Charibert fought successfully with Basque, but after his death they rebelled again (632). At the same time Bretons protested Frankish rule. The Breton king Judicael, under threats from Dagobert to send troops, relented and entered into an agreement with the Franks under which he paid tribute (635). That same year, Dagobert sent troops to pacify Basque, which was successfully completed.

Meanwhile, on the orders of Dagobert, Chilperic of Aquitaine, Charibert’s heir, was killed, and that’s all Frankish state again found itself in the same hands (632), despite the fact that in 633 the influential nobility Austrasia forced Dagobert to appoint his son Sigibert III as king. This was facilitated in every possible way by the “elite” of Austrasia, who wanted to have their own separate rule, since aristocrats predominated at the royal court Neustria. Clothar ruled in Paris for decades before becoming king in Metz; also Merovingian dynasty at all times after it was primarily a monarchy Neustria. In fact, the first mention of "Neustria" in chronicles occurs in the 640s. This delay in mention compared to "Austrasia" probably occurs because the Neustrians (who made up the majority of authors of that time) called their lands simply "Francia". Burgundy in those days also contrasts itself relatively Neustria. However, during the time of Gregory of Tours there were Austrasians, considered a people separate within the kingdom, who took rather drastic actions to gain independence. Dagobert, in his relations with Saxons, Alemanni, Thuringians, as well as with Slavs, who lived outside the Frankish state, and whom he intended to force to pay tribute, but was defeated by them at the Battle of Waugastisburg, invited all representatives of the eastern nationalities to the court Neustria, but not Austrasia. This is what caused Austrasia to ask for its own king in the first place.

Young Sigibert rules under the influence Majordomo Grimoald the Elder. It was he who convinced the childless king to adopt his own son Childebert. After Dagobert's death in 639, Duke Radulf of Thuringia organized a rebellion and attempted to declare himself king. He defeated Sigibert, after which a major turning point occurred in the development of the ruling dynasty (640). During the military campaign, the king lost the support of many nobles, and the weakness of the monarchical institutions of the time was demonstrated by the king's inability to conduct effective military operations without the support of the nobility; for example, the king was not even able to provide his own security without the loyal support of Grimoald and Adalgisel. Often it is Sigibert III who is considered the first of lazy kings(fr. Roi fainéant), and not because he did nothing, but because he brought little to the end.

The Frankish nobility was able to bring under its control all the activities of the kings thanks to the right to influence the appointment of majordomos. The separatism of the nobility led to the fact that Austrasia, Neustria, Burgundy and Aquitaine became increasingly isolated from each other. Those who ruled them in the 7th century. so-called “Lazy kings” had neither authority nor material resources.

The period of dominance of the mayors

Carolingian period

Frankish state at the death of Pepin 768 and the conquest of Charlemagne

Pepin strengthened his position in 754 by entering into a coalition with Pope Stephen II, who, at a luxurious ceremony in Paris at Saint-Denis, presented the King of the Franks with a copy of the forged charter known as Gift of Constantine, anointing Pepin and his family as king and proclaiming him defender of the Catholic Church(lat. patricius Romanorum). A year later, Pepin fulfilled his promise to the pope and returned the Exarchate of Ravenna to the papacy, winning it from the Lombards. Pepin will give it as a gift to dad as Pipin's gift conquered lands around Rome, laying the foundations of the Papal State. The papal throne had every reason to believe that the restoration of the monarchy among the Franks would create a revered basis of power (lat. potestas) in the form of a new world order, at the center of which will be the Pope.

Around the same time (773-774), Charles conquered the Lombards, after which Northern Italy came under his influence. He resumed paying donations to the Vatican and promised the papacy protection from Frankish state.

Thus, Charles created a state extending from the Pyrenees in the southwest (in fact, after 795, including the territories northern Spain(Spanish mark)) through almost the entire territory of modern France (with the exception of Brittany, which was never conquered by the Franks) to the east, including most of modern Germany, as well as the northern regions of Italy and modern Austria. In the church hierarchy, bishops and abbots sought to obtain the guardianship of the royal court, where, in fact, the primary sources of patronage and protection were located. Charles fully demonstrated himself as the leader of the western part Christendom and his patronage of monastic intellectual centers marked the beginning of the so-called period Carolingian revival. Along with this, under Charles, a large palace was built in Aachen, many roads and a water canal.

Final division of the Frankish state

As a result, the Frankish state was divided as follows:

• The West Frankish kingdom was ruled by Charles the Bald. This kingdom is the harbinger of modern France. It consisted of the following major fiefs: Aquitaine, Brittany, Burgundy, Catalonia, Flanders, Gascony, Septimania, Ile-de-France and Toulouse. After 987 the kingdom became known as France, since representatives of the new ruling Capetian dynasty were initially Dukes of Ile-de-France.

• The Middle Kingdom, whose lands were squeezed between East and West Frankia, was ruled by Lothair I. The kingdom formed as a result of the Treaty of Verdun, which included the Kingdom of Italy, Burgundy, Provence and the western part of Austrasia, was an "artificial" entity with no ethnic or historical community. This kingdom was divided in 869 after the death of Lothair II into Lorraine, Provence (with Burgundy in turn divided between Provence and Lorraine), and northern Italy.

• The East Frankish Kingdom was ruled by Louis II of Germany. It contained four duchies: Swabia (Alemannia), Franconia, Saxony and Bavaria; to which later, after the death of Lothair II, the eastern parts of Lorraine were added. This division existed until 1268, when the Hohenstaufen dynasty was interrupted. Otto I was crowned on February 2, 962, which marked the beginning of the history of the Holy Roman Empire (the idea Translatio imperii). Since the 10th century East Francia also became known as Teutonic Kingdom(lat. regnum Teutonicum) or Kingdom of Germany, and this name became dominant during the reign of the Salic dynasty. From this time, after the coronation of Conrad II, the title began to be used Holy Roman Emperor.

Society in the Frankish State

Legislation

Various tribes francs, for example, Salic Franks, Ripuarian Franks and Hamavs, had different legal norms, which were systematized and consolidated much later, mainly during Charlemagne. Under the Carolingians, the so-called barbarian codes -