Franks

The Franks or the Frankish peoples were one of several west Germanic federations of tribes.^[1] It was formed out of Germanic tribes: Salians, Sicambri, Chamavi, Tencteri, Chattuarii, Bructeri, Usipetes, Ampsivarii, Chatti. Most of them lived at the northern borders of the Rhine.

They entered the late Roman Empire from the north and east river bank of the Rhine into modern northern Belgium and southern Netherlands. Later invasions conquered and established a lasting kingdom in an area which eventually covered most of modern-day France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the western regions of Germany. When the pagan Frankish king Clovis became Christian in the late 5th century that was an important event in the history of Europe.

Modern scholars of the period of the migrations are in agreement that the Frankish confederacy emerged at the beginning of the third century. A region in the northeast of the modern-day Netherlands – north of the erstwhile Roman border – still bears the name Salland, and may have received that name from the Salians, who formed the core of the Frankish sea raiders.

1. ↑ Jo Ann H. Moran Cruz and Richard Gerberding, Medieval Worlds: An Introduction to European History Houghton Mifflin Company 2004, p. 80