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Merovingians
Merovingians dynasty of Frankish kings, descended, according to tradition, from Merovech, chief of the Salian Franks , whose son was Childeric I and whose grandson was Clovis I , the founder of the Frankish monarchy. Merovingian kings followed Frankish custom in dividing the patrimony. After th...
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Merovingian art and architecture
Merovingian art and architecture . This period is named for Merovech, the founder of the first Germanic-Frankish dynasty (c.AD 500-AD 751). The Merovingian period was marked by the gradual decline of the classical tradition and by the absorption of a radically new element into the artistic mainstrea...
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Austrasia
Austrasia , northeastern portion of the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks in the 6th, 7th, and 8th cent., comprising, in general, parts of E France, W Germany, and the Netherlands, with its capital variously at Metz, Reims, and Soissons. It originated in the partition (511) of the realm of the Fra...
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Saint-Ouen
Saint-Ouen , city (1990 pop. 42,611), Seine-Saint-Denis dept., N central France, on the Seine River. It is an industrial suburb N of Paris and a terminal point for river shipping. Electrical equipment, metal products, pharmaceuticals, and perfumes are among the chief manufactures. In 1814, Louis XVI...
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Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Saint-Germain-des-Prés , historic abbey and church of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine. It was founded (6th cent.) by Childebert I; several Merovingian kings were buried there. Both church and abbey were several times destroyed; the present church, in Romanesque style, dates from the earl...
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Luxeuil
Luxeuil , former abbey, E France, at the present-day town of Luxeuil-les-Bains. It was founded c.590 by St. Columban on the site of the Roman town Luxovium, destroyed (451) by Attila, later established in Franche-Comté and now in the Haute-Saône dept. The ascetic rule of Columban was ...
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coronation
coronation ceremony of crowning and anointing a sovereign on his or her accession to the throne. Although a public ceremony inaugurating a new king or chief had long existed, a new religious service was added when Europe became Christianized. The service, derived from Old Testament accounts of the ...
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Franks
Franks group of Germanic tribes. By the 3d cent. AD, they were settled along the lower and middle Rhine. The two major divisions were the Salian Franks in the north and the Ripuarian Franks in the south. The two groups expanded independently, although they sometimes united against a common enemy. T...
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Le Mans
Le Mans , city (1990 pop. 148,465), capital of Sarthe dept., NW France, on the Sarthe River. The historical capital of Maine, it is also an important manufacturing, commercial, educational, and communications center. Its service industries, especially insurance, are important. Le Mans, which dates f...
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Neustria
Neustria , western portion of the kingdom of the Franks in the 6th, 7th, and 8th cent., during the rule of the Merovingians . It comprised the Seine and Loire country and the region to the north; its principal towns were Soissons and Paris. The realm originated with the several partitions of the ...
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