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Saint Gall (c. 550 - c. 645 CE), also known as Saint Gallus, was an Irish monk who lived in what is present-day Switzerland during the 6th century CE and was one of twelve companions of Saint Columbanus' Christian mission to the European...

The founder of the Merovingian Frankish kingdom was Clovis. He followed an aggressive policy of conquest to build up the kingdom over much of modern France, but his death in 511 saw his realm chopped up into several smaller kingdoms. It...

Saint Columbanus or “Columbán” (543-615 CE) was one of the greatest missionaries of the early Catholic Church who led the “Hiberno-Scottish mission” of conversion across much of what is now Western Europe in the late 6th and early 7th century...

Women in the Middle Ages were frequently characterized as second-class citizens by the Church and the patriarchal aristocracy. Women's status was somewhat elevated in the High and Late Middle Ages by the cult of the Virgin Mary and courtly...

The gruesome execution of Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia on the orders of King Chlothar II, in 613. Illustration by Alphonse de Neuville on page 123 in the 1883 book The History of France from the Earliest Times to the Year 1789 by François...

The Merovingians were the ruling family of the Franks from roughly 481 CE, when Clovis I rose to power, until 751, when the last Merovingian king was overthrown and supplanted by the Carolingian Dynasty. They established the largest, most...

The Kingdom of West Francia (843-987 CE, also known as The Kingdom of the West Franks) was the region of Western Europe that formed the western part of the Carolingian Empire of Charlemagne (Holy Roman Emperor 800-814 CE) known as Francia...

Chlothar I (l. c. 498-561) was a Merovingian king of the Franks, the second to rule over a unified Frankish kingdom after his father, Clovis I (l. c. 466-511). When Clovis died in 511, his kingdom was divided up between his four sons, but...

The lives of women in the Middle Ages were determined by the Church and the aristocracy. The medieval Church provided the 'big picture' of the meaning of life and one's place while the aristocracy ensured that everyone stayed in their respective...

Depiction of the battle between King Chlothar II (r. 584-629) and the Saxons, after Chlothar II came to the aid of his son, King Dagobert I of Austrasia (r. 623-639). Illustration from the 14th-century Grand Chronicles of France. National...