The Franks or Frankish people ( or gens Francorum) were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. Under the Merovingian dynasty, they founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the 5th century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire and its successor states.

Contemporary definitions of the ethnicity of the Franks vary by period and point of view. It is often unclear whether all of the peoples referred to as the Franks by their contemporaries referred to themselves as such. Within Francia, the Franks appear to have initially been a distinct group with their own culture.

The ethnonym Frank has sometimes been traced to the Latin Francisca (from the Germanic *frankon, akin to the Old English franca), meaning "javelin." While the throwing axe of the Franks is known as the francisca, the weapon conversely may have been named after the tribe. A. C. Murray says, "The etymology of Franci is uncertain ('the fierce ones' is the favourite explanation), but the name is undoubtedly of Germanic origin."

From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salians formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul save Septimania in the 6th century. The Salian political elite would be one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe.

Mythological origins

Like many Germanic peoples, the Franks developed an origins story to explain their connection with peoples of classical history. In the case of the Franks, these peoples were the Sicambri and the Trojans. An anonymous work of 727 called Liber Historiae Francorum states that following the fall of Troy, 12,000 Trojans led by chiefs Priam and Antenor moved to the Tanais (Don) river, settled in Pannonia near the Sea of Azov and founded a city called "Sicambria". In just two generations (Priam and his son Marcomer) from the fall of Troy (by modern scholars dated in the late Bronze Age) they arrive in the late fourth century at the Rhine. An earlier variation of this story can be read in Fredegar. In Fredegar's version an early king named Francio serves as namegiver for the Franks, just as Romulus has lent his name to Rome.

History

main: Francia The Franks enter recorded history around 50 due to an invasion across the Rhine into the Roman Empire. They are first mentioned on the Tabula Peutingeriana as the Chamavi qui et Pranci (meaning "Chamavi, who are Pranci", probably an error for Franci). Over the next century other Frankish tribes besides the Chamavi surface in the records. The major primary sources include Panegyrici Latini, Ammianus Marcellinus, Claudian, Zosimus, Sidonius Apollinaris and Gregory of Tours. As early as 357 a Frankish king from the Salians enters Roman-held soil to stay.