Neustria was the western part of the
Kingdom of the Franks.
Neustria included the land between the
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...
and the
Silva Carbonaria
Silva Carbonaria, the "charcoal forest", was the dense old-growth forest of beech and oak that formed a natural boundary during the Late Iron Age through Roman times into the Early Middle Ages across what is now western Wallonia. The Silva Carb ...
, approximately the north of present-day
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, with
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
,
Orléans
Orléans (;["Orleans"](_blank)
(US) and [Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...]
,
Soissons
Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...
as its main cities. It later referred to the region between the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributa ...
and the
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...
rivers known as the ''regnum Neustriae'', a constituent subkingdom of the
Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the L ...
and then
West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from ab ...
. The Carolingian kings also created a
March of Neustria
The Marches of Neustria (french: Marches de Neustrie; br, Marz Neustria; Norman: ''Maurches de Neûtrie'') were two marches created in 861 by the Carolingian king of West Francia Charles the Bald. They were ruled by officials appointed by the Mo ...
which was a frontier duchy against the
Bretons
The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, ...
and
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
that lasted until the
Capetian monarchy in the late 10th century, when the term was eclipsed as a European political or geographical term.
Name
The name ''Neustria'' is mostly explained as "new western land",
although Taylor (1848) suggested the interpretation of "northeastern land".
''
Nordisk familjebok
''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their co ...
'' (1913) even suggested "not the eastern land" (''icke östland'').
Augustin Thierry
Augustin Thierry (or ''Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry''; 10 May 179522 May 1856) was a French historian. Although originally a follower of Henri de Saint-Simon, he later developed his own approach to history. A committed liberal, his approach ...
(1825) assumed ''Neustria'' is simply a corruption of ''Westria'', from ''West-rike'' "western realm".
In any case, ''Neustria'' contrasts with the name ''
Austrasia
Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Merovingian Kingdom of the Franks during the 6th to 8th centuries. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the ...
'' "eastern realm".
The analogy to ''Austrasia'' is even more explicit in the variant ''Neustrasia''.
''
Neustria'' was also employed as a term for northwestern Italy during the period of
Lombard domination. It was contrasted with the northeast, which was called Austrasia, the same term as given to
eastern Francia
East Francia ( Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire i ...
.
Merovingian kingdom
The predecessor to Neustria was a Roman rump state, the
Kingdom of Soissons. In 486 its ruler,
Syagrius
Syagrius (430 – 486 or 487 or 493–4) was a Roman general and the last ruler of a Roman rump state in northern Gaul, now called the Kingdom of Soissons. Gregory of Tours referred to him as King of the Romans. Syagrius's defeat by king Clovis ...
, lost the
Battle of Soissons to the
Frankish king
Clovis I
Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single ki ...
and the domain was thereafter under the control of the Franks. Constant re-divisions of territories by Clovis's descendants resulted in many rivalries that, for more than two hundred years, kept Neustria in almost constant warfare with Austrasia, the eastern portion of the Frankish
Kingdom.
Despite the wars, Neustria and Austrasia re-united briefly on several occasions. The first was under
Clotaire I during his reign from 558 to 562. The struggle for power continued with Queen
Fredegund of Neustria, the widow of King
Chilperic I
Chilperic I (c. 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund.
Life
Immediately after the death of his father in 561, ...
(reigned 566–584) and the mother of the new king
Clotaire II (reigned 584–628), unleashing a bitter war.
After his mother's death and burial in
Saint Denis Basilica near Paris in 597,
Clotaire II continued the struggle against
Queen Brunhilda
Brunhilda (c. 543–613) was queen consort of Austrasia, part of Francia, by marriage to the Merovingian king Sigebert I of Austrasia, and regent for her son, grandson and great-grandson.
In her long and complicated career she ruled the eastern ...
, and finally triumphed in 613 when Brunhilda's followers betrayed the old queen into his hands. Clotaire had Brunhilda put to the
rack
Rack or racks may refer to:
Storage and installation
* Amp rack, short for amplifier rack, a piece of furniture in which amplifiers are mounted
* Bicycle rack, a frame for storing bicycles when not in use
* Bustle rack, a type of storage bin ...
and stretched for three days, then chained between four horses and eventually ripped limb from limb. Clotaire now ruled a united realm, but only for a short time as he made his son
Dagobert I king of Austrasia. Dagobert's accession in Neustria resulted in another temporary unification.
In Austrasia under the
Arnulfing
The Pippinids and the Arnulfings were two Frankish aristocratic families from Austrasia during the Merovingian period. They dominated the office of mayor of the palace after 687 and eventually supplanted the Merovingians as kings in 751, founding ...
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
Grimoald the Elder attempted a
coup against his liege,
Clovis II had him removed and again reunited the kingdom from Neustria, but again temporarily. During or soon after the reign of Clovis's son
Chlothar III, the dynasty of Neustria, like that of Austrasia before it, ceded authority to its own mayor of the palace.
In 678, Neustria, under Mayor
Ebroin
Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the a ...
, subdued the Austrasians for the last time. Ebroin was murdered in 680. In 687,
Pippin of Herstal
Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the ...
, mayor of the palace of the King of Austrasia, defeated the Neustrians at
Tertry. Neustria's mayor
Berchar
Berchar (also Berthar) was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy from 686 to 688/689. He was the successor of Waratton, whose daughter Anstrude he had married.
Unlike Waratton, however, Berthar did not keep peace with Pepin of Her ...
was assassinated shortly afterwards and following a marriage alliance between Pippin's son
Drogo and Berthal's widow, Pippin became mayor of the Neustrian palace.
Pippin's descendants, the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...
s, continued to rule the two realms as mayors. With
Pope Stephen II
Pope Stephen II ( la, Stephanus II; 714 – 26 April 757) was born a Roman aristocrat and member of the Orsini family. Stephen was the bishop of Rome from 26 March 752 to his death. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzan ...
's blessing, after 751 the Carolingian
Pippin the Short
the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king.
The younger was the son of t ...
, formally deposed the Merovingians and took control of the empire, he and his descendants ruling as kings.
Neustria, Austrasia, and
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...
then became united under one authority and, although it would split once again into various eastern and western divisions, the names "Neustria" and "Austrasia" gradually disappeared.
Carolingian subkingdom
In 748, the brothers
Pepin the Short
the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king.
The younger was the son of ...
and
Carloman gave their younger brother
Grifo twelve counties in Neustria centred on that of
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
. This
polity
A polity is an identifiable political entity – a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any other group of ...
was termed the ''ducatus Cenomannicus'', or Duchy of Maine, and this was an alternative name for the ''regnum'' of Neustria well into the 9th century.
The term "Neustria" took on the meaning of "land between the
Seine
)
, mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur
, mouth_coordinates =
, mouth_elevation =
, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
, basin_size =
, tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle
, tributa ...
and
Loire
The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...
" when it was given as a ''regnum'' (
kingdom) by
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
to his second son,
Charles the Younger
Charles the Younger or Charles of Ingelheim (c. 772 – 4 December 811) was a member of the Carolingian dynasty, the second son of Charlemagne and the first by his second wife, Hildegard of Swabia and brother of Louis the Pious and Pepin Carloma ...
, in 790. At this time, the chief city of the
kingdom appears to be Le Mans, where the royal court of Charles was established. Under the
Carolingian dynasty
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pi ...
, the chief duty of the Neustrian king was to defend the sovereignty of the
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...
over the Bretons.
In 817,
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqu ...
granted Neustria to his eldest son
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I ( Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bava ...
, but following his rebellion in 831, he gave it to
Pepin I of Aquitaine, and following the latter's death in 838, to
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a se ...
. Neustria, along with
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
, formed the major part of Charles
West Frankish
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
kingdom carved out of the Empire by the
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and ...
(843). Charles continued the tradition of appointing an elder son to reign in Neustria with his own court at Le Mans when he made
Louis the Stammerer
Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (french: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. Louis ...
king in 856. Louis married the daughter of the
King of Brittany,
Erispoe
Erispoe (french: Erispoë; la, Herispoius, Herispogius, Respogius; died 2 or 12 November 857) was Duke of Brittany from 851 to his death. After the death of his father Nominoe, he led a successful military campaign against the Franks, culminat ...
, and received the ''regnum'' from the Breton monarch with the consent of the Frankish magnates. This unique relationship for Neustria stressed how it had shrunk in size to definitely exclude the
Île de France and Paris by this time, as it was distanced from the central authority of Charles the Bald and closer to that of Erispoe. Louis was the last Frankish monarch to be appointed to Neustria by his father and the practice of creating subkingdoms for sons waned among the later Carolingians.
Carolingian march
In 861, the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...
king
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a se ...
created the
Marches of Neustria that were ruled by officials appointed by the crown, known as
warden
A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint.
''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...
s,
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect's ...
s or
margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the ...
s. Originally, there were two marches, one against the
Bretons
The Bretons (; br, Bretoned or ''Vretoned,'' ) are a Celtic ethnic group native to Brittany. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brittonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwall and Devon, ...
and one against the
Norsemen
The Norsemen (or Norse people) were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. The language belongs to the North Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages and is the ...
, often called the Breton March and Norman March respectively.
In 911,
Robert I of France
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
became
margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the ...
of both Marches and took the title ''demarchus''. His family, the later
Capetians, ruled the whole of Neustria until 987, when
Hugh Capet was elected to the kingship. The subsidiary counts of Neustria had exceeded the
margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the ...
in power by that time and the peak of Viking and Breton raiding had passed. After the
Capetian Miracle, no further margraves were appointed and "Neustria" was eclipsed as a European political term (present, however, in some Anglo-Norman chronicles and revived as synonymous with English possession of Normandy under Henry V by the St. Albans chronicler Thomas Walsingham in his Ypodigma Neustriae).
Rulers
Merovingian kings
*
Childeric I
Childeric I (; french: Childéric; la, Childericus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hildirīk''; – 481 AD) was a Frankish leader in the northern part of imperial Roman Gaul and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, described as a king (Latin ''r ...
458–481
*
Clovis I
Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single ki ...
481–511
*
Chlodomer
Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer (c. 495 - 524) was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers: Theuderic I, Childeber ...
511–524
*
Childebert I
Childebert I (c. 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clo ...
511–558
*
Chlothar I 558–561
*
Charibert I 561–567
*
Chilperic I
Chilperic I (c. 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund.
Life
Immediately after the death of his father in 561, ...
567–584
*
Gontran 561–592
*
Chlothar II, 584–629
*
Dagobert I, 629–639
*
Clovis II, 639–657
*
Chlothar III, 657–673
*
Theuderic III
Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king ...
, 673
*
Childeric II, 673–675
*
Theuderic III
Theuderic III (or Theuderich, Theoderic, or Theodoric; french: Thierry) (c. 651–691) was the king of Neustria (including Burgundy) on two occasions (673 and 675–691) and king of Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691. Thus, he was the king ...
, 675–691
*
Clovis IV, 691–695
*
Childebert III
Childebert III (or IV), called the Just (french: le Juste) (c.678/679 – 23 April 711), was the son of Theuderic III and Clotilda (or Doda) and sole king of the Franks (694–711). He was seemingly but a puppet of the mayor of the palace, Pe ...
, 695–711
*
Dagobert III, 711–715
*
Chilperic II, 715–721
*
Theuderic IV, 721–737
*
Childeric III, 743–751
Mayors of the palace
*
Landric, until 613
*
Gundoland, 613–639
*
Aega, 639–641
*
Erchinoald, 641–658
*
Ebroin
Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the a ...
, 658–673
*
Wulfoald
Wulfoald (died 680) was the mayor of the palace of Austrasia from 656 or 661, depending on when Grimoald I was removed from that office (accounts vary: ''see his article for details''), to his death and mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy ...
, 673–675
*
Leudesius, 675
*
Ebroin
Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the a ...
, 675–680 (again)
*
Waratton
Waratto (died 686) was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions, owing to the deposition he experienced at the hands of his own faithless son. His first term lasted from 680 or 681 (the death of Ebroin) to 682, when h ...
, 680–682
*
Gistemar, 682
*
Waratton
Waratto (died 686) was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions, owing to the deposition he experienced at the hands of his own faithless son. His first term lasted from 680 or 681 (the death of Ebroin) to 682, when h ...
, 682–686 (again)
*
Berchar
Berchar (also Berthar) was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy from 686 to 688/689. He was the successor of Waratton, whose daughter Anstrude he had married.
Unlike Waratton, however, Berthar did not keep peace with Pepin of Her ...
, 686–688
*
Pepin of Heristal
Pepin II (c. 635 – 16 December 714), commonly known as Pepin of Herstal, was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the ...
, 688–695
*
Grimoald II
Grimoald II (french: Grimaud) (died 714), called the Younger, was the mayor of the palace of Neustria from 695. He was the second son of Pepin of Herstal and Plectrude and his father placed him in the office of mayor of the palace in the Neustria ...
, 695–714
*
Theudoald
Theudoald (or Theodald; c. 708 – 741)''Monumenta Epternacensia'' ("''Theodaldum, filium Grimoaldi…ex Theodesina filia regis Rabodi''"). ''Monumenta Epternacensia'', MGH SS XXIII, p. 59. was the Frankish mayor of the palace, briefly unoppose ...
, 714–715
*
Ragenfrid
Ragenfrid (also Ragenfred, Raganfrid, or Ragamfred) (died 731) was the mayor of the palace of Neustria and Burgundy from 715, when he filled the vacuum in Neustria caused by the death of Pepin of Heristal, until 718, when Charles Martel finally ...
, 715–718
*
Charles Martel
Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish statesm ...
, 718–741
*
Pepin the Short
the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king.
The younger was the son of ...
, 741–751
Carolingian sub-kings
*
Charles the Younger
Charles the Younger or Charles of Ingelheim (c. 772 – 4 December 811) was a member of the Carolingian dynasty, the second son of Charlemagne and the first by his second wife, Hildegard of Swabia and brother of Louis the Pious and Pepin Carloma ...
, 790–811
*
Lothair I
Lothair I or Lothar I ( Dutch and Medieval Latin: ''Lotharius''; German: ''Lothar''; French: ''Lothaire''; Italian: ''Lotario'') (795 – 29 September 855) was emperor (817–855, co-ruling with his father until 840), and the governor of Bava ...
, 817–831
*
Pepin, 831–838
*
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a se ...
, 838–856
*
Louis the Stammerer
Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (french: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. Louis ...
, 856–879
Louis was chased from
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
in 858 following the assassination of Erispoe in November 857.
Robertians
*
Robert the Strong 853–866
*
Eudes of France 888–898
*
Robert of France, 911–922
*
Hugh the Great
Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris.
Biography
Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der E ...
, 922–956
*
Hugh Capet, 956–987
Historiography
The chief contemporary chronicles written from a Neustrian perspective are the ''History of the Franks'' by
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Floren ...
, the ''
Book of the History of the Franks'', the ''
Annals of St-Bertin'', the ''
Annals of St-Vaast'', the ''Annals'' by
Flodoard of Reims, and the ''History of the conflicts of the Gauls'' by ''
Richer of Reims''.
[Hodgkin, vol. vii, p 25.]
References
Further reading
*
Oman, Charles. ''The Dark Ages 476–918''. Rivingtons: London, 1914.
*
Hodgkin, Thomas. ''Italy and her Invaders''. Clarendon Press: 1895.
{{Authority control
Merovingian period
Former countries in Europe
States and territories established in the 510s
States and territories disestablished in the 8th century
751 disestablishments
8th-century disestablishments in Europe
6th-century establishments in Europe