Merovingian period in the context of "Sacred king"

The Migration Period sword was a type of sword popular during the Migration Period and the Merovingian period of European history (c. 4th to 7th centuries AD), particularly among the Germanic peoples. It later gave rise to the Carolingian or Viking sword type of the 8th to 11th centuries AD.

The blade was normally smooth or showed a very shallow fuller, and often had multiple bands of pattern-welding within the central portion. The handles were often of perishable material and there are few surviving examples. Blade length measured between 28–32 in (710–810 mm) in length and 1.7–2.4 in (43–61 mm) in width. The tang has a length of 4–5 in (100–130 mm) long. The blades show very little taper, usually ending in a rounded tip.

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 the Carolingian dynasty.

The names "Pippinid" and "Arnulfing" are modern conventions, reflecting the families' descent from two contemporaries, Arnulf of Metz (died c. 640) and Pippin of Landen (died 640). The recurrence of the leading name Pippin in the family led the anonymous author of the Annals of Metz (c. 805) to call the family Pippinios, the earliest known designation for the family. In a strict sense, the Pippinids are the descendants of Pippin of Landen and the Arnulfings those of Arnulf of Metz. These groups only overlap via the marriage of Arnulf's son Ansegisel and Pippin's daughter Begga and their son, Pippin of Herstal and his descendants.

Gaul was an important early center of Latin Christianity during late antiquity and the Merovingian period. By the mid-3rd century, several churches had been organized in Roman Gaul. In 314, shortly after the end of persecution, the bishops of the Latin world assembled at Arles. The Church of Gaul faced three major crises during the late Roman period: Arianism, Priscillianism, and Pelagianism. Under Merovingian rule, a number of "Frankish synods" were held, reflecting a particularly Germanic development in the Western Church. A model for these later synods was set by Clovis I, who organized the First Council of Orléans in 511.