THE COLLAPSE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE RISE OF THE MEROVINGIANS:
The Merovingian kings were descended from the Frankish leader Merovech who was the son of the Frankish king Childeric (died AD481). It was during the Merovingian Dynasty that the foundation of what became modern France took place.
There was a great deal of fighting and confusion between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of real control by this dynasty over the lands which made up the Frankish Empire. Various Germanic tribes - the Goths, Vandals, [G 15 / Franks], Alemanni and others - swept across the Roman Empire and eventually destroyed it. As the empire disintegrated and new kingdoms were formed, many new dynasties were founded. The Merovingian Dynasty was just one of these.
