The Merovingians: ‘Do-Nothing Kings’?
The Merovingians have a reputation for long hair and barbarity. Instead, the dynasty, born out of the chaos of civil war, was one of peace, diplomacy, and bureaucracy.
Somewhere in Germany, during the last days of the Western Roman Empire, it was said that a barbarian queen had a chance encounter with a sea monster while swimming. Soon after, she discovered she was pregnant. No one knew if the father was her husband or the five-horned beast. When the child was born, he was given the name Merovech – ‘the Sea Cow’.
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