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Gaul

Gallia (in English Gaul) is the Roman name for the region of western Europe occupied by present-day France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. In English the word Gaul also means one of the inhabitants of that region in ancient times.

The Gauls sacked Rome circa 390 BC, destroying all Roman historical records to that point.

Roman rule in Gaul was established by Julius Caesar, who defeated the Celtic tribes in Gaul 58-51 BC and described his experiences in De Bello Gallico, which means Of the Gallic War. The war cost the lives of more than a million Gauls, and a million further were enslaved.

Merovingians

Descendants of the Salian Franks, this dynasty takes its name from Merovech, the ancestor of Clovis. The power of the first Merovingians was limited originally to the kingdoms of Cambrai, ruled by Clodio, and Tournai, governed by Childeric. Clovis (481-511), son of Childeric, soon extended his authority to all of Gaul.

His conversion to Christianity