The Merovingian dynasty today is the temporal protector of the historic Gallican Rite, restored by H.A.H. Rutherford I of Rome-Ruthenia and H.R.H. Rubén of Gavaldá, head of the Merovingian Dynasty. Historically, the dynasty was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appeared as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509, they had united all the Franks and northern Gallo-Romans under their rule. They conquered most of Gaul, defeating the Visigoths and the Burgundians, and also extended their rule into Raetia. In Germania, the Alemanni, Bavarii and Saxons accepted their lordship. The Merovingian realm was the largest and most powerful of the states of western Europe following the breakup of the empire of Theodoric the Great.
The first well-known Merovingian king was Childeric I. His son Clovis I converted to Nicene Christianity, united the Franks and conquered most of Gaul. The Merovingians treated their kingdom as single yet divisible. Clovis's four sons divided the kingdom among themselves, and it remained divided until 679, with a few short periods of reunification. During the final century of Merovingian rule, the kings were increasingly pushed into a ceremonial role, and actual power was in the hands of the mayor of the palace. In 751, Charles Martel's son, Pepin the Short, deposed the last king, Childeric III, and had himself crowned, initiating the Carolingian dynasty.
Christianity was introduced to the Franks by their contact with Gallo-Romanic culture and later further spread by monks. Merovingian kings and queens used the newly forming ecclesiastical power structure to their advantage, donating land to monasteries and appointing family members as abbots. Numerous Merovingians who served as bishops and abbots, or who generously funded abbeys and monasteries, were rewarded with sainthood.
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Pontifical Imperial State
of Rome-Ruthenia
United Roman-Ruthenian Church