.The Franks were one of a number of Germanic tribes that had settled in the Roman Empire by the end of the 3rd century BC. In AD 500, they conquered Gaul (an area of land roughly equivalent to modern France and Belgium), and established first the Merovingian and then the Carolingian dynasties, which were to dominate Gaul for nearly five centuries. Their power reached its zenith under the great king Charlemagne (AD 747-814). In AD 800, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the pope in Rome. His extensive kingdom included Gaul, Italy, and Germany. └@Charles the Bald@
The Carolingian king Charles the Bald (AD 823-77) was the grandson of the great Frankish king Charlemagne (AD 747-814). As other Frankish monarchs had done before him, Charles the Bald combined the Christian and Roman traditions. In this painting depicting his coronation, he is dressed as a Roman, but he stands between two Christian bishops and is being crowned by the hand of God, whom he was believed to represent on Earth.
