The Franks (whose country came to be known as “France”) were at first an unruly alliance of independent tribes, until a measure of unity was brought by the Merovingian dynasty named after its founder, Meroveus. Clovis, Meroveus’ grandson and the greatest of the Merovingian line, was married to a Christian Burgundian princess, and on the eve of a battle promised that he would be converted if his wife’s God gave him victory. As a result, on Christmas Day, A.D. 496, he was baptized, along with a number of his nobles. Shortly thereafter, most of the Franks were baptized.
