of the main royal divisions of Frankish lands (Austrasia, Neustria, Aquitaine, Provence, and Burgundy), power was gradually devolved to officials known as mayors of the palaces (maior palatii). These mayors led armies and controlled military policy and strategy; they resolved disputes and conducted foreign diplomacy. They were a cross between magnates and prime ministers, in whose hands lay all the sweeping political authority that had leeched to them over the generations from their kings.
