'Et in Arcadia Ego' by Nicolas Poussin
The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family. During the final century of the Merovingian rule, the dynasty was increasingly pushed into a ceremonial role. The Merovingian rule was ended in 751 when Pepin the Short formally deposed Childeric III, beginning the Carolingian monarchy.
They were sometimes referred to as the "long-haired kings" (Latin reges criniti) by contemporaries, for their symbolically unshorn hair (traditionally the tribal leader of the Franks wore his hair long, as distinct from the Romans and the tonsured clergy). The term "Merovingian" comes from medieval Latin Merovingi or Merohingi ("sons of Merovech"), an alteration of an unattested Old West Low Franconian form, akin to their dynasty's Old English name Merewīowing, with the final -ing being a typical patronymic suffix.
Merovech (Latin: Meroveus or Merovius; French: Mérovée; German: Merowig) was the legendary founder of the Merovingian dynasty of the Salian Franks, which later became the dominant Frankish tribe. He allegedly lived in the first half of the fifth century. His name is a Latinization of a form close to the Old High German given name Marwig, lit. "famed fight" (cf. māri "famous" + wīg "fight"). The first Frankish royal dynasty called themselves Merovingians ("descendants of Meroveus") after him.
There is little information about him in the later histories of the Franks. Gregory of Tours only names him once as the father of Childeric I while putting doubt on his descent from Clodio. Many admit today that this formulation finds its explanation in a legend reported by Fredegar. The Chronicle of Fredegar interpolated on this reference by Gregory by adding Merovech was the son of the queen, Clodio's wife; but his father was a sea-god, bistea Neptuni. No other historical evidence exists that Merovech ever lived. Some researchers have noted that Merovech, the Frankish chieftain, may have been the namesake of a certain god or demigod honored by the Franks prior to their conversion to Christianity. It has been suggested Merovech refers to or is reminiscent to the Dutch river Merwede, nowadays part of the Rhine-Meus-Scheldt delta but historically a main subsidiary of the Rhine, in the neighborhood of which the Salian Franks once dwelled according to Roman historians. Another theory considers this legend to be the creation of a mythological past needed to back up the fast-rising Frankish rule in Western Europe.
According to another legend, Merovech was conceived when Pharamond's wife encountered a Quinotaur, a sea monster which could change shapes while swimming. Though never stated, it is implied that she was impregnated by it. This legend was related by Fredegar in the seventh century, and may have been known earlier. The legend is probably a back-formation or folk etymology used to explain the Salian Franks' origin as a sea coast dwelling people, and based on the name itself. The "Mero-" or "Mer-" element in the name suggests a sea or ocean (see Old English "mere," Latin "mare," or even the Modern English word "mermaid," etc.). The "Salian" in "Salian Franks" may be a reference to salt, a reminder of their pre-migration home on the shores of the North Sea (alternatively, it may refer to the Isala or IJssel river behind which their homeland, the Salland, may have been located). The legend could also be explained in a much easier way. The sea monster could have been a foreign conqueror, coming from the sea, taking the dead king's (Chlodio or Pharamond) wife to legitimise his rule.
The legend about Merovech's conception was adapted in 1982 by authors Henry Lincoln, Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent in their book 'The Holy Blood Holy Grail', as the seed of a new idea. They hypothesized that this "descended from a fish" legend was actually referring to the concept that the Merovingian line had married into the bloodline of Jesus Christ.
Courtesy of Wikipedia
