was in sociology class and just wanted to know what this is.
2006-07-06 08:10:50 · 3 answers · asked by crashqueen 2 in Social Science ➔ Sociology
The Merovingians were a dynasty of Frankish kings who ruled a frequently fluctuating area in parts of present-day France and Germany from the fifth to the eighth century. 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, while the warriors trimmed it short).
2006-07-06 08:12:59 · answer #1 · answered by Bog woppit. 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Bogwoppit's answer is correct. The Merovingians are currently "fashionable" because the ridiculous book, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" claims that they were descended from Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene, and the authors of that book recently sued (and lost to) Dan Brown, author of "The Da Vinci Code," for "stealing" their idea. According to "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," the Plantard family of France is descended from them, but there is not a shred of evidence that the Merovingians have ANY living descendants -- legitimate ones, at least.
2006-07-06 09:36:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It deals with some set of French kings, I think the ones after the Hundred Years War, basically those from the execution of Joan of Arc to the execution of Louis XVI
2006-07-06 08:14:28 · answer #3 · answered by The Armchair Explorer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋