Austrasia was ahistorical region and the northeastern realm within the core of theFrankish State during theEarly Middle Ages, centering on the regions betweenMeuse,Moselle,Middle Rhine and theMain rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had been the northernmost part ofRoman Gaul and parts of RomanGermania. It also stretched beyond the old Roman borders on the Rhine into Frankish areas which had never been formally under Roman rule. It came into being as a part of theFrankish Kingdom, founded by theMerovingian kingClovis I (481–511), who expanded Frankish rule further to the southwest, into the Gaul, whose northern regions came to be known asNeustria.[1]
These two realms, or sub-kingdoms (Austrasia and Neustria), along withAquitaine andBurgundy, were subsequently ruled by various ruler from theMerovingian dynasty, followed in the 8th and 9th centuries by their successors from theCarolingian dynasty, whose own powerbase was in Austrasia itself.[2] The two Frankish dynasties did not always have a single ruling monarch over the whole Frankish realm, and already by 561, Austrasia was ruled as a separate kingdom within the Frankish realm by the Merovingian kingSigebert I (561–575). Kings often allowed different family members to rule sub-kingdoms, and these were sometimes in conflict with each other, despite the underlying continuity of the overall Frankish state.
In 843, by theTreaty of Verdun, Austrasia was divided in three parts, with eastern section being assigned to theEast Francia, central regions to theMiddle Francia, and the most western part to theWest Francia. Further divisions affected mostly the central part of Austrasia, ruled since theTreaty of Prüm (855) by kingLothair II, whose name gave rise toLotharingia, that corresponded to central Austrasia. It was divided by theTreaty of Meerssen (870), but reunited by theTreaty of Ribemont (880), under the east Frankish rule. During the 9th century, Austrasia was still considered as one of the main regions (stem lands) within theCarolingian Empire, surrounded byAlamannia (to the south),Bavaria (to the south-east),Thuringia (to the north-east), andSaxony (to the north), as attested by theRoyal Frankish Annals, and theAnnals of Saint Bertin, that mentions not only Austrasia, but alsoAutrasians.[3][4]
In time, central Austrasia was more frequently designated asLotharingia, that became the prevailing term for those regions, while eastern parts of Austrasia came to be known asFranconia.
The nameAustrasia is not well attested in theMerovingian period. The first surviving record of the term is byGregory of Tours, writing in about 580. It was later used byAimoin of Fleury around 1000. It is presumably thelatinization of anOld Frankish name, reconstructed as*Oster-rike ("Eastern Kingdom").[5]As with thenameAustria, it contains the word for "east", and means "eastern land". The term designated the original territory of theFranks in contrast toNeustria, which apparently meant the "(new) western land".
Austrasia was centered on theMiddle Rhine, including the basins of theMoselle,Main andMeuse rivers. It bordered onFrisia andSaxony to the north,Thuringia to the east,Swabia andBurgundy to the south and toNeustria to the southwest. The exact boundary between Merovingian Neustria and Austrasia is unclear with respect to areas such as the medieval counties ofFlanders,Brabant andHainaut, and areas immediately to the south of these.
Metz served as the Austrasian capital, although some Austrasian kings ruled fromReims,Trier andCologne. Other important cities includedVerdun,Worms andSpeyer.Fulda monastery, an important royal monastery, was founded in eastern Austrasia in the final decade of the Merovingian period.
After the death of the Frankish kingClovis I in 511, his four sons partitioned his kingdom amongst themselves, withTheuderic I receiving the lands that were to become Austrasia. Descended from Theuderic, a line of kings ruled Austrasia until 555, when it was united with the other Frankish kingdoms ofChlothar I, who inherited all the Frankish realms by 558. He redivided the Frankish territory amongst his four sons, but the four kingdoms coalesced into three on the death ofCharibert I in 567: Austrasia underSigebert I,Neustria underChilperic I, andBurgundy underGuntram. These three kingdoms defined the political division of Francia until the rise of theCarolingians and even thereafter.
From 567 to the death ofSigebert II in 613, Neustria and Austrasia fought each other almost constantly, with Burgundy playing the peacemaker between them. These struggles reached their climax in the wars betweenBrunhilda andFredegund, queens, respectively, of Austrasia and Neustria. Finally, in 613, a rebellion by the nobility against Brunhilda saw her betrayed and handed over to her nephew and foe in Neustria,Chlothar II. Chlothar then took control of the other two kingdoms and set up a united Frankish kingdom with its capital inParis. During this period the firstmajores domus ormayors of the palace appeared. These officials acted as mediators between the king and the people in each realm. The first Austrasian mayors came from thePippinid family, which experienced a slow but steady ascent until it eventually displaced the Merovingians on the throne.
Map of Francia in 714 (Austrasia shown in green)
In 623, the Austrasians asked Chlothar II for a king of their own and he appointed his sonDagobert I to rule over them withPepin of Landen as regent. Dagobert's government in Austrasia was widely admired. In 629, he inherited Neustria and Burgundy. Austrasia was again neglected until, in 633, the people demanded the king's son as their own king again. Dagobert complied and sent his elder sonSigebert III to Austrasia. Historians often categorise Sigebert as the firstroi fainéant, or do-nothing king, of the Merovingian dynasty. His court was dominated by the mayors. In 657, the mayorGrimoald the Elder succeeded in putting his sonChildebert the Adopted on the throne, where he remained until 662. Thereafter, Austrasia was predominantly the kingdom of theArnulfing mayors of the palace and their base of power. With theBattle of Tertry in 687,Pepin of Heristal defeated the Neustrian kingTheuderic III and established his mayoralty over all the Frankish kingdoms. This was even regarded by contemporaries as the beginning of his "reign". It also signalled the dominance of Austrasia over Neustria, which would last until the end of the Merovingian era.
In 718,Charles Martel had Austrasian support in his war against Neustria for control of all the Francian realms. He was not king himself, but appointedChlothar IV to rule in Austrasia. In 719, Franciawas united by Martel's family, theCarolingian dynasty, under Austrasian hegemony. While the Frankish kings continued to divide up the Frankish realm in different ways over subsequent generations, the term Austrasia was only used occasionally after the Carolingian dynasty.
