The early middle ages (400-900)
At the beginning of the fifth century, Belgium was conquered by the Franks, who made Doornik their capital. The rulers were from the Merovingian royal dynasty. Their most important descendant, King Clovis, had himself baptised in around the year 500, and moved to Paris. From the year 630, Belgium was effectively Christianised by Celtic monks.
In 751, the Carolingian dynasty came to power, with Charlemagne as its most important representative. The Maasvallei became the backbone of the Carolingian empire. Charlemagne was succeeded by his only son: Louis the Pious. After his death, the empire was split up, with the Scheldt River as its border. As a result, the western part of Belgium was added to France and the eastern portion to the Holy Roman (German) Empire. Royal power gradually declined as a result of the Viking invasions during the second half of the ninth century, and shifted to local elites.
The early medieval economy was based on agriculture. The large domains of the lords tried to be as self-sufficient as possible. The administration of justice was dominated by customary law, recorded in the 'Salische Codex'. In today’s Belgium, the people spoke German and Roman dialects during the early middle ages. In time, one particular dialect would dominate in a certain area, which led to the gradual formation of a language barrier.
