Of all Rome's western successors, the Frankish kingdom that emerged in France, Belgium, the Rhineland and Switzerland was the longest lasting and most powerful; yet the Merovingians, who ruled it for nearly 300 years (481-751), have been harshly treated by posterity. This is partly through the hostility of the Carolingians who usurped and succeeded them, and partly because of a family history that was lurid and bloody even by contemporary standards. Ian Wood rescues them from the shadows of obscurity and contempt in this superb survey which will be required reading for all early medievalists.