<P> Some Franks, like the 4th century usurper Silvanus, converted early to Christianity . In 496, Clovis I, who had married a Burgundian Catholic named Clotilda in 493, was baptised by Saint Remi after a decisive victory over the Alemanni at the Battle of Tolbiac . According to Gregory of Tours, over three thousand of his soldiers were baptised with him . Clovis' conversion had a profound effect on the course of European history, for at the time the Franks were the only major Christianised Germanic tribe without a predominantly Arian aristocracy and this led to a naturally amicable relationship between the Catholic Church and the increasingly powerful Franks . </P> <P> Though many of the Frankish aristocracy quickly followed Clovis in converting to Christianity, the conversion of all his subjects was only achieved after considerable effort and, in some regions, a period of over two centuries . The Chronicle of St. Denis relates that, following Clovis' conversion, a number of pagans who were unhappy with this turn of events rallied around Ragnachar, who had played an important role in Clovis' initial rise to power . Though the text remains unclear as to the precise pretext, Clovis had Ragnachar executed . Remaining pockets of resistance were overcome region by region, primarily due to the work of an expanding network of monasteries . </P> <P> The Merovingian Church was shaped by both internal and external forces . It had to come to terms with an established Gallo - Roman hierarchy that resisted changes to its culture, Christianise pagan sensibilities and suppress their expression, provide a new theological basis for Merovingian forms of kingship deeply rooted in pagan Germanic tradition and accommodate Irish and Anglo - Saxon missionary activities and papal requirements . The Carolingian reformation of monasticism and church - state relations was the culmination of the Frankish Church . </P> <P> The increasingly wealthy Merovingian elite endowed many monasteries, including that of the Irish missionary Columbanus . The 5th, 6th and 7th centuries saw two major waves of hermitism in the Frankish world, which led to legislation requiring that all monks and hermits follow the Rule of St Benedict . The Church sometimes had an uneasy relationship with the Merovingian kings, whose claim to rule depended on a mystique of royal descent and who tended to revert to the polygamy of their pagan ancestors . Rome encouraged the Franks to slowly replace the Gallican Rite with the Roman rite . When the mayors took over, the Church was supportive and an Emperor crowned by the Pope was much more to their liking . </P>

Who were the franks and where was their kingdom located