Kingdom of Neustria

Neustria was the western Frankish sub-kingdom during the early Middle Ages, distinguished from Austrasia to the east. Its core lay between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, with Paris, Orleans, Tours and Soissons among its principal cities. Its courts and monasteries preserved much late antique learning. The division took shape after the death of Clovis I in 511, when his sons partitioned the Frankish realm, and subsequent Merovingian kings continued to divide and reunite their territories. Neustria was often the wealthier and more romanised of the two kingdoms, and its mayors of the palace became the effective rulers. The rivalry culminated in 687, when Pippin of Herstal, mayor of Austrasia, defeated the Neustrians at Tertry and established Carolingian dominance. Neustrian particularism persisted, but in 751 Pippin the Short deposed the last Merovingian king and took the crown himself. The name survived as a geographical and administrative term for the region between the Seine and the Loire.