Franks
the name of a confederation which was formed about A. D. 240, by the tribes dwelling on the banks of the Lower Rhine and the Weser, who united under the title of Franks or free men.
They invaded Gaul in 256, and for 12 years ravaged that country and Spain, extending their incursions as far as the opposite continent of Africa. Probus drove them back into their native marshes in 277; but their influence gradually increased, and after the death of FRANZ Constantine I., in 337, they constituted a powerful faction at the imperial court. In 355 they again invaded Gaul, and were defeated by Julian, who permitted them to establish a colony in Brabant or Taxandria. In 418 they again invaded Gaul, where, under their leader Pharamond, they founded the modern kingdom of FRANCE (q. v.).