Refers to the period and style of the Franks, a Germanic tribe living along the east bank of the lower Rhine river by at least the third century CE. The style is especially associated with the westward expansion of the Franks across the Rhine in Gaul by gradual settlement and conquest, notably by the Merovingian, Clovis, beginning in the fifth century CE and lasting for centuries. Early Frankish art continued the existing Early Christian traditions of the area, except in the field of metalwork, where the Franks had a strong tradition of their own. With time, the Frankish style was especially strong in architecture, sculpture, and manuscript illumination, and is often characterized by colorful, flat, busy compositions of ornate linear pattern, and an abundance of animals, fish, and birds.
BT Germanic (Migration Migration culture or period)
