Salian Franks

The Salian Franks (Latin: Salii) were a subgroup of the early Franks who first appear in the historical records in the 3rd century AD. At that time, they lived north of the Rhine delta and therefore north of the limes of Roman Gaul, which ran along the Rhine. They were characterised as both warlike Germanic people and pirates, and as Laeti (allies of the Romans). Shortly thereafter, they became the first Germanic tribe from beyond the limes to settle permanently on Roman land. After moving into Batavia, a border island in the Rhine, in 358, they came to some form of agreement with the Romans who allowed them to settle south of the Rhine in Toxandria (roughly the area of the current Dutch and Belgian provinces of Noord-Brabant, Antwerpen and the northern "Kempen" (French Campine) part of Belgian Limburg).
Over time, the Salians fully adopted the Frankish identity and ceased to appear by their original name from the 7th century onward, when they...