.......DATE.............	...............................EVENT............................. ..............
THE MEROVINGIAN FRANKISH KINGS
481-511	Reign of Clovis, founder of the Merovingian dynasty of the Franks
511-558	Civil war among the Franks
558	Lothair (son of Clovis) became king of the Franks
early 600s	Frankish Merovingian kings began to recognize the office of "Mayor of the Palace"
680-754	St. Boniface was one of a number of missionaries who Christianized the Germans
687	One mayor of the palace, Pippin II, began to centralize authority when he simultaneously served as mayor of the palace in two Frankish provinces during a period of civil war
714-741	Charles Martel served as Frankish mayor of the palace
732	Frankish forces under Charles Martel defeated Muslim forces near Tours
741	Pippin III (son of Charles Martel) became the Frankish mayor of the palace
742	Birth of Charlemagne, son of Frankish mayor of the palace Pippin III
THE CAROLINGIAN FRANKISH KINGS
751	The Roman Pope Stephen II granted the title of king to the Frankish mayor of the palace, Pippin III, founding the Carolingian dynasty of Frankish kings
771	Charlemagne became king of the Franks
774	Charlemagne visited Rome for the 1st time, after defeating the Lombards who threatened Rome
781	Charlemagne visited Rome for the 2nd time
785	Charlemagne conquered the pagan Saxons in Germany
787	Charlemagne visited Rome for the 3rd time. In the same year, the Vikings raided England for the first time
THE FIRST HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR
800/12/25	Charlemagne named Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo in his 4th visit to Rome
814	Charlemagne died
817	Charlemagne's son, Louis the Pious, became king of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor
840	Death of Louis the Pious led to civil war between his three sons
843	Treaty of Verdun finalized the division of Carolingian Empire into three parts
846	Rome was sacked by Muslim invaders
871-899	Alfred the Great, a Saxon military leader, united southern England
878	Alfred defeated Danes at Edington
LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
900s	As the Frankish nobility became weaker, important nobles and church officials won the right to elect the Holy Roman Emperor
955	The Saxon, Otto I of Germany, beat the Magyars at Lech River
962	Otto I of Germany was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
987	Death of the last Carolingian king. Frankish nobles selected Hugh Capet to found a new royal family, the Capetians
1000	By this time, Vikings controlled the northern half of England, and Normans (Viking descendants) had a strong kingdom on the northwestern coast of France
1257	The number of electors was reduced to seven nobles, but their identities were not fixed
1356	Pope Charles IV issued the "Golden Bull" that designated the following officials as electors: the archbishops of Trier, Mainz and Cologne, the king of Bohemia, the "Count Palatine of the Rhine," the duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg
1438	After this date, all Holy Roman Emperors were selected from the leaders of the Habsburg family (Austria)