326 Outlines of European History When the Franks are first heard of in history they were set- tled along the lower Rhine, from Cologne to the North Sea. Their method of getting a foothold in the Empire was essen- tially different from that which the Goths, Lombards, and Vandals had adopted. Instead of severing their connection with Germany and becoming an island in the sea of the Empire, they conquered by de- grees the territory about them. However far they might ex- tend their control, they re- mained in constant touch with their fellow barbarians behind them. In this way they re- tained the warlike vigor that was lost by the races who were completely surrounded by the luxuries of Roman civi- lization. In the early part of the fifth century they had occupied the district which forms to-day the kingdom of Belgium, as well as the regions east of it. In 486, seven years before Theodoric founded his Italian kingdom, they went forth un- der their great king, Clovis (a name that later grew into Fig. 133. Frankish Warrior It is very hard to find illustrations for a chapter on the barbarian in- vasions, for this period of disorder was not one in which pictures were being painted or buildings erected. From the slight descriptions we have of the .costume worn by the Frankish soldiers, we infer that it was something like that repre- sented here. We know that they wore their hair in long braids and carried weapons similar to those in the picture Louis), and defeated the Roman general who opposed them. They extended their control over Gaul as far south as the Loire, which at that time formed the northern boundary of the kingdom of the West Goths.
