Editing Merovingian dynasty (section)

=== Reunification of the kingdom ===
Eventually, [[Clotaire II]] in 613 reunited the entire Frankish realm under one ruler. 

The frequent wars had weakened royal power, while the aristocracy had made great gains and procured enormous concessions from the kings in return for their support. These concessions saw the very considerable power of the king parcelled out and retained by leading ''comites'' and ''duces'' ([[count]]s and [[duke]]s). Very little is in fact known about the course of the 7th century due to a scarcity of sources, but Merovingians remained in power until the 8th century.