Editing History of the Netherlands (section)

===Frankish dominance and incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire===
{{Main|Frisian-Frankish Wars}} 	
[[File:Radboud doopvont.jpg|thumb|left|An early 16th-century tapestry depicting the near baptism of [[Redbad, King of the Frisians]], who died in 719]]
In the early 8th century the Frisians came increasingly into conflict with the [[Franks]] to the south, resulting in a [[Frisian–Frankish wars|series of wars]] in which the [[Frankish Empire]] eventually subjugated Frisia. In 734, at the [[Battle of the Boarn]], the Frisians in the Netherlands were defeated by the Franks, who thereby conquered the area west of the [[Lauwers]]. The Franks then conquered the area east of the Lauwers in 785 when [[Charlemagne]] defeated [[Widukind]].

The linguistic descendants of the Franks, the modern [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[Dutch language|-speakers]] of the [[Netherlands]] and [[Flanders]], seem to have broken with the [[Exonym and endonym|endonym]] "Frank" around the 9th century. By this time Frankish identity had changed from an ethnic identity to a national identity, becoming localized and confined to the modern ''[[Franconia]]'' and principally to the French province of ''[[Île-de-France]]''.<ref>van der Wal, M., ''Geschiedenis van het Nederlands'', 1992 {{Full citation needed|date=November 2012}}, p. {{Page needed|date=October 2011}}</ref>

Although the people no longer referred to themselves as "Franks", the Netherlands was still part of the Frankish empire of Charlemagne. Indeed, because of the Austrasian origins of the Carolingians in the area between the Rhine and the Maas, the cities of Aachen, Maastricht, Liège and Nijmegen were at the heart of Carolingian culture.<ref name="Milis, L.J.R. pp. 6-18" /> Charlemagne maintained his ''palatium''<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Charlemagne: Court and administration |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=15 May 2023 |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/106546/Charlemagne/256621/Court-and-administration}} ("Charlemagne relied on his palatium, a shifting assemblage of family members, trusted lay and ecclesiastical companions, and assorted hangers-on, which constituted an itinerant court following the king as he carried out his military campaigns and sought to take advantage of the income from widely scattered royal estates.")</ref> in [[Nijmegen]] at least four times.

The [[Carolingian empire]] would eventually include France, Germany, northern Italy and much of Western Europe. In 843, the Frankish empire was divided into three parts, giving rise to [[West Francia]] in the west, [[East Francia]] in the east, and [[Middle Francia]] in the centre. Most of what is today the Netherlands became part of Middle Francia; Flanders became part of West Francia. This division was an important factor in the historical distinction between Flanders and the other Dutch-speaking areas.

Middle Francia ({{Langx|la|Francia media}}) was an ephemeral [[Francia|Frankish]] kingdom that had no historical or ethnic identity to bind its varied peoples. It was created by the [[Treaty of Verdun]] in 843, which divided the Carolingian Empire among the sons of [[Louis the Pious]]. Situated between the realms of East and West Francia, Middle Francia comprised the Frankish territory between the rivers Rhine and [[Scheldt]], the [[Frisia]]n coast of the [[North Sea]], the former [[Kingdom of Burgundy]] (except for a western portion, later known as [[Duchy of Burgundy|''Bourgogne'']]), [[Provence]] and the [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Kingdom of Italy]].

Middle Francia fell to [[Lothair I]], the eldest son and successor of [[Louis the Pious]], after an intermittent civil war with his younger brothers [[Louis the German]] and [[Charles the Bald]]. In acknowledgement of Lothair's [[Holy Roman Emperor|Imperial]] title, Middle Francia contained the imperial cities of [[Aachen]], the residence of Charlemagne, as well as Rome. In 855, on his deathbed at [[Prüm Abbey]], Emperor Lothair I again partitioned his realm amongst his sons. Most of the lands north of the [[Alps]], including the Netherlands, passed to [[Lothair II of Lotharingia|Lothair II]] and consecutively were named [[Lotharingia]]. After Lothair II died in 869, Lotharingia was partitioned by his uncles Louis the German and Charles the Bald in the [[Treaty of Meerssen]] in 870. Although some of the Netherlands had come under Viking control, in 870 it technically became part of East Francia, which became the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 962.