Category: Neustria

Categories: Former Countries in Europe | French History

Neustria (/ˈnuːstriə, ˈnjuː-/) or Neustrasia (meaning "new [western] land" in contrast to Austrasia) was the western part of the kingdom of the Franks that was created in 511 upon the division of the Merovingian kingdom of Clovis I to his four sons following his death.

Neustria was made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities. It later referred to the region between the Seine and the Loire rivers known as the regnum Neustriae, a constituent subkingdom of the Carolingian Empire and then West Francia. The Carolingian kings also created a March of Neustria which was a frontier duchy against the Bretons and Vikings that lasted until the Capetian monarchy in the late 10th century, when the term was eclipsed as a European political or geographical term.

Neustria was also employed as a term for northwestern Italy during the period of Lombard domination. It was contrasted with the northeast, which was likewise called Austrasia, the same term as given to eastern Francia.

Source: Wikipedia article on Neustria

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