The Franks (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as populating a broad strip of land on the right bank of the Lower and Middle Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul except Septimania in the 6th century. The Salian political elite was one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Franks had created one of the most strong and stable barbaric kingdoms.
The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Ze Frank ( /ˈzeɪ/; born Hosea Jan Frank on March 31, 1972) is an American online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker based in Los Angeles, California.
Frank was born to German-American parents and raised in a suburb of Albany, New York. He graduated from Brown University in 1995 where he studied neuroscience. Information given in the show indicates that he was educated at a Montessori school and also has a sister, who is a painter .
Beginning at Brown, Frank played guitar and sang lead vocals for a funk/jam band called Dowdy Smack, along with Blues Traveler bassist Tad Kinchla, until its dissolution in 1998.
Frank married his longtime girlfriend Jody Brandt in 2003. They met at Brown University and dated for five years before getting married. Jody is a licensed psychologist. She also officiated at the wedding ceremony of Frank's band mate Tad Kinchla in 2009. Frank and Brandt moved from Brooklyn Heights, NYC, to Westwood, Los Angeles, CA, at the end of 2008.[citation needed]