Region
Francia
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Francia is the land of the Franks, a loose league of smaller Germanic tribes whose collective name is usually explained as 'the bold' or 'the eager for battle'. Unlike most peoples on the map, they are marked not by a tribal name but by a territory, set beyond the Rhine opposite the Batavian lands around Nijmegen. The entry probably dates from the fourth or early fifth century. The Roman poet Ausonius first uses the word in AD 375, so the Tabula is among the oldest witnesses to the name. Its placement puts the Franks where Rome felt they belonged, outside the empire.