Ripuarian
/ˌrɪpjʊˈɛːrɪən/noun
1 Medieval History. In plural A branch of the Frankish people, who occupied the banks of the Rhine between the Moselle and Meuse from the 5th cent. a.d.; the Eastern Franks.
- The principal city under the control of the Ripuarian Franks was Cologne. Ripuarian independence ended when they and the Salian Franks, together with the Alemanni and the Thuringians, submitted to the Merovingian king Clovis (466–511)..
2A Middle German dialect or group of dialects.
adjective
1 Medieval History. Designating the code of law observed by the Ripuarian Franks, apparently consolidated in the first half of the 7th cent. a.d.
- Aspects of Ripuarian law were borrowed from the Salic code, but much appears to be independent (and earlier)..
2 Medieval History. Designating the Eastern or Rhineland Franks; of or relating to this people. Chiefly in Ripuarian Franks.
3Designating a Middle German dialect or group of dialects.
Origin
Early 17th century; earliest use found in John Selden (1584–1654), lawyer and historical and linguistic scholar. From post-classical Latin Ripuarius (also Ribuarius) + -an.