The Flowering of the Mind, or the Eldritch Flowering, during Merovingian Times

During the rule of the Merovingian Dynasty, Frankish power was spread throughout the Western Roman Empire, with the exception of the British Isles, largely with the help of Gothic and Gaulish Christian saints, and their skillful employment of the Hypatic Voces Magica techniques in a Christian context. In the British Isles, the techniques of theurgy were more strongly influenced by Druidic lore preserved in poetry, song, and in thinly-veiled Christian monastic texts. Eventually, British Druidic-based theurgy combined with Merovingian Hypatic techniques to form a powerful, comprehensive corpus of Christian miraculous theurgy. Alongside this development, lay magicians, particularly those of Jewish and heretical persuasion, perfected the science of thaumaturgy, or nonreligious magic. Though not as competent as their Byzantine counterparts, Frankish magicians were nevertheless able to ease the burdens of the peasant class, entertain the nobles, and enrich the merchants and tradesmen. As heathen barbarians began pouring into Europe from the east and the north, however, life in many regions beset by barbarian incursions eroded to the point that much of Europe could not afford the education and leisure necessary to support the higher echelons of magical ability. Most Frankish magic-users found it necessary to turn their skills toward the enchantment of magical weapons and armor, rather than toward the betterment of life in general.
As power shifted from the Merovingian rulers to their Carolingian mayors of the palace, so too did the backing of the Roman Christian clergy. This was due in part to a tightening of control upon the use of magic by the Church, placing it under the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts, which the Carolingians supported and the Merovingians did not. It was during this time that arcane magic, or thaumaturgy, became legally distinct from clerical magic, or theurgy. Christian thaumaturgists were excommunicated on the grounds of having committed acts of self-will, blasphemy, and idolatry.