Clovis (c. 466~511) was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one king, and the founder of the Merovingian dynasty.. "Clovis wears a long tunic decorated with a border embroidered in gold, a great mantle, boots and a diadem: his sceptre is of the greatest simplicity (77).". "Towards the end of the 5th century, and principally under Clovis, the custom of wearing a beard was introduced, and lasted until the end of the 12th.". "The most ancient sceptre to be seen in the hands of the kings of France is that of the statue of Clovis at the door of the Abbey of St. Germain-des-pres." . Handcolored copperplate engraving from Robert von Spalart's "Historical Picture of the Costumes of the Principal People of Antiquity and of the Middle Ages" (1796).