The focus of the narrative history of Francia in the seventh century is its ruling dynasty, the Merovingians. This chapter begins at the start of the seventh century with the unification of Francia under a single ruler, which lengthened the distance between ruler and ruled and made necessary the development of political consensus. In the mid to later seventh century much of Francia was run by people schooled in this fashion through the courts of Chlothar II, Dagobert and his son, Clovis II. According to the Chronicle of Fredegar, Chlothar took control of both Burgundy and Austrasia by agreement with the magnates of each kingdom. There was a marked rise in religious activity as Christian culture overflowed from its traditional urban strongholds to penetrate deep into the countryside. It was in fact the overall stability of the Frankish polity which made child kingship possible. The seventh century therefore saw Francia maturing economically as well as politically and culturally.