Forty-eighth Generation  

Totantius married Papinilla.

Children from this marriage were:

70368744243200       i.  Ansbertus Totantius Ferreolus Mar De Schelde [Margraveschelde (born before 469 - died after 511)

Papinilla married Totantius Ferreolus [Consul].

General Notes: Ruled 481-511.

He was only 15 years old when he became king, but, half-barbarous and half-civilized, he showed real genius both in his youth and in his manhood. He was a born fighter and ambitious to consolidate all Gaul under his rule. He was likewise a statesman and it was under his direction that the customary law of his tribe - the Salic Law - was compiled and published in Latin. He was favorably impressedby Christianity. He married a princess who had been converted to Catholicism. Half won over, Clovis allowed his children to be baptized. He did not make up his mind until a military victory over the Alemans. Then, on Christmas Day of the year 496, the King of the Franks was baptized at Rheims with 3,000 of his warriors and received into the church. He was the first Christian King of the Franks. (Ancient and Medieval History, by Carlton Hayes and Parker Moon; 1929)

The name Clovis evolved into Louis.
Alt Birth: Abt 460 Of, France
Alt Name: Clovis I (Chlodovech) Magnus King Of Franks
Alt Birth: Abt 476 Of Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, France
Alt Death: 27 Nov 511 Church Of St. Pierre, France
Alt Name: Clovis I Magnus King Of Franks





Clovis I

(b. c. 466--d. Nov. 27, 511, Paris), Merovingian founder of the Frankish kingdom that dominated much of western Europe in the early Middle Ages.

Clovis was the son, and probably the only son, of Childeric I, king of the Salian Franks of Tournai. To judge from the remains of Childeric's burial at Tournai, he seems to have been a federate chieftain of some standing and certainly a pagan. Under the same pagan gods, his son Clovis, who succeeded him in 481, advanced south to conquer northern Gaul. There survives a letter to him written by Bishop Remigius (Rémi) of Reims, congratulating him on taking over the administration of Belgica Secunda and advising him to listen to the bishops. At Soissons, in 486, Clovis defeated Syagrius, the last Roman ruler in Gaul. This opened to him the whole area of the Somme and the Seine and in particular brought him the extensive properties of the Roman treasury in that area. Clovis appears to have met with some resistance from the cities, and Franks not of his following seem to have been slow in coming to his aid. But he established his power at least as far south as Paris between the years 487 and 494. The Armoricans of western Gaul and the Germanic peoples of the Rhineland offered more serious opposition; and at the Loire he made contact with the Visigoths, protégés of Theodoric, the formidable ruler of Ostrogothic Italy.

Of the history of these early years, virtually nothing is known that is not recorded by Bishop Gregory of Tours, who wrote toward the end of the 6th century. Gregory's aim was to depict a heroic pagan warrior who owed his success to conversion to the true faith of Christianity. The outlines of his story are acceptable as historical fact, being based partly on the epic traditions of the Merovingian family itself and partly on annalistic records kept by the Christian church. (The name Merovingian derives from Merovich, a close relative of Childeric.)

The king whom Gregory portrays is primarily a warrior--bold, subtle, and unscrupulous in dealing with possible rivals among the Frankish chieftains of the northeast. A famous story told of him by Gregory best illustrates his qualities. A splendid vase was seized by Clovis' followers from a church (perhaps Reims), and the bishop begged for its return. At the next division of booty, which took place at Soissons, the king asked for the vase in addition to his agreed share of booty. One Frank objected and smashed the vase with his axe. The king restored it, broken as it was, to the bishop and said nothing. But a year later, at a military assembly, he recognized the offending warrior and took occasion to rebuke him for his ill-kept weapons, flinging his axe to the ground. As the man bent to pick it up, the king split his skull with his own axe, remarking, "Thus you treated the vase at Soissons." Gregory entirely approved: the church was avenged and so was the king; and the rest of Clovis' following was terrified.

But Clovis was also pious and credulous, as befitted a warrior whose gods had brought him great success. Though master of a Roman province effectively controlled by dynasties of able Gallo-Roman bishops, he showed no disposition to seek conversion until after his marriage to a Catholic princess, the Burgundian Clotilda (later St. Clotilda), in about 493. Three years later he undertook a campaign against the Alamanni of the middle Rhine, and at Zülpich (Tolbiac) his forces faced defeat. Only at this point did he think of invoking the help of his wife's god; and defeat was turned to victory. Even then a period of some two years elapsed before the combined efforts of Clotilda and Bishop Remigius (later St. Remigius of Reims) persuaded him to seek baptism. This took place at Reims, after a visit to Tours and due consultation with his warriors, several of whom were baptized with him. The Frankish settlers of the countryside remained pagan, and their conversion was a slow and spasmodic business. Their grave-site goods were to betray a rustic paganism at least until the 7th century.

It was to Catholicism, not to Arianism, that Clovis had turned. This may have affected his abortive intervention in the political affairs of Burgundy shortly afterward, for the Burgundians were mostly Arians. Some Burgundian detachments followed him on his subsequent campaigns, but he cannot be said to have conquered Burgundy or annexed it to Francia. A letter to him from Avitus, bishop of Burgundian Vienne, fully recognizes the risk to his barbarian charisma that the king ran in denying the pagan gods of his ancestors. In place of pagan fortuna, the bishop urges, the king has acquired Christian sanctitas, which will equally see him to victory.

In 506 Clovis was still active in the Rhineland against both the Alamanni and the Thuringians. In 507 he finally turned against the powerful Visigoths of Gaul south of the Loire. But first he sought the patronage of St. Martin of Tours, greatest of the Gallo-Roman saints. His subsequent victory over the Arian Visigoths at Vouillé, near Poitiers, was attributed by him to that patronage. His family had acquired a spiritual patron revered by all his Gallo-Roman subjects. Though he penetrated as far south as Bordeaux and sent his son to capture the Visigoth capital of Toulouse, he did not expel the Goths from Septimania or turn southern Gaul into a settlement area for his people. He contented himself with returning to Tours, where he gave thanks to St. Martin for victory and received the insignia of an honorary consulate from the Eastern emperor, Anastasius. He abandoned the Gallo-Roman south to its own devices and established himself at Paris, a good forward post from which to control the Armoricans of the west, the Thuringians on the Rhine, and the still-troublesome Franks of the north and east. In Paris he built a church dedicated to the Apostles (later Sainte-Geneviève).

Two revealing actions belong to the last year or so of Clovis' life. The first was the summoning of a church council at Orléans, attended by 32 bishops. Its canons, which survive, reveal the extent to which the king personally concerned himself with its deliberations. The second was the promulgation of Lex Salica, the law of the Salian Franks who accepted his authority. This constitutes 65 clauses regulating the life of the countryside. Uninfluenced by Christianity, they are a political manifesto rather than a precise legal statement of how the Franks ordered their lives. What they certainly reveal is the enhanced authority of the king and his willingness to make use of Gallo-Roman skills in ruling his own barbarians. Clovis died at the age of 45 and was buried in his Church of the Apostles. His Christian grave has never been found.

Making every allowance for Gregory of Tours's intention to represent him as a second Constantine, Clovis still stands out as a barbarian of heroic stature. Starting from small beginnings, he had been accepted as ruler by the Gallo-Romans; with imperial approval he had made the first serious attack on the Arian-Gothic confederation of western Europe; he had taken for his people the momentous decision that they were ultimately to be converted to Catholicism, not Arianism; and, perhaps most difficult of all, he had made one political people of the various Frankish tribes of modern Belgium and the Rhineland. Henceforward, Frankish power was to penetrate and colonize east of the Rhine. His family was secure in an unrivaled dominance that was to last until the 8th century. (J.M.W.-H.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

The chief source for the life of Clovis is the History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours, Eng. trans. by O.M. Dalton, 2 vol. (1927). Among modern works, see G. Tessier, Le Baptême de Clovis (1964); E. Zöllner, Geschichte der Franken (1970); and J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Long-Haired Kings (1962).



Related Propaedia Topics

Establishment of the Germanic hegemony: the invasions of Vandals; the invasions of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes (Britain); the Visigothic invasions in the 5th century and settlement in Provence and Spain; the Frankish conquest of Gaul (c. 481/482-511) and the Burgundian flight to the south; the Huns; abolition of the Western Empire and Ostrogothic rule in Italy (493-553); other Germanic tribes--the issue of Arianism versus Catholic Christianity; Germanic law and society



Copyright (c) 1996 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. All Rights Reserved


Chlodovech (Clovis) I of the Franks, King of the Franks

Born: 463
Baptized: 22 SEP 496
Acceded: 482
Died: 511

Father: , Childeric I of the Franks, King of the Franks


Mother: , Basina


Married to , Chrotechilde of Burgundy


Child 1: , Chlodomer of the Franks, King of the Franks
Child 2: , Theuderic I of the Franks, King of the Franks
Child 3: , Childebert I of the Franks, King of the Franks
Child 4: , Chlothar I of the Franks, King of the Franks

----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------

Version: 14 Feb 99 Author: Brian Tompsett Sources: bibliography Question?: FAQ c 1994-99

Noted events in his life were:

1. Fact 1: Acceded: 482. King Of The Salic Franks.

2. Baptism: 22 Sep 496.

3. Fact 2: Aka Clovis Magnus "The Great" King Of The Franks.

4. Religion. Reign: 481-511

5. Fact 3: Instigated Cloderic The Patricide To Murder His Own Father Sigisbert The Lame.

6. Fact 4: Afterwards, Had Cloderic The Patricide In Turn Murdered.

7. Fact 5: Baptised By St. Remi 24 Dec 496.

8. Fact 6: 481, Began Campaigns Of Territorial Expansion, By 488 Had Conquered Soissons.

9. Fact 7: Conquered Ripurian Franks & Added Them Into His Kingdom.

10. Fact 8: By 500, Defeated Alamanni, Burgundians, & Pillaged The Goths' Treasure Hoard.

11. Fact 9: Extended His Rule To The Pyrenees.

Clovis married Saint Queen Of The Franks Clothilde [Saint] about 492-493 in , , , France.

Children from this marriage were:

                i.  Ingomera, Prince Of The Franks Prince Of Franks (born in 493-494 Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, France - died)
               ii.  Clodomer , King Of Orleans (born in 495 Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, France - died on 1 May 524 in , Orleans, Loiret, France)
              iii.  Childebert "The Catholic" , King Of Paris (born about 496 Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, France - died on 23 Dec 558 in , Paris, Seine, France)
70368744243202      iv.  Clothaire I, King Of The Franks Franks [King Of The Sessions] (born about 497 Rheims, Marne, Loire-Alantique, France - died on 23 Nov 561 in Braines, Loire Atlantique, France)
                v.  Tichilda, Princess Of The Franks Of The Franks [Nun] (born about 503 Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, France - died)
               vi.  Miss, Princess Of The Franks (born about 505 Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, France - died)
              vii.  Clotilda, Princess Of The Franks Of The Franks [Queen] (born about 507 Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, France - died about 531)

Clovis next married Evochilde.

Noted events in her life were:

1. Fact 1: Pagan.

General Notes: Canonized as a saint after her death.
Clotilda, SAINT,

also spelled CLOTILDE, CHLOTHILDE, CHLOTILDE, CHRODECHILDE, CHRODIGILD, or CHROTECHILDIS (d. June 3, c. 545, Tours, Fr.; feast day June 3), queen consort of Clovis I, king of the Franks, in whose momentous conversion to Christianity she played a notable part.

Clotilda was the granddaughter of Gundioc, king of Burgundy, who was related to the Visigothic kings and shared their Arian Christian faith. At Gundioc's death his kingdom was divided between his four sons, Gundobad, Godegesil, Chilperic, and Gundomar. Clotilda's father Chilperic and her mother were murdered by Gundobad, and Clotilda and her sister took refuge with Godegesil in Geneva. Clovis, hearing good reports of Clotilda, obtained Gundobad's permission for their marriage in 493. She bore him four sons, Ingomer and the future kings Clodomir, Childebert I, and Chlotar I.

Clotilda was tireless in urging her husband to renounce his idols and acknowledge the true God; his final decision (498?) was made to honour a vow taken during a battle against the Alemanni. After Clovis' death (511), she retired to Tours and became famous for her sanctity of life, generosity to the church, and charity work. She was buried beside Clovis in the church, now Sainte-Geneviève, that they had cofounded in Paris.



Related Propaedia Topics

The Franks under the Merovingians and early Carolingians: the successors of Clovis, rise and establishment of the Carolingians under Charles Martel and Pepin III the Short (714-768), Carolingian relations with the papacy and entry into Italian affairs; origins of the Papal States



Copyright (c) 1996 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. All Rights Reserved


Chrotechilde of Burgundy


Father: , Chilperich of Burgundy, King of Burgundy


Married to , Chlodovech (Clovis) I of the Franks, King of the Franks


Child 1: , Chlodomer of the Franks, King of the Franks
Child 2: , Theuderic I of the Franks, King of the Franks
Child 3: , Childebert I of the Franks, King of the Franks
Child 4: , Chlothar I of the Franks, King of the Franks



----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------

Version: 14 Feb 99 Author: Brian Tompsett Sources: bibliography Question?: FAQ c 1994-99

Noted events in her life were:

1. Fact 1: Christian.

Queen married Clovis I "The Christian", King Of The Franks Franks King Of Franks about 492-493 in , , , France.

Berthar married (name unknown).

Children from this marriage were:

70368744243203       i.  Ingonde (Ingunde) Thuringia [Queen Of The Franks] (born about 499-502 Thuringia - died)

Noted events in his life were:

1. Fact 1: Either This Ansbertus Or His Father Was A Gallo Roman Senator.

2. Fact 2: Aka Arnoldus DE Moselle, Duke.

Ansbertus married Blithildus , Princess Of Sessions.

Ansbertus next married Blithilda (Bilhildis) Of Cologne, daughter of Cloderic The Patricide King Of Cologne and Of Burgundy\ Kinswoman St. Chrotechilde.

Blithildus married Ansbertus (Ausbert) Of Schelde Von Schelde [Roman Senator].

General Notes: He was a man of shocking character, "sensual and a brute", the Abbe Aigrain justly calls him. His matrimonial alliances have never been properly disentangled; he was married at least 5 times and it is even possible that his union with Radegund was polygamous.
In 531 Theodoric, King of Austrasia, and his half-brother, Clotaire I, King of Neustria, fell upon Hermenefrid, vanquished him, and carried home a great booty. Among the prisoners, Radegund, then about 12 years old, fell to the lot of King Clotaire.
Among other enormities, he burned alive in a cottage his own son and grandchildren. He is said to have died penitent; during his last illness he showed great alarm and disturbance of mind at the remembrance of his crimes. (Lives of the Saints)
Alt Birth: Abt 487 Of, France

Noted events in his life were:

1. Fact 1: Reigned As Sole King 558-561.

2. Fact 2: Aka Clotaire I King Of The Franks.

3. Fact 3: King Of Soissons 511-561.

4. Fact 4: Had Six Wives.

Clothaire married Ingonde (Ingunde) Thuringia [Queen Of The Franks] about 518 in France.

Clothaire next married Chunsena (Gunsine, Gunsinde) Of The Franks, not Married. Chunsena (Gunsine, Gunsinde) Of The Franks died.

Clothaire next married Valtrude (Valdrade) ,Princess Of The Lombards [Concubine 3], not Married.

General Notes: Alt Name: Ingonde Princess Of Thuringia
Alt Name: Aregonde (Haregonde), Queen Of The Franks

Ingonde married Clothaire I, King Of The Franks Franks [King Of The Sessions] about 518 in France.

Valdar married Hildis, Princess Of The Vandals about 567 of Jutland, Denmark.

Children from this marriage were:

70368744620040       i.  Harald Valdarsson [King Of Roeskilde] (born about 568 Of Jutland, Denmark - died)

Hildis, married Valdar Hroarsson [King Of Roeskilde] about 567 of Jutland, Denmark.

Heidrek married Amfleda "The Younger".

Children from this marriage were:

70368744620041       i.  Hildur "Hildis" "Hervor" Heidreksdatter (born about 572 Of Jutland, Denmark - died)
               ii.  Hjorvard Heidreksson (born about 574 Of Reidgotalandi, Norway - died)

Amfleda married Heidrek "Ulfhamr" Angantyrsson [King In Reidgotalandi].

Eystein married Miss about 615 of Sweden.

Children from this marriage were:

70368744620288       i.  Ingvar "The Tall" Eysteinsson [King In Sweden] (born about 616 Sweden - died)

Miss married Eystein Adilsson [King In Sweden] about 615 of Sweden.