Clovis I, King of Salic Franks, King of France

466 - 511  (45 years)

• Name	Clovis I   [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Suffix	King of Salic Franks, King of France
  Alt. Birth	463  [5]
  Born	466  [1, 2]
  Religion	496  [6]
  	converted to Roman Catholicism
  	The traditional date of the conversion of Clovis to Roman Catholicism is 496. He had previously married a Burgundian, Clotilda, who was of the Roman communion. The Burgundians in general were Arians, and Clovis's choice may have been deliberate. In any case his conversion won him papal support and opened the way to wide conquests from the heretic (i.e., Arian) German peoples. Burgundy was conquered (after 500); the Visigoths defeated at Vouillé (507); and their whole kingdom north of the Pyrenees (except Septimania and Provence) was soon subjugated. These conquests were supported by the Gallo-Roman clergy as a religious war. Clovis founded the Church of the Holy Apostles (Ste. Geneviève) at Paris, and shortly moved his "capital" from Soissons to Paris. He was made an honorary consul by Emperor Anastasius, a proceeding that brought the Franks technically into the empire. Frankish Administration. The old Roman civitas, city and surrounding territory, served as the basis of Merovingian and (later) Carolingian administration. Comites, later called counts, royal officials of Gallo-Roman descent, presided over the civitas, collected taxes, heard lawsuits, enforced justice, and raised troops. Clovis and his descendants issued capitulares, legislative and administrative orders divided by chapters, that tried to reduce violence; these showed the strong influence of Roman law.
  Christened	22 Sep 496  [5]
  Gender	Male
  Acceded	King of France  [1]
  Acceded	481-511  [1, 2, 3, 4]
  	King of Salic Franks
  History	The Merovingian Dynasty  [4, 7]
  	The Merovigians were a dynasty of Frankish kings, descended, according to tradition, from Merovech, chief of the Salian Franks , whose son was Childeric I  and whose grandson was Clovis I , the founder of the Frankish monarchy. Merovingian kings followed Frankish custom in dividing the patrimony. After the death (511) of Clovis I, the kingdom was divided among his descendants into various kingdoms, which later became known as Austrasia , Neustria , and Burgundy . These kingdoms, whose borders were constantly shifting, were often combined; for brief periods, they were all united in a single realm under Clotaire I  (558-61), Clotaire II  (613-23), and Dagobert I  (629-39). The rule of the Merovingians before Dagobert I was disturbed by chronic warfare among aristocrats and rivals for power, notably between Queen Brunhilda  of Austrasia and Queen Fredegunde  of Neustria. Dagobert I was the last active ruler; his descendants were called the rois fainéants, or idle kings. They were entirely subject to their mayors of the palace, the Carolingians , who became the nominal as well as the actual rulers of the Franks when Pepin the Short  deposed (751) the last Merovingian king, Childeric III.
  Died	27 Nov 511	Paris, , , France   [1, 2, 5]
  History	511-628  [6]
  	the Frankish lands were divided after the death of Clovis
  	His four sons established four capitals — Metz, Orleans, Paris, Soissons. Expansion eastward continued along the upper Elbe; Burgundy was added, and the territory of the Ostrogoths north of the Alps. After a period of ruthless conflict, only Lothair (Chlothar) survived, and for a brief time (558–  61) the Frankish lands were under one head again. Lothair's division of his lands among his four sons led to a great feud from which three kingdoms emerged: Austrasia (capital Metz) lying to the east (Auster) and mostly Teutonic; Neustria (the "new land," as the name implies; capital Soissons), Gallo-Roman in blood; and Burgundy, which had no king of its own but joined Neustria under a common ruler. The prince of Neustria exterminated the rival house in Austrasia, but the local chieftains preserved the kingdom's identity. Under Lothair II all three kingdoms were united again (613) under one ruler.
  Name	Chlodovech I of the Franks  [5]
  Name	Clovis the Great  [1, 2]
  Person ID	I15997	If the Legends Are True...
  Last Modified	14 Jun 2014

  
  

  Father	King Childeric I of Franks,   b. 436,   d. 26 Nov 481, Tournai, , Basse-Normandie, France  (Age 45 years)
  Mother	Basina,   b. 438,   d. 491  (Age 53 years)
  Married	464
  Family ID	F5933	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	St. Clothilda of Burgundy, Queen of the Franks,   d. 544
  Married	492  [1]
  Children	1. Chlodomer of the Franks, King of Orléans,   b. 494-495,   d. 21 Jun 524, Vézeronce, , Rhône-Alpes, France  (Age 29 years) + 2. Theodoric I, King of Metz,   b. Abt 486,   d. 533-534  (Age ~ 48 years)   3. Childebert, King of Paris,   d. Yes, date unknown + 4. Lothar, King of Soissons, King of all Franks,   b. 500,   d. 561  (Age 61 years)   5. Ingomer,   b. Abt 493-494,   d. Young
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2011
  Family ID	F5932	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  of Franks → Clovis I

  
  

• Notes

  Usually regarded as the real founder of Frankish power in Gaul, he united the Romans of north Gaul under his rule by force of arms and the expedience of converting to their own religion, Catholic Christianity. He then united the Franks under his own rule by having all rival kings assassinated.      With success he led his armies against other Germans; he conquered the Thuringians to the east, and also the Alamans who were moving from their homes in south-west Germany into what is now Alsace and northern Switzerland. In 507 Clovis led his followers south across the Loire to destroy the Visigothic kingdom of Alaric II. When he died in 511, the kingdom was ruled jointly by his four sons; it was they who destroyed the Burgundian kingdom and who, by offering military aid to the Ostrogoths in exchange, annexed Provence to their kingdom. (Encyclopaedia Britannica) Leo van de Pas – 2008 Clovis (Chlodovech), son of Childeric, in the service of Julius Nepos and Zeno. He defeated the Gallo-Roman general Syagrius at Soissons (486), expanding Salian power to the Loire. Friendly relations existed between Clovis and Bishop Remigius, who later baptized him. Sigebert, the Ripuarian, defeated an Alamannic invasion at Tolbiac (496) with Salian support. Clovis, in the same year, defeated the Alamanni (Strasburg?) and later, after election as king of the Ripuarians, emerged as master of the Franks on both sides of the Rhine. Encyclopedia of World History – 2001

  
  

• Sources

  [S160] Merovingian Dynasty, Orders of the Crown of Charlemagne & Merovingian Dynasty, (Plymouth, Minnesota: Order of the Merovingian Dynasty), Thomas Keene Line to Mérovée | https://web.archive.org/web/20061209125348/www.merovingiandynasty.com/Keene.htm (Reliability: 4). Stuart, Roderick W. Royalty For Commoners, Fourth Edition, (Baltimore:  GPC, 2002), p. 162, line 303 (51), p. 188 Line 349 (51).  ~ Wood, Ian, The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450-751 , (Harlow, England:  Longman, Pearson Education, 1994), pp. 41-54, 344, 356-357. [S110] Leo's Genealogics, Leonardus Franciscus Maria van de Pas, (Perth, Australia: www.genealogics.org), I00310262 (Reliability: 4). ~ Europäische Stammtafeln, J.A. Stargardt Verlag, Marburg, Schwennicke, Detlev (Ed.), Reference: I-1 1. [S110] Leo's Genealogics, Leonardus Franciscus Maria van de Pas, (Perth, Australia: www.genealogics.org), I00310264 (Reliability: 4). ~ Europäische Stammtafeln, J.A. Stargardt Verlag, Marburg, Schwennicke, Detlev (Ed.), Reference: I-1 1. [S165] World History, Peter N. Stearns, (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), The Merovingian Kings (Reliability: 4). [S26] Royal Genealogical Data, Brian Tompset, (Hull, England: University of Hull), www.hull.ac.uk/php/cssbct/genealogy/royal/., http://www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk/cgi-bin/gedlkup/n=royal?royal11923 (Reliability: 4). [S165] World History, Peter N. Stearns, (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), The Frankish Kingdom (Reliability: 4). [S163] Columbia Encyclopedia, Columbia University Press, (New York, New York: Bartleby.com, July, 2005), Merovingians (Reliability: 4).