Before in the battle on the Catalaunian fields against the Huns, the Franks fought along with other tribes. They were skilled warriors, they were especially good with battle axes, throwing them accurately at the target. This tribe originally lived in the lower reaches of the Rhine near Gaul. They preferred to wear fabric clothes, cut their hair and shave their beards. Only kings and their relatives had long hair.

End of the 5th century was marked for the Franks by a new stage in their history. All the tribes of the Franks were united by Clovis from the Merovean clan. With the help of cruelty, cunning and a sharp mind, he managed to eliminate his rivals for the throne. He was an excellent commander. In 486, he defeated the Roman army in the territory of Gaul and founded his kingdom there. His dynasty became known as the Merovingians, they ruled the Frankish state until the 8th century.

Clovis Merovingian

Before Clovis became a leader, he had to confront his own tribesmen. Many believed that his power was illegal and violated the customs and rights of the Franks. The Franks settled in the territory of Gaul, but the local Gallo-Roman population already lived there, Clovis also had to build friendly relations with them.

To do this, he converted to Christianity in 498 according to the Roman model, as did his squad. And then the rest of the Franks. Of course, Clovis was not familiar with Christian teachings and he was not a good Christian. But now he became part of the Gallo-Roman people, and the rest of the Franks could enjoy the gifts of Roman culture. The Gallic episcopate supported the leader, besides this religion speaks of power as a gift from God. Accordingly, Clovis could sacralize his presence on the throne, and his heirs could do the same. In this way he increased his own power.

The salic truth of Clovis

Clovis set the task of writing down all the laws of the Franks, they were more like customs. At that time, no one could come up with new laws, everyone should live according to customs, because it was believed that only the oldest norms could be correct. At the trial, the wise men had to say how custom dictates to act in a given situation. Knowledge was passed down from generation to generation.

But time passed and many norms no longer corresponded to the spirit of the time, then people themselves, without noticing it, changed them little by little. Thus, under the action of oral custom, customary law works. It was very common in the early Middle Ages. Sometimes the king, in order to update the laws, suddenly recalled an old custom that had supposedly been forgotten before.

Clovis wrote down all the forgotten laws in one document, which became the first legal monument - Salic truth. A record of laws was needed for the convenience of conducting justice, and Clovis himself wanted to be the chief judge. If the law was not clear, then people turned to the king for clarification, he also explained the law as it was convenient for him.This document contains information about the life of the Franks, rituals, beliefs. Some laws looked strange. For example, the Franks did not document transactions, but simply performed a special ceremony in the presence of witnesses.
Clovis strengthened the borders of the Frankish kingdom, and his descendants expanded them even more. Each free inhabitant of the kingdom received a piece of land for cultivation. Those

Clovis, king of the Franks, had a rich, colorful family history. He was the most striking historical character of the Merovingian dynasty - the first royal dynasty that ruled the state, which now encompasses France and Belgium. The name Clovis, meaning "loud battle", and later modified - Louis, fell in love with his descendants and became the most popular name in Germanic and Romanesque Europe.

Historical roots of the Merovingian dynasty

The Merovingian dynasty has Frankish roots: until the 5th century, their ancestors were in German lands, but by the end of the century they went straight to Gaul, and having settled there, they founded a new state. Some historians claim that this state was called "Austrasia", with its center in the region of modern Lorraine.

Merovingian timeframe: 5th-13th century. The golden age of the dynasty falls on the period of history, and because of this, the real history of the Merovingians is closely intertwined with German-Scandinavian mythology, which makes historical analysis extremely difficult.

The direct founder of the dynasty is Merovei, the grandfather of Clovis, who brought Roman rules of government to the lands of Gaul, fashion for secular education and literacy. All of his descendants were not crowned kings. Nevertheless, they were revered by the people, which was built into a kind of ritual cult. Under Merovei, the post of "mayordom" was established - a position similar to the post of chancellor. Since then, all the Merovingian monarchs have performed their royal role, and administrative affairs have been shifted onto the shoulders of the mayor.

Sacred regalia and symbols of power

A distinctive power symbol of the Merovingians is long hair, the cutting of which was comparable to the renunciation of power. For example, Clotilde, the wife of Clovis, finding herself in a situation of choice: parting with her hair or the death of her captive grandchildren, agreed to the second option without giving up her power. Long hair was also associated with the paranormal abilities of the Merovingians, including a healing gift. Like the biblical story of Samson and the treacherous Delilah, cutting hair meant losing strength.

The sacred emblem of the dynasty is golden bees inlaid with garnets.

Bees are a sacred pagan symbol of immortality, eternal life. It was this emblem that Napoleon subsequently borrowed, believing that it would indicate the fact of the historical continuity of his power.

Mythological legend about the founder of the Merovingian dynasty

Merovei's name means "glorious fight". Gregory of Tours describes a legend according to which Merovei was born as a result of the intercourse of his mother with a sea monster. The myth says that at the birth of her son, the mother saw the bristles of a boar on Merovei's back. Historians associate this myth with the cult of the boar, the patron saint of military affairs and the god of fertility of the ancient Franks.

According to the legend, once a year this boar comes ashore from Lake Retra and grants its admirers fertility and success in the military field. Subsequently, in the German-Scandinavian mythology, one could observe the strengthening of the cult of the boar-leader.

What is interesting to the chroniclers of Clovis, the king of the Franks. Biography of the Merovingian and the historical significance of his reign

Clovis I is the name of three Frankish kings from the Merovingian dynasty. What do historians know about him?

Clovis, king of the Franks, grandson of Merovei, son of Hilderic I and Basina, according to chronicles, was born around 466. At the age of 15, Clovis became king for a small part of the Salic (i.e. sea) Franks and came to grips with expanding the boundaries of his territory.

Having conquered the territories of Siarpia, Clovis I and the allied kings went to war with the Goths. Disdaining neither intrigues, nor meanness, nor murders, Clovis cleared all the southwestern lands of the Goths. Already in 507, he sat on the throne of the ruler of all French lands. Historians believe that his decision to be baptized, dated December 25, 498, ensured such success. His wife Clotilde encouraged the king to be baptized.

During his reign, Clovis, king of the Franks, made Paris the capital of the conquered lands. And by initiating the creation of a code of Frankish laws, he also opened a new chapter in the entire northern European history.

Clovis died in Paris in 511, leaving all his lands as a legacy to his sons.

Campaign against Siarpiya. The legend of the Soissons bowl

Having assumed the post of king, Clovis began to act according to a plan for the gradual capture of all Gallic lands. The strategy was as follows: in order to get to the Gothic and Burgundian lands, which were a tasty morsel, it was necessary to subjugate the lands of Siarpia, adjacent to the coveted territory.

It was not difficult for Clovis to seize the lands of Siarpius, and soon, city after city, he was gradually approaching the land of the Burgundians. The troops of Clovis did not disdain any means of quick profit. In military campaigns, churches and temples were often robbed.

The following legend is widely known. As a result of another raid on the church, the Franks and their king Clovis stumbled upon an extremely valuable mug. This item was so important that the bishop literally begged the king to return it to the temple. Clovis was adamant and demanded that the mug be assigned to his share of the trophies. All the king's associates were not against such a division, but one of the Franks opposed and, striking the mug with a sword, angrily told the king that he should not use his position and receive trophies in excess of the established measure.

The king pretended to forgive him this trick, and even returned the mug to the bishop, but a year later, at a review of the troops, he accused the warrior of having his weapon in poor condition, snatched the ax from his hands and threw it to the ground, and when the warrior bent over her, cut his skull in half.

Baptism of Clovis: background and consequences

The prerequisites for the adoption of Christianity by Clovis was his marriage to the zealous Catholic Clotilde, Princess of Burgundy. Having ascended the royal throne, Clotilde desperately tried to force her husband to accept her faith.

These attempts were unsuccessful for a very long time. No matter how Clotilde proved to Clovis the inconsistency of his gods, pointing out their similarity with ordinary, petty, vicious people, he stood his ground and answered her that he believes in his gods, and the god of Christianity is implausible, because he does not manifest himself in anything and cannot create miracles.

Strongly pushed Clovis away from the Christian faith and the fact that the first-born Clotilde died directly during baptism, in the font. Clovis at that time was sure that if the child had been given under the protection of the pagan gods, he would have been alive.

However, water wears away the stone, and Clotilde achieved her goal. Around 498, the Gallic king was baptized.

According to the tradition of the church, it happened at the battle with the Almandians. When Clovis began to lose the battle, he vainly called out to his gods for help, and when there was almost no hope of salvation, the king remembered the words of the prayer to Jesus the Savior, said them, and the Franks, having made a successful maneuver, defeated the Almandians.

The king was baptized in the city of Reims in 496. The conversion of Clovis and his closest subjects to the Christian faith opened up to him wide opportunities for friendship with the Gallo-Romans, which allowed him to significantly expand his possessions.

Religious policy of the Merovingian dynasty

An interesting fact is that the newly formed state of Austrasia did not become Christian in the literal sense of the word even after the baptism of Clovis and his closest retinue. Despite all the efforts of the sincere Christian Clotilde, her husband did not come to the true faith. As before, the people devotedly treated pagan customs, rituals and the Scandinavian pantheon.

Clovis from the Merovingian dynasty was not particularly worried about the fate of Christianity in his lands. After baptism, nothing changed in his state policy, so that the task of spreading the Christian faith fell on the shoulders of missionaries arriving from other parts of Europe. In the vicinity of Paris and Orleans, as well as other broad Merovingian possessions, the process of active "Catholicization" of the local population began. Interestingly, the head of the Catholic Church did not have authority in the Austrasian lands, and a little later it was he who contributed to the overthrow of the Merovingian dynasty from the throne.

This once again proves the fact that the adoption of Christianity for Clovis, as well as for the Russian prince Vladimir, was a purely political cunning multi-move. The characteristics of Clovis, the king of the Franks, are generally very similar to the characteristics of Vladimir, the prince of Kievan Rus: both of them were baptized themselves and baptized their retinue, based on political motives, namely, for the sake of friendship with Byzantium. Also noteworthy is the similarity of the scenario for the development of events after baptism: just as Gaul remained predominantly pagan after the baptism of Clovis, so Kievan Rus after Vladimir's baptism did not at first accept the Christian faith, but remained with its pagan pantheon.

gothic war

When Clovis, king of the Franks, was converted to Christianity, an era of success began in relations with the Gallo-Romans. Having come close to the Gothic lands, Clovis, who had already received the support of the higher clergy, began a war in the year 500 against Gundobald, the uncle of his wife Clotilde, who killed her parents and brothers for the sake of the throne. In 506, the victory was won, and the conqueror finally entered the Visigothic kingdom. Clovis, according to Gregory of Tours, was extremely worried about the fact that the Goths were oppressing a certain part of Gaul, so that the war undertaken by him was called sacred, which was extremely pleased with the higher clergy.

Finally, Clovis struck the Goths near Poitiers, on Vouglo. Having killed Alaric, the king is ready, the conqueror was finally convinced of his power and became so proud that soon the Byzantine emperor Anastasius became agitated and sent him a letter to the consulate in order to indicate to Clovis his subordinate place and to assert the supremacy of the empire over all the lands that he freed from the Goths.

Brutal strategy to kill all potential opponents

How can you describe the management under Clovis? After a successful Gallic war, he began to systematically destroy all his opponents, the Gallic leaders. Capturing their lands and destroying everyone in a row, the king soon possessed almost all of Gaul.

The closest relatives, the brothers Rignomer and Richard, were personally killed by Clovis. The King of the Franks, whose biography is full of many more “accidental” violent deaths of competitors, however, was not quick-tempered: not a single murder happened affectively, opponents were destroyed gradually, cunningly and imperceptibly.

In the end, Clovis killed everyone who during his reign did not please him in any way: Hararih, the king who refused to help in the battle against Syagrius, and his son, in order to stop encroachments on the throne of his father. Clovis did the same with the leaders of the Rhine Franks: Sigibert, his ally, he killed with the hands of his own son, promising the latter his support for patricide, and when Cloderic killed his father Sigibert, and Clovis entered the kingdom, he declared Chloderic a traitor, killed him and took the throne himself.

There is a known case when Clovis called all his people and poured out his soul to them, complaining that he had no more relatives left who could support him. The whole cunning plan was to find out if the king still had random relatives, whom he would also gladly kill with great joy.

Kingdom of Clovis as a new stage in French history

After the end of the Gothic war, Clovis made Paris the capital of all his lands and settled there. Immediately, the king ordered the construction of the Cathedral of the Apostles Peter and Paul (now the Church of St. Genevieve). After the death of Clovis in 511, he was buried there.

In 511, just before his own death, Clovis initiated the first Frankish ecclesiastical council in Orléans with the aim of reforming the Gallic church. He also contributed to the establishment of the "Salic Truth" - the code of laws of the Franks.

After the death of the king, his possessions were divided by his four sons. Clotilde, having been canonized, moved to Tours and spent the rest of her days in the Basilica of Saint Martin.

So the story of Clovis remains heroic. Even despite some negative, impartial moments of his biography. The successful reign of Clovis launched the process of the formation of a kind of renewed Roman Empire - a state, the symbol of which was a mutually beneficial union between the state and the church, between the secular power of the Merovingians and the spiritual power of the Christian diocese.

Participation in wars: Internecine war. Wars with the Thuringians, Burgundians, Visigoths and Ostrogoths.
Participation in battles: Poitiers.

(Chlodovechus) Frankish king from the Merovingian dynasty (since 481)

Son of Childeric I. In 481, at the age of fifteen, he became king of most of the Salian Franks. In 486, Clovis moved against Syagrius. He acted with the support of his relative King Ragnahar, whose seat was the city of Cambrai. Broken siagrius fled to the Gothic king Alaric II, but at the request of Clovis was extradited and executed. The victory over Syagrius did not immediately give into the hands of the Franks all the areas that he ruled, and Clovis had to take city after city, each of which offered him stubborn resistance. The conquest of the former region of Siagria dragged on for several years.

When taking cities pagan Franks they plundered the temples, and in Soissons, while sacking one of them, they captured a very valuable mug. The bishop began to petition Clovis to return her to the church. Clovis asked the soldiers to add this mug to his share of the booty, and everyone agreed, except for one soldier, who said that Clovis would receive nothing but the share of the booty that would go to him by lot. He cut the mug, and the bishop got only its fragments. The following year, at a military review, Clovis approached this warrior and, noticing to him that his weapons were not kept in proper order, threw his ax to the ground. At the moment when the warrior bent down to pick up his weapon, Clovis struck him with his ax a mortal blow on the head, saying: “ So you did in Soissons with a mug". By this act, Clovis brought mortal fear to his soldiers.

In the tenth year of his reign, Clovis defeated the Thuringians, who disturbed the Frankish lands with their raids. Thanks to the insistence of Christian wife Clotilde Clovis in 496 converted to Christianity. They were baptized together with the king about three thousand francs.

Church tradition connects this fact with the struggle of Clovis with the Alleman, who attacked the lands of the Franks. In a decisive battle, when the troops of Clovis were threatened with defeat, he promised to be baptized if he won. Clovis in battle inflicted a terrible defeat on the Allemans, their king fell in battle, and Clovis fulfilled this vow.

The conversion of Clovis and the Franks to Christianity opened up to them the possibility of merging with the Gallo-Romans and became one of the most important reasons for the further success of Clovis. He expanded the boundaries of his possessions from the Seine to the Loire, beyond which lay the provinces under the rule of goth-arian. The native population of these provinces called on Clovis to fight the Goths. The clergy urged him on this especially zealously.

Around 500 Clovis in alliance with Hedegisel of Burgundy fought against his brother Gundobalda. Clovis defeated Gundobald and forced him to pay tribute, but after the departure of Clovis, Gundobald defeated and killed Hedegisel, uniting all of Burgundy in his hands and refused to pay tribute to the Franks.

In 506, Clovis began a campaign against the Visigothic kingdom. wishing that Gallo-Roman population saw in him not an enemy, but a liberator from heretics, Clovis forbade his soldiers to rob the population and take anything from him for free, except water and grass.

At Vougla (near Poitiers) Clovis defeated the Goths, their king Alaric II was killed. Clovis' son Theodoric subjugated the city of Auvergne to the Burgundian border, and Clovis himself took possession of most of Aquitaine (with the exception of Gascony and Septimania). The Franks entered Provence, but then the Ostrogothic king intervened in the events
Theodoric the Great. His troops repulsed the Franks from Arles, and the whole country between the Durance and the sea fell into the hands of Ostrogoths.

Being after the victory over the Goths in Tours, Clovis received from Emperor Anastasius a letter for the consulate, reminiscent of the supreme rights of the empire to the land.

After the Gothic War, Clovis established his capital in Paris, which occupied a central position in the state, and continued to unite the Frankish lands.

In Cologne, the Franks were king Siegibert. Clovis pointed out to his son Chloderic the old age and weakness of Siegibert and promised him, when Sigibert dies, his kingdom and his friendship. Then Chloderic killed his father, but in turn was killed by assassins sent to him. After that, Clovis entered into his possessions and obtained from the Council the recognition of him as their king.

Clovis deprived of power King Hararih and forced him and his son to take holy orders, after which he killed them, capturing the whole kingdom. Ruled in Cambrai king of ragnah r, whom his subjects did not like for his passion for luxury. Clovis moved against him and bribed his lions, who tied Ragnachar and his brother and handed them over to Clovis, who personally killed the king and his brother. Then, on the orders of Clovis, another was killed brother Rignomer and after that the whole kingdom passed to Clovis.

Gradually, Clovis extended his power to all the lands of the Franks, who willingly came under the rule of a rich king, who generously rewarded them for their service.

In 511, under Clovis, the first

The main biographer of Clovis is Gregory of Tours, Bishop of the city of Tours. Both the chronicler Fredegar, who wrote down his "Chronicle" in the 7th century, and the anonymous author of the "Book of the History of the Franks", who lived in the 8th century, basically repeat Gregory of Tours, without making significant deviations from his text. In addition, some fragments of correspondence from that time and later records made on the basis of sources that have not survived today have survived.

Gregory of Tours was born less than three decades after the death of Clovis and could personally meet people who remembered the late king. And for sure, he was familiar with people who knew Clovis's wife, Queen Clotilde, who survived the king by 33 years and, after the death of her husband, retired to Tours, where she spent the rest of her life in the Basilica of St. Martin. Having become the bishop of Tours and deciding to write his work on the Frankish kings, later called the "History of the Franks", Gregory probably met people who remembered the stories of the late queen. Apparently, these stories basically formed the basis of his story about Clovis.

In the story of Clovis, told by Gregory of Tours, both fairy tale motifs, dating back to oral folk tradition, and information of church origin were intertwined. His "History" is rich in instructions, since this text was originally intended to instruct, and then turned into a laudatory biography. Therefore, unfortunately, this source does not meet the requirement of an accurate presentation of historical facts. The chronology of Clovis' reign is often obscure. Gregory considers the events listed below to be five years: for example, the war with Syagrius took place, according to his information, five years after the accession of Clovis to the throne, the war against the Alemanni fifteen years after the beginning of the reign, the war with the Visigoths - five years before his death. This presentation of information may be some simplification on the part of the author. But it is also quite possible that these dates are close to the truth. The only more or less exact date that scientists have today is the date of the death of Clovis in 511. Based on the fact that Gregory notes that Clovis reigned 30 years and died at 45, it can be concluded that he was born around 466, and ascended the throne around 481 or 482.

The name "Clovis" (Franc. Hlodowig) consists of two parts - roots "hlod"(that is, "illustrious", "outstanding", "eminent") and "wig"(which translates as "battle"). That is, Clovis means "Famous in battle".

Accession to the throne. situation in Gaul

Clovis came to the throne after the death of his father at the age of 15. At that time, the Franks were not a single people, they were divided into Salic and Ripuarian Franks. But even these two large branches, in turn, were subdivided into smaller "kingdoms" (lat. Regna), ruled by their "kings" (lat. rex), in their essence being only military leaders. Thus, Clovis inherited power only over a small part of the Salian Franks, with the center in Tournai.

The rest of Gaul, as Gregory of Tours notes, was divided as follows: “In the same area, in its southern part, up to the Loire River, the Romans lived. On the other side of the Loire, the Goths dominated. The Burgundians, followers of the heresy of the Arians, lived on that side of the Rhone, on which the city of Lyon is located.

The fact is that part of the Roman territory with centers in Soissons and Paris, due to the expansion of the Visigoths and Burgundians, was initially cut off from its metropolis - the Western Roman Empire, and after this empire ceased to exist in 476, it generally remained the last piece of Roman land. This territory was ruled by Syagriy and from him it received the name of the State of Syagriy. Gregory, speaking of Syagrius, calls him "king of the Romans" (lat. rex Romanorum), not knowing his real title. Perhaps he was called a patrician, as Fredegar calls him in his Chronicle.

War with Syagrius

Clovis quickly realized the doom of the State of Syagria and in the 5th year of his reign in 486 went to war with him, together with his relative, the king of the Salic Franks with a center in Cambrai Ragnahar. Even earlier, apparently, in 485, Clovis, trying to enlist the support of the Ripuarian Franks, probably entered into an alliance with their king Sigibert and even, probably, married his daughter, who bore him a son, Theodoric. Christian chroniclers considered this marriage invalid and therefore called her a concubine, and her son was recognized as illegitimate.

At the Battle of Soissons, the Gallo-Romans were defeated. Syagrius fled to Toulouse, to the Visigoth king Alaric II, asking him for asylum. But Alaric, fearing to incur the wrath of the Franks, ordered Syagrius to be tied up and handed over to the ambassadors of Clovis. Separate groups of Syagrius troops still resisted in some places after the battle of Soissons, but their resistance was broken. So, for example, according to the "Life of St. Genovetha of Paris", Clovis besieged Paris for five years before he could take it. Interestingly, it was Saint Genovetha who organized the delivery of a caravan of eleven ships with food for the starving population of Paris. Clovis first kept Siagrius in custody, and after he seized his possessions, he ordered him to be secretly stabbed. So the rich region of Roman Gaul fell into the hands of the Franks up to the Loire River, with the main city of Paris. Occupying it, Clovis acted in a businesslike way: personally, still remaining a pagan, he tried from the very first steps to establish good relations with the lords of the cities - Christian bishops of the Orthodox Nicene religion.

Case of the Soissons bowl

A textbook example of this is the episode with the Soissons bowl told in the chronicle of Gregory of Tours. After the victory at Soissons, among the captured booty was an amazingly beautiful bowl from the Cathedral of Reims, which Archbishop Remigius asked him to return. Clovis immediately agreed, but the problem was that the captured was to be divided among all the soldiers. The king tried to exclude the cup from this section by asking the army to give it to him on top of his share. But among the soldiers there was one staunch defender of the norms of military democracy, who cut the cup with a sword with the words: "You will get from here only what is due to you by lot." Clovis had only to hand over the fragments of the sacred vessel to the envoy of the prelate. He knew how to control himself and understood the formal correctness of the daredevil, but he could not forget such a challenge. When a year later he happened to hold another review of his troops, the king found fault with the supposedly poor condition of the weapon of this warrior and personally cut his head, saying publicly: "That's what you did with that cup in Soissons!" It worked, the king began to be afraid. The clergy, however, quickly appreciated the good will of the young monarch, and Saint Remigius recognized his authority in writing as administrator of the Roman province.

War with the Thuringians

In 491, in the 10th year of his reign, Clovis, fulfilling allied obligations to the king of the Ripuarian Franks with a residence in Cologne, Sigibert, began a war with the Thuringians. Gregory of Tours tells that the Ripuarian Franks did not want this war and sought peace with the Thuringians, even giving them hostages to ensure this peace. However, the Thuringians killed the hostages and themselves treacherously attacked the Franks, taking away all their property from them. Their raid was accompanied by terrible atrocities. They hung boys on trees for shameful thongs and killed more than two hundred girls with a terrible death: they tied them by the hands to the necks of horses, which, under the blows of sticks with a sharp tip, rushed in different directions and tore the girls to pieces; others were placed between the ruts of the roads, they were nailed to the ground with stakes, loaded carts were rolled over them and, having broken their bones, they threw them out to be eaten by dogs and birds.

Sigibert asked for help from the Salian Franks and Clovis responded to this request. He invaded the territory of the Thuringians and defeated them. Although, it is possible that this tribe of the Rhine Thuringians was finally conquered only towards the end of the reign of Clovis.

Marriage to Clotilde

In 493-494 the political weight of Clovis among the German kings was already so great that the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great, after defeating Odoacer, asked for the hand of Clovis' sister Audofleda, and soon this marriage took place. Clovis himself, although he cohabited with a certain woman, and even had a son from her, the future King Theodoric I, in 493 married Clotilde (Hrodechilde), the daughter of the Burgundian king Chilperic II and the niece of the Burgundian king Gundobad. Four brothers ruled in Burgundy at that time - Gundobad, Godegisel, Chilperic II and Godomar. Gundobad killed his brother Chilperic with a sword, ordered his wife to be thrown into the water with a stone around her neck, then condemned the elder Krona (she went to a monastery) and the younger Clotilde to exile his two daughters. Meanwhile, Clovis often had to send ambassadors to Burgundy, where they met the young Clotilde. Noticing her beauty and intelligence, and learning that she was of royal blood, they informed the king. Clovis immediately sent an ambassador to Gundobad to ask Clotilde for his wife. He, not daring to refuse, gave her into the hands of the messengers, and Clovis married her. Although the royal house of Burgundy was of the Arian confession, Clotilde, under the influence of her mother Caretena, had already converted to the orthodox Nicene faith.

After marriage, according to Gregory of Tours, Clotilde did everything to convince her husband to accept his faith. But Clovis did not dare to take this step for a long time. After the birth of her first son, Ingomer, Clotilde asked her husband for permission to baptize the child. Clovis, who, as already noted, was sympathetic in principle to Christianity, agreed. However, shortly after the baptism, the child died, right in the baptismal garments. The king was angry. Gregory reports that the king exclaimed: "Had the boy been sanctified in the name of my gods, he would have survived." After that, the queen gave birth to the second son Chlodomir. When he was baptized, he also began to get sick and the king said: “The same thing will happen to him as to his brother. Namely: baptized in the name of your Christ, he will soon die.” Clotilde began to pray earnestly, and in the end Chlodomir recovered. But, despite this miraculous healing and the constant exhortations of his wife, Clovis refused to reject paganism and answered his wife: "Everything was created by the will of our gods, your God did not show his power in any way."

War with the Alamanni

In 496, in the 15th year of the reign of Clovis, war broke out between the Franks and the Alamanni. Probably, after the invasion of the Alemanni into the region of the Middle Rhine (Ripuarian) Franks, an alliance was concluded between the king of the latter Sigibert and Clovis. In the battle of Tolbiac (modern Zulpich), the Franks won. The Alemanni king fell in battle and Clovis captured most of the Alemanni lands, namely the territory along the left bank of the Rhine, the region of the Neckar River (the right tributary of the Rhine) and the lands up to the lower Main. Sigibert was wounded in the knee in this battle and later received the nickname Lame.

Baptism of Clovis

Events that influenced the adoption of Christianity by the king

The most important event of the reign of Clovis was his baptism. Gregory of Tours notes that the king's conversion took place after his victory over the Alamanni. Allegedly, when the Alemanni began to win, Clovis exclaimed: “O Jesus Christ, to you, whom Clotilde professes to be the son of the living god, to you, who, as they say, helps the afflicted and gives victory to those who trust in you, I humbly appeal to manifest the glory of your power. If you grant me victory over my enemies and I test your strength, which, as he claims, the people sanctified by your name experienced, I will believe in you and be baptized in your name,- and immediately the king of the Alemanni was slain, and his army, left without leadership, fled.

Returning home, he told the queen how he had won the victory by calling on the name of Christ. The queen summoned Remigius to the bishop of Reims, who began to persuade the king to accept baptism. The king answered him: “I willingly listened to you, holy father, one thing confuses me that the people subordinate to me will not tolerate me leaving their gods. However, I will go and speak to him according to your words.”. The people, after the speech of the king, exclaimed: "Blessed king, we renounce mortal gods and are ready to follow the immortal god preached by Remigius". So the decision was made to be baptized.

Estimated date and place of baptism

The date and year of Clovis's baptism remains the most controversial of the entire chronology of Clovis's reign. Neither Gregory of Tours, nor Fredegar, who repeats him, nor the anonymous author of The Book of the History of the Franks, give any dates. The baptism of Clovis is mentioned in their letters by the contemporaries of the king, Bishop Avit Vienne and Bishop Reims Remigius, but they also do not give any dates. Traditionally, the baptism is believed to have taken place on Christmas Day, December 25, 496, although Fredegar says it took place on Easter. Baptism took place in Reims at the hands of Remigius. The example of Clovis was followed by three thousand francs from his army, apparently, his squad (Fredegar says that there were 6000 baptized), as well as his sister Albofleda, who, however, soon died. His other sister, Lantechilde, who fell into the Arian heresy, also converted to the orthodox Nicene faith.

Consequences of Baptism

Baptism contributed to the strengthening of the power of Clovis, providing him with the support of the Orthodox Nicene clergy and the benevolent attitude of the Gallo-Roman population. It was important that Clovis accepted Christianity in its orthodox form. Previously, the baptized Germanic peoples (Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, etc.) preferred Arianism. The orthodox, Nicene religion was perceived by them as the official religion of imperial Rome, and since their states arose in heavily romanized territories, the kings instinctively feared that their peoples would “dissolve” into an alien and powerful civilization. Clovis felt that these fears were unfounded, and the configuration of his possessions was such that it provided the possibility of a constant influx of new forces from the German world. The decision he made created the prerequisite for Romano-Germanic cultural unity and synthesis, and this is the merit of the Frankish monarch before European culture. Interestingly, the Gallo-Roman episcopate considered the adoption of Christianity in the form of the Orthodox Nicene faith by Clovis as their victory. So, Bishop Avit Vienne in a congratulatory letter to Clovis wrote: "Your religion is our victory."

Legends associated with baptism

The baptism of Clovis is also surrounded by all sorts of unusual legends. According to one of them, an angel in the form of a dove appeared to Saint Remigius and brought a vessel with myrrh (fr. sainte ampoule or "Holy Glass") for the baptism of Clovis. Later, almost all the kings of France were anointed to reign with myrrh from this bottle. According to legend, the Holy Glass was destroyed during the French Revolution. Gregory of Tours does not mention this miracle in the History of the Franks. The beginning of the legend was laid, apparently, by the Archbishop of Reims Ginkmar (fr. Hincmar, about 806-882).

There is a legend about the appearance of the fleur-de-lis of the French kings: Clovis allegedly chose this flower as a symbol of purification after baptism. According to another version, an angel with a lily appeared to Clovis during the battle of Tolbiac and told him to make this flower his symbol from now on and bequeath it to his descendants.

Baptism of Clovis in art

The scene of the baptism of Clovis has repeatedly inspired artists and sculptors both in the Middle Ages and later.

Encounters with the Visigoths

In the west, Clovis' advance was long delayed by the fierce resistance of the Armoricans, with whom a treaty apparently had to be concluded around the year 500. By the mid-90s of the 5th century, the Franks gradually began to move south of the Loire, into the territory of the Visigoths. Already a shameful act with the issuance of Syagrius, who had taken refuge with him, to the ambassadors of Clovis, by the Vegetoth king Alaric, indicates that the Visigoths were afraid of the Franks. Clovis was able to undertake a series of victorious raids, which first brought him to Saintes in 494, however, in 496, Sainte was again returned by the Visigoths. Clovis then entered Bordeaux in 498, where the Franks captured the Visigothic duke of Suatria. Subsequently, apparently, a Visigothic-Burgundian alliance was formed against the Franks, since the king of the Burgundians, Gundobad, sent Frankish prisoners to Toulouse. Around 502, these clashes ended. Since Alaric II and Clovis met on an island in the middle of the Loire near the village of Amboise in the region of the city of Tours, the border between the Visigoths and the Franks probably passed along this river. It is not known what the negotiations were about, but it is quite possible that it was about the mutual recognition of possessions.

Intervention in the affairs of Burgundy and a new war with the Alemanni

Meanwhile, the two kings of the Burgundians, the brothers Gundobad and Godegisel, began to fight each other. Godegisel turned to Clovis for help against his brother, promising to pay tribute: “If you help me in the persecution of my brother so that I can kill him in battle or drive him out of the country, I will annually pay you the tribute you set in any amount”. In 500, Clovis and Godegisel defeated Gundobad in a battle on the banks of the river Ouch, near the fortress of Dijon. Gundobad fled to Avignon. Godegisel promised Clovis part of the kingdom and retired to Vienne, while Clovis pursued Gundobad to Avignon, but then suddenly returned to his state, probably due to the fact that the Visigoth king Alaric II moved to its borders. Godegizel Clovis left five thousand of his soldiers to help. In 501, Gundobad, with the support of the Visigoths, again invaded Burgundy, laid siege to Godegizel and an auxiliary detachment of the Franks in Vienne. Fearing a lack of food, Godegizel ordered the commoners to be expelled from the city. One of them, a craftsman who was entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the city's water supply, showed Gundobad the passage through which water flowed into the city. So with the help of treason, having taken possession of the city, the besiegers cut down the garrison. Godegisel fled to the Arian church, but was killed there along with the heretical bishop. Gundobad ordered the captured Franks to be sent to the Visigoth king Alaric in Toulouse. Having mastered the whole country, Gundobad became the only king of Burgundy. In 503, Clovis and Gundobad met near Oxer and concluded an alliance.

In 506, the Alemanni rebelled, and Clovis had to again force them to recognize his authority. However, part of the Alemanni fled and found protection from the Ostrogoths, settling south of Lake Constance and in Norik. Theodoric the Great gave them, along with the Bavarians, the status of "federal allies", following the Roman model, and entrusted the protection of the Alpine mountain passes.

War with the Visigoths

Causes of the war

An outstanding political event during the reign of Clovis was the capture in 507 - 508 of most of the Visigothic state in Gaul by the allied Franks and Burgundians. In this war, Clovis was also supported by the Ripuarian Franks of Sigibert the Lame. The King of the Ostrogoths Theodoric the Great tried in letters and through ambassadors whom he sent to the kings of the Visigoths, Burgundians, Western Heruli, Varns and Rhine Thuringians, as well as Clovis himself, to maintain peace and balance of the German kingdoms in Western Europe, but Clovis did not go to any negotiations . Probably, Byzantine diplomacy also incited him to a quick attack on the Visigoths, for the success of Clovis meant at the same time a weakening of the political position of Theodoric the Great.

Clovis counted on the fact that the Gallo-Roman population and the orthodox Nicene church of the Visigothic state would unanimously go over to the side of their co-religionists, the Franks. However, this hope was not fully justified. The inhabitants of Auvergne, including the remnants of the Gallo-Roman senatorial aristocracy, led by Apollinaris, son of Sidonius Apollinaris, supported the Visigothic king Alaric II. Clovis himself justified his war with the Visigoths by the desire to free the Orthodox Nicene Church in the Visigothic state from the oppression of Arian heretics. He used this as an excellent pretext for starting a war of conquest, which took on the character of a "crusade". Gregory of Tours puts into his mouth the following speeches: “It pains me to see that part of Gaul is in the hands of these Arians; let us go to war against them, we will overcome them with God's help and take possession of their country.

The performance of the Franks on a campaign

In the spring of 507, Clovis, together with his son Theodoric and the son of Sigibert the Lame, Cloderic, set out on a campaign in the direction of Tours. Then he connected with a detachment of Burgundian troops led by Sigismund son of Gundobad. The campaign was accompanied by miraculous signs; according to contemporaries, God favored the newly converted king. Trying to achieve the location of the Gallo-Roman population, Clovis strictly forbade his army from robbing local residents. According to Gregory of Tours, even a soldier who took an armful of hay without asking was subjected to the death penalty.

Battle of Vouille

In the late summer of 507, a decisive battle took place between the Franks and the Visigoths on the plain of Vuille, about 15 km northwest of Poitiers. The date of the Battle of Vuille is known from the Zaragoza Chronicle. After a fierce battle, the Franks won, and Clovis himself defeated Alaric II in single combat. Many of the Auvergians and the most distinguished senators who came with Apollinaris died in this battle. This defeat completely demoralized the Visigoths. The Zaragoza Chronicle quite accurately conveys the consequences of the battle when it says that "The Kingdom of Toulouse was destroyed by the Franks". In the fact that one military defeat led to the collapse of the Visigothic state, the death of Alaric and the absence of a declared adult heir played an important role; in the first weeks after the defeat, apparently, there was no one who could unite the forces of the Visigoths. In addition, the military superiority of the Franks affected. Apparently, the Franks, oriented towards close combat, could be extremely dangerous for the Visigoths, accustomed only to equestrian combat at a distance. Whatever it was, but the further conquest of the Visigothic possessions by the Franks in Aquitaine took place without any special complications.

The capture of Aquitaine by the Franks

Clovis received freedom to take possession of Aquitaine, just at the moment when the Byzantine fleet, which landed troops in Tarentum, tied up the forces of Theodoric the Great and the Ostrogoths could not come to the aid of the Visigoths. Clovis with part of the army moved to Bordeaux, where he spent the winter, and his son Theodoric with another part of the army subjugated the Visigoth possessions in southern and southeastern Gaul to the Franks, capturing the cities of Albi, Rodez and Clermont and lands to the border of the possessions of the Burgundians.

Capture of Toulouse

In the spring of 508, the Frankish troops under the command of Clovis, together with the Burgundian auxiliary detachments, took the capital of the Visigoths, Toulouse. Part of the royal treasury fell into the hands of the Franks. It is a mistake to say that the entire royal treasury was discovered by the Franks in Toulouse. From the report of Procopius of Caesarea, it appears that at least a significant part of the treasury was transported for safety to Carcassonne. Clovis occupied the city of Angouleme, driving the Goths out of there. Gregory of Tours reports that the Lord endowed Clovis with such power that the walls of the city collapsed at his mere glance; in reality, apparently, there was a digging that collapsed the wall. Having reached the maximum feasible, Clovis returned victoriously to Tours, bringing many gifts to the holy basilica of Blessed Martin. Theodoric continued to fight with the Frankish units, trying to take Auvergne, and the Burgundian king Gundobad captured Narbonne and laid siege to Arles, dreaming of getting access to the Mediterranean Sea.

Intervention in the Ostrogoth War

Around the summer of 508, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, was able to send an army to Gaul to prevent the complete collapse of the Visigothic state. The Burgundians were forced to lift the siege of Arles; they also lost Narbonne. Also, the Ostrogothic army managed to lift the siege of the Franks from Carcassonne, where, apparently, the young son of Alaric II Amalaric, who was also the grandson of Theodoric the Great, was hiding. The war continued until 512 or 514, but we do not know the details of the course of individual battles. Thanks to the intervention of the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths retained part of southern and southwestern Gaul, Septimania and the south of Novempopulania, with the cities of Nimes, Magalona, ​​Lodev, Agde, Beziers, Narbonne, Carcassonne. Provence south of the Durance River was annexed to the state of the Ostrogoths. Although, as a result of the war with the Goths, the Franks significantly expanded their territory in Gaul, and now owned lands from the Garonne to the Rhine and from the borders of Armorica to the Rhone, access to the Mediterranean Sea was still closed to them.

Byzantine emperor evaluates the merits of Clovis

In 508, a Byzantine embassy arrived at Clovis in Tours, informing him that Emperor Anastasius I elevated him to the dignity of an honorary consul. Anastasius also sent him, as a sign of formal recognition, royal insignia - a chlamys, a purple tunic and a diadem. By this act, Byzantium expressed its approval of the anti-Gothic policy of Clovis and his conversion to Christianity of the orthodox Nicene persuasion. For the Christian population of Gaul, this meant an additional confirmation of the legitimacy of the Frankish power. However, it should be noted that Clovis was not given the title of consul at all, he was only given consular insignia, often handed out by the imperial court under Byzantium. The real consulate always fit into the so-called Consular Fasts and served as the designation of the year. The name of Clovis is not mentioned in the Fasts.

After the war with the Visigoths, Clovis came to Paris, which he made his residence (508).

Clovis' massacre with his relatives

Why Clovis didn't become a Saint

The merits of Clovis before the church were great, as the baptist of his country. His wife, Queen Clotilde received a halo of holiness. But Clovis was not canonized, and the reason for this, obviously, was the character of the king, pragmatic to the point of cynicism. Baptism was not associated for him with a moral upheaval. Clovis saw in the adoption of Christianity, first of all, practical benefits, and already becoming a Christian, without any remorse, he carried out his plans of reprisals against all the kings-kinsmen.

Annexation of the lands of the Ripuarian Franks

On the king of the Ripuarian Franks Sigibert the Lame, who ruled in Cologne, he set his son Chloderic, and when he got rid of his father at his instigation, Clovis' messengers killed him; Clovis, however, annexed the lands of Sigibert to his possessions, declaring his complete innocence in everything that had happened (509).

Capturing the lands of Hararih

On other occasions, he resorted to military force. So Clovis opposed one of the leaders of the Salian Franks, who owns part of the territories in the lower reaches of the Rhine, a certain Hararih. Previously, Clovis asked him for help during the war against Syagrius, but Hararih preferred to take a wait-and-see attitude, watching which of the opponents would win. Clovis captured Hararik and his son and forcibly cut their hair, declaring his father a priest and his son a deacon. Thus, Hararih and his son were deprived of the right to royal inheritance. Gregory further narrates that when Hararih complained about being humiliated and wept, his son said: “These branches are cut on a green tree, but the branches are not withered at all and can quickly grow back. If only the one who did it would also die quickly!” These words reached the ears of Clovis and he ordered them to be beheaded.

The murder of Ragnahar and his brothers Rihar and Rignomer

Then Clovis planned to seize the lands of his ally and relative Ragnahar from Cambrai. He bribed the warriors of Ragnahar by sending them golden wristlets and baldrics; however, as Gregory of Tours notes, all these things only looked like gold, but in fact they were skillfully gilded. After that, Clovis opposed Ragnahar, immediately after the start of the battle, the soldiers of Ragnahar betrayed him, captured both Ragnachar and his brother Richar and handed them over to Clovis bound. Clovis said to him: “Why did you humiliate our kind by allowing yourself to be tied? You'd be better off dead." And, raising his ax, he split his head, then, turning to his brother, he said "If you had helped your brother, he would not have been tied up", and killed him in the same way, hitting him with an axe. After the death of both, their traitors learned that the gold they received from King Clovis was fake. They say that when they told the king about this, he answered them: “He deserves such gold who, of his own free will, puts his master to death. You should be satisfied that you survived and did not die under torture, thus paying for the betrayal of your masters.. Ragnahar's brother Rignomer, on the orders of Clovis, was also killed in the city of Le Mans. Thus, the lands of the Salic Franks, centered on Cambrai, were also annexed to the possessions of Clovis.

Some historians attribute the conquest of the territory of the Salian Franks by Clovis not to the end of the reign of Clovis, as Gregory of Tours tells about it, but to the first period of his conquests, namely, to the time of Clovis's victory over Syagrius.

Dealing with other relatives

Combining strength with treachery, Clovis destroyed other kings related to him, and simply relatives, from whom he could fear attempts on his power and life. The news reported by Gregory of Tours is colorful. “Having once gathered his own, he, they say, remembered with regret the relatives whom he himself had destroyed: “Woe to me, I remained like a wanderer in a foreign land and have no relatives who could help me in case of misfortune!”. But this did not mean that he was saddened by their death, but he spoke like that out of cunning, hoping to find out if anyone else was still alive in order to kill everyone to the last.

The last years of the reign and the death of the king

In the last years of his reign, Clovis captured the regions or petty kingdoms of the Rhenish Thuringians, Varni, and Western Heruli. Thus, on the left bank of the Rhine there were no independent territories other than the state of Clovis. Under Clovis, “Salic Truth” was written down - the first collection of laws of the Franks, and the first church council was convened in Orleans in July 511, in which 32 bishops took part (half of them were from the “Kingdom of the Franks”). Clovis was proclaimed by all the bishops present " Rex Gloriosissimus, Son of the Holy Church».

Clovis died at the age of 46 on November 27, 511, apparently in Paris. He was buried in the church of the Apostles Peter and Paul, which he himself built (Saint Genoveif is also buried in it; now it is the church of St. Genevieve). Clovis reigned for 30 years.

Wives and children

• The name of the first wife (probably from 485) is unknown. Although Gregory of Tours and other chroniclers refer to her as a concubine, it is more likely that she was the daughter of one of the Frankish kings, most likely the king of the Ripuarian Franks with residence in Cologne, Sigibert the Lame. In the eyes of Christian priests and monks who wrote their chronicles in those days, a marriage not consecrated by the Church was invalid and therefore they call her a concubine, and her son Theodoric is recognized as illegitimate. However, judging by the fact that Theodoric, as the eldest son, received a share in his father's inheritance almost larger than his other half-brothers, it indicates that in the eyes of the Franks he was a completely legitimate son. Judging by the fact that it was Theodoric who got the lands of the Ripuarian Franks, his mother should have belonged to the ruling house of the kings of these Rhine Franks.
  • Theodoric I(486 - 534), King of Reims

• Since 493 - Clotilde of Burgundy(Chrodechild) (474 ​​- 544)
  • Chlothar I(c. 497 - 561), king of Soissons
  • Chlodomir(495 - 524), king of Orleans
  • Clotilde(Chlodechilde), later the wife of the Visigoth king Amalaric
  • Childebert I(c. 496 - 558), King of Paris
  • Ingomer ("Shining like Ingvaz", 494), died in infancy
  • Tihilda

After the death of Clovis, the kingdom was divided between his 4 surviving sons - Theodoric I, Chlodomir, Childebert I and Chlothar I. Upon the death of her husband, Queen Clotilde of Burgundy retired to Tours, and there, hiding in the basilica of St. Martin, she spent the rest days in virtue and mercy, rarely visiting Paris. She died in 544 in Type. She was taken to Paris, where she was buried by her sons, kings Childebert and Chlothar, in the church of St. Peter, next to King Clovis.

In 481, at the age of 15, Clovis became the ruler of one of the Frankish kingdoms in Gaul, with its capital at Tournai. In Gaul, the Franks had many kingdoms, even the Salian Franks were divided into several of them. In addition to the Frankish in Gaul, there were states of the Romans (who were no longer subordinate to Rome), the Visigoths and the Burgundians. A person at that time was considered quite mature at the age of 15, he could fight and rule the country. Clovis, however, became active later. When he was 20 years old, he went to war against the Romans. Power over the Romans in Gaul was usurped by a certain Syagrius. The Romans were defeated at the battle of Soissons, Syagrius fled to the Visigoths, who betrayed him to Clovis. After that, there were no more major battles in the war, but individual pockets of resistance remained for a long time, for example, Paris held out for five years. So Clovis took possession of vast lands. Here he tried to establish good relations with the local Catholics, although he himself was still a pagan. He also fought other wars. In particular, he defeated the Thuringians in 491, and the Alemans in 496. The authority of Clovis among the barbarian kings was very high.

The first time Clovis apparently married the daughter of another Frankish king. But the history was then written by the people of the church, they did not consider it a marriage, since the wedding most likely followed a pagan rite. It is not clear how and when this wife died, even her name is not known. Only the son from this marriage named Theodoric remained in history. The second wife of Clovis was the Burgundian princess Clotilde. She was a Catholic and persuaded her husband to be baptized. According to legend, Clovis called to Christ when he lost the battle to the Alemans. He eventually won the battle, believed in the power of Christianity, baptized himself and baptized his squad. Now it became easier for the king to find a common language with the already baptized Roman population of Gaul. This event was a turning point in the history of the Franks, it changed the entire fate of this people, and possibly the whole of Western Europe. Later, the church recognized Clotilde as a saint.

At the same time, Clovis continued to expand his possessions. In the second half of the 490s, he made a series of raids on the Visigoths, who owned the southern lands of Gaul. He intervened in the internecine war between the heirs to the throne of the Burgundian kingdom. In the end, it turned out that both applicants died, and Clovis annexed Burgundy to his possessions. But the biggest war in the life of this king began in 507 with the Visigoths, who owned the southern part of modern France. Over time, the Ostrogoths, whose state was in Italy, also joined the war. The war continued until 512 or perhaps even 514. Clovis won and drove the Visigoths to the Iberian Peninsula.

During his life, Clovis managed to unite all the Franks under his rule and create a strong state in Gaul. Most importantly, he baptized the Franks according to the Catholic rite. However, the king left a will that was prescribed by the laws of his ancestors: he divided his lands between 4 sons, which soon led to bloody feuds.