Theuderic I (Reims) Chlodomer (Orléans) Childebert I (Paris) Chlothar I (Soissons)
King of the Salian Franks
Reign
c. 481 – 509
Predecessor
Childeric I
Born
c. 466 Tournai, Western Roman Empire (present-day Belgium)
Died
27 November 511 (aged about 45) Paris, Francia
Burial
Originally St. Genevieve Church; now Saint-Denis Basilica
Spouse
Clotilde
Issue
Ingomer
Chlodomer
Childebert I
Chlothar I
Clotilde
Theuderic I
Dynasty
Merovingian
Father
Childeric I
Mother
Basina of Thuringia
Religion
Initially Frankish paganism, but converted to Chalcedonian Christianity
v
t
e
Campaigns of Clovis I
Soissons
Frankish-Thuringian
Tolbiac
Strasbourg
Franco-Visigothic Wars
Vouillé
Clovis (Latin: Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: *Hlodowig; c. 466 – 27 November 511)[1] was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single king and ensuring that the kingship was passed down to his heirs.[2] He is considered to have been the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as "the first king of what would become France".[3]
Clovis succeeded his father, Childeric I, as a king of the Salian Franks in 481, and eventually came to rule an area extending from what is now the southern Netherlands to northern France, corresponding in Roman terms to Gallia Belgica (northern Gaul). At the Battle of Soissons (486) he established his military dominance of the rump state of the fragmenting Western Roman Empire which was then under the command of Syagrius. By the time of his death in 511, Clovis had conquered several smaller Frankish kingdoms in the northeast of Gaul including some northern parts of what is now France. Clovis also conquered the Alemanni tribes in eastern Gaul, and the Visigothic kingdom of Aquitania in the southwest. These campaigns added significantly to Clovis's domains, and established his dynasty as a major political and military presence in western Europe.
Clovis is also significant because of his baptism in 508,[4] largely at the behest of his wife, Clotilde, who would later be venerated as a saint for this act, celebrated today in both the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. The adoption by Clovis of Nicene Christianity (as opposed to the Arianism of most other Germanic tribes) led to widespread conversion among the Frankish peoples; to religious unification across what is now modern-day France, the Low Countries and Germany; three centuries later, to Charlemagne's alliance with the Bishop of Rome; and in the middle of the 10th century under Otto I the Great, to the consequent birth of the early Holy Roman Empire.
^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Clovis" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 563–564.
^Brown, Peter (2003). The Rise of Western Christendom. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 137.[ISBN missing]
^General Charles de Gaulle is cited (in the 1965 biography by David Schoenbrun), as having said "For me, the history of France begins with Clovis, elected as king of France by the tribe of the Franks, who gave their name to France. Before Clovis, we have Gallo-Roman and Gaulish prehistory. The decisive element, for me, is that Clovis was the first king to have been baptized a Christian. My country is a Christian country and I reckon the history of France beginning with the accession of a Christian king who bore the name of the Franks." (Pour moi, l'histoire de France commence avec Clovis, choisi comme roi de France par la tribu des Francs, qui donnèrent leur nom à la France. Avant Clovis, nous avons la Préhistoire gallo-romaine et gauloise. L'élément décisif pour moi, c'est que Clovis fut le premier roi à être baptisé chrétien. Mon pays est un pays chrétien et je commence à compter l'histoire de France à partir de l'accession d'un roi chrétien qui porte le nom des Francs.)
^Danuta, Shanzer (March 1998). "Dating the baptism of Clovis: the bishop of Vienne vs the bishop of Tours". Early Medieval Europe. 7 (1): 29–57. doi:10.1111/1468-0254.00017. S2CID 161819012.
centuries. Clovis is important in the historiography of France as "the first king of what would become France". Clovis succeeded his father, Childeric I, as...
Franks, mentions several siblings of Clovis within his narrative, apparently thus children of Childeric: ClovisI (died 511), whose mother was Basina....
up Clovis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Clovis may refer to: Clovis (given name), the early medieval (Frankish) form of the name Louis ClovisI (c...
dynasty and one of the four sons of ClovisI. With his eldest brother Theuderic (c. 485 – 533/34) being the son of ClovisI and his first wife, Chlothar followed...
Columbian mammoths in 1929. The most distinctive part of the Clovis culture toolkit are Clovis points, these fluted (having a flake removed from the base...
killed at the instigation of Clovis Chlodoric the Parricide (died c. 509), son of Sigobert, killed by ClovisClovisI united all the Frankish petty kingdoms...
his son Clovis being called "King of the Franks" in the Gallo-Roman military, even before having any Frankish territorial kingdom. Once Clovis defeated...
of France begins with Clovis, elected as king of France by the tribe of the Franks, who gave their name to France. Before Clovis, we have Gallo-Roman and...
the Merovingian king ClovisI to Nicene Christianity (c. 500), though there were many Frankish Christians before that. After ClovisI, Frankish paganism...
Clovis' conversion, a number of pagans who were unhappy with this turn of events rallied around Ragnachar, who had played an important role in Clovis'...
eventually persuaded Clovis to convert to Catholicism, which he initially resisted. Clotilde had wanted her son to be baptized, but Clovis refused, so she...
territory. In 507, Visigothic rule in Gaul was ended by the Franks under ClovisI, who defeated them in the Battle of Vouillé. It is within what is now Spain...
524) was the second of the four sons of ClovisI, King of the Franks. Clodomir was the eldest son of Clovis and his wife, Clotilde. On the death of his...
Franks, but in 496 Sigebert suffered a real invasion and called on Clovis for help. Clovis responded favorably to his ally and raised an army. It is generally...
Childebert I (c. 496 – 13 December 558) was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of ClovisI who shared the kingdom of...
Theuderic I (c. 487 – 534) was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 534. He was the son of ClovisI and...
death in 481 his son Clovis succeeded him. While Childeric had seen no need to overthrow the last Roman foothold in the west, Clovis assembled an army,...
the Alamanni, Clovis prayed to God, swearing to be baptised if he emerged victorious on the battlefield. When he did indeed triumph, Clovis readily took...
Clovis points are the characteristically fluted projectile points associated with the New World Clovis culture, a prehistoric Paleo-American culture. They...
not surrendered to them. Syagrius was sent back to Clovis, who had him executed in 486 or 487. ClovisI ruled the Franks until his death in 511. When he...
domain, although the Franks had been enemies of the Saxons in the time of ClovisI, during the early Merovingian period of the fifth and sixth centuries....
including both the so-called Salian Franks and Ripuarian Franks, which ClovisI, King of the Franks (481–511) conquered after first taking control of the...
the French monarchs. The oil was allegedly passed down from the time of ClovisI; it was kept for a time in the tomb of Saint Remigius and later in the...
several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards ClovisI, king of the Franks (r. 507–511), as the first king of France. However...
Syagrius, survived until 486 when it was conquered by the Franks under King ClovisI after the Battle of Soissons. Syagrius was known as the "King of the Romans"...
Clotilde, the Burgundian princess who was wife to Clovis. Even before he embraced Christianity, Clovis had showered benefits upon Remigius and the Christians...