Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Merovingians
• FSID: LHNF-P2R
• Appointments / Titles: Between 458 and 481; King of the Salian Franks

Notes:

Childeric I
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Childeric I
CHILDERICI REGIS.jpg
Copy of the signet ring of Childeric I (original stolen in 1831). Inscription CHILDIRICI REGIS ("of Childeric the king").[1] The original was found in his tomb at Tournai (Monnaie de Paris).
King of the Salian Franks
Reign 458–481
Predecessor Merovech
Successor Clovis I
Born c.437 [2]
Died c. 481[3]
Tournai (present-day Belgium)
Burial Tournai (present-day Belgium)
Spouse Basina of Thuringia
Issue
Clovis I
Audofleda
Lanthilde
Albofleda
Dynasty Merovingian
Father Merovech
Childeric I (/ˈkɪldərɪk/; French: Childéric; Latin: Childericus; reconstructed Frankish: *Hildirīk;[4] c. 437 – 481 AD) was a Frankish leader in the northern part of imperial Roman Gaul and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, described as a King (Latin Rex), both on his Roman-style seal ring, which was buried with him, and in fragmentary later records of his life. He was father of Clovis I, who acquired effective control over all or most Frankish kingdoms, and a significant part of Roman Gaul.

Contents
1 Biography
2 Marriage, children, and death
3 Tomb
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links
Biography
Childeric's father is recorded by several sources including Gregory of Tours to have been Merovech, whose name is the basis of the Merovingian dynasty.[5] Gregory reports that Merovech was reputed by some to be a descendant of Chlodio who was an earlier Frankish king who had conquered Roman Gaulish areas first in the Silva Carbonaria, then in Tournai, Cambrai and as far south as the Somme. This is roughly the definition of the Roman province of Belgica Secunda (approximately the "Belgium" defined by Julius Caesar centuries earlier, the region stretching from north of Paris to the Flemish coast) and later a letter of Saint Remigius to Childeric's son Clovis I implies that Childeric had been the administrative chief of this Roman province.

In records about specific actions of Childeric himself, he is mainly associated with the Roman military actions around the Loire river, where he appears in records involving the Gallo-Roman general Aegidius. According to Gregory of Tours, Childeric was exiled at some point, the reason being given as Frankish unhappiness with Childeric's debauchery and his seduction of the daughters of his subjects. Childeric spent eight years in exile in "Thuringia" waiting to make a return.[6] In the meantime, according to Gregory, Aegidius himself took up the title of king of the Franks. Upon his return Childeric was joined by the wife of his host, Queen Basina, who bore Childeric his son Clovis.[7]

Guy Halsall connects the story to Roman politics, Aegidius being an appointee of Majorian:

Although this is only one interpretation of the fragmentary sources, an eight-year period ending with Aegidius' death would allow us to associate Childeric's expulsion with Majorian's accession and appointment of Aegidius.[8] ... Majorian's commander on the Loire, Aegidius, refused to accept Severus as emperor. It is possible that, to legitimise his position, he took the title king of the Franks.[9]

Halsall (p. 269) speculates that Childeric probably began a Roman military career in the service of Flavius Aetius who defeated Attila in Gaul, and he points out that much of his military career appears to have played out far from the Frankish homelands. Ulrich Nonn (map p. 37, and pp. 99–100), following his teacher Eugen Ewig, believes that the exile story reflects a real sequence of events whereby Childeric was a leader of "Salian" or "Belgian" Franks based in the Romanized areas conquered by Chlodio, who were allies under the lordship of Aegidius, but eventually able to take over his power when he and his imperial patron died. (Childeric's son Clovis I later fought Aegidius' son Syagrius who was remembered as a King of Romans, and who had control of Soissons in the south of Belgica Secunda.)

In a passage normally considered to have come from a lost collection of annals, Gregory (II.18) gives a sequence of events which are very difficult to interpret. In 463 Childeric and Aegidius successfully repelled the Visigoths of Theodoric II from Orléans on the Loire. After the death of Aegidius soon after, Childeric and a comes ("count") Paul are recorded defending the Loire region from Saxon raiders, who were possibly coordinating with the Goths now under Euric. Childeric and Paul fought Saxons under the command of a leader named "Adovacrius" (sometimes given by modern authors in either an Anglo-Saxon spelling form, Eadwacer, or in a spelling the same as used for his contemporary the future King of Italy Odoacer, with whom he is sometimes equated). The origin of these "Saxons" is however unclear, and they are described as being based upon islands somewhere in the Loire region.

Detail of golden bees with garnet insets

Golden bee or fly jewelry from the tomb of Childeric I in Tournai. Drawn by Jacob van Werden and engraved by Cornelis Galle the Younger
Soon after this passage, Gregory of Tours (II.19) reports that Childeric coordinated with "Odovacrius", this time normally assumed to be the King of Italy, against Allemanni who had entered Italy. While some authors interpret these Allemani to be Alans, a people established in the Loire region in this period, there is no consensus on this, because the reference in this case is not apparently to events near the Loire.

Marriage, children, and death
Gregory of Tours, in his History of the Franks, mentions several siblings of Clovis within his narrative, apparently thus children of Childeric:

Clovis I (died 511), whose mother was Basina.
Audofleda, Queen of the Ostrogoths, wife of Theodoric the Great. Gregory III.31 also mentions their daughter Amalasuntha.
Lanthechild. Gregory II.31 mentions she had been an Arian but converted to Catholicism with Clovis.
Albofleda (died approximately 500). Gregory II.31 mentions that she died soon after being baptized with Clovis.
Childeric is generally considered to have died in 481 or 482 based on Gregory's reports that his son Clovis died in 511 and ruled 30 years.[10]

Tomb
Childeric's tomb was discovered in 1653[11] not far from the 12th-century church of Saint-Brice in Tournai, now in Belgium.[12] Numerous precious objects were found, including jewels of gold and garnet cloisonné, gold coins, a gold bull's head, and a ring with the king's name inscribed. Some 300 golden winged insects (usually viewed as bees or cicadas) were also found which had been placed on the king's cloak.[11] Archduke Leopold William, governor of the Southern Netherlands (today's Belgium), had the find published in Latin. The treasure went first to the Habsburgs in Vienna, then as a gift to King Louis XIV of France, who was not impressed with the treasure and stored it in the royal library, which became the Bibliothèque Nationale de France during the Revolution. Napoleon was more impressed with Childeric's bees and when he was looking for a heraldic symbol to trump the Bourbon fleur-de-lys, he settled on Childeric's bees as symbols of the French Empire.

On the night of November 5–6, 1831, the treasure of Childeric was among 80 kg of treasure stolen from the Library and melted down for the gold. A few pieces were retrieved from where they had been hidden in the Seine, including two of the bees. The record of the treasure, however, now exists only in the fine engravings made at the time of its discovery and in some reproductions made for the Habsburgs.[13]

Childeric married of Thüringia, Queen BasinaGermany. Basina (daughter of de Cologne, Medelphus and of Thüringia, Basina) was born in 445 in Dutchy of Thüringia (Historical); died in 491 in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. of the Franks, King of France Clovis I was born on 16 Dec 466 in Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France; was christened on 25 Dec 496 in Rheims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 11 Nov 511 in St Pierre, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne, France; was buried after 11 Nov 511 in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France.

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Merovingian
• FSID: LZ86-1NG
• Appointments / Titles: 450; King of the Salien Franks at Tournai

Notes:

Merovech is the semi-legendary founder of the Merovingian dynasty of the Salian Franks (although either Childeric I, his supposed son, or Clovis I, his supposed grandson, also can be considered the founder), which later became the dominant Frankish tribe. He is proposed to be one of several barbarian warlords and kings that joined forces with the Roman general Aetius against the Huns under Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in Gaul.

The family of Childeric and Clovis, the first Frankish large-scale royal dynasty called themselves Merovingians ("descendants of Meroveus") after him, and this was known to historians in the following centuries, but no more contemporary evidence exists. The most important such written source, Gregory of Tours, recorded that Merovech was said to be descended from Chlodio, a roughly contemporary Frankish warlord who pushed from the Silva Carbonaria in modern central Belgium as far south as the Somme, north of Paris in modern-day France.

The name "Merovech" is related to Marwig, lit. "famed fight" (compare modern Dutch mare "news, rumour"/vermaard "famous" as well as "(ge)vecht," "fight" with" -vech)."

There is little information about him in the later histories of the Franks. Gregory of Tours named him only once as the father of Childeric I, but remained vague about his relationship to Chlodio. The "Chronicle of Fredegar" recounts that Merovech was born after Chlodio's wife encountered a sea creature while bathing in the sea; according to Fredegar it remained unclear whether Merovech's father was the creature or Chlodio. Another theory considers this legend to be the creation of a mythological past needed to back up the fast-rising Frankish rule in Western Europe.

Clodio is said to have been defeated by Flavius Aëtius at Vicus Helena in Artois in 448. Historian Ian S. Wood therefore would place his son somewhere in the second half of the fifth century.

A contemporary Roman historian, Priscus, writes of having witnessed in Rome a "lad without down on his cheeks as yet and with fair hair so long that it poured down his shoulders, Aetius had made him his adopted son," Priscus writes that the excuse Attila used for waging war on the Franks was the death of their king and the disagreement of his children over the succession, the elder being allied with Attila and the younger with Aetius. As Chlodio died just before Attila's invasion, this seems to suggest that Merovech was in fact Chlodio's son.

The legend about Merovech's conception was adapted in 1982 by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln in their book "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," as the seed of a new idea. They hypothesized that this "descended from a fish" legend actually referred to the concept that the Merovingian line had married into the bloodline of Jesus Christ, since the symbol for early Christians also had been a fish. This theory, with no other basis than the authors' hypothesis, was further popularized in 2003 via Dan Brown's bestselling novel, "The Da Vinci Code." However, there was no evidence for this claim that Merovech is descended from Jesus.

The identity and historicity of Merovech is one of the driving mysteries in "The Widow’s Son," second book of Robert Anton Wilson’s "The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles," first introducing the fish legend to the reader by having the early Merovingians appear in a vision as a hideous fish creature resembling H. P. Lovecraft’s Deep Ones, before settling on a variation on "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," which goes a step further by identifying Jesus and Mary Magdalene as the bridegroom and bride in "The Alchemical Marriage of Christian Rosycross" and Merovech as the titular Widow's Son from Masonic lore and positing that the entire bloodline is descended from alien-human hybrids.

-- Wikiwand: Merovech

Merovech married de Cologne, Chlodeswinthe Verica. Chlodeswinthe was born in 418 in Cologne, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; died in 449. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: GWMY-5S2

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Merovingian
• FSID: L8PY-CFB
• Appointments / Titles: Between 428 and 448; King of the Salian Franks

Notes:

Son of King Pharamond and Argotta Rosamund.
Father of King Meroveus

Biography: He is the oldest king of the Merovingian dynasty whose existence is certain.

Towards the middle of the 5th century, Clodion entered with his army into Roman territory from East of the Rhine (Allemagne) and seized the Cambrésis and the Southern Artois. He founded a small Frankish kingdom, which Clovis I inherited, and which was the embryo of the future kingdom of France.

Before the advent of Clodion and since 342, the Salian Franks are installed as foederatie inside the Roman Empire, in the North of Gaul, in Toxandrie, between the Moesan marshes, North of the current Maastricht, and the Charbonnière forest.

On January 17, 395, the Roman Empire was divided into two parts: the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire. From 407, several Germanic peoples entered Gaul and settled there. The Visigoths founded a kingdom in Aquitaine, the Alans (non-Germanic people) took up their quarters near Orleans, the Burgundians and the Alamans settled along the Rhine. During the reign of Clodion, Valentinian III ruled the western part of the Roman Empire.

Clodion begins to reign around 428. He succeeds his father King Theodomir. He leads the people of the Salian Franks from its capital, the fortress of Dispargum, located east of the Rhine.
Towards 432, Clodion learns that the cities of the Roman province of Belgium secondus are defenseless: Aetius, Roman general charged with the defense of Gaul, took many soldiers from these territories to fight alternately the Burgundians, the Alans, the Rhenish Franks, the anti-tax revolts and the Visigoths. Clodion decides to mount an expedition and mobilizes his entire army. Crossing the Charbonnière forest, the Franks seized Tournai, carried Cambrai and Arras at the first assault and reduced the whole country from the surroundings to the Somme. More than easy pillaging, Clodion seeks to give his authority as a warrior king a territorial base. The occupation lasted a few years without Aetius trying to end it.

In 448, Clodion, who celebrated the wedding of an important member of his army in the village of Helena near Arras, was attacked by General Aetius and his lieutenant Majorien. The general wants to put back the Salian Franks who have annexed territories without his authorization. Clodion, not prepared for the confrontation, is forced to flee. But Aetius, who does not have the military means to occupy the territory again, prefers to renegotiate with Clodion and authorizes him to settle in the Empire, in this case on the territories they have already conquered in Arras , Cambrai and Tournai (its capital).
After more than twenty years of reign, Clodion died shortly before the year 451. According to Frankish custom, his kingdom was divided between his sons. The elder, undoubtedly Mérovée, obtains the city of Tournai and its region. A second heir obtains Cambrai and a third Tongeren.

Union and descendants: He married Hildegonde of Cologne who followed. The couple had several children, including:
- Mévovée Ier (411/457) king of the Franks, although few documents attest to his existence.
- Chlodebaud of Cologne (420/483), king of the Rhenish Franks,
- Lambert of Thérouanne (425/451) king of Thérouanne.

Clodion married de Cologne, Ildegonde. Ildegonde (daughter of of the Franks, Marcomir and de Lombardy, Ildegonde) was born in 399 in Cologne, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; was christened in 450 in Cologne, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; died in 450 in Cologne, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: GWF6-LVM

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: 10th Grandmaster of the Order of the Grail
• House: Merovingian
• FSID: LZN1-SLD
• Occupation: First King of the Franks at Cologne -428, King of Tongres
• Appointments / Titles: Between 404 and 418; Duke of the East Franks
• Appointments / Titles: 404; King of The East Franks
• Appointments / Titles: 409, Köln, Köln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany; King of the Franks at Cologne
• Appointments / Titles: Between 419 and 428; King of The Salian Franks

Notes:

The Liber Historiae Francorum from the early 8th century names a king named Faramund (French: Pharamond): he was a son of the (historical) Marcomer and father Chlodios. For a long time Faramund was considered to be the first king of the Merovingian family. Its existence was only recognized as mythical at the end of the 19th century. The author of the Liber Historiae Francorum summarizes the first six books of the history of Gregory of Tours and adds additional information, including those on Faramund. However, for the period in question he did not have a source whose level of knowledge went beyond that of Gregory. It is unlikely that he had access to accurate genealogical information that Gregor did not know.

**********************
The History Files

Considered to be the first king of the Salian Franks from AD 409, Pharamond is scarcely known to history, living on the fringes of the Roman empire as he did. His parentage is unknown, but he could have been a son of Marcomer.

Contemporary historian Prosper Tiro wrote about Pharamond. In 420, he reportedly led his people across the River Rhine to head into the Roman Empire. This movement effectively separated his tribe from the majority of the Ripuarian Franks who had settled near Cologne. However, there were certainly Franks already settled on the west bank of the Rhine in 407, possibly Sicambrian Franks, so perhaps Pharamond was leading the first group of Salian Franks to arrive.

Pharamond was eventually succeeded by his son Clodio. His wife was Argotta. A Pharamond appears as the king of France in the prose Tristan and later Arthurian works; he was clearly inspired by the historical leader.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharamond
PLEASE DO NOT MERGE WITH ANY READ ONLY FILES

Pharamund married of Sicambria, Queen Argotta Rosamund. Argotta (daughter of of the East Franks, King Génébald II and de Camulod, Althildis, daughter of of the East Franks, King Génébald II and of Toxandria, Princess Blesinda) was born in 376 in Cimbria, Arhus, Denmark; died in 438 in Kingdom of the Sicambrian Franks, Gaul, Roman Empire; was buried in 438 in Kingdom of the Salian Franks. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Appointments / Titles: Queen of the Franks
• Appointments / Titles: Queen of the Salian Franks
• FSID: LZGG-LSG
• Occupation: Princess of Cimbri

Notes:

She is said to have descended from people of this area. Cimbri is the area now known as the Jutland Peninsula of Denmark-

Argotta "la Mère de tout les Rois" des Francs
French: Argote des Cimbres, Swedish: Argotta av Westphalia (av Östfrankerna)

Also Known As: "Argotta Queen of the (Salic) Franks", "De Thuringia", "Kings Of France", "wife of The King of the Franks", "wife of the King of Westphalia", "Argotta av Friesland", "Argotta Sicambria", "Mother of all the kings of France", "Princess of Sicambrai", "Argotta Rosamonde"

Birthdate: circa 376
Birthplace: Frankish Territory [North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]
Death: circa 438 (54-70)
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Immediate Family:

Daughter of Genebald II, duke of the East Franks and Athildis de Camulod

Wife of Pharamond, king of the Franks and Théodémir, King of the Franks at Thérouanne

Mother of Fredemundus; Clodius de Cologne, VI; Adalbertus de Cologne; Chararic (Guerric) de Tongres; Sigebert De Soissons, King de Cologne; Weldelphus; Frotmund; Mérovée I de France; Erlicia Erelieve de Cologne; Basina de Cologne; Chlodégar, king of the Salian Francs at Cologne.

Sister of Amalaberge of the Franks and Dagobert, Duke of the East Franks

Occupation: Queen of the Franks, ABT 0376, Koningin van de Franken, Princesse, des Cimbres, Princess France/Sicambrian Heiress, , Princess of the Salic Franks, Queen of the Salic Franks, Queen of Franks, Queen of the Salian Franks, MSD2-MQM.

Birth: about 376; Sicambria, Western Europe, France.
Death: about 438; Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Prussia, Germany.

Argotta "la Mère de tout les Roys" des Francs
French: Argote des Cimbres, Swedish: Argotta av Westphalia (av Östfrankerna)

Also Known As: "Argotta Queen of the (Salic) Franks", "De Thuringia", "Kings Of France", "wife of The King of the Franks", "wife of the King of Westphalia", "Argotta av Friesland", "Argotta Sicambria", "Mother of all the kings of France", "Princess of Sicambrai", "Argotta Rosamonde"

Birthdate: circa 376
Birthplace: Frankish Territory [North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]
Death: circa 438 (54-70)
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Immediate Family:

Daughter of Genebald II, duke of the East Franks and Athildis de Camulod

Wife of Pharamond, king of the Franks and Théodémir, King of the Franks at Thérouanne

Mother of Fredemundus; Clodius de Cologne, VI; Adalbertus de Cologne; Chararic (Guerric) de Tongres; Sigebert De Soissons, King de Cologne; Weldelphus; Frotmund; Mérovée I de France; Erlicia Erelieve de Cologne; Basina de Cologne; Chlodégar, king of the Salian Francs at Cologne.

Sister of Amalaberge of the Franks and Dagobert, Duke of the East Franks

Occupation: Queen of the Franks, ABT 0376, Koningin van de Franken, Princesse, des Cimbres, Princess France/Sicambrian Heiress, , Princess of the Salic Franks, Queen of the Salic Franks, Queen of Franks, Queen of the Salian Franks, MSD2-MQM

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: GWF6-KY6

Marcomir married de Lombardy, Ildegonde. Ildegonde was born in 375 in Lombardia, Italy; died in 425 in Sachsen, Germany. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FSID: G7M9-4LM