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

Family/Spouse: 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:

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

Notes:

Childeric I
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Merovingian
• FSID: LV44-2HT

Notes:

Clovis I

King of the Franks
Reign c. 509 – 27 November 511
King of the Salian Franks
Reign 481 – c. 509
Predecessor Childeric I
Born c. 466
Tournai, 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 later converted to Catholic Christianity
vte
Campaigns of Clovis I
Clovis (Latin: Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: *Hlōdowig;[1] c. 466 – 27 November 511)[2] 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 royal chieftains to rule by a single king and ensuring that the kingship was passed down to his heirs.[3] He is considered to have been the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries.

Clovis succeeded his father, Childeric I, as a king of Salian Franks within the Roman empire 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 either 511 or 513, Clovis had conquered several smaller Frankish tribes in the northeast of Gaul or modern day France. Clovis also conquered the Alemanni tribes in eastern Gaul, and the Visigothic kingdom of Aquitania in the southwest. These campaigns had added significantly to Clovis's domains, and established his dynasty as a major political and military presence in western europe.

Clovis is important in the historiography of France as "the first king of what would become France".[4]

Clovis is also significant due to his conversion to Catholicism in 496, largely at the behest of his wife, Clotilde, who would later be venerated as a saint for this act, celebrated today in both the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Clovis was baptized on Christmas Day in 508.[5] The adoption by Clovis of Catholicism (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, Belgium 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.

Contents
1 Name
2 Background
3 Early reign (481–491)
3.1 Road to Soissons
3.2 Taming Gaul
4 Middle reign (492–506)
4.1 Barbarian bonding
4.2 Assault of the Alamanni
4.3 Business in Burgundy
4.4 Armonici allies
5 Late reign (507–511)
5.1 Visiting the Visigoths
5.2 Ravishing the Reguli
5.3 Death
6 Baptism
7 Roman Law
8 Legacy
9 Chronology
10 References
11 External links
Name
The name is reconstructed in Frankish as *Hlod(o)wig, composed of the elements hlod ("fame, glory") and wig ("combat, battle").[1]

It is at the origin of the French given name Louis (variant Ludovic), borne by 18 kings of France, through the Latinized form Hludovicus (variants Ludhovicus, Lodhuvicus, Chlodovicus).[1] In Middle Dutch, a Franconian language closely related to Frankish, the name was rendered as Lodewijch, (modern Dutch Lodewijk).[6]

In modern German the name became Ludwig (although the king himself is named Chlodwig in German); in Spanish, Luis; in Italian, Luigi; and in English, Lewis.

Background
Clovis was the son of Childeric I, a Merovingian king of the Salian Franks, and Basina, a Thuringian princess. It was his supposed ancestor, Merovich, for which his Merovingian dynasty is named. Clovis succeeded his father to become king at the age of 15 in 481, as deduced from Gregory of Tours placing the Battle of Tolbiac (Zülpich) in the fifteenth year of Clovis's reign.

Numerous small Frankish petty kingdoms existed during the 5th century. The Salian Franks were the first known Frankish tribe that settled with official Roman permission within the empire, first in Batavia in the Rhine-Maas delta, and then in 375 in Toxandria, roughly the current province of North Brabant in the Netherlands and parts of neighbouring Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Limburg in current Belgium. This put them in the north part of the Roman civitas Tungrorum, with Romanized population still dominant south of the military highway Boulogne-Cologne. Later, Chlodio seems to have attacked westwards from this area to take control of the Roman populations in Tournai, then southwards to Artois, and Cambrai, eventually controlling an area stretching to the Somme river.

Childeric I, Clovis's father, was reputed to be a relative of Chlodio, and was known as the king of the Franks that fought as an army within northern Gaul. In 463 he fought in conjunction with Aegidius, the magister militum of northern Gaul, to defeat the Visigoths in Orléans. Childeric died in 481 and was buried in Tournai; Clovis succeeded him as king, aged just 15. Historians believe that Childeric and Clovis were both commanders of the Roman military in the Province of Belgica Secunda and were subordinate to the magister militum.[7] The Franks of Tournai came to dominate their neighbours, initially aided by the association with Aegidius.[8]

The death of Flavius Aetius in 454 led to the decline of imperial power in the Gaul; leaving the Visigoths and the Burgundians compete for predominance in the area. The part of Gaul still under Roman control emerged as a kingdom under Syagrius, Aegidius' son.[9]

Early reign (481–491)
Road to Soissons
See also: Battle of Soissons (486)
The ruler of Tournai died in 481 and was succeeded by his sixteen-year-old son, Clovis. His band of warriors probably numbered no more than half a thousand. In 486 he began his efforts to expand the realm by allying himself with his relative, Ragnachar, regulus of Cambrai[10] and another Frankish regulus, Chalaric. Together the triumvirate marched against Syagrius and met the Gallo-Roman commander at Soissons. During the battle Chalaric betrayed his comrades by refusing to take part in the fighting.[11] Despite the betrayal, the Franks landed a decisive victory, forcing Syagrius to flee to the court of Alaric II.[10] This battle is viewed as bringing about the end of the rump state of the Western Roman Empire outside of Italy.[12] Following the battle, Clovis invaded the traitor Chararic's territory and was able to imprison him and his son.[11]

Taming Gaul
See also: Frankish-Thuringian campaign (491)

Conquests of Clovis between 481 and 511
Prior to the battle, Clovis did not enjoy the support of the Gallo-Roman clergy, hence he proceeded to pillage the Roman territory, including the churches. Quickly, the Bishop of Reims requested Clovis to return everything taken from the Church of Reims, the young king aspired to establish cordial relationships with the clergy and returned a valuable ewer taken from Reims.[13] Despite his position, some Roman cities refused to yield to the Franks, namely Verdun‒which surrendered after a brief siege‒and Paris, which stubbornly resisted a few years, perhaps as many as five.[10] He made Paris his capital[14] and established an abbey dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul on the south bank of the Seine.[15]

Clovis came to the realisation that he wouldn't be able to rule Gaul without the help of the clergy and aimed to please the clergy by taking a Catholic wife.[13] He also integrated many of Syagrius' units into his own army. The Roman kingdom was probably under Clovis' control by 491, because in the same year Clovis successfully moved against a small number of Thuringians in the eastern Gaul, near the Burgundian border.[16]

Middle reign (492–506)
Barbarian bonding
See also: Audofleda
Around 493 AD, he secured an alliance with the Ostrogoths through the marriage of his sister Audofleda to their king, Theodoric the Great.[14] In the same year, nearby King of the Burgundians was slain by his brother, Gundobad; bringing a civil turmoil to the kingdom. Gundobad proceeded to drown his sister-in-law and force his niece, Chrona to a convent, yet his other niece, Clotilde managed to flee to the court of her other uncle, Godegisel. Now, finding himself from a precarious position Godegisel decided to ally Clovis by marrying his exiled niece to the Frankish king.[17]

Assault of the Alamanni
See also: Battle of Tolbiac

Clovis I leading the Franks to victory in the Battle of Tolbiac, in Ary Scheffer's 1836 painting
In 496 the Alamanni invaded, some Salians and Ripuarians reguli defected to their side. Clovis met his enemies near the strong fort of Tolbiac. During the fighting, the Franks suffered heavy losses and Clovis (+three thousand Frankish companions) might have converted to Christianity.[18] With the help of the Ripuarian Franks he narrowly defeated the Alamanni in the Battle of Tolbiac in 496.[14] Now Christian, Clovis confined his prisoners, Chararic and his son to a monastery.[11]

Business in Burgundy
See also: Franco-Visigothic Wars § Burgundian_civil_war_(500–501)
In 500 or 501 the relationship between the Burgundian brothers took the turn to the worse began scheming against his brother. He promised his brother-in-law territory and annual tribute for defeating his brother. He seduced his brother-in-law with the promises of territory and annual tribute for deposing his brother; Clovis was eager to subdue the political threat to his realm and crossed to the Burgundian territory. After hearing about the incident Gundobad moved against Clovis and called his brother. The three armies met near Dijon, where both the Franks and Godegisel's forces defeated the host of dumbfounded Gundobad, who was able to escape to Avignon. Clovis proceeded to follow to the Burgundian king and laid siege to the city, however, after some months he was convinced to abandon the siege and settled for an annual tributary from Gundobad.[19]

Armonici allies
In 501, 502 or 503 Clovis led his troops to Armorica. He had previously restricted his operations to minor raids, yet, this time the goal was subjugation. Clovis' failed to complete his objective via military means, therefore, he was constrained to statecraft, which proved fruitful for the Armonici shared Clovis' disdain for the Arian Visigoths. And thus Armorica and her fighters were integrated into Frankish realm.[20]

Late reign (507–511)
Visiting the Visigoths
See also: Franco-Visigothic Wars § Second Franco-Visigothic war (507–508)

Frankish territories at the time of Clovis's death in 511
In 507 Clovis was allowed by the magnates of his realm to invade the remaining threat of the Kingdom of the Visigoths.[21] King Alaric had previously tried to establish a cordial relationship with Clovis by serving him the head of exiled Syagrius on a silver plate in 486 or 487.[10] However, Clovis was no longer able to resist the temptation to move against the Visigoths for many Catholics under Visigoth yoke were unhappy and implored Clovis to make a move. [22] But just to be absolutely certain about retaining the loyalties of the Catholics under Visigoths, Clovis ordered his troops to omit raiding and plunder, for this was not a foreign invasion, but a liberation.[21]

Armonici assisted him in defeating the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse in the Battle of Vouillé in 507, eliminating Visigothic power in Gaul. The battle added most of Aquitaine to Clovis's kingdom[14] and resulted in the death of the Visigothic king Alaric II.

According to Gregory of Tours, following the battle, the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I granted Clovis the title of consul. Since Clovis's name does not appear in the consular lists, it is likely he was granted a suffect consulship.[citation needed]

Ravishing the Reguli
In 507, following Vouillé, Clovis heard about Chararic's plan to escape from his monastic prison and had him murdered.[11]

In the same year, Clovis convinced Prince Chlodoric to murder his father, earning him his nickname. Following the murder, Clovis betrayed Chlodoric and had his envoys strike him down. [23]

In 509, Clovis visited his old ally, Ragnachar in Cambrai. Following his conversion, many of his pagan retainers had defected to Ragnachar's side, making him a political threat. Ragnachar denied Clovis's entry, prompting Clovis to make a move against him. He bribed Ragnachar's retainers and soon, Ragnachar and his brother, Ricchar were captured and executed.[24]

Death

The partition of the Frankish kingdom among the four sons of Clovis with Clotilde presiding, Grandes Chroniques de Saint-Denis (Bibliothèque municipale de Toulouse)
Shortly before his death, Clovis called a synod of Gallic bishops to meet in Orléans to reform the Church and create a strong link between the Crown and the Catholic episcopate. This was the First Council of Orléans. Thirty-three bishops assisted and passed 31 decrees on the duties and obligations of individuals, the right of sanctuary, and ecclesiastical discipline. These decrees, equally applicable to Franks and Romans, first established equality between conquerors and conquered.

Clovis I is traditionally said to have died on 27 November 511; however, the Liber Pontificalis suggests that he was still alive in 513, so the exact date of his death is not known.[25] After his death, Clovis was laid to rest in the Abbey of St Genevieve in Paris. His remains were relocated to Saint Denis Basilica in the mid- to late-18th century.

When Clovis died, his kingdom was partitioned among his four sons, Theuderic, Chlodomer, Childebert, and Clotaire. This partition created the new political units of the Kingdoms of Rheims, Orléans, Paris and Soissons, and inaugurated a tradition that would lead to disunity lasting until the end of the Merovingian dynasty in 751. Clovis had been a king with no fixed capital and no central administration beyond his entourage. By deciding to be interred at Paris, Clovis gave the city symbolic weight. When his grandchildren divided royal power 50 years after his death in 511, Paris was kept as a joint property and a fixed symbol of the dynasty.[26]

The disunity continued under the Carolingians until, after a brief unity under Charlemagne, the Franks splintered into distinct spheres of cultural influence that coalesced around Eastern and Western centers of royal power. These later political, linguistic, and cultural entities became the Kingdom of France, the myriad German States, and the semi-autonomous kingdoms of Burgundy and Lotharingia.

Baptism

Tomb of Clovis I at the Basilica of St Denis in Saint Denis
Clovis was born a pagan but later became interested in converting to Arian Christianity, whose followers believed that Jesus was a distinct and separate being from God the Father, both subordinate to and created by Him. This contrasted Nicene Christianity, whose followers believe that God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three persons of one being (consubstantiality). While the theology of the Arians was declared a heresy at the First Council of Nicea in 325, the missionary work of Bishop Ulfilas converted the pagan Goths to Arian Christianity in the 4th century. By the time of the ascension of Clovis, Gothic Arians dominated Christian Gaul, and Catholics were in the minority.

Clovis's wife Clotilde, a Burgundian princess, was a Catholic despite the Arianism that surrounded her at court.[27] Her persistence eventually persuaded Clovis to convert to Catholicism, which he initially resisted. Clotilde had wanted her son to be baptized, but Clovis refused, so she had the child baptized without Clovis's knowledge. Shortly after his baptism, their son died, which further strengthened Clovis's resistance to conversion. Clotilde also had their second son baptized without her husband's permission, and this son became ill and nearly died after his baptism.[28] Clovis eventually converted to Catholicism following the Battle of Tolbiac on Christmas Day 508[29][30] in a small church in the vicinity of the subsequent Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims; a statue of his baptism by Saint Remigius can still be seen there. The details of this event have been passed down by Gregory of Tours, who recorded them many years later in the 6th century.

The king's Catholic baptism was of immense importance in the subsequent history of Western and Central Europe in general, as Clovis expanded his dominion over almost all of Gaul. Catholicism offered certain advantages to Clovis as he fought to distinguish his rule among many competing power centers in Western Europe. His conversion to the Roman Catholic form of Christianity served to set him apart from the other Germanic kings of his time, such as those of the Visigoths and the Vandals, who had converted from Germanic paganism to Arian Christianity. His embrace of the Roman Catholic faith may have also gained him the support of the Catholic Gallo-Roman aristocracy in his later campaign against the Visigoths, which drove them from southern Gaul in 507 and resulted in a great many of his people converting to Catholicism as well.[31]

On the other hand, Bernard Bachrach has argued that his conversion from Frankish paganism alienated many of the other Frankish sub-kings and weakened his military position over the next few years. In the interpretatio romana, Saint Gregory of Tours gave the Germanic gods that Clovis abandoned the names of roughly equivalent Roman gods, such as Jupiter and Mercury.[32] William Daly, more directly assessing Clovis's allegedly barbaric and pagan origins,[33] ignored the Gregory of Tours version and based his account on the scant earlier sources, a sixth-century "vita" of Saint Genevieve and letters to or concerning Clovis from bishops and Theodoric.

Clovis and his wife were buried in the Abbey of St Genevieve (St. Pierre) in Paris; the original name of the church was the Church of the Holy Apostles.[34]

Roman Law
Main article: Lex Salica
Under Clovis, the first codification of the Salian Frank law took place. The Roman Law was written with the assistance of Gallo-Romans to reflect the Salic legal tradition and Christianity, while containing much from Roman tradition. The Roman Law lists various crimes as well as the fines associated with them.[35]

Legacy

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The legacy of Clovis's conquests, a Frankish kingdom that included most of Roman Gaul and parts of western Germany, survived long after his death.[36] To the French people, he is the founder of France.

Detracting, perhaps, from this legacy, is his aforementioned division of the state. This was done not along national or even largely geographical lines, but primarily to assure equal income amongst his sons after his death. While it may or may not have been his intention, this division was the cause of much internal discord in Gaul. This precedent led in the long run to the fall of his dynasty, for it was a pattern repeated in future reigns.[37] Clovis did bequeath to his heirs the support of both people and Church such that, when the magnates were ready to do away with the royal house, the sanction of the Pope was sought first.

By his conversion to Christianity he made himself the ally of the papacy and its protector as well as that of the people, who were mostly Catholics.

Clovis I, (born c. 466—died November 27, 511, Paris, France), king of the Franks and ruler of much of Gaul from 481 to 511, a key period during the transformation of the Roman Empire into Europe. His dynasty, the Merovingians, survived more than 200 years, until the rise of the Carolingians in the 8th century. While he was not the first Frankish king, he was the kingdom’s political and religious founder.

Family/Spouse: de France, Saint Clotilda. Clotilda was born in 474 in Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France; died in 545 in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France; was buried on 3 Jun 548 in Abbey of St. Genevieve, Paris, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• House: Merovingian
• Nickname: The Old
• FSID: 9MTD-7C8
• Religion: Catholic
• Appointments / Titles: 511; He succeeded his father as King of the Franks at Soissons, his territory covering Soissons, Laon, Noyon, Arras, Cambrai, Tournai and the lower Meuse, the lands that later were to become the kingdom of Neustria.
• Appointments / Titles: Between 27 Nov 511 and 31 Dec 558, Kingdom of Neustria (Historical); King of Neustra
• Appointments / Titles: Between 27 Nov 511 and 31 Dec 558, Soissons, Aisne, Picardie, France; King of Soissons
• Appointments / Titles: Between 524 and 558; King of Orléans
• Appointments / Titles: Between 23 Dec 558 and 29 Nov 561; King of the Franks

Notes:

Chlothar I
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Chlothar I
Monnaie d'argent de Clotaire Ier.jpeg
Silver coin of Chlothar I
King of Soissons
Reign 511–558
Predecessor Clovis I
Successor Chilperic I
King of Orléans
Reign 524–558
Predecessor Chlodomer
Successor St. Guntram
King of Reims
Reign 555–558
Predecessor Theudebald
Successor Sigebert I
King of Paris
Reign 558
Predecessor Childebert I
Successor Charibert I
King of the Franks
Reign 558–561
Predecessor Vacant (last held by Clovis I)
Successor Vacant (next held by Clotaire II)
Born c. 497
Died 29 November 561
Compiègne
Spouse Guntheuc
Radegund
Ingund
Aregund
Chunsina
Issue Gunthar
Childeric
Charibert
St. Guntram
Sigebert
Chilperic
Chlothsind
Chram
Dynasty Merovingian
Father Clovis I
Mother Clotilde
Religion Roman Catholic
Chlothar I (c. 497 – 29 November 561)[a] was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I.

Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kingdom between his four sons. In 511, Clothar I inherited two large territories on the Western coast of Francia, separated by the lands of his brother Childebert I's Kingdom of Paris. Chlothar spent most of his life in a campaign to expand his territories at the expense of his relatives and neighbouring realms in all directions.

His brothers avoided outright war by cooperating with his attacks on neighbouring lands in concert or by invading lands when their rulers died. The spoils were shared between the participating brothers. By the end of his life, Chlothar had managed to reunite Francia by surviving his brothers and seizing their territories after they died. But upon his own death, the Kingdom of the Franks was once again divided between his own four surviving sons. A fifth son had rebelled and was killed, along with his family.

Chlothar's father, Clovis I, had converted to Nicene Christianity, but Chlothar, like other Merovingians, did not consider that the Christian doctrine of monogamy should be expected of royalty: he had five wives, more from political expediency, for the purpose of forming alliances, than for personal motives. Although at the instigation of his queens he gave money for several new ecclesiastical edifices, he was a less than enthusiastic Christian and succeeded in introducing taxes on ecclesiastical property.

Contents
1 Introduction
2 Life
2.1 Early life
2.2 Accession to the throne
2.3 First Burgundian war
2.4 Marriage with Guntheuc
2.5 Marriage with Aregund
2.6 Thuringian conquest
2.7 Princess Radegund
2.8 Acquisition of the kingdom of Orléans
2.9 Second Burgundian war
2.10 First Visigoth war
2.11 Civil war
2.12 Ceding of Provence
2.13 Second Visigoth war
2.14 Tuscan tribute
2.15 Death of Clotilde
2.16 Acquisition of Metz
2.17 Saxon war
2.18 Submission of Auvergne
2.19 War with Chram
2.20 Unification of all Francia
2.21 Relations with the church
3 Death
3.1 Succession
3.2 Female monasticism
4 Family
5 Notes
6 References
7 Further reading
Introduction

The expansion of Clothar's territories, shown in brown
Frankish customs of the day allowed for the practice of polygamy, especially among royalty. So it was not uncommon for a king to have multiple wives and several competing heirs upon his death. This was a major deviation from the monogamy of late Roman customs, influenced by the Church. Frankish rulers followed this practice mainly to increase their influence across larger areas of land in the wake of the Roman empire's collapse. The aim was to maintain peace and ensure the preservation of the kingdom by appeasing local leaders.[1] In the Germanic tradition succession fell, not to sons, but to younger brothers, uncles, and cousins. But under Salic law, Clovis I instituted the custom of sons being the primary heirs in all respects. However, it was not a system of primogeniture, with the eldest son receiving the vast majority of an inheritance, rather the inheritance was split evenly between all the sons. Therefore, the greater Frankish Kingdom was often splintered into smaller sub-kingdoms.[1]

Life
Early life
Chlothar was the fifth son of Clovis I and the fourth son of Queen Clotilde. The name 'Chlothar' means "glory".[2] Chlothar was born around 497 in Soissons. Upon the death of his father on 27 November 511, he received as his share of the kingdom: the town of Soissons, which he made his capital; the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai, and Maastricht; and the lower course of the Meuse River. But he was very ambitious and sought to extend his domain.

Bust of Chlothar
Accession to the throne
Upon the death of Clovis I in the year 511, the Frankish kingdom was divided between Chlothar and his brothers, Theuderic, Childebert, and Chlodomer.[3] Because of the rights of mothers, queens were granted a portion of their son's kingdom. Clovis I, who had two wives, divided his kingdom into two for each of his wives, then parceled out pieces to his respective sons. The eldest, Theuderic, son of the first wife, had the benefit of receiving one half of the kingdom of Francia, Reims. Chlothar shared the second half of the kingdom with his brothers Childebert and Chlodomer. Chlothar received the northern portion, Childebert the central kingdom of Paris, and Chlodomer the southern Kingdom of Orléans.[1] The domain inherited by Chlothar consisted of two distinct parts: one in Gaulic Belgium, corresponding to the kingdom of the Salian Franks, where he established his capital at Soissons and included the dioceses of Amiens, Arras, Saint-Quentin and Tournai; and the other in Aquitane including the dioceses of Agen, Bazas, and Périgueux.[1]

First Burgundian war
In 516 Gundobad, king of Burgundy, died, and the throne passed to his son Sigismund, who converted to Catholicism. Sigismund adopted an extreme anti-Arian policy, going so far as to execute his Arian son Sigeric, who was the grandson of the Ostrogoth King Theoderic the Great. Sigismund also nearly prompted the Franks to launch an offensive against him, but he avoided a conflict by giving one of his daughters, Suavegotha, in marriage to Chlothar's older half-brother, Theuderic I.

In 523, at the instigation of their mother, Clotilde, Chlothar, Childebert, and Chlodomer joined forces in an expedition against the Burgundians. The Burgundian army was defeated, and Sigismund was captured and executed. Sigismund's brother Godomar replaced him on the throne, with the support of the aristocracy, and the Franks were forced to leave.

In 524 Chlothar and his brothers, including Theuderic, began a new campaign, advancing to the Isère Valley. But on 25 June 524, they suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Vézeronce, and Chlodomer was killed. The Franks left Burgundy, and Godomar resumed his rule until 534.[4]

Marriage with Guntheuc

Radegonde's wedding, depiction of her praying, and prostrate in the marital bed
Chlothar married Guntheuc, Queen of Orléans and widow of Chlodomer, his brother. This union gave Chlothar access to Chlodomer's treasury and ensured Guntheuc's position as sole heiress to King Godegisel lands; Frankish law allowed a woman to inherit land if she had no sons.[5]

Marriage with Aregund
Chlothar's wife Ingund requested that he find a husband worthy of her sister, Aregund. Finding no one suitable, Chlothar took Aregund as one of his own wives. The year was c. 533–538. She remained his wife until the death of her sister, Ingund, in 546, after which she fell out of favor with Chlothar.[6]

Thuringian conquest
In 531 Hermanafrid, king of the Thuringians, promised to give Chlothar's half-brother, Theuderic, part of the Kingdom of Thuringia if he would help to depose Baderic, Hermanafrid's rival and brother. Theuderic accepted. However, having been injured after a victory, he appealed to Chlothar to continue the war. Hermanafrid died around this time, and the goal became simply to conquer Thuringia.

The alliance, along with the aid of his nephew Theudebert I, conquered Thuringia, and it became a part of the Frankish domain. During the division of the spoils, Chlothar and Theuderic argued fiercely over the hand of Princess Radegund, but eventually Chlothar won the dispute on the grounds that it had been his men who had captured her.[7]

Princess Radegund

Radegund is brought before Chlothar
In 538, Radegund was brought to Soissons to marry Chlothar, as "not illegitimate but legitimate queen," who could help consolidate his dominance over Thuringia.

While her title and status were necessary for Chlothar to attain authority over Thuringia, Radegund remained in simple clothing and was not treated in the customary manner of a queen. This was largely due to her Christian faith; she did not want to appear luxurious.

Radegund did not eat to excess. She insisted that much of her food be given to the poor. She spent most of her time praying and singing psalms but spent very little time with the king. Her allegiance was to God first and to Chlothar second. Chlothar became irritated and had many disputes with her.[8]

She retired to a convent and went on to found the abbey in Poitiers St. Croix, the first nunnery in Europe. She was canonized Saint Radegund.[9]

Acquisition of the kingdom of Orléans
Chlothar was the chief instigator in the murder of his brother Chlodomer's children in 524, and his share of the spoils consisted of the cities of Tours and Poitiers. Chlothar's brother, Chlodomer was killed on 25 June 524 during an expedition against the Burgundians at the Battle of Vezeronce. Upon Chlodomer's death, his three sons, Theodebald, Gunther, and Clodoald, were entrusted to care of their grandmother, hence the young princes were raised in Paris by Chlodomer's mother, Chlotilde.

To prevent the kingdom of Orleans from returning to his nephews, Chlothar joined with his brother Childebert in 532 to threaten the young heirs with death unless they agreed to join a monastery. They sent Arcadius, grandson of Sidonius Apollinaris, to their mother, Clotilde, with a pair of scissors and a sword. He gave the queen an ultimatum: the boys could either live as monks or die.

Germanic traditions gave Queen Clotilde, as the mother, the right as head of her household. However, among kings the lineage passed to younger brothers before it passed to the next generation. Due to tribal politics, shearing of the boys' hair could lead to a civil war; long hair was a symbol of Frankish royalty, and to remove it was considered a grave insult. But Theodebald, Gunthar, and Clodoald could someday lay claim to the throne, and it was Chlothar and Childebert's duty to pass authority on to them.

Clotilde was disgusted and shocked at the demands relayed by Arcadius and stated that she would rather see her sons dead than see their hair shorn.[10]

Assassination of Thibaut and Gunthar
The two uncles went through with their plan to murder the children. Chlothar stabbed Theodebald in the armpit. Gunthar threw himself at the feet of Childebert, who began to cry and almost gave in to the pleas of his nephew. Chlothar, however, demanded that Childebert carry through with the murder, stating that it was the only way to consolidate power. Childebert gave Gunthar up to Chlothar, who stabbed him.[11] Theodebald and Gunthar were ten and seven years old respectively.

Clodoald remained alive by managing to escape, hidden by loyal supporters. He renounced all claims and chose a monastic life. Childebert and Chlothar could then freely share their acquired territory. Meanwhile, Theuderic captured a parcel consisting of Auxerrois, Berry and Sens.

Second Burgundian war
In 532, Childebert and Chlothar seized Autun. They hunted for Godomar III, brother of Sigismund, with the help of his father and ally, the king of the Ostrogoths Theoderic the Great.

The death of Athalaric, the grandson and successor of Theodoric the Great, in 534 generated a succession crisis in the Ostrogothic kingdom, the Burgundian ally. Chlothar, Theudebert, and Childebert took the opportunity to invade the Burgundian kingdom, now devoid of Ostrogothic protection. The Burgundian kingdom was overtaken and divided between the three Frankish rulers. Chlothar received Grenoble, Die and many of the neighbouring cities.[12]

First Visigoth war

Imagined Bust of Chlothar on coin minted by Louis XVIII
Over the years, the Spanish Visigoths had made many incursions into Frankish territories and had taken lands. Clovis had retrieved them and even made further conquests of Gothic territories. Chlothar sent his eldest sons to reclaim lost territories. Although there was some success, for some unknown reason Gunthar, his second eldest, ended his campaign and returned home. Theudebert, the eldest, continued the war and took the strongholds of Dio-et-Valquières and Cabrières. Most of the lost Frankish lands were recovered.[13]

Civil war
Chlothar attempted to take advantage of Theuderic's illness during this time, trying to attain his kingdom with the help of Childebert. However Theudebert, who was busy securing Arles, rushed back to his father Theuderic's aid. Theuderic died a few days later. And Theudebert, supported by his vassals, managed to keep his kingdom and restrained his uncles from taking over.

Childebert and Theudebert joined forces and declared war on Chlothar. They initially defeated him, forcing him to take refuge in a forest for protection against the alliance. While Chlothar was besieged, a storm ravaged equipment, roads, and horses and disorganized the allied army. Childebert and Theudebert were forced to abandon the siege and make peace with Chlothar.[14]

Ceding of Provence
In 537, a conflict broke out between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogothic kingdom. To ensure Frankish neutrality in the conflict, King Vitiges offered Provence, which the Frankish Kings shared between them, along with the northern Alps with sovereignty over the Alemanni, by grabbing the upper Rhine valley, Main, and high Danube.[15] When the Ostrogoths ceded Provence to the Franks, he received the cities of Orange, Carpentras, and Gap.

Second Visigoth war
In spring 542, Childebert and Chlothar, accompanied by three of his sons, led an army into Visigoth Hispania. They seized Pamplona and Zaragoza but were finally forced to abandon after conquering most of the country. Since most of the king's army was still with Theudis and there was still enough power to be shown, they were ceded some major lands beyond the Pyrénées, although not as much as they had occupied.[13]

Tuscan tribute
The murder of Amalasuntha, the daughter of Theodoric the Great, and of Audofleda, sister of Clovis I, at the hands of King Theodahad of Tuscany caused Chlothar to threaten invasion if he did not receive a payment. The agreement that averted the war was for the Tuscan king to offer gold and land. However, Childebert and Theudebert cheated Chlothar, Childebert taking the money and Theudebert the land that Theodahad's successor, Vitiges turned over.[16] Chlothar's treasury was still much larger than either Childebert's or Theudebert's.

Death of Clotilde

Frankish Realm in 548
On 3 June 548, Clotilde, Chlothar's mother, died in the city of Tours. Chlothar and his brother Childebert transported her body by funeral procession to the Basilica of St. Apostles to be buried alongside her husband, Clovis I, and St. Genevieve.

Acquisition of Metz
Theudebald, Chlothar's great-nephew and the grandson of the late Theuderic, died childless in 555. So Chlothar immediately went to Metz to take possession of the kingdom from his late nephew, but under Salic Law he had to share it with his brother. So he married Vuldetrade, Theudebald's widow and the daughter of the Lombard king Wacho. This ensured the smooth succession to the kingdom of Metz, as well as an alliance with the Lombards, established since the reign of Theudebert. But the bishops condemned this incestuous marriage and forced Chlothar to divorce her. They gave her in marriage to the Bavarian Duke Garibald. To compensate for the breakdown of the marriage with Vuldetrade (Waldrada), Chlothar gave Chlothsind, his daughter, to the Lombard prince and future king, Alboin. Condat the Domesticus, great administrator of the palace of King Theudebald, retained his position after the annexation of the kingdom of Metz.[17]

Saxon war
In 555, Chlothar attacked and conquered the Saxons, who had revolted, in the upper valley of the Weser, Elbe, and the coast of the North Sea. As a submission, Chlothar required them to pay a substantial annual tribute and for some time exacted from the Saxons an annual tribute of 500 cows.[18]

Between 555 and 556, the Saxons revolted again, perhaps instigated by Childebert. Faced with the Saxon revolt and threat of a massacre, Chlothar preferred peace talks. He offered to forego battle if they would accept his demand to continue to pay him tribute, despite a previous rejection. But his men, aggressive, eager for battle, contested the decision. Talks were cut short when the soldiers forced him, with insults and death threats, to take on the Saxons. After an incredibly bloody battle, the Saxons and Franks made peace.[19]

Frankish Real from 556–560
Submission of Auvergne
Auvergne, a once prosperous Roman province, which had resisted the Visigoths and Franks, had hoped they could avoid destruction by offering their loyalty. Theuderic had devastated much of the land, and Theudebert pacified the land by marrying a Gallo-Roman woman of Senatorial descent. In anticipation of the death of Theodebald, Chlothar sent his son Chram to take possession of the area. In time, Chram came to control a larger area and desired to break away from his father entirely. To achieve this, he joined politically with Childebert who encouraged his dissent. In time his influence was expanded over Poitiers, Tours, Limoges, Clermont, Bourges, Le Puy, Javols, Rodez, Cahors, Albi, and Toulouse.[20]

War with Chram
Chlothar again engaged in war with the Saxons. He sent his sons Charibert and Guntram to lead an army against Chram. They marched to Auvergne and Limoges and finally found Chram in Saint-Georges-Nigremont. Their armies met at the foot of a "black mountain" where they demanded that Chram relinquish land belonging to their father. He refused, but a storm prevented the battle. Chram sent a messenger to his half-brothers, falsely informing them of the death of Chlothar at the hand of the Saxons. Charibert and Guntram immediately marched to Burgundy. The rumor that Chlothar had died in Saxony spread throughout Gaul, even reaching the ears of Childebert. It is possible that Childebert was behind the rumor as well. Chram then took the opportunity to extend his influence to Chalon-sur-Saône. He besieged the city and won. Chram married Chalda, daughter of Wiliachaire (Willacharius), Count of Orléans, which was under Childebert's authority.[21]

Unification of all Francia

The Death of Chramn, in a 16th-century miniature
On 23 December 558, Childebert died childless after a long illness. This allowed Chlothar to reunite the Greater Frankish Kingdom, as his father Clovis had done, and seize the treasure of his brother.[22]

The news of Childebert's death had caused many kingdoms to unify under Chlothar. Paris, which had fought against him, submitted to his rule. Chram therefore called on the Bretons to allow him refuge. He had made such an agreement with his father-in-law Willacharius, Count of Orléans, although he was currently taking refuge himself in the Basilica of St. Martin of Tours. He[who?] was caught and subsequently burned "for the sins of the people and the scandals that were perpetrated by Wiliachaire and his wife." Chlothar then restored the Basilica.[22]

Between 1 September and 31 August 559, with the help of the Bretons, Chram plundered and destroyed a large number of places belonging to his father. Chlothar, accompanied by his son Chilperic, advanced to Domnonée and arrived there in November or December of 560. During the battle, located near the coast, Conomor was defeated and killed when he attempted to flee. Conomor owned land on both sides of the Channel, and Chram perhaps intended to flee from Chlothar to take refuge in England with the support of Conomor. Chram fled for the sea, but first attempted to rescue his wife and daughters. He was then captured and immediately sentenced to death. He and his wife and daughters were locked in a shack and were strangled and burned.[23] Overwhelmed with remorse, Clothar went to Tours to implore forgiveness at the tomb of St Martin and died shortly afterwards at the royal palace at Compiègne.

Relations with the church
In 561 Chlothar attempted to raise taxes on churches, despite the exemption granted by Roman law which had been routinely confirmed by past kings. Indeed, Childeric I had granted immunities to ecclesiastics. The Bishop of Tours, Injuriosus refused, left his diocese, and abandoned Chlothar. At the death of the bishop, the king replaced him with a member of his household named Baudin. Similarly, he exiled the bishop of Trier, Nizier, because of its inflexibility on canon law. Thus the tax on churches held.

Ingund and Chlothar made many additions to churches, including the decorations of the tomb of Saint-Germain Auxerre; the basilica are preserved with a given royal chalice.

Death
At the end of his reign, the Frankish kingdom was at its peak, covering the whole of Gaul (except Septimania) and part of present-day Germany. He died at the end of 561 of acute pneumonia at the age of 64, leaving his kingdom to his four sons. They went to bury him at Soissons in the Basilica of St. Marie, where he had started to build the tomb of St. Médard.[24]

Succession
Charibert received the ancient kingdom of Childebert I, between the Somme and Pyrénées, with Paris as its capital, and including the Paris Basin, Aquitaine and Provence.
Guntram received Burgundy with a part of the Kingdom of Orléans, where he established his capital.
Sigebert received the Kingdom of Metz with its capital Reims and Metz.
Chilperic received the territories north of the Kingdom of Soissons.[25]
Female monasticism
Chlothar financed the construction of the monastery of Sainte-Croix in Poitiers, which folds Radegund. He transferred reliquaries that the queen had accumulated during her stay with the king to the monastery of St. Croix.

Family
"Blithilde" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Bilichild.
According to Gregory of Tours, "The King Chlothar had seven sons of various women, namely: with Ingund he had Gunthar, Childeric, Charibert, Guntram, Sigebert, and a daughter named Chlothsind; of Aregund, sister of Ingund he had Chilperic; and of Chunsine he had Chram."

Breakup of the Frankish Kingdoms upon Chlothar's death in 561
Chlothar's first marriage was to Guntheuc, widow of his brother Chlodomer, sometime around 524. They had no children. His second marriage, which occurred around 532, was to Radegund, daughter of Bertachar, King of Thuringia, whom he and his brother Theuderic defeated.[26] She was later canonized. They also had no children. His third and most successful marriage was to Ingund,[27] by whom he had five sons and two daughters:

Gunthar, predeceased father
Childeric, predeceased father
Charibert, King of Paris
Guntram, King of Burgundy
Sigebert, King of Austrasia
Chlothsind, married Alboin, King of the Lombards
He likely had an illegitimate son named Gondovald with an unnamed woman, born sometime in the late 540s or early 550s. Since Chlothar had sown children all throughout Gaul this was not unlikely. The boy was given a literary education and allowed to grow his hair long, a symbol of belonging to royalty. Although Chlothar would offer no more aid or privilege to the boy, his mother took him to the court of Childebert, who recognized him as his nephew and agreed to keep him in court.

His next marriage was to a sister of Ingund, Aregund, with whom he had a son, Chilperic, King of Soissons.[27] His last wife was Chunsina (or Chunsine), with whom he had one son, Chram,[28] who became his father's enemy and predeceased him. Chlothar may have married and repudiated Waldrada.

A false genealogy found in the Brabant trophies, made in the ninth century during the reign of Charles the Bald, invents a daughter of Chlothar's named Blithilde who supposedly married the saint and bishop Ansbert of Rouen, who was himself alleged to be son of Ironwood III. The Duke Arnoald, father of Arnulf of Metz, was said to have been born of this marriage, thus connecting the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties and creating the appearance that the Carolingian ruled by right of inheritance. It also linked them to the Romans by their affiliation with the senatorial family Ferreoli.

Notes

Clothar married of Thüringia, Queen Aregunda in 533. Aregunda (daughter of of Thüringia, Baderich and of Saxony, Princess Amegonde) was born in 515 in Rheims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France; died on 13 Aug 563 in Soissons, Aisne, Picardie, France; was buried after 13 Aug 563 in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]