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King Clovis I "The Great", of France

King Clovis I "The Great", of France

Male 466 - 511  (45 years)

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  • Name Clovis I "The Great"  
    Prefix King 
    Suffix of France 
    Nickname The Great 
    Born 466  Tournai, Hainault, Wallonia, Belgium Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Christened 25 Dec 496  Reims, Neustria Find all individuals with events at this location 
    FamilySearch ID GJGB-HMY 
    RULED 481-511 Find all individuals with events at this location 
    RULED 481-511 Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Name The Great 
    _UID D376BB2765A04D8C91F73C5094E68ACEEFFE 
    Died 27 Nov 511  Church Of St Pierre, Paris, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Eglise DE Saint Pierre, France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I8578  Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy
    Last Modified 29 Dec 2022 

    Father King Childeric I of the FRANCS,   b. 436, Tournai, Hainault, Wallonia, Belgium Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 26 Nov 481, Tournai, Hainault, Wallonia, Belgium Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 45 years) 
    Mother Basina, Princess Of Thuringia,   b. 444, Thuringia, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 489  (Age 45 years) 
    Married 464  Germany Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F4338  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Amalaberge Of The Heruli,   b. 462, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 510  (Age 48 years) 
    Married 484 
    Children 
     1. King Theuderic I (Thierry) Of METZ,   b. 485, Metz, Austrasia, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 533-534, Metz, Austrasia, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 49 years)
    Last Modified 29 Aug 2016 
    Family ID F4339  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Saint Clotilda (Queen Of The Franks) BURGUNDY,   b. 475, Remu, Bourgogne, Burgundy, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Jun 545, Tours, Indre-Et-Loire, Touraine, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 70 years) 
    Married 492  France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Ingomir (Prince Of The Franks),   b. 493, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 493, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 0 years)
     2. Chlodomir (King Of Orleans - 511-524),   b. 495, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 524, Burgundy, France Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 29 years)
     3. Childebert I (King Of Paris 511-558),   b. 496, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 558  (Age 62 years)
     4. Clothaire I "The Old", King Of France,   b. 497, Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, Franconie Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Nov 561, Braines, Loire-Atlantique, Franconie Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 64 years)
     5. Clotilda (Princess Of The Franks) (Queen Of The Visigoths),   b. 498, Rheims, Marne, Loire-Atlantique, Franconie Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Jun 531, En Route To Paris Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 33 years)
    Last Modified 29 Aug 2016 
    Family ID F4340  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Photos
    Clovis.jpg
    Clovis.jpg
    King Clovis I of France
    King Clovis I of France

  • Notes 
    • Born circa 466, son of Childeric I, King des Francs and Basine Andoverade Turinge , Clovis I became King between the Summer of 481 and Autumn of482. According to Gregoire de Tours, he was only about 15 years of age atthe time. In any case he was quite young as he was called "juvenis".Timelines here are bound to be fraught with error since the custom ofcounting years from the time of Jesus Christ was not established untilthe 8th Century. Thus, both the Larousse and the History of France asserta birth date circa 466 whereas Stuart's "Royalty for Commoners" claimsClovis I was alive in the year 420! That date is necessary to claim thatSigebert I is the son of Childebert, son of Clovis, since Stuart claimsSigebert I was King of the Salic Francs from 481 to 511.

      Significant-Other - Evochilde before 486 - Evochilde was a concubine.Note - between 486 and 507: King of the Franks, Clovis I vanquished theRomans at Soissons in 486. Syagrius, the "Roman King" takes refuge inToulouse under the protection of the King of the Wisigoths, Alaric [whohad just become King in 484]. By the end of the year, Clovis I forcedAlaric to give up Syagrius, and Clovis I secretly has Syagrius put todeath. From 487 to 490, Clovis I extended his kingdom all the way to theLoire River, however, he respects the border of the Wisigoths to theSouth and of the Burgundians to the South-West, as well as that of theriparian Francs to the East. From 490 to 495, Clovis is occupied with theliquidation of the Salic Franc dynasty North of Gaule. King Chararic ofTongres is decapitated, and King Ragnacaire of Cambrai is executed. Uponthe request for aid from the Riparian Francs, Clovis I defeats theAlamans (Germans) at the Battle of Tolbiac in 496 thus bringing Champagneunder his jurisdiction. In 500, he wages war against Gondebaud, King ofBurgundy defeating him near Dijon. Gondebaud retreats to Avignon. In502, on the Cure and the Cousin, Clovis I and Gondebaud seal an alliance.From April to June 507, the French Army attack the Wisigoths, whoseKingdom extends from the Mediterranean to the ocean, and cross the Loire,going up the Valley of Calin toward Poitiers and encounter the VisigothArmy in the plain of Vouille, 15 km West of Clain. Alaric II, King ofthe Visigoths is killed and the Wisigoths thus are defeated. By 507,thanks to the efforts of his son, Thierry, the entire Meridional Gaulefalls into Clovis I's control. In 508, the Franc Army lays siege onArles in order to secure Provence. Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths,occupies Provence, and his general, Ibbas, crosses the Alps to deliverArles from Clovis I's clutch. Theodoric conquers the Burgundians atAvignon and Orange and makes Amalaric, his grandson and son of Alaric II,King of the Wisigoths. Clovis I loses the Bas-Languedoc, then calledSeptimania.

      Around 510, Clovis has Cloderic, King of the Riparian tribes who hadfought in his support at Vouille, assassinated, and proclaims himselfKing of the Riparians. Thus, the Kingdom extends from the Pyrenees, tothe ocean to beyond the Rhine. Upon his death, according to Frankishcustom, his kingdom was divided among his four sons: Thierry, Clodomir,Childebert and Clotaire. Married circa 493: Sainte Clotilde de Bourgogne, daughter of Chilperic, King de Bourgogne and N?; Clotilde was aMerovingien. By the time Clovis I married her, he already had a sonthrough his concubine. Clotilde contributed to the conversion of Clovisto Christianity. After his death, she retired to the monastery ofSaint-Martin in Tours (France). Her Feast Day is 3 June. Baptized: on 25December 496; When the Queen, Clotilde, convinced Clovis I to have theirson Ingomer baptized, he relented. Shortly afterwards, the son died.

      481 - Clovis - "The Franks were a Germanic tribe just east of the Rhinewho, even in the time of Julian, had carried through serious raids intoGaul. The rulers of the Franks were descended from a leader namedMerovech, so that they were called the 'Merovingians.' In 481, a15-year-old Merovingian named Clovis succeeded to the leadership of theFrankish tribes." [Isaac Asimov, Asimov's Chronology Of The World]

      "When Meroveus's son Childeric died in AD 481, he was followed by his sonClovis, the most prominent of all the Merovingians and traditionallyreckoned founder of the French monarchy. At that time the Roman Churchgreatly feared the increasing popularity of the Arian religion in Gaul [aChristian faith which did not subscribe to the divinity of Jesus], andCatholicism was dangerously close to being completely overrun in WesternEurope. Clovis was, in practice, neither Catholic nor Arian and itoccured to the Roman hierarchy that the rise of Clovis could be used totheir advantage. As it transpired, Clovis aided them quite inadvertentlywhen he married the Burgundian Princess Clotilde." [Laurence Gardner,Realm Of The Ring Lords]

      486 - Clovis - Clovis beat Syagrius at Soissons in northern Gaul. Thelast bit of land in the west that might be considered Roman was gone.
      500 - Clovis - "About 500, Clovis defeated the Burgundians [his wife'skingsmen] in eastern Gaul."
      507 - Clovis - "In 507, Clovis defeated the Visigoths and drove them outof Gaul."
      508 - Clovis - "Clovis made his capital at Paris."
      511 - Franks - "By the time of his death in 511, Clovis was master ofvirtually all of Gaul. In centuries to come, Gaul was the one province inthe west that lost its name. It was Gaul no more, but eventually became'France,' from the word 'Frank.' In German, the land is called'Frankreich' ['realm of the Franks']. On Clovis's death, his four sonseach inherited a portion of the Frankish kingdom and, as was inevitable,they fought eachother. This happened over and over and kept the Franksfrom becoming stronger than they were." [Isaac Asimov, Asimov'sChronology Of The World]