Chlodomer

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Chlodomer
Clodomir supervise l'execution de Sigismond.jpg
Clodomir supervises the killing of Sigismund of Burgundy
King of Orléans
Reign511–524
Predecessor Clovis I
Successor Chlothar I
Bornc. 495
Died524
Battle of Vézeronce
Spouse Guntheuc
Issue Theodebald
Gunthar
Clodoald
House Merovingian
Father Clovis I
Mother Clotilde

Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer (c. 495 - 524) was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks.

Contents

History

Clodomir was the eldest son of Clovis and his wife, Clotilde. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers: Theuderic I, Childebert I, and Chlothar I. Chlodomer became King of the Franks at Orléans. [1] This kingdom included, most notably, the bishoprics of Tours, Poitiers and Orléans. Chlodomer married Guntheuc, with whom he had three sons: Theodebald, Gunthar, and Clodoald. [2]

In 523–24, possibly at the instigation of his mother Clotilde, who was eager to avenge the death of her parents who had been allegedly assassinated by her uncle Gundobad, the father of Sigismund of Burgundy. From the sixth century on, the marriage of Clovis and Clotilde was made the theme of epic narratives, in which the original facts were materially altered and the various versions found their way into the works of different Frankish chroniclers. [3] The story of Clotilde's revenge is taken up by Gregory of Tours. It is, however, assumed that this tale is apocryphal. [4]

Nonetheless, Chlodomer joined with his brothers in an expedition against the Burgundians. After capturing Sigismund, Chlodomer returned to Orléans. Chlodomer had Sigismund and his sons Gisald and Gondebaud assassinated in May 524. [5]

Partition of the kingdom of Clovis Droysens-20b.jpg
Partition of the kingdom of Clovis

Sigismund's brother Gondomar returned triumphantly to Burgundy at the head of the troops sent by his ally, the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great. There, he massacred the garrison the Franks had left behind. Chlodomer then led a second expedition against the Burgundians. He was killed on this expedition, in June that same year, at the Battle of Vézeronce. [6] Theuderic married Sigismund's daughter Suavegotha. Chlodomer's kingdom was divided such that Chlothar I received Touraine and Poitou; Childebert I the territories on both banks of the Loire with Orléans.

When his widow married Chlothar I, Chlodomer's three sons were taken to Paris and entrusted to their grandmother Clotilde. However, Chlothar, not wishing to give them a share of their father's inheritance when they came of age, murdered ten-year-old Theodebald and seven-year-old Gunthar. Only the youngest, Clodoald, was saved by the loyalty of a few of the faithful. Better known as Saint Cloud, he later became abbot of Nogent, having given up his hair, the symbol of the Frankish royalty, rather than giving up his life. [7]

Related Research Articles

The 520s decade ran from January 1, 520, to December 31, 529.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">511</span> Calendar year

Year 511 (DXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Felix and Secundinus. The denomination 511 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Year 524 (DXXIV) was a leap year starting on Monday on the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinus and Opilio. The denomination 524 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theuderic I</span>

Theuderic I was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia—as it is variously called—from 511 to 534.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clotilde</span> Queen of the Franks as Clovis Is wife

Clotilde, also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc., was a Queen of the Franks. She was supposedly descended from the Gothic king Athanaric and became the second wife of the Frankish king Clovis I in 493. The Merovingian dynasty to which her husband belonged ruled Frankish kingdoms for over 200 years (450–758).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austrasia</span> Medieval European territory

Austrasia was a territory which formed the north-eastern section of the Kingdom of the Franks from the 6th to 8th centuries, ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ages. It was centred on the Meuse, Middle Rhine, and the Moselle rivers, and was the original territory of the Franks, including both the so-called Salian Franks and Ripuarian Franks, which Clovis I, King of the Franks (481–511) conquered after first taking control of the bordering part of Roman Gaul, which is sometimes described in this period as Neustria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlothar II</span> Frankish king (584–629)

Chlothar II, sometime called "the Young", was king of the Franks, ruling Neustria (584–629), Burgundy (613–629) and Austrasia (613–623).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neustria</span> Western part of the kingdom of the Franks

Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the early middle ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day France, with Paris, Orléans, Tours, Soissons as its main cities. The population was therefore originally largely Romanised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlothar I</span> King of the Franks (r. 511–558) of the Merovingian dynasty

Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old", also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childebert I</span> King of Paris and Orleáns (died 558)

Childebert I was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clotilda, born at Reims. He reigned as King of Paris from 511 to 558 and Orléans from 524 to 558.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childebert II</span> King of Austrasia from 575 to 596 AD

Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his death, as the adopted son of his uncle Guntram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francia</span> Frankish kingdom from 481 to 840

The Kingdom of the Franks, also known as the Frankish Kingdom, the Frankish Empire or Francia, was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Frankish Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties during the Early Middle Ages. Francia was among the last surviving Germanic kingdoms from the Migration Period era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sigismund of Burgundy</span> King of the Burgundians

Sigismund was King of the Burgundians from 516 until his death. He was the son of king Gundobad and Caretene. He succeeded his father in 516. Sigismund and his brother Godomar were defeated in battle by Clovis's sons, and Godomar fled. Sigismund was captured by Chlodomer, King of Orléans, where he was kept as a prisoner. Later he, his wife and his children were executed. Godomar then rallied the Burgundian army and won back his kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theuderic III</span> King of the Franks

Theuderic III was King of the Franks. He ruled Neustria and Burgundy on two occasions, as well as Austrasia from 679 to his death in 691.

Godomar II, son of king Gundobad, was king of Burgundy. He ruled Burgundy after the death of Sigismund, his elder brother, in 524 until 534.

Guntheuc was a Frankish queen consort. She was first married to King Chlodomer and later to his younger brother, King Chlothar I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Vézeronce</span> 524 battle during the Frankish invasion of Burgundy

The Battle of Vézeronce took place on June 25, 524 AD near Vézeronce-Curtin in Isère, France. This battle was part of an invasion of Burgundy initiated by the four sons and successors of the Frankish king Clovis I: Childebert I, Chlodomer, Chlothar I, and Theuderic I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clodoald</span> Frankish monk and bishop

Clodoald, better known as Saint Cloud, was a Merovingian prince, grandson of Clovis I and son of Chlodomer, who preferred to renounce royalty and became a hermit and monk. Clodoald found a hill along the Seine, two leagues below Paris, in a place called Novigentum. Here, among the fishermen and farmers, he led a life of solitude and prayer, and built a church, which he dedicated in honor of Martin of Tours.

Suavegotha, also known as Suavegotta or Suavegotho, was the daughter of the Burgundian king Sigismund and his Ostrogothic wife Ostrogotho. She was apparently married to Theuderic I, but scholars debate whether she was his first or second wife.

References

  1. "Chlodomer | Frankish Ruler, Burgundy War & Dynasty | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-01-04.
  2. Christian Bouyer, Dictionnaire des Reines de France, Librairie Académique Perrin, 1992, p. 32-33 ISBN   2-262-00789-6
  3. Kurth, Godefroid. "St. Clotilda". The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. Wikisource-logo.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Pfister, Christian (1911). "Clotilda, Saint". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 557.
  5. Gábor Klaniczay, Holy Rulers and Blessed Princesses: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe, (Cambridge University Press, 2000), 67–68. ISBN   0-521-42018-0
  6. Kortum, Han-Henning. "Merovingian Franks", The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Vol. 1. (Clifford J. Rogers, ed.) Oxford University Press (2010)
  7. Dahn, Felix, "Chlodomer" in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 47 (1903), S. 476

Further reading

Chlodomer
Born: 495 Died: 524
Preceded by King of Orléans
511–524
Succeeded by