Clovis, Towards a New Chonology, Part Six

Chlodoveo Rex Bellorum, The Visigothic, Thuringian and Burgundian wars

 By Dane R. Pestano ©2015.

497 Second Letter of Remigius to Clovis on death of Albofled.

Bishop Remigius wrote to Clovis a second time on learning of the death of Clovis' Sister Albofled. She had been baptised with Clovis in 496 but then subsequently died, according to Gregory, shortly afterwards. Many commentators suggest the letter was written a fair time (as much as 20 years later in some cases based on an early chronology) after the first letter of Remigius, which I have dated to 493. I date it a mere four years after the first. Clovis had fallen into a stupor of sadness and was perhaps neglecting his kingdom allowing the Visigoths to recapture cities on the Loire. Remegius' letter :

“I grieve, I grieve very deeply, for the sorrow that afflicts you because your sister of resplendent memory, Albofled, has passed on. But we can be consoled by the fact that a person such as she who has departed from the light of this world merits veneration more than lamentation. Her life was such that it may be believed that, as one of God's elect who has emigrated to heaven, she was taken up to himself by the Lord. She lives, and if you desire to see her again, Christ lives in your faith. She has accomplished the fulfillment that is the blessing of virginity. It is a consecrated state, not to be mourned, glowing in the sight of God as a virginal flower or, if you prefer, her head bears the crown that she received as a reward for her virginity. Let it not happen that the faithful lament her who merited to become the aroma of Christ so that through him, whom she has pleased, she can provide help to those who seek it. My lord, put sadness out of your heart. Once your soul has become reconciled through due religious observance, govern the kingdom with keener wisdom and adopt nobler counsel out of zeal for tranquillity. With joyful heart, strengthen the members.” ^1a

Remigius still speaks of Clovis' possession as a kingdom, rather than describing him as a conqueror of nations as he does in a subsequent letter written after Clovis' death that mentions the king. This would suggest the letter was written after 496 but before 507 when Clovis had defeated the Visigoths. I have chosen 497 as this appears to be the time when Clovis let slip his concentration and the Visigoths were able to go on the offensive, giving rise to challenges from the Thuringians soon after. Gregory also places the death of Albofled shortly after her baptism.

498. The first Visigothic war: Part 2.

Now into the sixth installment and we are still not out of the fifth century. Clovis taking the time out to be Baptised and then mourning the death of his sister meant losing focus on Aquitania.The Visigoths were able to regroup and recover possessions lost. In 496, a continuation of the Chronicle of Prosper relates that Alaric retook Saintes¹, and then in the following year had ended a rebellion in one of his Spanish cities. Refugees, who had started leaving Aquitania, had by 497 taken settlements there, from the Chronicle of Saragossa: “the Goths acquired settlements in Spain”². Tours had also admitted the Franks, as when it fell back into Visigothic hands in 497, their terrified Bishop Volusianus³ was dragged off to Toulouse and then Spain where he died⁴. This can only mean that Alaric had refused to hand over Syagrius and that Clovis launched campaigns into Aquitania to force his hand. MacGeorge, in Late Roman Warlords (2002) agrees stating, “it is possible that Syagrius was not surrendered by the Goths until some years after his defeat.” Mathisen continues the story of this early Frankish-Visigothic war : 

“The recapture of Saintes by the Visigoths in 496 did not, however, mark the end of Frankish attacks, for the same chronicle notes, under the year 498, “In the fourteenth year of Alaric the Franks captured Bordeaux and transferred it from the authority of the Goths into their own possession, having taken captive the Gothic duke Suatrius.””⁵

 So Clovis, now a Catholic King, had resumed the war and taken Bordeaux in 498. We must assume that territory north of Saints and Bordeaux and immediately south of the Loire had possibly already been re-taken; places such as Tours, Bourges and Poitiers, but this is not certain..

Mathisen sees these events as a failure by Clovis to defeat the Visigoths at this time, which has some merit, but when the battle of Soissons is placed in the correct time-frame of 491 (rather than 486) we can see that the Visigothic war follows the flight of Syagrius to Alaric. All these events then make perfect sense. Contrary to Gregory's statement that the Goths were accustomed to be terrified, they had in fact recovered well against Clovis but had not yet faced him in open battle.

 499. Defeat of the Thuringians

Gregory states in the Histories, that in around the tenth year of his reign Clovis fought a war against the Thuringians, which in the GC518 scheme would be 498 (but in CC511 490), which along with all his chronological schemes was unlikely as Clovis was tied up in Aquitania taking Bordeaux in 498. It was not in the 505/6 during the campaigns against the Alamanni as Theoderic did not mention the Thuringians when he congratulated Clovis on victory. Also, in 507 Theoderic called on the Thuringians (as well as the Heruli and Warni) to ally against the Franks. It is unlikely he would have called on the Thuringians in such a way if they had recently been defeated by Clovis. In around 499 then Clovis appears to have moved against the Thuringians who were probably encroaching from Germania I or II towards Belgica II. What prompted this Thuringian aggression? Perhaps dynastic pretensions played a part. Clovis was half Thuringian and they may have thought that while he was tied up in the west they could expand their territory towards Belgica II. Some Thuringians had been Christian since the fifth century but most likely Arian. Whether they were or not, Clovis would show his authority by defeating them in battle and sending their remnants back over the Rhine. The defeat of the Thuringians though left a void that was to be filled by the Allemani who expanded their influence and would soon threaten northern Gaul.

Clovis' next move was to intervene in around 500AD in the Burgundian civil wars between Kings Gundobad and Godigisel. Fredegar places Clovis at Troyes near the Burgundian border at this time. It is therefore not surprising that Clovis now joined with Godigisel in trying to defeat Gundobad in the Burgundian civil wars. Clovis was now Catholic, as was Godigisel. Gregory explains it as Godigisel asking for help after hearing of Clovis' recent victories, (presumably over the Visigoths and Thuringians) and if he did, then it was most certainly because he knew that Clotilda would convince Clovis to support such a move. 

Gregory states that the Burgundians had taken Marseilles by this time, although this date in GC518 could be as late as 504. It could be possible that whilst Clovis in the late 490's was taking western Visigothic possessions, the Burgundians may have taken the opportunity to expand into Provence. They appear to have besieged Arles in around 505 and Sigismund is supposed to have visited Provence around the same time⁶. Perhaps though these events should be dated to the 507 when we know they certainly invaded Provence.

500-501 The Burgundian Civil War

Clovis then, in around 500-501CE took his army forward into Burgundy to support Godigisel in his first Catholic crusade. This would leave his newly won Aquitanian possessions open to Alaric again, so he would have to be quick. Clovis and Godigisel defeated Gundobad, who had known nothing of their alliance, in a battle near Dijon, and Gundobad then fled to Avignon, whilst Godigisel went to Vienne to secure Gundobad's city. Clovis negotiated a yearly tribute with Gundobad after besieging him for a while in Avignon. Gregory's story of revenge for the death of Clotilda's parents making no sense in the light of this outcome. Gregory states that the tribute and submission was brokered by one of Gundobad's counselors, Aridius. It may have suited Clovis though to make this agreement as Alaric by this time in 501/2 may have started retaking his Aquitanian possessions. This forced Clovis to abandon the Burgundian civil war quickly, albeit with a sack full of coin, leaving Godigisel exposed. The unfortunate Godigisel, now considered a traitor by his people, was then soon defeated and killed by Gundobad and a small detachment of Franks protecting him were captured and sent as prisoners to Alaric. Gregory states that the Arian Gundobad converted at this time to Catholicism in secret but this is questionable. We could speculate that if he did, he may have done so under the terms set by Clovis. Having learnt that exacting tribute was a profitable way forward Clovis marched into Aquitania threatening Alaric.

502-503. Meeting with Alaric on Loire.

On learning that Clovis had left Burgundy and was threatening a resumption of the war Alaric now called the meeting on the Loire, near Tours, sometime in 502/3 to negotiate terms of peace before Clovis turned on him again. Mathisen dates this to “just after 500”, Wolfram to 502⁷; Gregory in a similar vein doesn't give it a precise date⁸, but Bordeaux had returned to Visigothic possession by 505⁹. Both parties though got what they wanted; Clovis obtained Syagrius, if he had not been handed over before, tribute and his captured Franks. The Visigoths were probably given back territory taken by the Franks south of the Loire in the Aquitania provinces, such Poitiers, Bourges and Bordeaux. I would expect that Clovis retained the cities on the Loire in the provinces of the Lugdunensii. By 503 Clovis may also have had reports of the troubles brewing in the the Germanic provinces due to incursions of the and Alamanni and thought peace with the Visigoths was a wise move at this point. Next part seven.

Footnotes:

1 Mathisen, Ralph., The First Franco-Visigothic War and the Prelude to the Battle of Vouille, p.4

1a Translation by Daly - Clovis: How Barbaric, How Pagan? 1994 p.633

2 Collins, Roger.,Visigothic Spain 409 – 711, Wiley-Blackwell, 2008, p.33

3 See Mathisen, R.Ruricius of Limoges and Friends : A Collection of Letters from Visigothic Aquitania. Liverpool University Press, 1999 P.14, Volusianus wrote to Ruricius saying he was “stupefied with fear of the enemy”.

4 Gregory, Histories II.26, II.29. His successor Verus was also exiled in the build up to the battle of Vouille.

5 Ibid Mathisen The First Franco-Visigothic War and the Prelude to the Battle of Vouille , p.4

6 Ferreiro, Alberto, Editor. The Visigoths: Studies in Culture and Society, Mathisen, Sivan The kingdom of Toulouse, BRILL 2012, p.57

7 Ibid Mathisen and Shanzer P.6

8 Greg.Histories II.35 
9 Ibid Mathisen, The First Franco-Visigothic War and the Prelude to the Battle of Vouille, P.5

Clovis, Towards a New Chronology Part Three.

Chlodoveus Rex and the battle for Soissons and Marriage to Clotilda.

 By Dane R. Pestano ©2015

491. The First War – The Battle for Soissons

The context of the battle of Soissons was one of flux and change. Ravenna, Rome and Italy had fallen to the barbarians of Odoacer in 476 and by 491, the Gothic Magister Militum Theoderic had arrived from the east and engaged Odoacer in battles for power. The Burgundians under Gundobad and his brothers, noticing the troubles in Italy and Noricum, had in 490 invaded the northern Italian province of Liguria and laid waste to it. By now much of central and southern Gaul had fallen to the Visigoths under the expansive Euric, and they had even pushed up to the Loire and into the south of Belgica II supporting Syagrius. Alaric II, his son, was now King since 485 but he didn't appear to have the martial prowess of his father and was still like Clovis, a young king of twenty-two. Clovis and his kin, observing these wars and the collapse of Roman power decided the time was right at the age of eighteen to challenge the last bastion of Roman power in northern Gaul, the Gallo-Roman kingdom of Syagrius, and in so doing, defeat the hated Visigothic allies of Syagrius who had deposed his father and whom had caused the Franks so many problems.

Gregory is our only source for the battle against Syagrius for Soissons, but there is other indirect evidence which we will discuss when we consider the letter of Remigius to Clovis and look at other annalistic evidence. We are dependent on Gregory for a date of between 486 and 493 for the battle which unfortunately cannot be depended on. Gregory or an interpolator placing it in the fifth year after Clovis became King. Instead, when the rest of the sources are examined, it appears the battle took place soon after Clovis became king. Halsall was also sceptical of an early date for Soissons, pointing out that all of the Frankish kings mentioned at this time were still alive between 507 and 511, which would be twenty to thirty years later if the battle was in 486¹. If it were placed in around 491 however, it would make more sense in that regard, fifteen to twenty years. So lets place it in 491 when Clovis was eighteen years old. 493 though, five years after 488 could technically still work.

As discussed in part two, Syagrius had assumed power in Soissons and probably territory as far as the Seine and possibly beyond with Gallo-Roman and Visigothic help. This situation occurred when Childeric had taken his Federate Frankish army to Noricum at the request of Zeno or Odoacer in around 476. Possibly at this time the Gallo Romans had made a play for power in the West, suggesting that Syagrius himself may have done so. Without the support of Zeno though this fell through and instead Syagrius appealed to the Visigoths for support. The transition of Childeric leaving and Syagrius assuming power may have been a fairly peaceful one agreed amongst the Gallo Romans of northern Gaul. The remaining Franks, still being pagan, were not yet appreciated as politically or militarily strong enough to intervene having been subdued by the Visigoths on the Rhine, and nor were the Britons of far western Armorica since the demise of Riothamus. This choice of the Visigoths may seem strange when we consider that Sidonius and through him Gregory had painted a picture of Euric as a persecutor of Catholics in south-western Gaul in the 470's. We have seen though that the embassy to Zeno by the Romano Gallic party must have been before 485 when Odoacer and Zeno fell out. This leaves a predicament. The Gallo Romans were unlikely to choose the Visigoths as bed partners if they were currently persecuting Catholic bishops. Euric's initial persecutions must have been over by then and this would make sense as Clermont had been ceded to him in 475 in exchange for Provence being returned to the empire. So a date of 478, three years later is perfectly acceptable. Clovis became king in 488, by 491 he was ready to challenge for power. Gregory is quite clear that at this time Clovis did not posess a kingdom but states that Ragnachar his relative did based in Cambrai. This was the cause of the war then; as king, Clovis needed a kingdom.

 
In 491, now with a young son by a concubine, eighteen year old Clovis was in a strong enough position to challenge Syagrius having enrolled his kinsmen Chararic and Ragnachar (from Cambrai) to help in the battle as they approached Soissons. Clovis may have chosen his moment carefully. The young Alaric had mustered a Visigothic army in 490 and sent it in August to support Theoderic in Italy who had been besieged by the forces of Odoacer at Pavia. This may have led to a depletion of Visigothic units in the north supporting Siagrius. Or Clovis seeing the attention of Alaric on affairs in Italy realised this was a good time to strike. Placing the battle then early in 491 might make sense of the circumstances. Chararic refused to join the battle but this did not stop Clovis and Ragnachar obtaining victory. It's difficult to say if Gregory was just inventing this detail about Chararic not taking part to justify his later tale of Clovis killing him in revenge, but I would lean on the side of invention. Clovis would have needed every man at his side in this war as Syagrius happily met for battle with his Visigothic allies, meaning their armies must have been fairly evenly matched. Ragnachar though would most likley have commanded the field rather than the young Clovis.

The make-up of the armies facing each other would have been fairly similar. I would not expect both armies to have exceeded 1500-2000 men each. Syagrius would have been able to call on his Gallo Roman nobles to form cavalry units and other units of Visigoth cavalry were also likely. This would be backed up by both light and heavy infantry and foot archers. We know from reports in the 550's that Gothic cavalry was usually armed with a spear and sword, with archers being on foot protected by the cavalry. Light infantry would have worn leather and the heavier infantry mail. The Franks at this time would also have had light cavalry with spear and sword, backed up by similar infantry battalions carrying their francisca axe, swords and spears². Remember there were no stirrups at this time which would make fighting with heavy lancer cavalry very cumbersome so these cavalry units were basically infantry on horse with perhaps a few lancers. The advantage the Franks had was the impact of their initial infantry charge. The idea was to charge and throw their axes in advance of the final contact, splitting shields and bodies before the ferocious onslaught of their remaining weapons. They could take out the first two rows of any defending line with this tactic³. Archers would also have been employed by them in the rear to deter oncoming cavalry and to fire into the opposing ranks.

The battle may have been a similar one to the battle of Vouille which Gregory describes as a bit of a stand off at the beginning saying one side wanted to fight at a distance, which must have been the Visigoths and one side wanting to get stuck in. The Franks with their power, strength and lethal axes would want to get at the Romano-Visigothic line fairly quickly before enemy archers reduced their numbers. The battle at Vouille also included Gallo Romans who came from Clermont to support Alaric so it was indeed very similar. Both armies therefore would have formed up their battle squares and lines ready for combat. At some point, after the skirmishing, Ragnachar or Clovis gave the command to engage and the lines moved forward, the lethal Frankish charge breaking the Romano-Visigothic line.Once the line was broken the cavalry units would engage and outflank the enemy and take on the Roman-Visigothic cavalry and archers. With the infantry pouring through the middle the leadership of the Romans would be caught up in the mele and be in danger from both cavalry and infantry. Syagrius seeing the battle lost fled the field making his way south to the court of Alaric in Toulouse for protection. Historians have often wondered why he went to Alaric, but now it makes perfect sense when the archaeology explains that the Visigoths had supported his kingdom, as discussed in part two.

Syagrius flees the battle

Gregory states that Clovis was still a pagan at this point in time and that the Franks had despoiled many churches after their victory. Clovis though still appears to have been sympathetic to the Church as he tried to appropriate a captured vase to return it to the Bishop and was mortified when one of his men destroyed it. There is a hint here therefore, that Clovis was already respectful of the Church and their Bishops. Clovis had not inherited a kingdom from his father, the vita Genovefa asserting he was Rex Bellorum, “King by right of war”. But he now had a kingdom extending to the Seine. 

492. Marriage to Clotilda of the Burgundians

Gundobad, the Burgundian king and Patrician of the Roman empire had returned from Italy sometime in around 474 after killing the Roman emperor Anthemius and setting up a puppet emperor Glycerius in his place. The eastern empire however was not happy with this turn of events and sent Nepos to intervene, and he deposed Glycerius and became Emperor of the west himself in 474. Wood suggests it may have been this event that caused Gundobad to head back to Burgundy but whilst he was away his father Gundioc had died and Gundobads brothers, Chilperic, Gundomar and Godigisel, in the usual Germanic way, had been apportioned parts of the Burgundian kingdom so he may have returned for this reason also. The circumstances of the deaths of his brothers are unknown. We cannot believe the story Gregory of Tours tells us, that Chilperic and his wife were murdered by Gundobad, being thrown down a well, especially as Chilperic's wife Caretina did not die until around 506⁴. Also a letter from Avitus to Gundobad implies that Gundobad had mourned the deaths of his brothers⁵. It is most likely therefore that two of Gundobad's brothers died in the following war.

The Burgundians in 490 invaded northern Italy wreaking havoc in Liguria and taking thousands of captives back to Burgundy. Theoderic and Odoacer were at the time tied up fighting each other further south. But once Theoderic had killed Odoacer and taken control of Italy in 493 he sent envoys to Gundobad to negotiate the release and return of these captives. At this point Godigisel was described as the kings brother rather than as a king himself.⁶ The only brother we hear of at this time onwards is Godigisel. Therefore Gundomar and Chilperic probably died during the invasion of Liguria. On his death in 490 Chilperics daughters Clotilda and Sediluba sought the protection of Godigisel in Geneva according to Fredegar, writing in the seventh century. The reason for going there was probably because Godigisel was Catholic and Gundobad in Vienne, Arian.

Clotilda

Clovis, having defeated Syagrius and obtaining his kingdom in around 492, was now a powerful young King. Gundobad must have observed this rising power and realised that whoever took power in Italy would take him to task for invading and devastating Liguria. He had to make alliances and so offered the hand of his niece Clotilda in marriage to Clovis. We learn, again from Avitus, that Gundobad had meant to offer his own daughter in marriage to Clovis, but that she had died⁷. Having obtained a kingdom Clovis courted Clotilda in Soissons and then married her⁸. Clotilda encouraged him to be baptised a Catholic but after the quick death of their first baptised son he was in no mood to convert at that time⁹. The fact that he allowed his son to be baptised might offer a tentative suggestion that Clovis had converted to Christianity when he had married but had not chosen which form, Arian or Catholic. We will revisit this subject later. Clotilda is said to have been born in around 470, if so she was older than Clovis and this may be the reason that she was seen as a religous mentor of sorts to the young King.

Clovis was now ready to take on Visigothic possessions to make them hand over Syagrius. That will be in part four.

Footnotes :

1. Ibid Halsall 2010, p.172

2. Much of the information in this paragraph comes from Warfare in the Medieval World by Brian Todd Carey. Pen & Sword Military; Reprint edition 2011.

3. Ibid Carey 2011. At the battle of Casilinum/Volturnus in 554 the Frankish charge took out two rows of a three row Byzantine line made up of both light and heavy infantry. The Franks lost this battle however when heavy Greek cataphract cavalry entered the fray, not to immediately charge the frankish squares which would still have been very dangerous, but to circle and inflict a hail of arrows on them, forcing them back until their squares broke and they were then slaughtered by the cataphracts.

4. Ibid below Shanzer and wood, 2002, p.18

5. Shanzer and Wood, Avitus of Vienne, letters and selected prose ,Liverpool: University Press, 2002, p. 210.

6. Ennodius, Vita Epifani, 174; translated by Cook, The Life of Saint Epiphanius, p. 103.

7. Ibid Shanzer and Wood, 2002, Avitus of Vienne, p. 208

8. MacGeorge, Penny. Late Roman Warlords, Oxford University Press 2003, p.125. From the Liber Historia Francorum.  

9. Greg Histories II.29