Clovis - Towards a New Chronology Part Nine

Clovis, King of the Franks - King by right of war and defender of the faith.

Conclusions

In the introduction to this work I discussed the problems inherent with Chlodovean Chronology. As we have seen an effort was made to interpolate extra dating mechanisms into Gregory of Tour's Histories to extend Clovis' reign to 518. Take away these interpolations and we are left with Gregory's authentic dating statements, which were five years to the battle of Soissons, ten years to the battle against Thuringians and that he died five years after Vouille. Hence, there is no pattern and no lustra scheme. Just bare facts as Gregory knew them. He was in fact quite accurate. He placed Clovis' accession in the late 480's and by removing the seven year interpolations to Clovis' age and reign length we are able to see that Clovis began to reign in 488, age 15 and was therefore born in 473. His father though had died in around 481. Gregory's statements now make perfect sense when amalgamated with the letters from Remegius and the words of Procopius describing Clovis' exploits from 493 onwards against the Visigoths and Thuringians. The fifth year from 488 would place the battle of Soissons in 492. I have suggested 491/2. The tenth year would place the battle against the Thuringians to 498, I have suggested 499. With the interpolated seven years removed, we could now accurately report Clovis' age when he mounted his offensives, about eighteen onwards.

In the second part of this work I discussed the life of Clovis' father Childeric, placing Clovis' birth in the context of that life, meaning Clovis was probably born in Paris. I suggested that Childeric had occupied Paris from 466-476, marrying Basina sometime in this period and that Clovis was born in 473. We then looked at Childeric's exploits in Noricum Ripense when he was called by Odoacer to help with the frequent interruptions of the Alamanni into the province. Using coin evidence to support the dating, the battle against the Alamanni (as reported by Gregory) I have associated with the Battle of Batavis in around 478/9, which agrees with Gregory's sychronisms. Childeric was to return to Tournai and die shortly after this battle, possibly at the hands of Syagrius who at this time had made a play for power in the west in opposition to Odoacer. Zeno though had supported Odoacer forcing Syagrius to set up his rump state with support from the Visigoths, this statement supported by archaeology.

In part three of this work we moved onto Clovis' battle for Soissons against the Romans and Visigoths of Syagrius in 491/2. This answered the question that many scholars had asked. Why did Syagrius flee to the Visigoths when he was defeated? It was, I suggested from archaeological evidence, because the Visigoths had supported his rump state. Clovis had become king in 488 but he did not have a kingdom, so he could not acquire a wife. This was, I suggested, one of the reasons for Clovis' war against the last of the Romans. I followed this with Clovis' subsequent marriage to Clotilda, a Burgundian Catholic Princess in around 492 and at which time, I would suggest, Clovis also became a Christian, but had not chosen which form to be baptised as. The evidence for this came from the letter of Remigius, the words of Procopius and Clovis' allowance for his children to be baptised as Catholics by Clotilda.

In part four I discussed the first Visigothic war which was begun in 493 to force the Visigoths to hand over Syagrius. This at odds with Gregory's testimony that Syagrius was handed over immediately. If he had been then there would have been no obvious reason for Clovis to pursue a war. Clovis appears to have moved against the cities of the Loire, ousting the nominal Visigothic Lordship where it existed. Some independent cities held out against the Franks such as Nantes and western Armorica, forcing him to form an alliance with the Armorici. There was a hint here that Clovis was already Christian due to the words of Procopius who said the Armoricans preferred the Franks because they were Catholic rather than Arian. Procopius also confirmed the chronology by stating it was after the death of Odoacre in 493 that the Visigoths and Thuringians feared the power of the populous Franks, forcing them into marriage alliances with Theoderic, the new Princeps of Italy.

I also discussed here the first letter of Bishop Remigius to Clovis, congratulating him on his 'second military campaign' where he had started retaking the cities on the Loire. This letter has been much discussed but I place it early in his reign and it also confirms that Clovis had a 'first campaign' – i.e. the battle for Soissons. The battles and sieges along the Loire took us up to 495/6, with an episode at the siege of Nantes which may have persuaded Clovis to be baptised a Catholic.

In part five of the series I discussed the important Baptism of Clovis in 496 and in so doing dissected Danuta Shanzer's unchallenged 1998 work where she sought to move the baptism much later in time to 508. Overcoming Shanzer's arguments I suggested that the Princeps she had so much difficulty in finding from the letter of Avitus, was Theoderic the Great himself, the new King of Italy in 493. In 497 the new Emperor of the east Anastasius sent him the imperial regalia confirming him as Princeps of the Western Roman empire. This then made sense of the words of Bishop Avitus in his letter to Clovis in 497 congratulating him on his baptism and comparing him to Theoderic. Further evidence for the date of 496 came from the letter of Bishop Nicetius of Trier who wrote to Clotsinda, granddaughter of Clovis trying to get her to convert her husband, the Lombard King Alboin to Catholicism. He wrote that Clovis had been baptised before the Burgundian war of 500. There can be no doubt then that Clovis was baptised as a Catholic in 496.

In part six I discussed the problems Clovis faced due to taking time out to be baptised with his army and losing his sister Albofled. During this time Alaric's Visigoths had retaken Saints in 496. During his time of mourning in 497 the Visigoths continued their offensive and retook Tours as well. Following a consoling letter from Bishop Remigius Clovis was encouraged to keep his kingdom intact and so moved westward again and took Bordeaux in 498, suggesting he would have needed to re-acquire Saints on the way and possibly Tours.

Around 499 the Thuringians, probably encouraged by Theoderic, threw a spanner in the works and Clovis had to turn east again and defeat them. At the same time things were hotting up in Burgundy and Godigisel hearing of Clovis recent victories sought his help in overthrowing his brother Gundobad. Godigisel a Catholic and Clovis now a Catholic meant this was Clovis' first religious crusade, probably supported and encouraged by his wife. He marched into Burgundy in 500 bringing the Burgundians of the Arian Gundobad to their knees and tribute. Clovis though did not consolidate his victory in Burgundy and Gundobad was able to reclaim his kingdom and kill his brother Godigisel. Gundobad captured a group of Frankish warriors supporting Godigisel and sent them to Alaric. Why did Clovis not consolidate his victory? He seemed to have left in a hurry and this was probably because he got word that the Visigoths were about to move against his newly won possessions or had already. Seeing Clovis approaching meant Alaric called a meeting on the Loire to discuss terms of peace. He may still have had Syagrius and definitely had Clovis' captured Frankish warriors so had some bargaining chips. Clovis appears to have ceded all territory south of the Loire to Alaric and recovered his warriors and Syagrius, possibly now a Bishop, if he hadn't done so already and demanded tribute from Alaric which was agreed. This meant Clovis was now secure with his possessions on the Loire and the first Visigothic war came to an end in around 503.

In part seven I then discussed the problems brewing out east again. The Alamanni with the Thuringians subdued had become confident enough to start encroaching on Frankish territory in Germania Secunda in around 505. Answering a call for help from his Frankish allies on the Rhine, Clovis moved against the Alamanni in 506 in a series of battles culminating in the hard fought battle of Tolbiac, where Clovis may have called on his Catholic God to bring him victory, if we believe this anecdote. The Alamanni were slaughtered, their territory invaded and pillaged and their king killed. The remnants of the Alamanni fled to territory protected by Theoderic the Great so Clovis ordered his men to stop the chase and leave the remnants under the protection of Theoderic, who had brokered the peace.

Next I discussed the battle of Vouille. Clovis was not happy with some aspect of his treaty with Alaric. It may have been the debased coinage that Alaric was paying tribute with or it may have been some other matter that was minor according to Theoderic. In any event Clovis felt that the Visigoths needed seeing to once and for all. Theoderic called on the Thuringians, Heruli and Warni to counter the Frankish threat, but they were in no mood to help seeing how Clovis had recently destroyed the Alamanni. Clovis made a pact with Gundobad and the Burgundians and planned a two pronged attack into Visigothic territory. He would approach from the north and Gundobad from the south. The eastern Emperor Anastasius must have known of Clovis' plans as he sent a fleet of ships to harry the Italian coastal cities, tying up Theoderic's army in Italy so he was unable to help his son in law Alaric. The Franks and Burgundians moved swiftly against the Visigoths culminating with the great battle of Voille in 507 where Alaric was killed and the Visigoths finally defeated. Clovis had triumphed where all had failed in the past. He quickly moved onto Bordeaux and Toulouse by 508 and sent his son Theuderic to secure other cities for the Franks. Clovis then made Paris his capital.

Theoderic was not a happy man. Unable to aid his son in law and once Anastasius' ships had departed, he called to arms his Gothic army in 509 and invaded Provence and retook possessions that the Burgundians and Franks had taken. By 510/511 he had gained authority over Visigothic Spanish possessions as well. His plan was to deny Clovis direct access to the Mediterranean and in this he was successful. Clovis himself was to die shortly of unknown causes, either in his wars for consolidation against the other Frankish kings, possibly assassinated by Theoderic, or illness, we are not told.

Who was Clovis?

“He must have been one of the most remarkable, possibly even one of the most likeable Germanic monarchs who set medieval Europe on its way” Daley 1994.

So what vision of Clovis should we be looking at? The rough pagan barbarian King reluctantly giving into Christianity and Catholicism or a fairly well Romanised Frank intimately associated with Christianity from an early age? The evidence points to the latter but he was certainly also a great warrior.  Clovis, most likely born in Paris would have had Genevieve as well as Remigius as religious mentors. But his eastern roots were still there, being part Thuringian on his mothers side. It's quite possible that his mother was an Arian Christian as the Thuringians had been converted to a degree in the early fifth century. This may explain why one of Clovis' sisters had already become Arian Christian, rather than through Clovis' own association with Christianity from around 492 onward as is usually assumed. This would also explain his seemingly early sympathy for Church property such as the Vase of Soissons before he had become Christian himself. It might also explain his own knowledge of Christian ideas and ideals. William Daley in his 1994 work presented a revisionist portrayal of Clovis utilising the evidence that showed that at every turn Clovis seemed to be clearly knowledgeable about Christianity from an early period. The great historian Bury had also suggested something similar, that Clovis was already a Christian before the first letter of Remigius had been written to him in around 493.  All letters from churchmen concerning Clovis, whether written to him or by him to them have been proven by Daley to show that Clovis was clearly aware of Christian teachings and tenets. He had even allowed his first born son by Clotilda to be baptised. Daley writes :

“Both Remigius and Avitus assumed that Clovis could comprehend religious ideas beyond the level of simple catechesis. In writing to him Avitus, and more especially Remigius, employed advanced scriptural concepts without feeling it necessary to explain them. Clovis's one extant letter cites Scripture relevantly. He precisely adapted the episcopal apostolium as a documentary means to validate the release of prisoners of war. His profound devotion to St. Genevieve, alongside what must have been permission for his sister, Albofled, to become a consecrated virgin, explains the otherwise surprising respect for the ministry of such women within the church expressed in his one surviving letter. He often commuted sentences of civil offenders and even criminals out of respect for the religious values of Genevieve. After the Aquitainian campaign he showed exceptional generosity about releasing prisoners of war. His motives for summoning the Council of Orleans of 511 seem to have included religious as well as personal and political considerations. He approved its canons, which enlarged the rights of criminals and slaves. One of its most specific canons voices his particular insistence that none of his gifts to the church be diverted from sustaining "repairs of churches, alms for priests and the poor, or the redemption of captives." Overall, his religious outlook reflected acceptance of the insistent teaching of Gallo-Roman Catholicism that divine grace and human good works interact profoundly in the economy of personal salvation. Like canon 5 of Orleans I, but in stone, his church at Paris tells us that he understood the value articulated by Genevieve's biographer epitomizing the force that energized her life: "For she knew the truth of the prophet's saying that the person who gives to the poor honors God" (c. 40).”

 If Clovis hadn't converted to Christianity as I suggest in 492 on marriage to Clotilda then the answer would be that his knowledge and association with Christianity came from his mother. 

By the time Clovis was three years old his father had left Paris to seek his fortune defending Noricum Ripense with his Frankish cavalry at the call of Odoacer. With Childeric away the Gallic party under Syagrius began to assert its right to rule. After the defeat of the Alamanni Childeric appears to have returned home to counter the threat but was defeated and killed when Clovis was just eight years old, probably by Syagrius and his Visigothic allies. Basina would have taken the young children off to Tornai to safety, deep within Frankish territory. For the next few years Clovis would have been in training both physically and mentally for his future role as king. That day came in 488 at the age of fifteen where he would traditionally have been raised upon a shield by his men. He cemented his kingship by producing a son by the next year through a concubine, naming him Theoderic. 

At this age though Clovis was in no place to challenge Syagrius. He would need to spend his father's money wisely in building an army and buying or gaining support from his Frankish relatives. By eighteen he was now old enough to lead his first campaign and gain revenge for his fathers displacement and death. Either Clovis was very lucky with his timing or he had a very astute mind, even from this young an age for the timing was perfect to make his challenge to gain himself a kingdom which came by 491/2 and the rest has been discussed above.

Underlying Clovis' devotion to the Catholic faith was his success in war. He was a king by right of war. Like an Alexander, he moved swiftly and decisively to counter all threats, seemingly winning most major battles until Theoderic was able to counter the Frankish threat in the south. Gregory's portrayal of a ruthless Clovis taking on his Frankish relatives to consolidate his empire seems wide of the mark unless he made this decision on religious grounds to bring the eastern Franks into the Catholic fold. I really doubt though that Clovis had the time to actually do this until the very end of his life and so for this reason I think it was his son, the more ruthless Theuderic who consolidated the Germanic provinces under his and his brothers rule. There's a good chance that this is how Clovis died, early on in some battlefield fighting pagans alongside his son. For Clovis, this would have been a glorious way to die, leading from the front, fighting with his men the Frankish way, unafraid of death. He had nearly come to his end earlier at the battle of Vouille. This time he was not so lucky. Clovis was still very young when he died, just thirty-eight years of age. Theoderic would still consider him a juvenis and this is perhaps why he didn't enter the contemporary chronicle record in the way others did. The first great Catholic king of Gaul had died but in so doing had created a new identity for combined peoples who would conquer most of northern Europe and become the country we now know as France. His legacy has lasted over one thousand five hundred years.

Suggested Chronology

Event	Place	Year
Birth of Childeric	Belgica II	435
Childeric King	Belgica II	452
Childeric Federate leader	Begica II	457
Childeric Paris	Paris	466-476
Childeric Marries Basina	Paris	470?
Birth of Clovis	Paris	473
Childeric in Noricum - Alamanni	Noricum	476-480
Death of Childeric	Tornai	482
Accession of Clovis	Tornai	488
Defeat of Syagrius	Soissons	491
Marriage to Clotilda	Soissons	492
Start of First Visigoth war.	Lugdunensis Saintes	493-495
Treaty with Armoricans	Nantes	496
Baptism of Clovis	Reims	496
Death of Albofled his sister	Paris?	497
First Visigothic war continues	Bordeaux	498
Defeat of Thuringians	Germania II	499
Burgundian civil war	Burgundy	500 - 502
Meeting with Alaric	Tours	503
Battle of Tolbiac	Germania II	506
Battle of Vouillé, Poitiers, Albi, Rodez, Clermont.	Poitiers	507
Toulouse, Anguoeleme Honorary Consulship	Tours	508
Paris Capital	Paris	508
Loss of southern Gaul.	Southern Gaul	509-510
Rex Salica	Paris	510
Council of Orleans	Orleans	511
Death of Clovis	Paris	511
Abbot Maxentius, Quintianus	Rodez /Clermont	512

Bibliography

Arnold, J.J. Theoderic, the Goths, and the Restoration of the Roman Empire , ProQuest, UMI Dissertation Publishing 2011
Bachrach, B. S. Merovingian Military Organization, 481-751, Minnesota University Press 1972
Bunson, M, M, S.Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints Our Sunday Visitor Inc.,U.S.; Revised edition,2003
Carey, Brain T. Warfare in the Medieval World , Pen & Sword Military; 2011
Collins, R, Visigothic Spain 409 – 711, Wiley Blackwell, 2008.
Chronicles of Marius of Avrenches. http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/historiens/marius/chroniques.htm#_ftn32
Cusack, C. M. Conversion Among the Germanic Peoples, Bloomsbury 1998

The Rise of Christianity in Northern Europe, 300-1000, Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.; 1999

Daly, William M., Clovis: How Barbaric, How Pagan?, Speculum, Vol. 69.3 1994, pp 619-644
Delgado, N. L. The Grand Testamentum of Remigius of Reims: Its Authenticity, Juridical Acta, Proquest , 2008
Dunn, M. Belief and Religion in Barbarian Europe c. 350-700 , Medieval and Renaissance Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2013
Eugippius, The Life of St. Severinus (1914) pp. 13- 113. English translation. Alamanni: XIX, XVII, XIX, XXV, XXXI, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/severinus_02_text.htm#66,
Ferreiro, A. Editor, The Visigoths: Studies in Culture and Society, BRILL, 2012
Fisher a., Wood, I. Cultural Transfer in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, 400-800 AD, Bloomsbury Academic, 2014
Fletcher, Richard. The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity University of California Press; First Edition edition, 1999, P.103
Fries-Knoblach, Janine. Steuer, Heiko. Hines, John. The Baiuvarii and Thuringi: An Ethnographic Perspective Boydell Press, 2014, Ch.8, Max Martin, Ethnic Identities as Constructions of Archaeology(?) The Case of the Thuringi, p.253
Geary, P. J. Readings in Medieval History: Theodosian Code, University of Toronto Press 2010
Gianfreda, F., Mastronuzzi, G., Sanso P., Impact of historical tsunamis on a sandy coastal barrier: an example from the northern Gargano coast, southern Italy, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (2001) 1: 213–219
Goffart, W. Barbarian Tides: The Migration Age and the Later Roman Empire, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.
Halfond, G. I. Archaeology of Frankish Church Councils, AD 511-768, BRILL, 2012
Halsall, G. Cemeteries and Society in Merovingian Gaul: Selected Studies in History and Archaeology, 1992-2009 (Brill's Series on the Early Middle Ages) 2010
Hefele, C. J. A History of the Councils of the Church: from the Original Documents, General books 2002
Hen, Y. Culture and Religion in Merovingian Gaul, A.D.481-751 (Cultures, Beliefs & Traditions: Mediaeval & Early Modern Peoples) Brill 1995
Hillgarth,J. N. Christianity and Paganism, 350-750: The Conversion of Western Europe, University of Pennsylvania Press; Rev. Ed edition 1985
Johnson, Gary. The chronicles of Spain: a discussion of some trends in Spanish history found in the chronicles of Hydatius of Lemica, John of Biclaro, Isidore of Seville, and the Chronicle of Zaragoza, Paper, 1993
Kim, H.J. The Huns, Rome and the Birth of Europe, Cambridge University Press, 2013
Klingshirn, W. E. Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul Catholic University of America, 2004
Lynch, Joseph H. Christianizing Kinship: Ritual Sponsorship in Anglo-Saxon England,Cornell University Press, 1998
MacGeorge, P. Late Roman Warlords, Oxford University Press, 2002.
Dunn, Maralyn., Belief and Religion in Barbarian Europe c. 350-700, Continuum Publishing, 2013
Mathisen-Shanzer, The First Franco-Visigothic War and the Prelude to the Battle of Vouillé , Battle of Vouillé 2012, 3-10

Vouillé, Voulon, and the Location of the Campus Vogladensis, Battle of Vouillé (Brill, 2012), 43-62

Clovis, Anastasius, and Political Status in 508, Battle of Vouillé ,Brill, 2012, 79-110

The Letters of Ruricius of Limoges and the Passage from Roman to Frankish Gaul, Society and Culture ,Ashgate, 2001, 101-115.

The Battle of Vouillé, 507 CE: Where France Began, Millennium Studien/Millennium Studies, Walter de Gruyter Inc 2012

Mathisen, R. W. Ruricius of Limoges and Friends : A Collection of Letters from Visigothic Aquitania. Ruricius (évêque de Limoges.) Liverpool University Press 1999
Moore, M. E. A Sacred Kingdom: Bishops and the Rise of Frankish Kingship, 300-850 The Catholic University of America Press, 2011
Murray, A. C. (editor), From Roman to Merovingian Gaul: A Reader, University of Toronto Press 2008

( Editor) After Rome's Fall: Narrators and Sources of Early Medieval History University of Toronto Press 1998

Raymond Davis, The Book of Pontiffs (Liber Pontificalis): The Ancient Biographies of the First Ninety Roman Bishops to AD 715 (Translated Texts for Historians, Liverpool University Press; 2nd Revised edition edition 2000
Reynolds Robert L. and Lopez, Robert S. Odoacer: German or Hun? The American Historical Review, Vol. 52, No. 1 (Oct., 1946), pp. 36-53
Rollason, D. Early Medieval Europe 300-1050: The Birth of Western Society, Routledge; 2012
Shanzer, D. R. Dating the Baptism of Clovis: The Bishop of Vienne vs. the Bishop of Tours. Early Medieval Europe 7, 1998: 29 – 57.
Shanzer, D., Wood, I. Avitus of Vienne: Selected Letters and Prose: Letters and Selected Prose (Translated Texts for Historians), Liverpool University Press (1 April 2002)
Tadgel, C. The West: From the Advent of Christendom to the Eve of Reformation, Routledge, 2009
Taayke, Ernst, Editor. Essays on the Early Franks, Barkhuis, 2003
Thompson, E.A. Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire,University of Wisconsin Press; 2002
Tours, G. Histories in Ten Books http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.asp#book2
Viator. Medieval and Renaissance Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, University of California Press 1977
Vievsseux A. The History of Switzerland from the Irruption of the Barbarians to the Present Time. Society for Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, London 1840
Wolfram, H., Dunlap, T. History of the Goths, University of California Press; Reprint edition 1992
Wood, I. N. The Merovingian Kingdoms, 450 – 751. Routledge; 1994

Gregory of Tours and Clovis. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire. Tome 63 fasc. 2, 1985. Histoire médiévale, moderne et contemporaine — Middeleeuwse, moderne en hedendaagse geschiedenis. pp. 249-272

Clovis, Towards a New Chronology, Part Four

Chlodoveus Rex Christianus - First Visigothic war and Letter from Remigius. 

By Dane R. Pestano ©2015. Hover cursor over reference numbers for reference text.

493. The start of the first Franco-Visigothic war. 

Traditionally historians have thought that Clovis had turned eastwards at this time to take on the Thuringians and perhaps Alamanni, as indicated by Gregory¹.The Alamanni were not to be a problem until 506 when they were probably stirred up by Theoderic, who was trying to prevent Clovis taking on Alaric. In fact the evidence at this time, in 493, points the other way, to Clovis taking back his fathers possessions in the provinces of the Tractus Armoricanus. He turned westwards to the Loire. MacGeorge also pointed out these first and secondary wars of Clovis, first to the Seine, then to the Loire, as they are mentioned in the eighth century Liber Historia Francorum in a way independent from Gregory's testimony. The LHF states that “ Also at that time Clovis enlarged his kingdom, extending it as far as the Seine. At a later time he occupied as far as the river Loire”². This second war, from 493, the first Franco-Visigothic war would drag on for many years. There is also some support from Procopius writing in around 550 for the campaigns of Clovis from 493 onwards, where he states that it was after the death of Odoacer (493) that the Thuringians and Visigoths feared the power of the populous Franks^2a. Procopius also tells us that to counter this growing threat both peoples intermarried with the Goths of Theoderic, probably in around 495. Alaric marrying a daughter of Theoderic himself. In this way they hoped to have the powerful Theoderic on their side^2b. Clovis, not to be left out of these political shenanigans offered his sister to Theoderic in marriage which was accepted so alleviating immediate concerns of retribution from Theoderic.Theoderic however had only come to power in 493 and had more pressing matters than what was happening in northern Gaul at this time and so by the time he took interest Clovis had already acquired his kingdom and pushed on to the Loire and beyond. Placing Clovis' battle against the Thuringians has proven to be difficult. Gregory suggests ten years after Clovis took power, Procopius suggests after 500, but it would appear shortly before 500 would be the possible place.

Alaric had become king of the Visigoths in around 485 on the death of his father Euric. According to the events related by Gregory, Clovis, after the battle of Soissons, threatened Alaric with war and Alaric then handed over Syagrius to Clovis who then had him executed. Gregory implies that this all occurred in a fairly short period of time but there is no contemporary record that states that Syagrius was handed over immediately, as pointed out by Woolfram, who also makes the point that Clovis' threat of war would have been ineffectual unless the Franks and Goths were actual neighbours³. In fact the Franks started a war in Aquitanian territory soon afterwards implying that Clovis had already secured areas of the Tractus Armoricanus and that Syagrius had not as yet been handed over. Ralph Mathisen's paper on the subject, The First Franco-Visigothic War and the Prelude to the Battle of Vouillé (2012), is a good source for the events of this time. The Franks had taken Saintes in 494⁴, a port city one hundred miles north of Bordeaux and many Goths had fled to Spain. Some partial evidence for this comes from the Chronicle of Saragossa that notes that in 494 “the Goths entered Spain”⁵. To have taken Saintes by 494 implies that Clovis by this time, since the defeat of Syagrius in 491, had brought some or all of the cities along the Loire back into Frankish hands. Probably those within Lugdunensis IV Senonae at least or perhaps the whole of the Tractus Armoricanus⁶ (excluding the far west of Lugdunensis III). It appears some cities held out though, Verdun in the east beyond the Seine refused the Franks⁷, as did the Gallic population of Nantes in the west. Clovis appear to have installed his relatives into positions of power in these cities; Gregory of Tours informing us for instance, that Rignomer was given command of Le Mans (II.42).

Clovis had failed to take Nantes during these campaigns, after a long siege of sixty days where Chilo, one of his generals, when faced with an apparition of St. Similianus, fled with his army. Chilo was described as “not yet reborn by water and the Holy spirit" This last statement, as MacGeorge points out (p.130), strongly suggests the barbarian commander and army was Frankish and therefore dated before 496. With a name like Chilo Mathieson cleverly suggests this could have been Clovis himself ⁸.

Only one other general of Clovis is mentioned, in the Liber Francorum, and his name was Aurelianus⁹, described as a count. He was granted some land south of the Seine by Clovis for his services. It is clear then that Clovis, and his family and generals, with portions of the army, attempted to secure the cities along the Loire.

Frankish expansion under Clovis 491 - 495

This failure to take Nantes in 494/5 and enter western Armorica led to what is assumed to be a treaty and alliance between the two peoples. Procopius, mentions a people living adjacent to the Franks called the Arborychi^9a (who must be the Armoricans and Britons of Lugdunensis III) who were Catholic Christian^9b and whom Clovis was unable to conquer. Since Clovis was now sympathetic to Catholics, his wife being one, the Franks were preferable to the Arian Visigoths¹⁰. Procopius suggests the Franks were also Christian at this time which may be another hint that Clovis was already himself Christian, which will be dealt with below. With the provinces of the Lugdunensii and the Tractus Armoricanus secure he was able to move southwards, probably with help from this alliance. It was on the occasion of this second war securing these territories and crossing the Loire that Remigius then wrote to Clovis. The letter could not have been after the battle for Soissons as Remigius would not then have needed to hear of a 'rumour' of war. That battle was in his own back yard. He would have had first hand experience of it and the Frankish pillaging.

493-494. The letter of Remigius to Clovis on his second military campaign.

This letter has generally been dated to the beginning of the reign of Clovis or after the victory over Syagrius, where Clovis is thought to have obtained command of Belgica II. Many of these assumptions appear to be incorrect¹¹ although it was undoubtedly early in his career as king. Not very early though. MacGeorge points out that Remigius does not offer his condolences on the death of Childeric¹² suggesting it was a few years into his reign or as I have suggested, Clovis was still a minor when childeric died. The first line of the letter has caused problems of interpretation due it's slightly corrupt form. Bury describes the problem in one of his lectures on Clovis :

“As they stand in the MSS. they are extremely obscure and indeed obviously corrupt. “Rumor ad nos magnum pervenit administrationem vos secundum bellice suscepisse”. `Rumor magnum'—I am not responsible for the gender, and I suspect neither was Remigius, but what the bishop meant was: "An important piece of tidings has reached us that you have undertaken the administration of"—something. `Secundum bellice' makes nonsense. The usual resort has been to insert rei after bellice, and the meaning is supposed to be "that you have undertaken for the second time the administration of military affairs". Such a statement is unintelligible in reference to Clovis. The words `secundum bellice` have been brilliantly emended by Bethmanns into `Secunde Belgice`, "that you have undertaken the administration of the Second Belgica"^12a

The original Latin¹³ actually reads “Rumor ad nos magnos pervenit administrationem vos secundam rei bellicae suscepisse.” The first part causes no problems “ important word has come to us..” The second part though is where the confusion lies, "that you have undertaken the administration of the Second Belgica"¹⁴ As Bury points out, the sentence has been corrupted by the copying during a lengthy period, but no variant manuscript carries the word Belgice or the sense of provincia, so we must reject Bethmanns amendment of Belgice. The Latin rei bellicae is in fact a genitive form of res bellica, a common phrase meaning war/military action. The meaning therefore is as Bury mentioned, but then too quickly dismissed because of the misunderstanding of the context, “that you have undertaken for the second time the administration of military affairs” Here, 'for the second time' would require a small emendation to secundum, rather than secundam, but time is superfluous so can be discarded anyway. Tome Duxieme as long ago as the eighteenth century had translated the same : “A great news came to me; you have undertaken a second military expedition, "or" you have taken up Arms for the second time"¹⁵. Therefore the whole first line in fact reads :

“Important word has come to us, that you have undertaken a second military campaign.”

This does no harm to the meaning or sense of the words. Clovis fought many wars. This appears to relate to his second campaign, which, as we have seen above, refers to the immediate Visigothic war following the flight of Syagrius. This letter is also indirect evidence of a first war, which must have been the one to take Soissons. As this letter is dated to the beginning of Clovis' reign, and as we now see, on the occasion of his attacks on the Visigoths from 493 onwards, then the beginning of his reign cannot have been twelve years previously in 481/82. The Letter therefore, is also indirect evidence that his reign must have began much closer in time, I suggest 488. Clovis had now gained control of the province of Lugduneis IV or all of the Tractus Armoricanus excluding western Armorica.

In fact this all makes perfect sense when we examine the second line which states “ “There is nothing new in that you now begin to be what your parents always were”. It is therefore not just that his parents or ancestors had a kingdom in Belgica II; it was also because Childeric, his father, had defeated the Visigoths at Orleans with Aegideus back in 463 and had had extended his influence to the Seine and Paris. Clovis was now in the same league; he had retaken Soissons and pushed back the Visigoths. We must therefore dispense with the previous assumptions that Clovis acquired the command of Belgica II following his victory over Syagrius, for which there was frankly, no evidence. 

A 'provincia' is mentioned later in the letter but did not always mean 'province', especially by the sixth century. In this context it could mean `charge' or 'office'. With so many other kings in place in what was Belgica II, including Ragnachar, Rignomer and Chararic, it is highly unlikely Clovis commanded that region. We know this is correct as he later had to remove them all. The attendees at the Council of Orleans also show that he did not have overall authority there even in 511. If we were to use 'province' as the meaning it would be the Tractus as discussed above and below. Here then is a corrected translation of the full letter:

“Important word has come to us that you have undertaken a second military campaign. There is nothing new in that you now begin to be what your parents always were. First of all, you should act so that God’s Judgement may not abandon you and that your merits should maintain you at the height where you have arrived by your humility. For, as the proverb says, man’s acts are judged. You ought to associate with yourself counsellors who are able to do honour to your reputation. Your deeds should be chaste and honest. You should defer to your bishops and always have recourse to their advice. If you are on good terms with them your charge (provincia) will be better able to stand firm. Encourage your people, relieve the afflicted, protect widows, nourish orphans, so shine forth that all may love and fear you. May justice proceed from your mouth. Ask nothing of the poor or of strangers, do not allow yourself to receive gifts from them. Let your tribunal be open to all men, so that no man may leave it with the sorrow [of not having been heard]. You possess the riches your father left you. Use them to ransom captives and free them from servitude. If someone is admitted to your presence let him not feel he is a stranger. Amuse yourself with young men, deliberate with the old. If you wish to reign, show yourself worthy to do so” (most of translation from Geary, 1998: 129)

This letter raises some other issues. Clovis appears well acculturated to Christianity. The mention of 'your Bishops' and the warning that “God might abandon you” are strange things to say to a heathen King. Daly, seeing these issues comments:

“..but reference to "your bishops" several years before Clovis's baptism can be surprising. If Remigius sees the role of the bishops as consultative, he deems Christian moral values to be normative for the young king. He commends him for humility, a Christian virtue, and assumes that he regards the Lord as a rewarding judge. In the spirit of the pre-Augustinian emphasis of the Gallo-Roman church on meriting God's reward through good works, he is enjoining Clovis to heed the basic message of the Last Judgement parable from Matthew's Gospel. He will be judged by the Lord, who will weigh his deeds, particularly those that show concern for the weak, the unfortunate, and strangers. Only the familiar Christian identification in Matthew 25.31-46 of these least of the Lord's brethren with Jesus is left out. All in all, Remigius seems to take for granted that the youthful king has some comprehension of and respect for, and perhaps even some degree of acceptance of, the beliefs and practices of his Gallo-Roman subjects”¹⁶

Wood argues that this shows Clovis may already have been an Arian Christian and James conceded the possibility, but this would be impossible as he would not have been able to be baptised again as a Catholic once an Arian, a procedure that had been banned at the Council of Arles in 314.¹⁷ Barlow argued that Arianism was unlikely as the Bishops of Frankia would then have used Clovis as an exemplem in their campaign against Arianism, which they did not^17a. However Alaric II has shown us that being an Arian Christian did not exclude good relations with Catholic Bishops. He was actively courting them shortly before his death at the Council of Agde in 506. Bury suggested that Clovis may already have converted to Catholicism by the time of the letter. Wood's other argument that Clovis may have been an Arian Catechumen fails when we consider that Avitus states that Clovis was under no instruction as discussed below.

The letter, from a Catholic Bishop to his king, would suggest that in reality Clovis was already Christian. There can be only one explanation for all of this; on marrying Clotilda she had insisted that he become Christian. He would however not commit to baptism as Catholic or Arian until he had considered the matter further; a very diplomatic way to solve the problem of a pagan king marrying a Catholic princess. Clovis would have been well aware of Catholic values having grown up in northern Gaul, under the influence of Genevieve and Remigius so the idea of converting to Christianity to engender the marriage could have been a fairly easy decision. However, most Germanic kings were of the Arian persuasion of Christianity. It would have been a natural choice for a young king to emulate the greatness of his elders, such as Gundobad and especially Theoderic, who had just defeated Odoacer. Avitus hints that Clovis had made the choice himself, i.e. that he was not under any particular instruction as a true catechumen should be¹⁸.

It appears unique that Clovis could convert to Christianity but then delay the choice of faith, awaiting perhaps a baptism of blood. Was this slightly heretical? Shanzer hints as much suggesting that Avitus, when writing to Clovis after his baptism, saw Clovis previously as heretical, but at the same time as not pagan, so already Christian, she sums up: 

“ Avitus would not have spoken of populi paganorum to Clovis, had he thought of Clovis himself as a recent or current member of that group....he has no need to pussy foot around paganism, because he does not think of Clovis as pagan. Instead he expends his linguistic efforts in being politically correct in his terminology related to heresy, for in his eyes, Clovis was an all too recent heretic”19

This process of converting and then baptising later was not without precedent. Constantine the Great had converted to Christianity some twenty years before he was actually baptised, shortly before his death. It seems that Clovis may have been tempted away from his choice over the years, as he approached the time he chose to be baptised, due to the schisms within the Catholic church, which we will discuss later. I can only repeat Daly's summing up " All in all, Remigius seems to take for granted that the youthful king has some comprehension of and respect for, and perhaps even some degree of acceptance of, the beliefs and practices of his Gallo-Roman subjects". Indeed, Clovis was therefore already Christian at the time of this letter. In support of this is the fact that Clovis' sisters may already have been Christian as well. Although at least two had chosen Arianism. Then as Daly points out there are the close associations of Childeric and Clovis with Saint Genevieve, as well as Remigius as shown from this letter. Daly's revisionist portrayal of Clovis as thoroughly Romanised and intimately acquainted with Christianity must therefore be supported in my view.

The mention in this letter of Clovis' fathers riches seems to imply that the letter must have been written within the early years of his reign when he was a young man. He would be around nineteen at this time. Then there is the strange statement, that if he “wishes to reign, he should show himself worthy to do so”. Very bold talk from a Bishop to a heathen king, but perhaps not so bold to a young Christian king. 

Clovis had reclaimed his birthright, Soissons, and secondly he had defeated the Visigoths and freed some of their cities from the yolk of Arianism. Soissons may even have been where he was born. Gregory also confirms that Clovis had authority over Soissons when describing the attack on Syagrius, claiming that the region properly belonged to Clovis “And Clovis came against him with Ragnachar, his kinsman, because he used to possess the kingdom”²⁰. The wording though is a little ambiguous and it might even be Ragnachar that may have held Soissons. However Clovis has always been associated with Soissons unlike Ragnachar who in 511 was still placed in Cambrai, so it may be that it was Childeric that held it in the past and so it was rightly Clovis'. Wood suggested that Clovis had lost it at the time Childeric died. This may not be out of the question if Clovis was only eight years old when Childeric died. He would have been in no position to challenge Syagrius. In part three I dated the fall of Soissons to Syagrius to 477-484 which would happily agree with Woods idea of it happening when Childeric died. If Clovis was a minor when Childeric died this may go some way to explain the confusion of his reign length.

I have dated this letter to 493-494 because Clovis began his first campaign against the Visigoths in 493/4 and this meant he would have to have removed some Visigothic influence along the Loire before heading for Saintes or Bordeaux. There is a suggestion therefore that Orleans may have admitted the Franks as he pushed along the Loire, which again may satisfy the second line of the letter. The territory referred to in the letter therefore was not Belgica II but more likely the Tractus Armoricanus. (probably at least Lugdunensis IV Senona), the very places his father Childeric had operated in. These were all well represented at the Council of Orleans in 511, even far western Armorica following their alliance.

In Gregory's corrupted ordering of events, Clovis would next have fought the Alamanni but we know the Alamannic battle took place only a year or so before Vouillé due to a letter written by Cassiodorus on behalf of Theoderic. Shanzer, Mathisen and Wood still adhering to the thoughts of Gregory²¹ therefore place the baptism after the Battle of Tolbiac in 506. By removing this errant association of baptism after Tolbiac we can in fact place the baptism in it's correct place. Daly also appears to support removing this association in his brilliant summing up :

“But whether he chose to be baptised early or late, his rapport with Catholic orthodoxy as it developed over three decades exhibits striking religious dimensions, both external and internal. Childeric's friendly relations with St. Genevieve and Remigius's advice to the young king imply that he already understood, and possibly half accepted, the simpler elements of the Christian economy of personal salvation. His early diplomacy introduced Arianism directly into his family and likely occasioned his allegedly perceptive investigation of its teachings, but he did not become an Arian. Whatever may have been his reasons for finally preferring Catholicism, they seem far removed from the supercilious lectures attributed to Clotild or from testing her god's power in the midst of battle, though her quiet personal example and influence must have complemented Genevieve's"²²

With this association removed we can proceed to Clovis' baptism in part five.

Footnotes:

1 Greg Histories II.27

2 Ibid MacGeorge, Late Roman Warlords, 2006, p.129

2a  "But after the fall of Odoacer, the Thuringians and the Visigoths began to fear the power of the Germans, which was now growing greater (for their country had become exceedingly populous and they were forcing into subjection without any concealment those who from time to time came in their way)" http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20298/20298-h/20298-h.htm

2b Procopius: “And since Theoderic wished to attach these peoples to himself, he did not refuse to intermarry with them. Accordingly he betrothed to Alaric the younger, who was then leader of the Visigoths, his own unmarried daughter Theodichusa, and to Hermenefridus, the ruler of the Thuringians, Amalaberga, the daughter of his sister Amalafrida. As a result of this the Franks refrained from violence against these peoples through fear of Theoderic, but they began a war against the Burgundians”

3 Ibid Woolfram 1992 p.190

4 Saintes was retaken by Alaric in 496 showing it had already been lost. Chronicle of Saragossa.

5 Collins, Roger.,Visigothic Spain 409 – 711, Wiley-Blackwell, 2008, p.35

6 As northern Gaul above the Loire to the Seine was called in the late empire.

7 Ibid MacGeorge 2003, p.129

8 Ibid MacGeorge 2003, p.130 Another natural event probably marks the apparition of St Similianus, perhaps a partial eclipse. There is a suspicion that 'Chilo' may actually have been Clovis himself,  suggesting that this event could have triggered his visit to Tours and subsequent Baptism. You just have to say Chlo out loud to see how easily this could happen. The name was probably shortened from Chloio - Chlodoveo.

9 Some medieval bright spark put two and two together and made Count Aurelianus the Dux Ambrosius Aurelianus of Gildas in the Irish version of Historia Britonum, the Lebhor Bretnach, where Ambrosius is described as a king of the Franks.

9a  Procopius : http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20298/20298-h/20298-h.htm "But as time went on, the Visigoths forced their way into the Roman empire and seized all Spain and the portion of Gaul lying beyond the Rhone River and made them subject and tributary to themselves. By that time it so happened that the Arborychi had become soldiers of the Romans. And the Germans, wishing to make this people subject to themselves, since their territory adjoined their own and they had changed the government under which they had lived from of old, began to plunder their land and, being eager to make war, marched against them with their whole people. But the Arborychi proved their valour and loyalty to the Romans and shewed themselves brave men in this war, and since the Germans were not able to overcome them by force, they wished to win them over and make the two peoples kin by intermarriage. This suggestion the Arborychi received not at all unwillingly; for both, as it happened, were Christians. And in this way they were united into one people, and came to have great power"

9b. Procopius tells us that frontier Roman soldiers chose the Germans and Arborychi to join with because they were not Arian. Suggesting the Arborychi were therefore Catholic. Also suggesting Clovis was already Christian.

10 Ibid Mathisen 1999 p.14. Bishops from Vannes and Nantes attended the Council of Orleans in 511. Some have suggested that the Arborychi were the Auvernians but this is unlikely as they were to fight against Clovis at Vouille. They were not undefeated either. Clermont was taken in 507 by Theuderic, Clovis' son. Procopius is clearly talking about nations with these words, not a minor civitatis like the Auvergne.

11 MacGeorge 2003, p.128, suggests the evidence is against Clovis obtaining all of Belgica II as James proposes.

12 See MacGeorge 2003 p.127

12a Bury, John Bagnell. The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians Lecture 13 - The Reign of Clovis 1923

13 Domino insigni et meritis magnifico Clodoveo regi, Remigius episcopus. Rumor ad nos magnus pervenit administrationem vos secundam rei bellicae suscepisse. Non est novum ut coeperis esse sicut parentes tui semper fuerunt. Hoc in primis agendum, ut Domini iudicium a te non vacillet, ubi tui meriti, qui per industriam humilitatis tuae ad summum culminis pervenit: quia, quod vulgus dicitur, ex fine (1157D) actus hominis probatur. Consiliarios tibi adhibere debes, qui famam tuam possint ornare; et beneficium tuum castum et honestum esse debet, et sacerdotibus tuis honorem debebis deferre, et ad eorum consilia semper recurrere. Quod si tibi bene cum illis convenerit, provincia tua melius potest constare. Cives tuos erige, afflictos releva, viduas fove, orphanos nutri, si potius est quam erudies, ut omnes te ament et timeant. Iustitia ex ore vestro procedat, nihil sit sperandum de pauperibus vel peregrinis, ne magis dona, aut aliquid accipere velis. Praetorium tuum omnibus pateat, ut nullus exinde tristis abscedat. Paternas quascunque opes possides, captivos exinde liberabis, et a iugo servitutis absolves. Si quis in conspectu vestro venerit, peregrinum se esse (1158A) non sentiat. Cum iuvenibus ioca, cum senibus tracta, si vis regnare, nobilis iudicari.

14 'administrationem' – noun, sg fem acc – Fig. 'direction, management, or administration of a thing.' 'vos' - pron, pl fem acc indeclform – 'you'. Plural, so the following secundam must be numerical. 'secundam' - adj, sg fem acc – 'second.' 'rei bellicae' -adj, sg fem gen – genitive of 'res bellica' meaning 'war / military action.' 'suscipisse' - verb, perf inf act – 'to take, take up, receive'.

15 Deuxieme, Tome. Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes, University of Chicago Library.1716, “Une grande nouvelle est parvenue jusqu'à moi; vous avez entrepris une seconde  expédition militaire, ou bien vous avez pris les armes pour la seconde fois.

16 Ibid Daley, Clovis: How Barbaric, How Pagan?, Speculum, Vol. 69.3 1994, pp 619-664, pg.633

17 Klingshirn, W.E., Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul, Cambridge University Press 2004, p.117, fn.30

17b  Cusak, Carole M. The Rise of Christianity in Northern Europe, 300-1000, Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.; 1999, p.73

18 Avitus states : “ Certainly I am not going to preach the faith that you saw without a preacher before your baptism”. Ibid Shanzer 1998 p.42

19 Ibid Shanzer, Dating the Baptism of Clovis, 1998, pgs.35-37.

20 Greg. Histories .II.27 

21 Gregory placed the baptism after the Battle of Tolbiac in around the fifteenth year of Clovis' reign.

22.  Ibid Daley, Clovis: How Barbaric, How Pagan?, Speculum, Vol. 69.3 1994, pp 619-664, pg.663