The name of the king of Clovis. The First “Kings" of Franks
Soisson bowl
One of the most famous legends associated with Clovis is the story of the Soissons Cup. After the Franks captured the rich region of Roman Gaul, defeating Soissons, it was time to divide the spoils. According to the Frankish tradition, the leader had no particular advantages over his warriors, and all that was conquered had to be divided equally among all. But among the spoils, there was an incredibly beautiful bowl from some church, which was very valuable. Then, according to legend, the Reims Archbishop Remigius asked Clovis to give this cup to him. Clovis and the Franks were pagans, but the population of Gaul was predominantly Christian. The Frankish king, as a wise ruler, tried to establish good relations with the rulers of cities - bishops. Clovis agreed to the request of Remigius, but had to get the consent of his warriors to take the cup in excess of his share. The army did not begin to argue with the king, but suddenly one of the soldiers, outraged by such a request, violating the norms of military democracy, and even for the sake of Christians, grabbed the bowl and chopped it with the words: "You will get from here only what you are entitled to by lot." Clovis handed over to the bishop the wreckage of the relic.
Warrior cuts the cup in front of Clovis
The king showed patience, because he understood the formal rightness and ardor of his warrior, but he did not forget the case. A year later, he conducted a review of his army and saw this warrior. The king found fault with the poor state of the weapon and chopped the poor fellow in half with an ax, exclaiming: "That's what you did with that cup in Soissons!" A similar step made it clear to the whole army that the king would not tolerate bickering, and they began to fear Clovis. The clergy, in turn, appreciated the goodwill of the king of the Franks, and Remigius recognized him as administrator of the Roman province.
Military victories
Clovis became the king of the Western (salic) Franks at the age of 15. Then his people owned a small territory, which included modern Belgium and parts of neighboring Germany and Holland. He annexed the center of modern France after defeating the Roman governor Siagrius in battle in 486. True, the annexation of the lands of Siagria was delayed, since many cities held a Frankish siege. But in the end, Clovis conquered them all. After this, the area of \u200b\u200bthe Franks gradually began to turn into a strong German kingdom. Clovis entered into a dynastic alliance with the king of Burgundy, which strengthened his position. He started a war with the Alemans and managed to win. Around the year 500, the king of the Franks intervened in the affairs of Burgundy and even ordered the king of Gundobald to pay tribute.
Six years later, he went to the Visigoths and invaded South Gaul. He presented it as a religious campaign against heretical Arians. The Orthodox inhabitants of Gaul took the side of Clovis, the same in turn forbade the soldiers to rob them. Clovis in martial arts killed the Visigoth king Alaric II and annexed almost all of Aquitaine to the Frankish kingdom. He almost started a war with the Ostrogoths for Provence, but the dispute was resolved peacefully. The Byzantine emperor and the enemy of the Ostrogoths entered into an alliance with Clovis and appointed him consul. Clovis was very proud and flattered. In addition, for the Christian population of the Frankish state, this was another confirmation of the legitimacy of the king’s power. After the war with the Visigoths, Clovis came to Paris and made him his residence. The Frankish state has reached tremendous size and strength. Clovis began to unite other branches of the Franks around him and gradually gathered and rallied all the people tribe to him.
Christian wife
By the age of 30, Clovis already had great authority among the German kings. The king of the Ostrogoths even took his sister, Clovis. Clovis himself lived with some woman who even bore him a son, but was not married. In marriage, he took the daughter of the Burgundian king Chilperic Clotilde. Then four brothers ruled in Burgundy, one of them, Gundobad, killed Chilperic and his wife, and expelled their two daughters. Clovis often sent ambassadors to Burgundy, where they met the young Clotilde. Clovis noted her beauty and mind, and when she found out that she was of royal blood, he asked Gundobad for her hands. He did not dare to refuse.
Statue of Saint Clotilde
The royal house of Burgundy professed Arianism, but Clotilde, under the influence of her mother, managed to convert to the Orthodox Nicene faith. Clovis was a pagan, although his wife after the wedding did her best to persuade him to adopt Christianity. After the birth of the firstborn, Ingomer Clotilde decided to baptize her son. However, shortly after the ceremony, the baby died right in the baptismal clothes. Clovis was furious, he blamed his wife for all the faith. The Queen gave birth to a second son and again begged her husband to baptize him. After that, the boy fell ill, and Clovis said that his brother’s fate awaits him: “baptized in the name of your Christ, he will die soon.” However, Clotilde began to pray earnestly and gradually the boy recovered. However, despite the healing and constant requests of his wife, Clovis every time refused to renounce paganism, claiming that "her god did not show his strength."
Epiphany
Clovis, although he was a pagan, knew perfectly well that religion can be an excellent political tool. Most Germans and their kings, who shared the remnants of the Western Roman Empire, then professed Arianism. However, the Romans preferred Orthodoxy as opposed to the "Arian heresy." Religious strife especially grew among the conquered inhabitants of Italy, southern Gaul and Spain. The adoption of Orthodoxy would help eliminate the distinction between the Franks and their subservient population. Religious unity strengthened power and made Clovis legitimate in their eyes. In addition, such a step would help expand the territory of the Franks and strengthen their influence, especially in the war against the Visigoths. Clovis was baptized in the Orthodox rite. This event became one of the most important during his reign.
Baptism of Clovis
The baptism of Clovis is shrouded in legends and an aura of mystery. Until now, it is not possible to establish its exact date. According to legend, in the war of Clovis with the Alemanni, the position of the Franks was constantly fluctuating. When the opponents began to win, Clovis turned to Jesus Christ: “If You grant me victory over my enemies and I will experience Your strength, which he claims to have been sanctified by Your name, I will believe in You and be baptized in Your name.” And at that moment the king of the Alemanni was defeated, and his army fled. Upon returning home, the king of the francs told his wife everything. Clotilde summoned Bishop Remigius, and together they were able to convince Clovis of the need for the adoption of Christianity. The king said that he must obtain the consent of his people to renounce the old gods, the Franks, according to legend, replied that they were ready to follow the king and "the immortal god."
It is believed that the ceremony took place at Christmas, December 25, 496 in Reims and was performed by Remigius. Following the king, his 6,000th squad and his sister were also baptized. During baptism, according to legend, an angel in the form of a dove appeared to Saint Remigius and brought a vessel with myrrh. Later, almost all the kings of France were anointed to the kingdom of myrrh from this bottle, and the vessel was called the Holy Glass-bearer and became the most important French relic. It is believed that the Glassmaker was defeated during the French Revolution, as a symbol of the monarchy. According to legend, after baptism, Clovis chose a lily as his symbol of purification, after which the flower became the heraldic symbol of the French kings.
Deceit and calculation
It is noteworthy that Clovis, despite the role he played in the baptism of the Franks, was never canonized, unlike his wife. It is believed that this is due to the personal qualities of the ruler. Clovis was pragmatic to cynicism, so his baptism was unlikely to be associated with a moral revolution. The adoption of Christianity did not prevent the king from continuing to crack down on his opponents. So, he set Sigibert the Lame on his king of the Ripuar francs, his own son. When Chloderich got rid of his father, Clovis sent his people to kill the heir. He annexed the lands of Sigibert to the Frankish kingdom and declared his complete non-involvement in the deaths that occurred.
Cruelly Clovis managed with the leader of the Salic Franks in the lower Rhine - Hararich. He captured him and his heir in captivity and cut his hair, declaring his father a priest, and his son a deacon. Thus, Hararich and his heir were deprived of the right of royal inheritance. Then in the hearts of the son of Hararich said that their family tree had not yet dried up and wished the quick death of Clovis. The king of the Franks found out about this and ordered the captives to be beheaded.
Clovis and his family
Clovis also planned to take the land from his relative Ragnahar. He bribed the warriors of his ally, sending them golden wrists and bandages. After that, he spoke out against Ragnahar. The warriors cheated on their leader, captured Ragnahar and his brother Richard, and gave them to Clovis. Clovis told him: “Why did you humiliate our clan by allowing yourself to be bound? You had better die. ” With a hatchet, he cut Ragnaharu's head, and then his brother, accusing him of not saving the leader from captivity. After the execution of the leader and his brother, the warriors found out that the gold of Clovis was a skillful fake. Clovis told them: "According to his merits, such gold is received by one who voluntarily puts his master to death." After a while in Le Mans, another Ragnahar brother, Rignomer, was killed. Clovis got rid of all the leaders and annexed to his lands an area of \u200b\u200bsalic francs centered in Cambrai.
Around 481, only 15 years old. The Franks then owned only a relatively small area, which included modern Belgium and the neighboring territories of Germany and the Netherlands.
The center of modern France with Paris (Roman Lutetia) was an independent possession of the Roman governor of Siagria. In 486, Clovis invaded this state and defeated Siagria in battle. The conquest of subordinate lands stretched, however, not for one year. Many cities withstood the Frankish siege for a long time, but Clovis nevertheless conquered them all one by one. Siagrius fled to the Visigoth king Alaric II, but the Franks secured his extradition. By order of Clovis, Siagrius was executed.
Already after this first success of Clovis, the Franks region became one of the most powerful German kingdoms that then arose on the ruins of the Western Roman Empire. Clovis soon married the daughter of the Burgundian king, Clotilde. Clotilde was a zealous Christian and began to persuade a pagan husband to accept the faith of Jesus.
Saint Clotilde, wife of Clovis I. Statue of the 12th century, Corbey Abbey
To the east of the Frankish possessions was a region of wild and predatory alemanni. Clovis started a war against them. In the decisive battle with the Alemanni at Tolbiac (496), victory wondered for a long time. According to legend, at the height of the battle, Clovis made a vow that he would convert to Christianity if he defeated the enemies. He managed to win the battle, and he, along with three thousand other francs, was baptized by the Reims Archbishop Remigius. It is not known how much this legend can be believed. To a change in religion, the chosen part of the Frankish nobility and Clovis, rather, could be driven by the need for closer rapprochement with the inhabitants of the parts of Gaul they conquered by them, who were mostly Christians. Another reason was the charm of a higher Roman civilization, which in the last century and a half before this began to be associated precisely with the Christian faith.
The Baptism of Clovis. XIII century miniature
It is important to note that Clovis was baptized by orthodox rite of passage. Orthodoxy then in the West referred to the doctrine prevailing among the inhabitants- "Romans", different from arian heresy. Arianism was professed by the majority of Germans and their kings, who shared the remnants of the Western Empire. The religious discord between Arianism and Orthodoxy intensified the hatred of the conquered inhabitants of Italy, Spain and Southern Gaul towards the German conquerors. The Franks who converted to Orthodoxy eliminated the religious difference between themselves and the subservient "Roman" population. Religious unity with subjects not only strengthened their power over the already occupied areas, but should also help to expand them - primarily through the war with the Visigoths.
Clovis (465-511) - king of the francs, of the kind Merovingian, son Hilderich I and Baziny. Fifteen year old boys in 481 year, he became king of the part of the Salic francs. Then most of Gaul, which occupied the entire territory of present-day France, was under
roman rule and ruled by a Roman Siarpiem, son of Egidius. The region of Cyprus in the northeast adjoined the lands of the Franks, in the south - to the lands of the Goths and the Burgundians. AT 486 year Clovis moved against Siarpi.
A relative of King Ragnahar helped him. The defeated Siarpius fled to the Gothic king Alaric II, but, at the request of Clovis, he was extradited and executed. But the execution of Siarpia did not mean the transfer of the entire area, which he ruled, into the hands of the Franks. For several years, the ruler of the Franks had to take the city out of town. Franks were at that time still pagans and robbed churches.
There is a legend associated with one of these robberies, when the Franks captured a very valuable mug; and the bishop requested the king of the francs to return her to church.
Clovis asked the soldiers to add this mug to his share. No one objected, except for one franc, who demanded that the king receive only what he would get by lot. Having said this, the warrior hit the ax with a circle. Clovis was silent and ordered a mug sent to the bishop. A year later, during a military review, the king approached this warrior and threw his ax on the ground, reproaching him for the poor content of weapons. When the warrior bent down to pick up the ax, X. struck him a mortal blow to the head, while saying: " So you did in Soissons with a mug"With this assassination, the king instilled strong fear in the warriors.
In 496, Clovis adopted Christianity. This was a significant event in the history of France. His wife, Christian Clotilde, daughter of Hilperich of Burgundy, insisted on this. The Sacrament performed over him. Remigius, Bishop of Reims. About three thousand francs were baptized with the king.
The conversion of Clovis and his subjects to Christianity, with accession to the dominant church, was one of the most important reasons for the continued success of the Franks.
The king continuously won victories, conquering the peoples. So, he decided to capture the part of Gaul, which was occupied by Gothamia. At the head of the army, Clovis went to Poitiers. There then was King Goth Alaric.
When part of the army passed through the region of Tours, where the basilica of St. Maptina, Clovis, out of respect for the saint, ordered that no one take anything in this area except grass and water. But one warrior, having found hay at some poor man, said: “ Didn’t the king order only grass and nothing else? But this grass is. We will not break the king’s order if we take her". The king became aware of this. He instantly cut the warrior with a sword, saying: " How can we hope to win if we insult blessed Martin?". More troops took nothing in this area.
When the army approached the river Vienne, no one knew where to cross the other side, since the river overflowed from the banks.
At night, the king prayed to God to show him the place of passage. Early in the morning, a deer of surprising size entered the river before his eyes, and Clovis knew that the army would be able to cross where the deer crossed.
The leader of the Franks met to fight Alaric the king of the Goths, in the Vouillet Valley, ten Roman miles from the city. Poitiers. The Goths fought with spears, and the Franks with swords. The victory went to the Franks, Alaric was killed.
From Tour Clovis came to Paris and made it the residence of his kingdom. The king settled in a palace on the island of Cité.
In various ways, he exterminated all his relatives, annexing their possessions from his kingdom and appropriating their wealth. Clovis extended his authority over all of Gaul. There is a tradition that once having gathered his people, he said about his relatives, whom he himself had put to death: “ Woe to me that I remained a stranger among strangers and I have none of my relatives who could help me with anything in a moment of danger". The king did not say that at all out of pity for the slain. He used this tricky trick to find out if any of his relatives were still left to kill him.
Clovis controlled the state of the Franks for 30 years, died in Paris. He was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles, which he himself built with his wife. He was 45 years old.
King Clovis (c. 466-511) did not have the title of "Great" in the history, but he certainly deserves it. The name Hlodowig (Hludewig), which has become the favorite dynastic name of Germanic and Romanesque Europe (from Louis the Pious and his descendants to a number of famous Louis, kings of France, and Bavarian kings from the Wittelsbach clan), means “Loud battle”. The greatest act of Clovis was his baptism on December 25, 498. Unlike Theodoric the Great and the Visigoth kings of the 5th - middle of the 6th century, former Arians, Clovis adopted Orthodoxy. Thus, he became a natural ally of Byzantium and a stronghold of Orthodoxy in the West. This is a great merit of the wife of Clovis, Queen Hrodehilda (Clotilde), who boldly confessed Christ, baptized her children and converted her husband to the right faith.
Clovis belongs to the Merovingian dynasty and is its most famous representative. The Merovingians are a Frankish royal family that possessed a rich and developed mythology of power. The legendary ancestor of the dynasty was Merovei (Meroveh, Merowig), whose name means "Glorious battle" or "Sea battle". According to legend, the queen - the future mother of Merovey gave birth to him from a sea monster who possessed her during bathing. Therefore, Merovei had a stubble on his back, like a boar. This tradition can be compared with the myth of Retra - the sanctuary of the ancient Slavs. There was a sacred lake in Retra, from which, according to legend, a huge boar appeared once a year and granted the country fertility and prosperity. Boar (wild boar) is an Indo-European symbol of fertility, which became a military symbol among the ancient Germans. In the Old Norse tradition, the leader and prince was called the "boar" (dr. Isl. Jöfurr). The wild boar is the totemic symbol of the Lombards (a tribe that left Scandinavia and reached Italy), whose ancestors were the Ibor brothers (cf.
A symbol of the king’s power from the Merovingian dynasty was long hair that could not be cut. This performance, by no means obligatory for all ancient Germans (for example, the Goths, including Theodorich the Great, was cut “to the page”), is a relic of the deepest Indo-European antiquity. Hair cutting meant a renunciation of power. So, Queen Hrodehilda (Clotilde), who was presented with a choice - scissors or a sword for her grandchildren captured - chose the latter. The slain offspring of the Merovingian dynasty was identified by long hair. Meroving Chlodoald (later known as St. Claude), giving up power, cut his hair. And finally, Pipin Short (father of Charlemagne) cut the last king from the Merovingian dynasty - Childeric the Third.
The object symbol - the emblem of the Merovingian dynasty were golden bees strewn with pomegranates. Gold and garnets are the usual cloisonne style for the era of the Great Migration. St. Petersburg archaeologist M. B. Schukin called the Great Migration of Peoples the “Age of Gold and Blood”. Clay or bone figures of bees (archaeologists sometimes inaccurately call them "cicadas") are found in the burials of noble francs and Thuringians. The bee was a pagan symbol of immortality (possibly the transmigration of souls), eternal life. In the Old German tradition, both the Valkyries and the bees are called “wives of victory” (OE sigewif). The “classical” representation of pagan Germans about eternal life is the eternal feast of the fallen heroes (dr. Isl. Einherjar) in Valhall near Odin. However, in the eddic cycle of the song about Helga, the Hunding assassin, among other things, we find the following explanation: “They say that Helgi and Sawa are born again” (dr. Isr. Endrborinn 'born again ”). In mythology, the notion of a new birth and eternity (identity) of the leader-hero, of course, should have had more weight than the idea of \u200b\u200ba posthumous stay in another world. Compare here the Old Norse name Óláfr< Anleifr ‘предком оставленное" или даже ‘предок остается" (по толкованию выдающегося германиста Отто Хёфлера).
By a fair order of V.I. Karpec, Napoleon did not usurp the Merovingian bees as an emblem, but not any symbol of subsequent dynasties. Merovingians were and remain the first and unique royal family for both ancient Francia and present-day France. Kings with royal happiness (dr.-upper.-germ. Heil, dr.-isl. Heill), kings marked with special signs, kings, healers. In retrospect - the Indo-European holy king, in perspective - the holy noble king.
The father of Clovis was King Childeric, the son of Merovei (reigned approx. 457-458 - 481-482). It was in his grave in Tournai that there were found Merovingian scarlet-gold bees and a golden ring with the name of the king and his image (of course, with long hair). The mother of Clovis was the Queen of Thuringian Bazin, daughter of the King of Thuringian Bazin and the Saxon Bazina. According to legend, Bazina Jr. fled from Thuringia to Roman Gaul and married Childeric as "the most powerful husband in the world." I saw a graceful silver spoon with the name “Basina” and a cross at the exhibition “The Age of the Merovingians. Europe without Borders ”at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow in 2007 ... Sometimes time recedes. In order to imagine the context of the era, it should be mentioned that the sister of Clovis, Oudefled, married Theodoric the Great, Ostrogothic king from the Amal dynasty.
Much of what was done by Clovis was subsequently attributed to Charlemagne of the Pipinids. So, the first unification of laws was carried out precisely by Clovis (the “Truth” of the Franks in Latin), and it is precisely the conquests of the great Clovis that date back to the empire of Charlemagne, who is now sometimes called the “creator of united Europe” in the West. However, what about historical memory, if the same alleged Karl fans start their story about him with the words: “Little is known about Karl’s family ...” But what about Karl’s mother, Bertrad the Big Foot? And where is Karla’s great-grandfather, Gerin Pipin and grandfather, Karl Martell, the winner of the Arabs at the Battle of Poitiers? Yes, and with “united Europe”, according to Karl, everything is not clear, if you recall that it was Karl who carried out the state resettlement of the Saxon rebels with the confiscation of land and property - the first deportation to Western Europe ...
However, the acts of Karl are a subject for separate discussion. He was a locally revered saint in Western Europe even before 1054. As a ruler and person, he exceeds the historical “matrix” of the Pipinids. It is not by chance that his name is given the word “king” in Slavic languages \u200b\u200band the dynastic name Magnus (from “Carolus Magnus”) in Scandinavia, and it is no accident that Karl is the ideal king in the Old French epic. Speaking about Clovis here, one should turn to the History of the Francs by Gregory of Tours. Gregory, Bishop of Tours (in the world George Florence, a descendant of a noble Gallo-Roman family; November 30, 538 or 539 - November 593 or 594) was a supporter of King Sigibert, husband of Queen Brünnhilde, who was treacherously murdered during the feud of his brothers-kings. Between the death of Clovis and the birth of the most famous historian of the Merovingian era lies less than 30 years. But this does not mean that Gregory of Tours sets out only those facts that he himself saw or learned from direct associates of Clovis. The truth of the era was syncretic, and oral tradition constituted its essential and even essential component. So, some important legends about the Merovingians, not reflected in Gregory, are reported in the Fredegar chronicle. But the earliest historical narrative of Clovis, which was followed by subsequent chroniclers, is contained in the second book of the History of the Francs by Gregory of Tours. It should immediately be noted that the modern reader, as a rule, is surprised by those episodes where Clovis appears severe and even vengeful. However, it should be borne in mind that Gregory of Tours conveys here the acts by which Clovis became famous among the Germans - yesterday's pagans. In this sense, the legend of the Soissons Cup is no different from the story “Tales of Bygone Years” about the revenge of Princess Olga for the death of her husband, Prince Igor, who was killed by the Drevlyans. And if in the Icelandic saga of the XIII century. it says: “Only a slave takes revenge soon, but never a coward”, it is not surprising that the same views were relevant for the Franks of Clovis in the 5th century. But, of course, the biography of Clovis in History of the Francs was written by a pundit who received a classical education. In the Germanic epic, the same episodes would have sounded differently and would not have caused bewilderment. And what wealth of legends remained beyond the scope of the work of Gregory of Tours, one can only guess.
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. [...] Childeric died, and his son Clovis began to rule in his place. In the fifth year of the reign of Clovis, the King of Romans Siagrius, son of Aegidius, chose Soisson, who was once owned by the aforementioned Aegidius, as his place of residence. Cloagus came out against Ciagrius with his relative Ragnahar, who also had a kingdom, and demanded that Ciagrius prepare a place for the battle. He did not evade and was not afraid to resist Clovis. And between them a battle took place. And when Siagrius saw that his army was defeated, he fled and quickly marched to Toulouse to King Alaric. But Clovis sent ambassadors to Alaric demanding that he give him Siagria. Otherwise - let Alarich know - if he will harbor Siagria, Clovis will start a war with him. And Alaric, afraid, as if because Siagria does not incur the wrath of the Franks, - because the Goths are characterized by cowardice, - ordered to tie Siagria and give it to the ambassadors. Having obtained Siagria, Clovis ordered to keep him in custody, and after seizing his possession, he ordered to secretly stab him with a sword. At that time, the army of Clovis plundered many churches, since Clovis was still a prisoner of pagan superstitions. Once the Franks took away from some church, along with other precious things necessary for church service, a large cup of amazing beauty. But the bishop of that church sent ambassadors to the king with a request that if the church does not deserve the return of anything else from her sacred utensils, then at least let her at least return this cup. The king, after listening to the ambassadors, told them: “Follow us to Soissons, because all military booty should be shared there. And if this vessel, which the bishop asks for, will be given to me by lot, I will fulfill his request. " Upon arrival at Soissons, when they piled the whole pile of booty in the middle, the king said: "Brave warriors, I ask you to give me, in addition to my share, this vessel." Of course, he talked about the bowl. In response to these words of the king, those who were more intelligent said: “Glorious king! Everything that we see here is yours, and we ourselves are in your power. Do whatever you want now. After all, no one dares to oppose you! ” As soon as they uttered these words, one quick-tempered warrior, envious and stupid, raised the ax and with a loud exclamation: "From here you will get only what you are supposed to by lot," he lowered it to the bowl. Everyone was struck by this act, but the king endured this insult with patience and meekness. He took the cup and handed it to the episcopal ambassador, with a "deep resentment" in his soul. And a year later, Clovis ordered all the soldiers to come with all the military equipment to show on March Field how well they keep their weapons. And when he went around the ranks of the warriors, he went up to the one who hit the [ax] in the bowl and said:
“No one holds a weapon in such a bad state as you.” After all, neither your spear, nor the sword, nor the poleax are worthless. ” And, tearing the ax away from him, he threw it to the ground. When he bent a little behind the ax, Clovis lifted up his ax and chopped his head, saying: "That's what you did with that cup in Soissons." When he died, he ordered the others to disperse, causing great fear to them. Clovis spent many battles and won many victories. So in the tenth year of his reign, he began a war with the Thuringians and conquered them.
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. At that time, among the Burgundians the king was Gundeveh from the clan of King Atanarich, the persecutor of Christians, whom we mentioned above. Gundeveh had four sons: Gundobad, Godigizil, Hilperik and Godomar. And Gundobad killed his brother Hilperik with the sword, and drowned his wife in the river, tying a stone to his neck. His two daughters, he was doomed to exile; of these, the eldest, who became a nun, was called Chrona, the youngest - Hrodekhilda. But since Clovis often sent embassies to Burgundy. then his ambassadors once saw the girl Hrodehilda. Finding her beautiful and smart, and learning that she was a royal family, they reported this to King Clovis. He immediately sent ambassadors to Gundobad with [ 49
] a request to give her to him as a wife. Since Gundobad was afraid to refuse Clovis, he passed it on to the ambassadors. They accepted it and quickly delivered it to the king. Seeing her, the king was very happy and married her. But he already had a son, named Theodorich, from a concubine.
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. So, the king [Clovis] from Queen Hrodehilda had a son as the first child. Since Hrodehilda wanted to christen him, she constantly turned to her husband and said: “Your gods whom you revere are nothing, because they are not able to help either themselves or others, because they are made of stone, wood or any metal . And the names that you gave them belonged to people, not to gods, like, for example, Saturn, who, in order not to be expelled by his son from the kingdom, fled; or, for example, Jupiter himself, an unholy debaucher, a defiler of men, a mocker of relatives, he could not even refrain from cohabiting with his own sister, as she herself says about this: "I am both the sister and wife of Jupiter." And what were Mars and Mercury capable of? Rather, they were endowed with the art of magic, than divine power. It is better to honor the One who, according to His word, created out of nothing heaven and earth, sea and all that is in them. Who made the sun shine and decorated the sky with stars, Who filled the water with reptiles, the earth with living beings, the air with winged birds; By Whose motion the earth is decorated with fruits, trees with fruits, vines with grapes; Whose hand created the human race; by Whose goodness all this creation serves man and is intended for the man himself, whom He created. ” But no matter how often the queen says this, the king’s heart did not lean toward the Christian faith, and he replied: “Everything was created and happened according to the will of our gods, and your God cannot manifest himself in anything and, most importantly, cannot prove that he is of the kind of gods. "
Meanwhile, the pious queen brought her son to baptize. She ordered the church to be decorated with carpets and panels, so that during this festive service it would be easier to persuade someone whom she could not persuade by preaching. But the child, called Ingomer, died after baptism, still in white robes in which he was resurrected at baptism. Pissed off by this circumstance, the king angrily and sharply rebuked the queen. “If the boy,” he said, “were sanctified in the name of my gods, he would certainly remain alive; now, when he was christened in the name of your God, he did not survive. " To which the queen answered him:
“I thank the almighty Lord, the Creator of everything, for He did not consider me unworthy and wanted to take what was born from my womb into His Kingdom. “My soul does not grieve over this, for I know that if someone is called from this world in white robes, then I must abide in the Kingdom of God.”
After this, the queen gave birth to a second son, who was given the name Chlodomer in baptism. When he began to get sick, the king said: “The same thing will happen to him as to his brother. Namely: baptized in the name of your Christ, he will die soon. ” But, saved by the prayers of his mother, the son, by the will of God, recovered.
30
. The Queen, on the other hand, constantly exhorted Clovis to recognize the true god and abandon pagan idols. But nothing could persuade him to this faith until, finally, one day, during the war with the Alemanni, he was forced to admit what he had previously willingly rejected. And it happened like this: when both troops came together and a fierce battle ensued between them, then the army of Clovis was completely threatened with complete extermination. Seeing this, Clovis lifted his eyes to heaven and, touching with heart, with tears in his eyes said: “About Jesus Christ, to Thee whom Hrodechild confesses the Son of the Living God, to You, who are said to help the afflicted and grant victory to those who trust in You. , with humility I appeal to show the glory of Your power. If You grant me victory over my enemies and I will experience Your strength, which he claims to have been sanctified by Your name, I will believe in You and be baptized in Your Name. For I called my gods to help, but was convinced that they did not help me. That is why I think that the gods are not endowed with any power who do not come to the aid of those who worship them. Now I urge you, I want to believe in you, only save me from my opponents. ” And as soon as he uttered these words, the Alemans turned back and fled. And when they saw their king killed, they surrendered to Clovis with the words: "We ask you not to destroy the people anymore, because we are already yours." Clovis stopped the battle and, encouraging the people, returned home peacefully. There he told the queen how he had triumphed by calling on the name of Christ.
[This happened in the 15th year of his reign.]
31
. Then the queen ordered to secretly call Saint Remigius, bishop of the city of Reims, and asked him to instill in the king the "word of salvation." Having invited the king, the bishop began in private to inspire him to believe in the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and left pagan gods who could not benefit either themselves or others. The king answered him: “Willingly I listened to you, Holy Father, one thing bothers me that the people subordinate to me will not tolerate me leaving his gods. However, I will go and speak with him according to your words. ” When he met with his own, the power of God was ahead of him, and all the people even earlier than he began to say, as if exclaiming with one voice: “Gracious king, we refuse mortal gods and are ready to follow the Immortal God, whom Remigius preaches.” This was reported to the bishop, and with great joy he ordered the baptismal font to be prepared. Multi-colored banners are hung on the streets, the church is decorated with white curtains, the baptistery is tidied up, the balm is poured, fragrant candles shine and glow brightly, the whole baptistery temple is filled with a divine aroma. And God gave such grace there that people thought they were among the fragrances of paradise. And the king asked the bishop to baptize him first. The new Konstantin went up to the font to cleanse himself of the old leprosy and wash off the dirty stains inherited from the past with fresh water. When he came up; ready to be baptized, the saint of God addressed him with such eloquent words: “Submissively bow you, Sigambra, read that, [ 51]
what you burned, burn what you revered. ” And Saint Remigius was a bishop very learned and especially versed in rhetoric. In addition, he was distinguished by such holiness that in the performance of miracles he was equal to Sylvester. And now a book with his life is still preserved, which says that he raised the dead. So the king recognized the omnipotent God in the Trinity, was baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, was anointed with the holy mvr and overshadowed by the Cross of Christ. And from his army more than three thousand people were baptized. His sister Albofled was also baptized, which after a little time the Lord took. Since the king deeply mourned her, Saint Remigius sent him a letter with words of comfort. It started like this: “The cause of your sadness upsets me and upsets me greatly, namely the death of your sister Albofleda, who left a good memory. But we can console ourselves with the fact that she left this world so that she should be more admired than sad about her. " His second sister, Lantechilda, also a supporter of the heresy of Arians, turned to him; recognizing the oneness of the Son and the Holy Spirit with the Father, she was anointed.
32
. Then the brothers Gundobad and Godegizil owned the kingdom, stretching along the Rhone and Sona with the province of Massilia. But they and their people adhered to the false teachings of the Arians. And when Gundobad and Godegizil attacked each other, then Godegizil, learning about the victories of King Clovis, secretly sent ambassadors to him with these words: “If you help me in persecuting my brother so that I can kill him in battle or expel him from the country "I will annually pay you the tribute established by you in any size." He gladly accepted this offer, promised him help, wherever it was needed, and sent an army against Gundobad within the agreed time. When Gundobad found out about this, unaware of his brother’s cunning, he sent a messenger to him to say:
“Come to my aid, as the Franks oppose us and come to our country to capture it. We will unite against a people hostile to us so that if we act alone, we will not endure what other peoples have undergone. ” And he answered: "I will come with my army and will help you." And all three simultaneously marched with their troops - Clovis against Gundobad and Godegizil, and they went with all the soldiers to a fortress called Dijon. During the battle of the Ush River, Godegizil joined Clovis and their troops destroyed the army of Gundobad. When Gundobad saw the insidiousness of his brother, which he did not suspect, he turned back and fled, then walked along the banks of the Rhone River and entered the city of Avignon. After the victory, Godegizil, having promised Clovis part of his kingdom, withdrew in peace and entered glory in Vienne. as if he already owned the whole kingdom.
King Clovis, still multiplying his strength, set off after Gundobad in order to expel him from the city and kill him. Upon learning of this, Gundobad was horrified, fearing that he would not overtake a sudden death. But he had one noble man by the name of Aridius, resourceful and intelligent. Gundobad summoned him to his place and said: “From all sides they await me [ 52
] misfortune, and I don’t know what to do, because these barbarians opposed us in order to kill us and ruin our whole country. ” Aridi answered him: “You should, in order to save your life, pacify the wild temper of this man [Clovis]. Now, if you do not mind, I will pretend to be a deserter from you, and when I come to him, I will act in such a way that they will not harm either you or your country. Only you try to carry out what Clovis will demand from you on my advice, until the merciful Lord deems it possible to bring your business to a successful end. " And Gundobad said: "I will fulfill all your requirements." After this, Aridius said goodbye to Gundobad and left. When he came to King Clovis, he told him: “The most merciful king, here I am, your humble servant, has come to surrender to your power, leaving this unfortunate Gundobad. If your mercy deems it worthy to accept me, then you and your descendants will have in me an honest and faithful servant. ” He very readily accepted it and kept it at home. Aridiy was a cheerful storyteller, a smart adviser, a fair judge and a reliable person in keeping secrets. And once, when Clovis with all his army was near the walls of the city, Aridius told him: “O King, if your glorious highness graciously wanted to hear me, the unworthy, my few words, then I, although you do not need advice, I would have served from the bottom of my heart, and it would be useful both for you and for the cities against which you think to fight. Why, ”he continued,“ are you holding an army here, while your enemy is sitting in a very fortified place, devastating fields, planting meadows, ruining vineyards, cutting down oil orchards and destroying all the fruits in the country? ” Meanwhile, you are not able to do him any harm. It’s better to send an embassy to him and pay tribute to him, which he would pay to you every year so that the country would remain whole, and you would always rule over your tributary. If he does not agree with this, then you will do as you please. ” The king took his advice and ordered the army to return home. He then sent an embassy to Gundobad and demanded that he pay him a tribute annually. And he paid him for this year and promised to pay further.
33
. After this, Gundobad, again having gathered strength and already considering it low for himself to pay the promised tribute to King Clovis, made an army against his brother Godegizil and, having locked him in the city of Vienne, began a siege. But when food was not enough for the common people in the city, Godegizil, fearing that hunger would not overtake him, ordered the smaller people to be expelled from the city. That was done; but along with others, the master, who was entrusted with the care of the water supply, was expelled from the city. Resenting the fact that he was expelled along with the rest, he, seething with anger, came to Gundobad and showed how he could penetrate the city and take revenge on his brother. Under his command, an armed detachment headed along the water supply canal, and many of the men in front had iron crowbars, since the water outlet was closed with a large stone. As directed by the master, they are using [ 53
] crowbars, rolled off the stone and entered the city. And so they were in the rear of the besieged, while they were still firing arrows from the walls. After a trumpet signal came from the city center, the besiegers seized the gates, opened them and also entered the city. And when the people in the city were between two detachments and began to be exterminated on both sides, Godegizil took refuge in the church of heretics, where he was killed along with the bishop of the Arians. The Franks, who were at Godegizil, all gathered in one tower. But Gundobad ordered that no harm be done to any of them. When he captured them, he sent him into exile in Toulouse to King Alaric. And the senators and burgunds who sympathized with Godegizil were killed. Gundobad conquered the whole area, which is now called Burgundy, and among the Burgundians established milder laws, according to which they should not oppress the Romans.
34
. But after Gundobad realized that the teachings of the heretics were false, he recognized that Christ, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit were consubstantial with the Father and asked Saint Avit, bishop of Vienne, to secretly anoint him. To this the bishop said to him: “If you really believe in what the Lord himself taught us, you must follow this. And the Lord says: “If anyone confesses Me before people, he confesses Me also before My Heavenly Father; and whoever will deny Me before people, deny that I am also before My Heavenly Father. "The Lord also told the holy and beloved his blessed apostles when he announced to them about the trials during the coming persecutions:" Beware of the people, for they will give they will beat you in the courts and in their synagogues, and they will lead you for Me to the rulers and kings for a testimony before them and all the Gentiles. " Since you are the king yourself, you are not afraid of someone attacking you, but you are afraid of a popular uprising and therefore do not openly recognize the Creator. Leave this unreasonable and admit popularly that you, as you yourself say, believe in the heart. For so does the blessed apostle say: “They believe in righteousness with their hearts, and confess with their lips for salvation.” So the prophet says: “I confess to you in the great church, among the many people I will praise you.” And again: I confess to you, Lord. between nations, I will praise Thy name among tongues. "For you, the king, are afraid of the people, not knowing which is better: either that the people follow your faith, or that you indulge the weaknesses of the people? For you are the head of the people, and not the people - the head If you go to war, you will lead the troops, and they will follow you wherever you lead them, so it’s better that they find out the truth when you lead them, than they will remain in error if you die. After all, “God does not happen to scold,” because he does not love the one who, because of earthly things He doesn’t profess him in this world. ” But since Gundobad himself was mistaken, for the rest of his life he persisted in his recklessness and did not want to publicly recognize the unity of the Trinity. Saint Avitus at that time was a very eloquent man. And when the heretical doctrine of Eutychus and Savellius, who denied the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, spread in the city of Constantinople, Avith himself wrote letters against these heresies at the request of Gundobad. These wonderful letters remain with us to this day. Then they put an end to heretical teaching, and now they help strengthen the Church of God. In addition, Avit wrote one sermon book, six books in verses about the beginning of the world and on various other topics and nine books of letters, among which are the letters mentioned. In one of the sermons in which he described the days of the Prayer, Avit tells us that these very days of the Prayer, which we celebrate before the Ascension Day, were established by Mamert, bishop of Vienne, where Avit became bishop after Mamert. The Days of Prayer were set by Mamert on the occasion of numerous signs that inspired fear in the inhabitants of this city. Namely: the city was often shaken from tremors, wild animals, according to Avita's description, deer and wolves entered the gates and walked around the city without fear. And as these signs continued throughout the year, the whole people, as Easter holidays approached, humblely awaited God's mercy, hoping that these days of the great holiday would put an end to their fear. But on the night before the bright holiday, during the Mass, suddenly the royal palace located in the city caught fire from lightning. Everyone in complete fear left the church, thinking only about how the whole city would not burn out from this fire or how the earth would not open and swallow them. At this time, the holy bishop prostrated himself before the altar and prayed, groaning and shedding tears, for the mercy of the Lord. What next? The prayer of the glorious bishop reached the heights of heaven, and a stream of pouring tears extinguished the fire of the royal house. Meanwhile, while all this was happening, as we said, the day of the Ascension of the Lord was drawing near. The bishop appointed a fast for the people, established prayers, determined the type of food, and ordered the giving of alms to the poor. After that, finally, all fears in the city ceased, rumors spread over the whole country and prompted all bishops to imitate what Bishop Mamert did thanks to his faith. And now these days are celebrated in all churches with reverence in the heart and with humility in the name of God.
35
. And now, when the king is ready, Alaric saw that King Clovis was constantly winning, conquering the nations, he sent ambassadors to him to say: “If, by the grace of God, he wanted to meet with me, that would be my desire.” Clovis agreed with this proposal and arrived at Alaric. They met on the island of the Loire River, located near the village of Amboise in the region of the city of Tours. Having talked among themselves, they had lunch together, drank wine and parted with the world, promising each other friendship. Many people in Gaul really wanted to be under the rule of the Franks.
36
. That is why it happened that they began to expel from the city of Quintian, the bishop of Rhodes. “After all, you wish,” they said to him, “so that the Franks would rule this country and dominate here.” And a few days later a quarrel arose between him and the townspeople, and since the latter reproached Quintian for wanting to subordinate their power to the Franks, the Goths living in this city had a suspicion of him, and they 55
] decided to kill him with a sword. When the man of God became aware of this, he, rising at night, went out with the most faithful servants from the city of Rodez and came to Clermont. And there he was favorably received by the holy bishop Euphrasius, who had once succeeded Aprunculus, bishop of Dijon. Having endowed him with houses, fields and vineyards, he left him with him, saying: “The wealth of our church is quite sufficient to support two. May such love as the Apostle proclaims be among the saints of God. ” Bishop of Lyon was also generous to Quintian, who allocated him some of the possessions of his church, located in Clermont. As for the rest of the information about Saint Quintian, that is, about the persecutions suffered by him and about the acts committed by him with God's help, all this is told in the book of his life.
37
. And then King Clovis said to his: “I am very concerned that these Arians own part of Gaul. Come with God's help to them and, having defeated them, we will subordinate the country to our power. ” And since everyone liked his speech, Clovis, speaking with the army, went to Poitiers. Alarich was then there. When part of the army passed through the region of Tours, Clovis, out of respect for St. Martin, ordered that no one take anything in this area except grass and water. But one of the troops, having found hay from some poor man, said: “Didn't the king order only grass and nothing else? But this grass is. We will not violate the king’s order if we take it. ” When the warrior arbitrarily took hay from the poor, the king became aware of this. The king split his sword in the blink of an eye, saying: “How can we hope to win if we insult blessed Martin?” This was enough for the army to take nothing more in this area. But Clovis himself sent ambassadors to the holy basilica and said: “Go there, maybe in the holy temple there will be some sign of victory for you.” Moreover, he gave them gifts so that they would put them in a holy place, and said: “If you, Lord, help me and decided to hand this unfaithful and always hostile people into my hands, then be merciful to me and give a sign to entrance to the Basilica of St. Martin, so that I find out that You considered me, your servant, worthy of Your mercy. " The servants hastened, and when they approached the appointed place and by order of the king they were already entering the holy basilica, at that moment the head of the singers suddenly sang the following antiphon: “You girded me with force for war and put me uprising against me under my feet. You turned the rear of my enemies to me and destroyed those who hated me. ” Hearing this psalm, the ambassadors, giving thanks to the Lord and promising sacred gifts to the blessed confessor, gladly informed the king about this. When Clovis with the army approached the river Vienne, he did not know at all where to cross, since the river overflowed from the banks from the rains.
And when that night the king prayed to God to deign to indicate the place of passage to him, then early in the morning, before God's eyes, by the will of God, a deer of amazing size entered the river, and Clovis found out that the army would be able to cross where the deer crossed. And when the king came up [ 56
] to Poitiers, then from a distance, while still in the camp, he saw a ball of fire appear from the Basilica of St. Hilarius, which seemed to move towards him. Probably, this vision meant that the king, with the help of light poured out by the blessed confessor Hilarius, could more easily defeat the army of heretics, against whom this bishop often fought for faith. And Clovis strictly ordered the whole army, no matter where it was, not to rob anyone on the way and not to take anything from anyone.
At that time there was a husband of laudable holiness, Abbot Maxentius, who for the fear of God lived a recluse in his monastery, located in the region of Poitiers. We did not give the name of his monastery, for this place is still called the cell of St. Maxentius to this day. When the monks of this monastery saw that one of the military detachments was approaching the monastery, they asked the abbot to go out to them and cheer them up. But as he hesitated, the monks, seized with fear, opened the door of his cell and led him out of there. He fearlessly went to meet the enemies, as if he was going to ask for peace. However, one of them drew his sword to stab him in the head. But when he brought his hand with a sword over the abbot’s ear, his hand went numb and the sword fell out of it. The warrior himself prostrated himself at the feet of his blessed husband asking for forgiveness. At the sight of this, the rest returned to the army, seized with the greatest fear, fearing that they themselves would not suffer in this way. But the blessed confessor smeared the hand of this man with consecrated oil, overshadowed her with the sign of the Cross, and she became as before. So thanks to the protection of the abbot, the monastery remained intact. He created many other miracles, and if someone wants to get acquainted with them in more detail, then he will find all this in the book of his life.
[This happened in the twenty-fifth year of the reign of Clovis].
Meanwhile, King Clovis met to fight Alaric the king of the Goths, in the Vouillet Valley, ten Roman miles from the city. Poitiers and the Goths fought with spears, and the Franks with swords. And when, as usual, the Goths turned back, victory with the help of the Lord went to King Clovis. And then the son of Sigibert the Lame, named Chloderich, helped him. This Sigibert was wounded in a knee in the battle against the Alemanni near the city of Zulpich and therefore was limping. After Clovis turned to flight and killed King Alaric, two unexpectedly attacked him and struck him with spears from both sides. But he survived thanks to the shell and fast horse. Then a large number of people from Clermont, who came with Apollinaris, were killed, and among them noble senators were killed. After this battle, Alaric's son, Amalaric, fled to Spain, who, thanks to his mind, captured the kingdom of his father. Clovis sent his son Theodoric through Albi and Rodez to Clermont. In this campaign, he conquered these cities to his father - from the possessions of the Goths to the border of the possessions of the Burgundians. King Alaric ruled for 22 years. But Clovis spent the winter in the city of Bordeaux and, having captured all the treasures of Alaric in Toulouse, arrived in the city of Angouleme. The Lord endowed Clovis with such heavenly grace that at his one glance the walls themselves fell apart. Then, having expelled he was ready, he conquered [ 57
] this city. After that, he returned triumphantly to Tours, bringing many gifts to the holy basilica of blessed Martin.
38
. And then Clovis received a letter from Emperor Anastasius on the assignment of the title of consul to him, and in the basilica of St. Martin he was dressed in a purple tunic and mantle, and a crown was laid on his head. Then the king mounted his horse and on his way from the door of the porch of the basilica [St. Martin] to the city church with exceptional generosity, he personally scattered gold and silver to the assembled people. And from that day he was called consul or Augustus. From Tours, he came to Paris and made it the residence of his kingdom. Theodoric came to him there.
39
. And so after the death of Eustochius, Bishop of Tours, the eighth bishop after St. Martin was ordained Licinius. At this time, the war described above took place. And then King Clovis arrived in Tours. They say that Licinius was in the East, visited holy places and was even in Jerusalem itself, and repeatedly visited the places of the Holy Passion and Resurrection of the Lord, which we read about in the Gospels.
40
. When King Clovis was in Paris, he secretly sent an ambassador to his son Sigibert with the words: “Here your father is old, he has a sore leg, and he is limping. If he died, then you would rightfully get his kingdom together with our friendship. ” He, overwhelmed by greed, decided to kill his father. Once Sigibert left the city of Cologne and crossed the Rhine to take a walk in the Bucon Forest. At noon, he fell asleep in his tent. The son, in order to take possession of his kingdom, sent killers to him and ordered him to be killed there, but by the will of God he himself “fell into the pit”, which he dug for his father with a hostile purpose. Namely: he sent ambassadors to King Clovis with a notice of the death of his father, saying: “My father died, and his wealth and kingdom are in my hands. Send me your people, and I will gladly send you from Sigibert's treasures what they like. ” And Clovis said: "I thank you for your good wish, but I ask you only to show my people who will come to you, treasures, and then own everything." When the people of Clovis arrived, he opened his father’s pantry. During the inspection of various jewelry, he told them: "In this chest, usually my father kept gold money." In response to this, they offered him: "Lower your hand to the bottom," they said, "and sort it out." When he did this and leaned strongly, one of them lifted the ax and cut his skull. So the unworthy son suffered the same fate as he had prepared for his father.
Upon learning of the death of Sigibert and his son, Clovis arrived there and, having gathered all the people, said: “Listen to what happened. During my voyage on the River Scheldt, Chloderich, the son of my relative, followed his father Sigibert and slandered him as if I wanted to kill him [Sigibert]. And when he escaped, fled through the Bukon forest, Chloderich sent killers to him and ordered them to kill him. He himself [Khloderich] died, I don’t know by whom he was killed when he opened his father’s pantry. But in all this I am completely innocent. After all, I can’t shed [ 58
] the blood of my relatives, since doing so is a sin. But since it happened, then I will give you advice - only if it seems acceptable to you: contact me so that you can be under my protection. " As soon as they heard this, they began to strike at shields and scream in approval, then they raised Clovis on a round shield and made him king over themselves. Having received the kingdom of Sigibert, together with his treasures, he subjugated himself and his people themselves. So daily God put his enemies in his hands and increased his possessions, for he [Clovis] walked with the right heart in front of the Lord and did what was pleasing to His eyes.
41
. After that, Clovis opposed Hararich, because when he fought with Siagria and asked Hararich to help him, that [Hararich] remained indifferent, not assisting either side, and waited for the outcome of the case to conclude an alliance with the one who got victory. That is why Clovis, resenting him for it, went against him. He cunningly captured him with his son, tied them up and ordered them to tonsure and ordain Hararich to the rank of presbyter, and her son to the rank of deacon. It is said that when Hararich complained that he was humiliated and cried, his son said: “These branches are cut on a green tree, but the branches have not dried up at all and can quickly grow back. If the one who did it also died quickly! ” These words reached the ears of Clovis. There was a threat in them: they would grow their own hair and kill him. That's why he ordered them both to be beheaded. After they were killed, he took possession of their kingdom along with wealth and people.
42
. And at that time, King Ragnahar lived in Cambrai, who indulged in such unbridled passion that he barely noticed his closest relatives. His adviser was disgusting, to match him, Farron. It was reported that when the king was brought food or some gift or something else, he usually said that it was enough for him and his Farron. Franks were very indignant at such behavior of the king. And it so happened that Clovis took advantage of this and sent them golden wrists and straps; all these things were like gold, but in reality they were only artfully gilded. These gifts were sent by Clovis to the Leids of King Ragnahar to call on Clovis to oppose Ragnahar. And when then Clovis opposed him with an army, he often began to send his people for reconnaissance. Upon their return, he asked them how strong the army of Clovis was. They answered him: "For you and your Farron is more than enough." Approaching the army, Clovis began a battle against him. When he saw that his army was defeated, he prepared to flee, but his own men seized him from the troops, tied his hands behind his back and, together with his brother Richard, led to Clovis. Clovis told him: “Why did you humiliate our clan by allowing yourself to be bound? You had better die. ” And raising the ax, he cut his head, then, turning to his brother, he said, “If you had helped your brother, you would not have been tied up”, and killed him in the same way, hitting the ax. After the death of both, their traitors learned that the gold they received from King Clovis was fake. They say that when they told the king about this, he answered them: “According to the deserts [ 59
] receives such gold one who voluntarily puts his master to death. "You must be satisfied that you survived, and did not die under torture, thus paying for the betrayal of your masters." Hearing such words, they wanted to obtain mercy from Clovis, assuring him that it was enough for them that they would be granted life. The kings mentioned above were relatives of Clovis. Their brother named Rignomer, on the orders of Clovis, was also killed in the city of Le Mans. After their death, Clovis captured all their kingdom and all their wealth. After he also killed many other kings and even close relatives, fearing that they would not rob him of his kingdom, he extended his power over all of Gaul. However, they say, having once gathered his people, he said about his relatives, whom he himself had killed, the following: “Woe to me that I remained a stranger among strangers and I don’t have any relatives who could help me in anything minute of danger. " But this he did not say out of pity for the dead, but out of cunning: could he accidentally find someone else [from his relatives] to kill him.
43
. After these events, Clovis died in Paris. He was buried in the church of the Holy Apostles, which he himself built with his wife Hrodekhilda. And he passed away in the fifth year after the battle of Vouillet. And he ruled for thirty years. [And he was only 45 years old].
So, from the death of St. Martin to the death of Clovis - and this year was at the same time the eleventh year of the bishopric of St. Licinius of Tours - there are 112 years.
After the death of her husband, Queen Hrodehilda came to Tours, and there she served at the Basilica of St. Martin, spending all the days of her life in the highest degree of humility and virtue and rarely visiting Paris. ”
Brünnhilde, the wife of Sigibert, was the daughter of Atanagild, King of the Visigoths, and came from Spain with a huge dowry (the treasures were carried by a whole convoy). Her sister Galsvinta married Chilperic, Sigibert's brother. Chilperic, obviously, was a gifted person (he mastered jewelry, developed additional letters for the French version of the Latin alphabet), but the concubine Fredegonda took by him killed Galsvinta and forced Brunhild to revenge (the Franks did not approve of the murder of Galsvinta and said that the lamp-lamp above her tomb mysteriously moves) . The names of Sigibert and Brünnhilde and the conflict itself (the revenge of the wife for her beloved husband, treacherously murdered) had an impact on the Nabelung epic foundation. By the way, it should be noted that binomial names with the * Sigi- ‘victory component were prevalent primarily among the Goths and Franks.
Participation in wars:
Internecine war. Wars with Thuringians, Burgundians, Visigoths and Ostrogoths.
Participation in the battles:
Poitiers.
(Chlodovechus) Frankish king of the Merovingian dynasty (from 481)
The son of Childeric I. In 481, a fifteen-year-old youth became the king of most of the Salic francs. In 486, Clovis moved against Siagrius. He acted with the support of his relative king ragnahar, whose residence was the city of Cambrai. Broken Siagrius fled to the gothic king Alaric IIbut at the request of Clovis was issued and executed. The victory over Siagrius did not immediately give into the hands of the Franks all the areas with which he ruled, and Clovis had to take city after city, each of which stubbornly resisted him. The conquest of the former region of Siagria dragged on for several years.
When taking cities pagan francs robbed the temples, and in Soissons, when they plundered one of them, they captured a very valuable mug. The bishop began to intercede with Clovis for her return to church. Clovis asked the warriors to add this mug to his share of the spoils, and everyone agreed, except for one warrior who said that Clovis would receive nothing but the share of the spoils that he would get by lot. He cut the mug, and the bishop got only its fragments. The following year, at a military review, Clovis approached this warrior and, noting him that his weapons were not in proper order, threw his ax to the ground. At the moment when the warrior bent down to raise his weapon, Clovis delivered a mortal blow to his head with his ax, saying: " So you did in Soissons with a mug". With this act, Clovis brought mortal fear to his warriors.
In the tenth year of his reign, Clovis defeated the Thuringians, who disturbed the Frankish lands with their raids. Thanks to his insistence christian Wives of Clotilde Clovis in 496 adopted Christianity. Together with the king they were baptized about three thousand francs.
Church tradition connects this fact with the struggle of Clovis with the Alemans, who attacked the lands of the Franks. In a decisive battle, when the troops of Clovis were threatened with defeat, he promised to be baptized in the event of his victory. In the battle of Clovis inflicted a terrible defeat on the Alemans, their king fell in battle, and Clovis fulfilled this vow.
The conversion of Clovis and the Franks to Christianity opened up the possibility of a merger with the Gallo-Romans and became one of the most important reasons for the continued success of Clovis. He expanded the boundaries of his possessions from the Seine to the Loire, beyond which lay the provinces under rule ready-arian. The natives of these provinces called on Clovis to fight the Goths. He was especially eager to push this clergy.
Around 500 g. Clovis in alliance with Gedegizel Burgundy fought against his brother Gundobalda. Clovis defeated Gundobald and forced him to pay tribute, but after Clovis left Gundobald defeated and killed Gedegizel, uniting the whole of Burgundy and refused to pay tribute to the Franks.
In 506, Clovis began a campaign in the Visigoth kingdom. Wishing that gallo-roman population saw him not as an enemy, but as a liberator from heretics, Clovis forbade his soldiers to rob the population and take from him nothing for nothing, except water and grass.
At Vugla (near Poitiers) Clovis defeated the ready, their king Alaric II was killed. The son of Clovis Theodoric subjugated the authority of his father to the city of Auvergne to the Burgundy border, while Clovis himself took control of most of Aquitaine (with the exception of Gascony and Septimania). Franks entered Provence, but then the Ostrogothic king intervened
Theodoric the Great. His troops repulsed the Franks from Arles, and the whole country between Durance and the sea fell into the hands of ostrogoths.
Being after defeating the Goths in Tours, Clovis received from emperor Anastasius a letter to the consulate, reminiscent of the supreme rights of the empire to land.
After the Gothic war, Clovis established his capital in Paris, which was central to the state, and continued to unite the Frankish lands.
In Cologne, the Franks were king Siegbert. Clovis pointed out to his son Chloderic the old age and weakness of Sigibert and promised him when Sigibert died, his kingdom and his friendship. Then Chloderic killed his father, but in turn was killed by the killers sent to him. After that, Clovis came into his possession and obtained from the eternity recognition of him as his king.
Clovis deprived of power king Hararich and forced him and his son to take the priesthood, after which he killed them, capturing the whole kingdom. In Cambrai rules king of ragnahp, which subjects did not like for his passion for luxury. Clovis moved against him and bribed his Levds, who bound Ragnahar and his brother and gave them to Clovis, who killed the king and his brother with his own hands. Then, on the orders of Clovis, another was killed. brother rignomer, and after that the whole kingdom passed to Clovis.
Gradually, Clovis extended his power to all the lands of the Franks, who willingly came under the rule of a wealthy king, who generously rewarded them for their service.
In 511, under Clovis, the first
