Childebert I: The Frankish King of Paris…

...Geneva; ...

Clovis in 509 had been the first Frankish chief to style himself "King of the Franks", or rex Francorum.

He had conquered the Kingdom of Soissons of the Roman general Syagrius and expelled the Visigoths from southern Gaul at the Battle of Vouillé, thus establishing Frankish hegemony over most of Gaul (excluding Burgundy, Provence, and Brittany), which he has left to his successors, the Merovingians, to conquer.

Clovis had divided his realm between his four sons in a manner which will become familiar, as his sons and grandsons in turn will divide their kingdoms between their sons.

The Burgundians, one of the Germanic peoples who had filled the power vacuum left by the collapse of the western half of the Roman Empire, had in 411 crossed the Rhine and established a kingdom at Worms.

Amid repeated clashes between the Romans and Huns, the Burgundian kingdom eventually occupied what is today the borderlands between Switzerland, France, and Italy.

Sigismund, son of king Gundobad, had ruled Burgundy from 516, but in 523-524, Chlodomer, King of Orléans, had joined with his brothers in an expedition against the Burgundians, possibly at the instigation of his mother Clotilde, who was eager to avenge her nephew’s assassination by Sigismund.

After the Franks had defeated Sigismund and his younger brother Godomar in battle, Godomar had fled and Sigismund had been taken prisoner by Chlodomer, who then returned to Orléans.

Godomar, however, had rallied the remnants of the Burgundian army and returned triumphantly to Burgundy at the head of the troops sent by his ally, the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great, massacring the garrison the Franks had left behind.

Chlodomer, having directed the assassination of Sigismund and his sons Gisald and Gondebaud on May 1, 524, then marched on Burgundy with his brother Theuderic, King of Metz.

Chlodomer had been killed on this expedition, in the summer of the same year, at the Battle of Vézeroncem in Isère.

In 532, Clovis’s surviving sons—Childebert of Paris, Chlothar of Soissons and Theuderic of Metz—had invaded Burgundy again.

The death of Athalaric in 534 generates a succession crisis in the Ostrogothic kingdom, the Burgundian ally.

The Burgundian kingdom now devoid of protection, Chlothar, Theudebert, and Childebert take the opportunity to invade.

The Franks have by this time apprehended and killed King Godomar, extinguishing the Burgundian royal dynasty.

The Burgundian kingdom is overtaken, incorporated along with Savoy, into the Merovingian realms, and divided between the three Frankish rulers.

In addition to Dijon and Mâcon, Childebert receives Lyon and …

…Chlothar obtains Grenoble, …

…Die, and some of the neighboring cities.

Chlothar I: Expansion, Fratricide, and the Consolidation of Frankish Power

Following the death of Clovis I in 511 CE, his kingdom is divided among his four sons, with Chlothar I receiving a significant portion of northern Gaul, including:

• Soissons, which he makes his capital.
• Laon, Noyon, Cambrai, and Maastricht, along with territories along the lower course of the Meuse River.

However, Chlothar, known for his ambition and ruthlessness, seeks to expand his domain at the expense of both his enemies and his family.

Chlothar's Seizure of Chlodomer's Lands (524 CE Onward)

• In 524 CE, Chlodomer, Chlothar’s brother and king of Orléans, is killed at the Battle of Vézeronce against the Burgundians.
• His three young sons, Gunthar, Theudebald, and Clodoald, are entrusted to Queen Clotilde, their grandmother, until Chlodomer’s widow remarries Chlothar I.
• Chlothar, along with his brother Childebert I, sees an opportunity to eliminate potential rivals and consolidate power.

The Murder of Chlodomer’s Children

• Chlothar and Childebert send a messenger to Clotilde, offering her the choice:
  • Would she rather see her grandsons tonsured and made monks, or killed outright?
• Clotilde, preferring that they live in the service of God rather than be slain, chooses the monastic option.
• However, Chlothar ignores her wishes and has Gunthar and Theudebald murdered.
• Clodoald, the youngest, escapes, later renouncing his royal lineage by cutting his hair, the symbol of Frankish kingship, and becoming a monk.
  • He eventually founds the Abbey of Nogent and is later venerated as Saint Cloud.

Chlothar’s Share of Chlodomer’s Kingdom

• With Chlodomer’s sons eliminated, Chlothar and Childebert divide his lands.
• Chlothar’s share includes the cities of:
  • Tours

• •  
  • Poitiers

• •  
  • Chartres

• •  
  • Orléans

This significantly expands his territory, further increasing his power and making him one of the most dominant Merovingian rulers.

The Legacy of Chlothar’s Ruthlessness

• Chlothar establishes himself as the most ambitious and cunning of Clovis’ sons, using marriage, murder, and war to increase his holdings.
• His territorial acquisitions strengthen his claim to the entire Frankish kingdom, though full unification will take decades of conflict.
• His actions foreshadow the internal struggles of the Merovingians, where family betrayal and political assassinations become a hallmark of Frankish rule.

Chlothar will continue to expand his influence and dominion, eventually reuniting the entire Frankish kingdom under his sole rule by 558 CE, marking the height of Merovingian power.

The island of Vectis—the modern Isle of Wight—had become extremely vulnerable to the raids of barbarian pirates at the end of the Western Roman Empire.

Cerdic, with his son Cynric, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle (ASC), in the year 534 invades and conquers the island, likely putting to the sword the Romano-British inhabitants who had bravely remained on the island.

The ASC states that the Island was given to Cerdic's nephews—Stuf and Wihtgar—who are Jutes.

It is open to question whether "Wihtgar" actually existed, since Carisbrooke was known as the "Fort of the Men of Wight", or "Wihtwarasburgh", which is changed to "Wihtgarasburgh" and the name "Wihtgar" (an unusual name meaning "White Spear").