The siege of Clermont was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

siege of the Aquitanian fortress of Clermont in 761 during the

Aquitanian War Aquitanian could refer to: *Aquitanian (stage), a geological age, the first stage of the Miocene Epoch *Aquitanian language, an ancient language spoken in the region later known as Gascony *Aquitani (or Aquitanians), were a people living in what is ...

. The Frankish army under King

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

burned the fortress, with a large number of men, women and children dying in the flames. The Count of

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

, Bladinus, was taken prisoner and put in chains, while his Gascon levies were killed or captured by the Franks.

Prelude

After conquering

Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...

earlier in 761 and devastating

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

, King

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

advanced with his entire army on Clermont in the region of

. The fort was defended by Count Bladinus of Auvergne with a levy of Gascon soldiers.

Siege

Pepin's army conquered the fortified town and set it on fire. A large number of men, women and children were burned alive in the flames. The massacre is mentioned by the continuator of the

Chronicle of Fredegar The ''Chronicle of Fredegar'' is the conventional title used for a 7th-century Frankish chronicle that was probably written in Burgundy. The author is unknown and the attribution to Fredegar dates only from the 16th century. The chronicle begins ...

but not by the

Royal Frankish Annals The ''Royal Frankish Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales regni Francorum''), also called the ''Annales Laurissenses maiores'' ('Greater Lorsch Annals'), are a series of annals composed in Latin in the Carolingian Francia, recording year-by-year the state ...

. The Gascon levies in the garrison were either killed or captured. Count Bladinus was captured and brought in chains to Pepin.

Aftermath

Pepin's army was "unscathed", according to the continuator of Fredegar. That same year, Pepin also took the fort of Chantelle in

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The Frankish army penetrated as far as

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

, burning and destroying as it went and then returned with home with much plunder.

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clermont, Siege Of (761) Clermont 761 Clermont 761 8th century in Francia