Childebert I (c. 496 – 13 December 558) was a

Frankish King The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...

of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of

Clovis I Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...

who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of

Saint Clotilda Clotilde ( 474–545), also known as Clothilde, Clotilda, Clotild, Rotilde etc. (Latin: Chrodechildis, Chlodechildis from Frankish ''*Hrōþihildi'' or perhaps ''*Hlōdihildi'', both "famous in battle"), was a Queen of All the Franks. She was ...

, born at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

. He reigned as

King of Paris The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...

from 511 to 558 and Orléans from 524 to 558.

Biography

In the partition of the realm, Childebert received as his share the town of Paris, the country to the north as far as the river

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

, to the west as far as the English Channel, and the Armorican peninsula (modern Brittany). His brothers ruled in different lands: Theuderic I in Metz, Chlodomer in Orléans, and

Chlothar I Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old" ( French: le Vieux), (died December 561) also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I. Chlothar's father, Clovis I, divided the kin ...

in Soissons. In 523, Childebert participated with his brothers in a war against Godomar of Burgundy. Chlodomer died in the

Battle of Vézeronce The Battle of Vézeronce took place on June 25, 524 near Vézeronce-Curtin (then ''Veseruntia'') in Isère, France. This battle was part of an invasion of Kingdom of Burgundy, Burgundy initiated by the four successors of the Frankish king Clovis ...

(524). Thereafter, concerned that the three sons of Chlodomer would inherit the kingdom of Orléans, Chlothar conspired with Childebert to oust them. They sent a representative to their mother, Clotilde. The representative presented a pair of scissors and a sword, offering her the choice to shear the three young boys, thereby depriving them of the long hair considered a symbol of royal power, or to have them killed. She famously replied, "It is better for me to see them dead rather than shorn, if they are not raised to the kingship".Grégoire de Tours, ''Histoire'', livre III, 18. After the murder of Chlodomer's two elder children—the third,

Clodoald Saint Clodoald ( la, C(h)lodoaldus, Cloudus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hlōdōwald''; 522 – 560 AD), better known as Saint Cloud (), was a Merovingian prince, grandson of Clovis I and son of Chlodomer, who preferred to renounce royalty and be ...

, escaping to a monastic life—Childebert annexed the cities of

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

and Orléans. He took part in later various expeditions against the kingdom of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

. He besieged Autun in 532 and, in 534, having conquered the kingdom along with his brother Chlothar and Theuderic's son

Theudebert I Theudebert I (french: Thibert/Théodebert) ( 500 – 547 or 548) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 533 to his death in 548. He was the son of Theuderic I and the father of Theudebald. Sources Most of what we know about Theudebert comes fr ...

, received as his share of the spoils of that kingdom the towns of Mâcon, Geneva and Lyons. When Witiges, the king of the Ostrogoths, ceded Provence to the Franks in 535, the possession of Arles and Marseille was guaranteed to Childebert by his brothers. The annexation of that province was completed, with Clotaire's help, in the winter of 536–537. In 531, he received pleas from his sister Chrotilda, wife of King

Amalaric Amalaric ( got, *Amalareiks; Spanish and Portuguese: ''Amalarico''; 502–531) was king of the Visigoths from 522 until his death in battle in 531. He was a son of king Alaric II and his first wife Theodegotha, daughter of Theoderic the Great. Bi ...

of the Visigoths. The

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

king of Hispania, Chrotilda claimed, was grossly mistreating her, a Catholic. Childebert went down with an army and defeated the Gothic king. Amalaric retreated to Barcelona, where he was assassinated. Chrotilda died on her return journey to Paris of unknown causes. Childebert made other expeditions against the Visigoths. In 542, he took possession of Pamplona with the help of his brother Clotaire and besieged Zaragoza, but was forced to retreat. From this expedition he brought back to Paris a precious relic, the tunic of Saint Vincent, in honour of which he built at the gates of Paris the famous monastery of Sainte-Croix-et-Saint-Vincent, known later as St-Germain-des-Prés. He died on 13 December 558, and was buried in the abbey he had founded, where his tomb has been discovered.See "Nouveaux documents sur le tombeau de Childebert a Saint-Germain-des-Prés" in the ''Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires'', 1887. St-Germain-des-Prés became the royal

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

for the Neustrian kings until 675.Patrick Périn, in ''Médiévales'', 31, 1996, pp. 29–36 He left two daughters, Chrodoberge and Chrodesinde, by his wife Ultragotha. Childebert was an acquisitive monarch. He expanded his domains in more foreign wars than any of his brothers, fighting in Burgundy (more than once), Spain (more than once), Provence and elsewhere in Gaul.

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

, a contemporary Neustrian, cites Childebert as saying: "" ("Would that I could set eyes on the Auvergne Limagne, which is spoken of so highly"). Childbert was also one of the more religious of the sons of Clovis, cooperating with his brothers, rescuing his sister, and constructing the famous monastery of Saint Vincent to house his

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

Notes

Sources

* *

. ''The History of the Franks''. 2 vol. trans. O. M. Dalton. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967. * Geary, Patrick J. ''Before France and Germany''. Oxford University Press: 1988. {{Authority control Merovingian kings Frankish warriors 496 births 558 deaths Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis 6th-century Frankish kings Burials at Saint-Germain-des-Prés (abbey) Royal reburials