Chararic 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 ...

from sometime before 486 until his death sometime after 507. The primary source for his career is Gregory of Tours. Clovis I had asked Chararic for assistance in his war against

Syagrius Syagrius (430 – 486 or 487 or 493–4) was a Roman general and the last ruler of a Roman rump state in northern Gaul, now called the Kingdom of Soissons. Gregory of Tours referred to him as King of the Romans. Syagrius's defeat by king Clovis ...

in 486, but Chararic held back, standing off to the side and awaiting the outcome before choosing whom he would support. When Clovis finally turned against Chararic, he trapped and captured him and his son. They were imprisoned and tonsured; Chararic was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and his son a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

. According to Gregory, when Chararic complained to his son of their dishonour, his son replied with a remark suggesting that they allow their hair to grow long. This conversation was reported to Clovis, who consequently had them killed and annexed their kingdom and treasure. Ian Wood notes it is surprising that Clovis waited over twenty years to deal with his rivals like Chararic, writing, "Clovis ought to have eradicated Frankish opposition earlier in his reign." However, the fact that he had Chararic tonsured clearly points to some time after Clovis' own conversion to Christianity, which Wood dates to soon after Clovis' victory over the Alemanni which was officially done in 496 A.D. Wood concludes, "If Gregory's ordering of events here is right, and there are no means of testing this part of his account, then the last years of Clovis' reign were concerned with the internal power politics of the Franks." Other Frankish kings Clovis removed from power at this time, according to Gregory of Tours, include

Ragnachar Ragnachar or Ragnarius (died 509) was a Frankish petty king (''regulus'') who ruled from Cambrai. According to Gregory of Tours, Ragnachar "was so unrestrained in his wantonness that he scarcely had mercy for his own near relatives".Gregory, II, 4 ...

, who had supported Clovis against Syagrius, and Ragnachar's two brothers. Before he deposed Chararic, Clovis had persuaded Chlodoric of Strassburg to assassinate his father Sigismund the lame, then had Chlodoric killed. After all these murders Gregory tells us that Clovis lamented that he was left with no family, implying that amongst these casualties were close relatives.Gregory of Tours, II.42

References

Sources

* Gregory of Tours. ''The History of the Franks''. 2 vol. trans. O. M. Dalton. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chararic 5th-century births 6th-century deaths 6th-century Frankish kings Frankish warriors