Clovis I (about 466 - 27 November 511) - King of the Franks, ruled in 481/482 - 511, from the Merovingian dynasty. Son of King Childeric I and Queen Bazina of Thuringia. Clovis was undoubtedly one of the greatest politicians of his time and perhaps the only great king of the Merovingian dynasty.
Clovis's main biographer is Gregory of Tours, bishop of the city of Tours. Both the chronicler Fredegar, who wrote down his Chronicle in the 7th century, and the anonymous author of the Book of the History of the Franks, who lived in the 8th century, basically repeat Gregory of Tours, without making significant deviations from his text. In addition, some fragments of the correspondence of that time and later records made on the basis of sources that have not survived today have survived to this day.
Gregory of Tours was born less than three decades after the death of Clovis and could personally meet with people who still remembered the late king. And he certainly knew people who knew the wife of Clovis, Queen Clotilde, who survived the king for 33 years and after the death of her husband retired to Tours, where she spent the rest of her life in the Basilica of St. Martin. After becoming bishop of Tours and deciding to write his work dedicated to the Frankish kings, later called "History of the Franks", Gregory probably met with people who remembered the stories of the late queen. Apparently, these stories basically formed the basis of his story about Clovis.
In the story of Clovis, told by Gregory of Tours, both fairy-tale motifs dating back to the oral folk tradition and information of church origin are intertwined. His "History" is rich in instructions, since this text was originally intended to teach, and then turned into a laudatory biography. Therefore, this source does not meet the requirement for an accurate presentation of historical facts. The chronology of Clovis' reign is often unclear. Gregory considers the events listed below to be five years: for example, the war with Siagrius took place, according to his information, five years after Clovis's accession to the throne, the war against the Alemanni - fifteen years after the beginning of his reign, the war with the Visigoths - five years before his death. Such presentation of information can be a simplification on the part of the author. But it is also quite possible that these dates are close to the truth. The only more or less exact date that scientists have to date is the date of Clovis's death in 511. Based on the fact that Gregory notes that Clovis ruled for 30 years and died at 45 years old, we can conclude that he was born about 466, and ascended the throne in about 481 or 482.
The name "Clovis" (Frank. Hlodowig) consists of two parts - the roots "hlod" (that is, "famous", "outstanding", "eminent") and "wig" (which translates as "fight"). That is, "Clovis" means "Famous in battle."
Accession to the throne. Situation in Gaul
Estimated distribution of land in Gaul in 481
Clovis ascended the throne at the age of 15, after the death of his father. At that time, the Franks were not a single people, they were divided into Salic and Ripoire francs. But even these two large branches, in turn, were subdivided into smaller “kingdoms” (lat. Regna), ruled by their “kings” (lat. Rex), who are essentially only military leaders. Thus, Clovis inherited power over only a small part of the Salic Franks, centered in Tournai.
The rest of Gaul, as noted by Gregory of Tours, was divided as follows: “In the same area, in its southern part, up to the Loire River, the Romans lived. On the other side of the Loire, the Goths dominated. The Burgundians, followers of the Arian heresy, lived on the side of the Rhone, on which the city of Lyon is located. "
The fact is that part of the Roman territory with the centers in Soissons and Paris, due to the expansion of the Visigoths and the Burgundians, was initially cut off from their metropolis - the Western Roman Empire, and after this empire ceased to exist in 476, it remained the last piece Roman land. This territory was ruled by Syagria, and from it it received the name of the State of Syagria. Gregory, speaking of Syagria, calls him "King of the Romans" (lat. Rech Romanorum), not knowing his real title. Perhaps he was called a patrician, as Fredegar calls him in his Chronicle.
War with Siagria
Clovis quickly realized the doom of the State of Syagria and in the 5th year of his reign (in 486) went to war against it, together with his relative, the king of the Salic Franks with the center in Cambrai Ragnahar. Even earlier, apparently in 485, Clovis, trying to enlist the support of the Ripoire francs, probably made an alliance with their king Sigibert and probably even married his daughter, who bore him a son, Theodoric. Christian chroniclers considered this marriage invalid and therefore called her a concubine, and her son was recognized as illegitimate.
In the Battle of Soissons, the Gallo-Romans were defeated. Siagrius fled to Toulouse, to the Visigoth king Alaric II, asking him for asylum. But Alaric, fearing to incur the wrath of the Franks, ordered to bind Syagrius and hand him over to the ambassadors of Clovis. Separate groups of Syagria's troops still resisted in some places after the battle at Soissons, but their resistance was broken. For example, according to the "Life of the Monk Genovefa of Paris", Clovis besieged Paris for five years before he could take it. Interestingly, it was Saint Genovefa who organized the delivery of a caravan of eleven ships with food for the starving population of Paris. Clovis initially kept Syagrius in custody, and after seizing his possessions, he ordered him to secretly stab him. Thus, the rich area of \u200b\u200bRoman Gaul up to the Loire River, with the main city of Paris, fell into the hands of the Franks. Occupying it, Clovis acted in a businesslike manner: personally, while still remaining a pagan, he tried from the very first steps to establish good relations with the rulers of the cities - Christian bishops of the orthodox Nicene faith.
The case of the Soissons bowl
A textbook example of this is the episode with the Soissons bowl told in the chronicle of Gregory of Tours. After the victory at Soissons, among the captured booty, there was an amazingly beautiful bowl from some church, which the bishop of that church asked to return to him. (Fredegar claims that this bishop was Remigius, archbishop of the Cathedral of Reims.) Clovis agreed immediately, but the problem was that what was captured was to be divided among all the soldiers. The king tried to exclude the cup from this section, asking the army to give it to him in excess of his share. But among the soldiers there was one staunch defender of the norms of military democracy, who cut the cup with a sword and said: "You will receive from here only what you are supposed to by lot." Clovis only had to hand over to the prelate's messenger the fragments of the sacred vessel. He knew how to control himself and understood the formal rightness of the daredevil, but he could not forget such a challenge. When a year later he had a chance to conduct another review of his army, the king found fault with the allegedly poor state of this warrior's weapons and personally cut his head off, saying publicly: "That's what you did with that bowl in Soissons!" This worked, they began to fear the king. The clergy quickly appreciated the goodwill of the young monarch, and Saint Remigius acknowledged his authority in writing as the administrator of the Roman province. “The great news has reached us that you are happily in control of military affairs. But it is not new that you are beginning to be who your fathers were. ... honor the bishops and always take their advice. If you remain in agreement with them, then everything will go well in your province, ”he wrote to Clovis.
War with the Turing
In 491, in the 10th year of his reign, Clovis, fulfilling allied obligations to the King of the Ripoir Franks with a residence in Cologne Sigibert, began a war with the Thuringians. Gregory of Tours says that the Ripuar Franks did not want this war and strove for peace with the Thuringians, even giving them hostages to secure this peace. However, the Thuringians killed the hostages and themselves treacherously attacked the Franks, robbing them of all their property. Their raid was accompanied by terrible atrocities. They “hung boys in trees for shameful ouds and killed more than two hundred girls with a terrible death: they tied their hands to the necks of horses, which, under the blows of sticks with a sharp tip, rushed in different directions and tore the girls apart; others were put between the ruts of the roads, nailed to the ground with stakes, loaded carts were rolled along them and, breaking their bones, thrown them out to be devoured by dogs and birds.
Sigibert requested help from the Salian Franks, and Clovis responded to this request. He invaded and defeated the Thuringian territory. Although, it is possible that this tribe of the Rhine Thuringians was finally conquered only towards the end of the reign of Clovis.
Marriage to Clotilde
In 493-494, the political weight of Clovis among the German kings was already so great that the Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great, after defeating Odoacer, asked for the hand of Clovis's sister Audofleda, and soon this marriage took place. Clovis himself, although he cohabited with a certain woman and even had a son from her, the future King Theodoric I, in 493 married Clotilde (Chrodechilda), daughter of the Burgundian king Chilperic II and niece of the Burgundian king Gundobad. Four brothers ruled in Burgundy at that time - Gundobad, Godegisel, Chilperic II and Godomar I. Gundobad killed his brother Chilperic with a sword, ordered his wife to be thrown into the water with a stone around her neck, then condemned his two daughters to exile: the elder Crona (she left to the monastery) and the younger Clotilde. Meanwhile, Clovis often had to send ambassadors to Burgundy, where they met young Clotilde. Noticing her beauty and intelligence, and learning that she was of royal blood, they informed the king about it. Clovis immediately sent an ambassador to Gundobad to ask Clotilde for his wife. He, not daring to refuse, gave her into the arms of the sent ones, and Clovis married her. Although the royal house of Burgundy was of Arian confession, Clotilde, under the influence of her mother Caretina, had already converted to the orthodox Nicene faith.
Sculpture of Clovis I in the Cathedral of Saint-Denis near Paris. Fragment of a tombstone.
After marriage, according to Gregory of Tours, Clotilde did everything to persuade her husband to accept her faith. But Clovis did not dare to take this step for a long time. After the birth of Ingomer's first son, Clotilde asked her husband for permission to baptize the child. Clovis, who, as already noted, in principle treated Christianity with understanding, agreed. However, shortly after baptism, the child died, right in the baptismal clothes. The king was angry. Gregory reports that the king exclaimed: "If the boy had been consecrated in the name of my gods, he would have remained alive." After that, the queen gave birth to her second son, Chlodomir. When he was christened, he also began to get sick, and the king said: “The same will happen to him as to his brother. Namely: baptized in the name of your Christ, he will soon die. " Clotilde began to pray fervently, and in the end Chlodomir recovered. But, despite this miraculous healing and constant admonitions of his wife, Clovis refused to reject paganism and answered his wife: "Everything was created according to the will of our gods, your God did not show his strength in any way."
War with the Alemanni
In 496, in the 15th year of Clovis' reign, a war broke out between the Franks and the Alemanni. Probably, after the invasion of the Alemanni in the region of the Middle Rhine (Ripoir) francs, an alliance was concluded between the king of the latter Sigibert and Clovis. The Franks won the battle at Tolbiak (modern Tzulpich). The Alemannic king fell in battle, and Clovis captured most of the Alemannic lands, namely the territory on the left bank of the Rhine, the area of \u200b\u200bthe Neckar (right tributary of the Rhine) and lands down to the lower Main. Sigebert was wounded in the knee in this battle and later received the nickname Lame.
Events that influenced the adoption of Christianity by the king
The most important event in the reign of Clovis was his baptism. Gregory of Tours notes that the king's conversion took place after his victory over the Alemanni. Allegedly, when the Alemanni began to win, Clovis exclaimed: “O Jesus Christ, to you, whom Clotilde confesses to be the Son of the living God, to You, who, as they say, helps the suffering and gives victory to those who trust in You, with humility I call to manifest the glory of Your might. If You grant me victory over my enemies and I experience Your strength, which, as he claims, the people consecrated by Your name have experienced, I will believe in You and be baptized in Your name "- and immediately the king of the Alemanni was defeated, and his army remained without guidance, fled.
Returning home, he told the queen how he had won the victory by calling on the name of Christ. The queen summoned Remigius, Bishop of Rheims, who began to persuade the king to be baptized. The king answered him: “I willingly listened to you, holy father, one thing confuses me that the people subordinate to me will not tolerate my leaving their gods. However, I will go and speak with him according to your words. " The people, after the king's speech, exclaimed: "Merciful king, we renounce mortal gods and are ready to follow the immortal God preached by Remigius." So the decision was made to be baptized.
Estimated date and place of baptism
The date and year of Clovis's baptism remain the most controversial of the entire chronology of his reign. Neither Gregory of Tours, nor Fredegar and the anonymous author of the Book of the History of the Franks, who repeat him, give any dates. The baptism of Clovis is mentioned in their letters by the king's contemporaries, Bishop Vienne Avit and Bishop Remigius of Reims, but they also do not give any dates. Baptism is traditionally believed to have taken place on Christmas Day, December 25, 496, although Fredegar says it took place on Easter. The baptism took place in Reims by the hand of Remigius. Clovis's example was followed by three thousand francs from his army, apparently his squad (Fredegar says that there were 6,000 baptized), as well as his sister Albofleda, who, however, soon died. His other sister, Lantechilda, who fell into the Arian heresy, also converted to the orthodox Nicene faith.
The Consequences of Baptism
Baptism helped to strengthen the power of Clovis, providing him with the support of the Orthodox Nicene clergy and the benevolent attitude of the Gallo-Roman population. What mattered was that Clovis adopted Christianity in its orthodox form. Earlier, the baptized Germanic peoples (Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Burgundians, etc.) preferred Arianism. The orthodox, Nicene religion was perceived by them as the official religion of imperial Rome, and since their states arose in heavily romanized territories, the kings instinctively feared that their peoples would "dissolve" in an alien and powerful civilization. Clovis felt that these fears were unfounded, and the configuration of his possessions was such that it provided the possibility of a constant influx of new forces from the German world. The decision he made created a precondition for Romano-Germanic cultural unity and synthesis, and this is the merit of the Frankish monarch to European culture. Interestingly, the Gallo-Roman episcopate considered the adoption of Christianity by Clovis in the form of the orthodox Nicene faith as their victory. Thus, Bishop Avit of Vienne wrote in his congratulatory letter to Clovis: "Your religion is our victory."
Baptism Legends
The baptism of Clovis is surrounded by all sorts of unusual legends. According to one of them, an angel appeared to Saint Remigius in the form of a dove and brought a vessel with myrrh (fr. Sainte ampoule or "Holy Glass Lady") for the baptism of Clovis. Later, almost all the kings of France were anointed with the myrrh from this bottle. According to legend, the Holy Glass Lady was broken during the French Revolution. Gregory of Tours does not mention this miracle in the History of the Franks. The legend was apparently started by the Archbishop of Reims Ginkmar.
There is a legend about the appearance of the heraldic lily of French kings: Clovis allegedly chose this flower as a symbol of purification after baptism. According to another version, an angel with a lily appeared to Clovis during the Battle of Tolbiak and told him to make this flower his symbol from now on and bequeath it to descendants.
Clashes with Bretons and Visigoths
In the west, the advance of Clovis was delayed for a long time by the fierce resistance of the Armoricans, with whom, apparently, a treaty had to be concluded around the year 500. Apparently, after all, Clovis received some kind of power, even if only nominal, over Brittany. In his story about Clovis, Gregory of Tours does not say a word about the war of this king with the Bretons, but further in the text, talking about the sons of Clovis, he uses the following saying: “After the death of King Clovis, the Bretons were always under the rule of the Franks, and they had earls , not kings. " However, many historians note that this claim of Brittany's dependence on the Frankish state was unfounded and that from the middle of the 6th century the Bretons were strong enough not to fear the power of the Franks.
By the mid-90s of the 5th century, the Franks gradually began to move south of the Loire, into the territory of the Visigoths. The already shameful act of the Visigoth king Alaric issuing Syagrius, who had found refuge with him, to the ambassadors of Clovis, suggests that the Visigoths were afraid of the Franks. Clovis was able to undertake a series of victorious raids, which led him first in 494 to Saint, however, in 496 Saint was again returned by the Visigoths. Then in 498, Clovis entered Bordeaux, where the Franks captured the Visigoth Duke of Suatria. Subsequently, apparently, a Visigoth-Burgundian alliance against the Franks was formed, since the King of the Burgundians, Gundobad, sent Frankish prisoners to Toulouse. Around 502, these clashes ended. Since Alaric II and Clovis met on an island in the middle of the Loire near the village of Amboise in the region of the city of Tours, the border between the Visigoths and the Franks probably ran along this river. It is not known what the negotiations were about, but it is quite possible that it was a question of mutual recognition of possessions.
Interference in the affairs of Burgundy and a new war with the Alemanni
Meanwhile, the two kings of the Burgundians, the brothers Gundobad and Godegisel, began to fight each other. Godegisel turned to Clovis for help against his brother, promising to pay tribute: "If you help me in persecuting my brother so that I could kill him in battle or expel him from the country, I will annually pay you the tribute you set in any amount." In 500, Clovis and Godegisel defeated Gundobad in a battle on the banks of the Ouche River, near the fortress of Dijon. Gundobad fled to Avignon. Godegisel promised Clovis a part of the kingdom and withdrew to Vienne, while Clovis pursued Gundobad to Avignon, but then suddenly returned to his state, probably due to the fact that the Visigoth king Alaric II moved to his borders, and Gundobad agreed to pay him an annual tribute. Clovis left Godegisel to help him with five thousand of his soldiers.
In 501, Gundobad, with the support of the Visigoths, again invaded Burgundy, laid siege to Godegisel and an auxiliary detachment of Franks in Vienne. Fearing a shortage of food, Godegisel ordered to expel the commoners from the city. One of them, a foreman who was entrusted with the responsibility of monitoring the city water supply, showed Gundobad the passage through which water entered the city. So with the help of treason, having seized the city, the besiegers hacked the garrison. Godegisel fled to the Arian church, but was killed there along with the heretical bishop. The captured Franks were ordered by Gundobad to be sent to the Visigoth king Alaric in Toulouse. Having conquered the whole country, Gundobad became the only king of Burgundy. In 503, Clovis and Gundobad met near Auxer and concluded a treaty of alliance.
In 506, the Alemanni revolted, and Clovis had to again force them to recognize his authority. However, part of the Alemanni fled and found protection from the Ostrogoths, settling south of Lake Constance and in Noric. Theodoric the Great gave them, along with the Bavars, the status of "federated allies", according to the Roman model, and entrusted the protection of the Alpine mountain passes.
War with the Visigoths
Causes of the war
An outstanding political event during the reign of Clovis was the seizure in 507-508 of most of the Visigothic state in Gaul by the allied Franks and Burgundians. In this war, Clovis was supported by the ripoir francs of Sigibert the Lame. The Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great tried in letters and through the ambassadors whom he sent to the kings of the Visigoths, Burgundians, Western Heruli, Varna and Rhine Thuringians, as well as Clovis himself, to preserve the peace and balance of the German kingdoms in Western Europe, but Clovis did not agree to any negotiations ... Probably, he was incited to a quick attack on the Visigoths and Byzantine diplomacy, for the success of Clovis meant at the same time weakening the political position of Theodoric the Great.
Clovis hoped that the Gallo-Roman population and the Orthodox Nicene Church of the Visigoth state would unanimously go over to the side of their fellow believers, the Franks. However, this hope was not fully justified. The inhabitants of Auvergne, including the remnants of the Gallo-Roman Senate aristocracy, led by Apollinarius, the son of Sidonius Apollinaris, supported the Visigothic king Alaric II. Clovis himself justified his war with the Visigoths with the desire to liberate the Orthodox Nicene Church in the Visigoth state from the oppression of the Arian heretics. He used this as an excellent pretext for starting a war of conquest, which took on the character of a "crusade". Gregory of Tours puts into his mouth the following speeches: “It pains me to see that part of Gaul is in the hands of these Arians; let us go to war against them, defeat them with God's help and take over their country. "
The Franks set out on a campaign
In the spring of 507 Clovis, together with his son Theodoric and the son of Sigibert the Lame, Chloderich, set out on a campaign in the direction of Tours. Then he joined up with a detachment of Burgundian troops led by Sigismund, the son of Gundobad. The campaign was accompanied by miraculous signs; according to contemporaries, God favored the newly converted king. Trying to win the favor of the Gallo-Roman population, Clovis strictly forbade his army to plunder local residents. According to Grigory Tursky, even a soldier who took an armful of hay without asking was subjected to the death penalty.
Battle of Vuye
In the late summer of 507, a decisive battle took place between the Franks and the Visigoths on the Vouillet plain, about 15 km northwest of Poitiers. After a fierce battle, the Franks won, and Clovis himself defeated Alaric II in single combat. Many of the Auverneses and noble senators who came with Apollinaris were killed in this battle. This defeat completely demoralized the Visigoths. The Zaragoza Chronicle quite rightly conveys the consequences of the battle when it says that "the Toulouse kingdom was destroyed by the Franks." In the fact that one military defeat led to the collapse of the Visigothic state, the death of Alaric and the absence of an announced adult heir played an important role; in the first weeks after the defeat, apparently, there was no one who could unite the forces of the Visigoths. In addition, the military superiority of the Franks affected. Apparently, the Franks focused on close combat could be extremely dangerous for those accustomed only to equestrian combat at a distance of the Visigoths. Whatever it was, but the further conquest of the possessions of the Visigoths in Aquitaine by the Franks took place without any particular complications.
Capture by francs of Aquitaine
Clovis got freedom to conquer Aquitaine, just at the moment when the Byzantine fleet, which had landed troops in Tarentum, tied the forces of Theodoric the Great and the Ostrogoths could not come to the aid of the Visigoths. Clovis with part of the army moved to Bordeaux, where he spent the winter, and his son Theodoric, with another part of the army, subdued the Franks of the Visigoth possession in South and Southeast Gaul, capturing the cities of Albi, Rodez and Clermont and lands to the border of the Burgundian possessions.
Taking Toulouse
In the spring of 508, the Frankish troops under the command of Clovis, together with the Burgundian auxiliary detachments, took the capital of the Visigoths, Toulouse. Part of the royal treasury fell into the hands of the Franks. It is a mistake to say that the entire royal treasury was discovered by the Franks in Toulouse. From the message of Procopius of Caesarea it turns out that at least a significant part of the treasury was transported for safety to Carcassonne. Clovis occupied the city of Angoulême, expelling the Goths from there. Gregory of Tours reports that the Lord endowed Clovis with such strength that the walls of the city collapsed at his sight; in reality, apparently, there was a tunnel that collapsed the wall. Having reached the maximum practicable, Clovis returned victoriously to Tours, bringing many gifts to the holy basilica of Blessed Martin. Believing that Martin's intercession helped him defeat the Visigoths and subjugate Aquitaine, Clovis permanently canceled the collection of taxes from the inhabitants of the Diocese of Tours.
Theodoric continued to fight with Frankish units, trying to occupy Auvergne, and the Burgundian king Gundobad captured Narbonne and laid siege to Arles, dreaming of gaining access to the Mediterranean Sea.
Intervention in the war of the Ostrogoths
Around the summer of 508, the Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great was able to send an army to Gaul to prevent the complete collapse of the Visigothic state. The Burgundians were forced to lift the siege of Arles; they lost Narbonne too. Also, the Ostrogothic army managed to lift the siege of the Franks from Carcassonne, where, apparently, the young son of Alaric II Amalaric, who was also the grandson of Theodoric the Great, was hiding. The war lasted until 512 or 514, but we do not know the details of the course of individual battles. Thanks to the intervention of the Ostrogoths, the Visigoths retained part of southern and southwestern Gaul, Septimania and the south of Novempopulania, with cities: Nimes, Magalona, \u200b\u200bLodeve, Agde, Beziers, Narbonne, Carcassonne. Provence south of the Durance River was annexed to the Ostrogoth state. Although, as a result of the war with the Goths, the Franks significantly expanded their territory in Gaul and now owned lands from the Garonne to the Rhine and from the borders of Armorica to the Rhone, access to the Mediterranean Sea was still closed to them.
Evaluation by the Emperor of Byzantium of Clovis
In 508, the Byzantine embassy arrived at Chlodwig in Tours, informing him that Emperor Anastasius I had elevated him to the rank of honorary consul. Anastasius also sent him, as a sign of formal recognition, royal insignias - a chlamydah, a purple tunic and a diadem. By this act, Byzantium expressed its approval of the anti-Gothic policy of Clovis and his conversion to Christianity of the orthodox Nicene sense. For the Christian population of Gaul, this meant additional confirmation of the legitimacy of the Frankish government. However, it should be noted that Chlodwig was not awarded the title of consul at all, he was only given consular insignia, often handed out by the imperial court during Byzantium. The present consulate has always fit into the so-called Consular Fasts and served as the designation of the year. The name of Clovis is not mentioned in Fasts.
After the war with the Visigoths, Clovis came to Paris, which he made his residence (508).
Clovis's reprisal against his relatives
Why Clovis was not canonized
Clovis' services to the church were great, as the baptist of his country. His consort, Queen Clotilde, received a halo of holiness. But Clovis was not canonized, and the reason for this, obviously [source not specified 191 days], was the character of the king, pragmatic to the point of cynicism. Baptism was not associated with a moral upheaval for him. Clovis saw in the adoption of Christianity, first of all, a practical benefit and, having already become a Christian, without any remorse, he carried out his plans of reprisal against all kinship kings.
Accession of the lands of Ripoire francs
On the king of the Ripoir Franks who ruled in Cologne, Sigibert the Lame, he set his son Chloderich, and when he got rid of his father at his instigations, the messengers of Clovis killed him; Clovis, however, annexed the lands of Sigibert to his possessions, declaring his complete innocence to everything that happened (509).
Capturing the lands of Hararich
On other occasions he resorted to military force. So, Clovis opposed one of the leaders of the Salic Franks, who owns part of the territories in the lower reaches of the Rhine, a certain Hararich. Previously, Clovis asked him for help during the war against Syagrius, but Hararich preferred to take a wait-and-see attitude, watching which of the opponents wins. Clovis captured Hararich and his son and forcibly cut their hair, proclaiming the father a priest and his son a deacon. Thus, Hararich and his son were deprived of the right of royal inheritance. Further, Gregory narrates that when Hararikh complained that he had been humiliated and cried, his son said: “These branches were cut on a green tree, but the branches did not dry up at all and could quickly grow back. If only the one who did it died quickly! " These words reached Clovis' ears, and he ordered them to be beheaded.
The murder of Ragnahar and his brothers Richard and Rignomer
Then Clovis planned to seize the lands of his ally and relative Ragnahar from Cambrai. He bribed Ragnahar's warriors by sending them golden wrists and sling; however, as noted by Gregory of Tours, all these things only looked like gold, but in fact they were skillfully gilded. After which Clovis went against Ragnahar; Immediately after the start of the battle, Ragnahar's warriors betrayed him, captured Ragnahar and his brother Ryhar and gave them bound to Clovis. Clovis said to him: “Why did you humiliate our family by allowing you to be tied? You would be better off dead. " And, raising his ax, cut his head, then, turning to his brother, said: "If you had helped your brother, he would not have been tied up" - and killed him in the same way, hitting him with an ax. After the death of both, the traitors learned that the gold they received from King Clovis was counterfeit. They say that when they told the king about this, he answered them: “The one who, of his own free will, gives his master to death, receives such gold. You should be content that you survived, and did not die under torture, thus paying for the betrayal of your masters. " Ragnahar's brother Rignomer was also killed in the city of Le Mans on the orders of Clovis. Thus, the lands of the Salic Franks, centered at Cambrai, were also annexed to the dominions of Clovis.
Some historians attribute the conquest of the territory of the Salic Franks by Clovis not to the end of Clovis 'reign, as Gregory of Tours tells about it, but to the first period of his conquests, namely the time of Clovis' victory over Siagrius.
Repression of other relatives
Combining strength with treachery, Clovis destroyed other kings kindred to him, and just relatives, from whom he could fear attempts on his power and life. The news reported by Grigory of Tours is colorful: “Having gathered his own once, they say, he remembered with regret about the relatives whom he himself had killed:“ Woe to me, I remained like a wanderer among a foreign land and have no relatives who could help me in in case of misfortune! ". But this did not mean that he was saddened by their death, but spoke so out of cunning, hoping to find out if anyone else was still alive to kill everyone to the last."
Last years of reign and death of the king
In the last years of his reign, Clovis conquered the regions or small kingdoms of the Rhine Thuringians, Varna and Western Heruli. Thus, on the left bank of the Rhine there were no independent territories other than the state of Clovis. Under Chlodwig, the Salicheskaya Pravda, the first collection of laws of the Franks, was recorded, and the first church council was convened in Orleans in July 511, in which 32 bishops took part (half of them were from the "Kingdom of the Franks"). Clovis was proclaimed by all the bishops present "Rex Gloriosissimus, Son of the Holy Church."
Clovis died at the age of 46 on November 27, 511 in Paris. He was buried in the church of the Apostles Peter and Paul, which he himself built. In the 18th century, on the site of this church, later rededicated in honor of St. Genevieve, the Pantheon was erected. Clovis reigned for 30 years.
The founder of the kingdom of the Franks, Clovis ascended the throne when he was fifteen. He only owned a small area. But after continuous wars, his state turned into the strongest kingdom. It has reached truly colossal proportions. From now on, no one could disregard the interests of Clovis, the king of the Franks. Interesting facts from the life of this ruler are in the article. So, everything in order ...
Death of the empire
At the end of the fifth century, the power of the governors of the Roman Empire in Gaul, in principle, remained. But Rome, which was already weakened from the inside, was not able to withstand the pressure of the barbarians who were advancing from all sides on the imperial lines. First of all, this applied to the Germans.
In 476, the last emperor of the Roman Empire was finally overthrown. This event did not make much of an impression on the Gauls, for by this time the empire was almost completely divided between the leaders of the Germans. Moreover, many of them did not recognize Roman power for a long time. In fact, only the middle strip of Gaul still belonged to Rome and was ruled by the governor. But we will return to this a little later.
In general, 4 Germanic peoples dominated Gaul. These were the Alemans, Visigoths, Burgundians and, in fact, the Franks, who were considered the most powerful. At one appearance, they terrified strangers.
Initially, the Franks' squads invaded the territory with the aim of a banal robbery. But over time, they began to create their own settlements.
Among them were the Salic Franks, whose tribe was one of the leading ones. They got their name from the Saly river. The Merovingian family ruled over them.
Merovey's descendants
The Frankish king Clovis belonged to the Merovingian dynasty. They all had to wear very long hair. The fact is that for these leaders, a short hairstyle was a terrible shame. Cutting their hair meant for them not only their incapacity, but also the inability to perform royal functions.
The founder of the family Merovey managed to subjugate a large territory, including modern Belgium. By this time, Tournai was the capital of the state of the Salic Francs.
After the death of Meroveus, his son Childeric ascended the throne. His father's unshakable fame was compromised by his actions. At least he was known as a terrible libertine. Actually, because of this, Childeric was expelled by his own subjects. He disappeared from the touring. There he started another romance. His chosen one was Queen Bazina. After some time, the Franks again called on the loving king to rule.
From the connection of the crowned persons, the future king, the founder of the state of the Franks, Clovis was born.
Fifteen year old king
The biography of the Frankish king Clovis began around 466. This Frankish name means "glorified in battle".
How did Clovis become King of the Franks? He ascended the throne at the age of fifteen when his father, Childeric, passed away. He inherited a small area of \u200b\u200bSalic francs with the city of Tournai.
And most of Gaul, we recall, belonged to the Roman governor. In this case, Syagria. He was destined to become the last representative of this great state. The capital was the city of Soissons. It bordered on Frankish possessions.
By and large, for five centuries, this people faithfully served Rome. But a series of subsequent events showed that they managed to adopt the military experience of the Romans themselves. Subsequently, they managed to use it with enviable success in the war with their once powerful rival.
The young Frankish king Clovis (a brief biography confirms this) clearly understood that the state of the Roman governor was doomed. To this end, he formed an army and went to the lands of Syagria.
Soissons and his bowl
In the war against Syagrius, twenty-year-old Clovis was supported by his relative, King Ragnahar. As a result, in a decisive battle at Soissons, their troops defeated the army of the governor. He had to flee to Toulouse, where the Visigoth ruler Alaric II ruled.
After some time, at the request of the young king of the Franks, Syagrius was nevertheless extradited, and a little later the unfortunate governor was executed.
However, this execution did not at all mean that the possessions of Syagrius immediately passed to the king of the Franks. For several years he was forced to take one city after another.
Moreover, the Franks were pagans. Therefore, Clovis had to build good relations with the Catholic clergy. This, of course, did not happen immediately. Moreover, then the Franks were engaged in robbery in churches.
There is a legend about this. After the victory at Soissons, the Franks began to divide the loot. One of the Roman bishops learned that among the trophies there was a church bowl valuable for him and the believers. He asked Clovis to give the vessel to the temple. The king did not mind, and all the soldiers agreed with this decision. But one of the Franks demanded that Clovis receive only what he gets by lot. Moreover, the warrior broke the cup in half with his ax. The ruler of the Franks was silent and ordered to send the trophy to the priest.
Just one year later, another military review took place. Clovis recognized the Frank. He threw his ax to the ground and reproached that in his hands this weapon is very poorly contained. When the unfortunate man began to bend over to pick up the ax, Clovis killed him, saying that he had done the same with the bowl in Soissons.
To be honest, it worked for everyone. They began to fear the "famous in battle". But the clergy appreciated the goodwill of the autocrat. The representatives of Catholicism in this Roman province recognized the authority of Clovis.
Another hike
Over time, Clovis became a good diplomat. He managed not only to conclude numerous alliances, but also to continue to pursue an active policy of conquest, which went on almost continuously.
At the same time, the army was rather small. The number of soldiers in the army of Clovis ranged from three to five thousand people. But let us remind you that it was perfectly organized.
So, the king of the Franks Clovis (whose brief biography is set out in the article) with an army successfully attacked the king of Burgundy Gundobald. After that he went to the possession of the Alemanni. The battle against them took place in the Tolbiak area. Clovis won a landslide victory. The Alemani lands passed to the Franks. In addition, this battle is very important in its consequences. The fact is that the wife of the King of the Franks Clotilde - the princess of Burgundy and a devout Christian woman - has long been convincing him to leave paganism. However, Clovis himself hesitated until the aforementioned battle with the Alemans happened ...
Baptism of the King of the Franks
When the battle against the Alemans began, the enemy began to gain victory. At this moment, Clovis, according to legend, swore that if the Franks won the battle, he would be baptized. The king's army already had enough Gallo-Roman Christians. Hearing the words of the ruler, they were inspired by his speech, and as a result they became the winners in this fierce fight. It was after this event that Clovis was baptized in a solemn ceremony. He was not baptized alone. Almost three thousand of his soldiers were immediately converted to the faith. Subsequently, all other Franks also became Catholics.
Although many tribesmen could not come to terms with the decision of the monarch. But they remained silent, knowing his wayward nature. But the Romans accepted the fact of the king's baptism as their victory. He was hardly well versed in the new religion, and most likely was not an exemplary and benevolent Christian. But his act, in fact, became more than wise. Indeed, from that time on, the Romans and Franks began to merge into a single people. No faith could ever separate them. Also, thanks to their acquaintance with Christian teachings, the Franks began to become familiar with many aspects of the culture of Rome.
In addition, the influential Gallo-Roman episcopate began to give every possible support to Clovis. Perhaps the king himself guessed about the obvious advantage of the new faith. And religion taught that any power is from God. The pagans never had such a postulate. Accordingly, the adoption of Christianity a priori strengthened the influence of Clovis. And the international prestige of the state has increased significantly. In the end, the young ruler was noticed even in Constantinople. So, the emperor Anastasius decided to send ambassadors to him. In a word, for the Frankish state, these steps once again confirmed the legitimacy of Clovis' power.
Thus, the services of the ruler of the Franks to the church were quite great as the baptist of his kingdom. The monarch's wife Clotilde was generally canonized. But Clovis was not given a halo of holiness. Apparently, there was only one reason - the stern temper and cynical actions of the king. The characterization of Clovis, king of the Franks, contains many negative points. He always looked first and foremost in Christianity for practical use. And becoming a Catholic, he easily continued to deal with rivals.
Clovis's "Crusade"
In general, baptism was beneficial for Clovis politically. The king was now considered the protector of all the Catholics of Southern Gaul, who were under the rule of the rulers of the Visigothic state ... For him it was an excellent reason to start fighting against this kingdom. In fact, the war took on the character of a real "crusade".
So, in 507, the 41-year-old Frankish king Clovis from the Merovingian dynasty entered the territory of the Visigoths, who, like the Arians, disliked the Gentiles. Therefore, in these lands the clergy with enviable zeal helped the Catholic conqueror.
At the end of the summer of the same year, a decisive battle with the Visigoths took place on the Vuje plain. As a result, Clovis once again won. The Visigothic army fled, and King Alaric II was defeated on the battlefield. After that, the Franks, without any special complications, continued to advance deep into the once largest kingdom. Soon the state of the Visigoths with the capital Toulouse ceased to exist altogether.
The next year, Clovis, King of the Franks (a photo, or rather a portrait of him, you can see in the article) moved to Paris. This city became the new residence of the king. The choice of the monarch was not at all random. At one time, a Roman garrison was located in Paris. Accordingly, a fortress was erected there. In addition, the city was also the seat of the rulers of Rome before the fall of the empire. So the decision to choose Paris as a residence was rather symbolic. After all, now Clovis began to live in apartments in the palace of the former Roman governors.
Cunning king
In short, over time, Clovis turned into a real king and politician. He tried in every possible way to maintain his power and expand the Frankish state. And for this he never stopped at anything.
By and large, the treachery of the Frankish king Clovis (years of reign - 481-511) knew no limits at all. As a cold-blooded killer, he ordered to destroy not only friends and associates, but often even distant relatives. If, of course, he felt real rivals in them. As a result, in various ways, he managed to exterminate them. Thus, he annexed these territories to his state. And he appropriated all the wealth of the dead, without hesitation.
So, he decided to kill the brothers Rignomer and Richar. And on the ruler of the Ripuar francs, Sigebert, who ruled in Cologne, he set his offspring, who eliminated his own parent. True, the son of Sigebert was later also killed by the envoys of the Frankish monarch. As a result, all these possessions passed to Clovis, who declared that he was completely innocent of these tragic events.
In other cases, the Frankish king was forced to resort to military force. For example, after a short hostilities, the monarch Ragnahar, who ruled in Cambrai, was betrayed and handed over to the consul of the Franks, after which Ragnahar was executed.
Also, King Hararik and his son were captured. Clovis forcibly cut their hair and declared Hararik a priest and his son a deacon. After some time, the founder of the Frankish state considered this all insufficient, after which both were killed.
By and large, such feuds in crowned families have long happened among the Germans. But the king of the Franks Clovis (years of life - 466-511) managed to give them a truly colossal scale. The king's contemporaries took notice of this. Indeed, in those days, among relatives, mutual assistance and solidarity were not an empty phrase.
It is true, perhaps, later Clovis suffered from remorse. In any case, according to legend, he once said that now he is a stranger among foreigners and relatives who could help him no longer exist ...
King's sunset
In the last years of his life, Clovis managed to capture a number of small kingdoms and regions. As a result, on the left bank of the Rhine there were no more independent possessions, apart from the Frankish state.
The first collection of laws was also created. It was called "Salic truth". In addition, the first church council was convened a few months before the emperor's death. It took place in Orleans. The event was attended by over three dozen bishops, half of whom were Franks.
The illustrious king Clovis died at the very end of autumn 511. He died in Paris. He was only forty-five. He was buried according to Christian custom in the Cathedral of Saint Genevieve. By the way, this temple was built by his order. He was in the very place where the patroness of Paris was buried.
Inheritance
When Clovis died, his four sons divided the state among themselves. It was a tribute to the Frankish tradition. Then the division of the inheritance continued from the side of the grandsons of the deceased emperor of the Franks. The inevitable consequence of this section was another feud in the Merovingian family. In these feuds, treacherous killings and other atrocities were always present.
Clotilde, the king's widow, after the death of Clovis moved to Tours. It was there that she began to serve in the monastery of St. Martin. She rarely visited Paris and spent all her days more than modestly.
She outlived her husband by thirty-three years. She was buried with him ...
Soissons bowl
One of the most famous legends associated with Clovis is the story of the Soissons bowl. After the Franks conquered the wealthy area of \u200b\u200bRoman Gaul, defeating Soissons, it was time to divide the booty. According to the Frankish tradition, the leader did not have special advantages over his soldiers, and everything won had to be divided equally among all. But among the loot was an incredibly beautiful bowl from some church, which was very valuable. Then, according to legend, the Archbishop of Reims Remigius asked Clovis to give this cup to him. Clovis and the Franks were pagans, but Gaul's population was predominantly Christian. The Frankish king, as a wise ruler, tried to establish good relations with the rulers of the cities - the bishops. Clovis agreed to the request of Remigius, but he had to obtain consent from his soldiers to take a cup in excess of his share. The army did not contradict 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 cup and cut it open with the words: "You will get from here only what you are supposed to by lot." Clovis gave the relics to the bishop.
The warrior cuts the cup in front of Clovis
The king showed patience, because he understood the formal righteousness and ardor of his warrior, but he did not forget the case. A year later, he inspected his army and saw this warrior. The king found fault with the poor state of the weapon and cut the poor fellow's head in half with an ax, exclaiming: "That's what you did with that bowl in Soissons!" Such a step made it clear to the whole army that the king would not tolerate wrangling, and they began to fear Clovis. The clergy, in turn, appreciated the goodwill of the king of the Franks, and Remigius recognized him as the administrator of the Roman province.
Military victories
Clovis became 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 Syagria was delayed, since many cities held the Frankish siege. But in the end, Clovis conquered them all. After that, the area of \u200b\u200bthe Franks gradually began to turn into a strong Germanic kingdom. Clovis made a dynastic alliance with the Burgundian king, which strengthened his position. He started a war with the Alemanni and managed to win. Around the year 500, the king of the Franks intervened in the affairs of Burgundy and even obliged King Gundobald to pay tribute.
Six years later, he marched against the Visigoths and invaded South Gaul. He presented it as a religious campaign against the Arian heretics. The Orthodox inhabitants of Gaul took the side of Clovis, who, in turn, forbade the soldiers to rob them. Clovis killed the Visigoth king Alaric II in single combat 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 enemy of the Ostrogoths concluded 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 authority. After the war with the Visigoths, Clovis came to Paris and made it his residence. The Frankish state reached enormous size and strength. Clovis began to unite around him other branches of the Franks and gradually gathered and rallied all the people of his tribe.
Christian wife
By the age of 30, Clovis already had great authority among the German kings. The Ostrogoth king even took Clovis's sister to wife. Clovis himself lived with some woman who even bore him a son, but was not married. He married 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 young Clotilde. Clovis noted her beauty and intelligence, and when he learned that she was of royal blood, he asked Gundobad for her hand. 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 after the wedding his wife tried in every possible way to persuade him to accept Christianity. After the birth of her first child, Ingomer, Clotilde decided to baptize her son. However, soon after the ceremony, the baby died right in the baptismal clothes. Clovis was furious, he blamed the faith of his wife for everything. The queen gave birth to her second son and again begged her husband to baptize him. After that, the boy fell ill, and Clovis said that the fate of his brother awaited him: "baptized in the name of your Christ, he will soon die." However, Clotilde began to pray fervently and gradually the boy recovered. However, despite the healing and constant requests of his wife, Clovis each time refused to renounce paganism, claiming that "her god did not show his strength in any way."
Epiphany
Although Clovis was a pagan, he perfectly understood that religion can be an excellent political instrument. Most of the Germans and their kings, who divided 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 to eliminate the distinction between the Franks and the population subject to them. Religious unity strengthened the power and made Clovis legitimate in their eyes. In addition, such a step would help expand the territory of the Franks and increase their influence, especially in the war with the Visigoths. Clovis was baptized according to the Orthodox rite. This event became one of the most important during the years of his reign.
Baptism of Clovis
The baptism of Clovis is shrouded in legends and a halo of mystery. Until now, it is impossible to establish its exact date. According to legend, in the war between Clovis and the Alemanni, the position of the Franks constantly fluctuated. When the opponents began to win, Clovis turned to Jesus Christ: "If You grant me victory over my enemies and I experience Your strength, which, as he claims, the people consecrated by Your name have experienced, I will believe in You and be baptized in Your name." And at the same moment the king of the Alemanni was defeated, and his army fled. Returning home, the king of the Franks told his wife everything. Clotilde summoned Bishop Remigius to her office, and together they were able to convince Clovis of the need to convert to Christianity. The king said that he must get the consent of his people to renounce the old gods, according to legend, the Franks replied that they were ready to follow the king and "the immortal god."
It is believed that the ceremony took place on Christmas Day, December 25, 496 in Reims and was performed by Remigius. Following the king, his 6-thousandth squad and his sister were baptized. During his baptism, according to legend, an angel appeared in the form of a dove to Saint Remigius and brought a vessel with myrrh. Later, almost all the kings of France were anointed for the kingdom with myrrh from this bottle, and the vessel was named the Holy Glass Lady and became the most important French relic. It is believed that the Glass Lady was smashed during the French Revolution as a symbol of the monarchy. Also, 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.
Cunning 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 the point of cynicism, so his baptism was hardly associated with a moral upheaval. The adoption of Christianity did not prevent the king from continuing to crack down on his opponents. So, he set his own son on the king of the Ripoir francs, Sigibert the Lame. When Chloderich got rid of his father, Clovis sent his men to kill the heir. He annexed the lands of Sigibert to the Frankish kingdom and declared his complete innocence in the deaths that occurred.
Clovis also dealt cruelly with the leader of the Salic Franks in the lower Rhine, Hararich. He captured him and his heir and cut off their hair, declaring their father a priest and his son a deacon. Thus, Hararikh and his heir were deprived of the right of royal succession. Then, in their hearts, the son of Hararikh declared that their family tree had not yet withered and wished a quick death to Clovis. The king of the Franks learned about this and ordered the beheading of the captives.
Clovis and his family
Clovis also planned to take the land from his relative Ragnahar. He bribed his ally's vigilantes by sending them gold wrists and belts. After that, he opposed Ragnahar. The warriors betrayed their leader, seized Ragnahar and his brother Richard, and gave them to Clovis. Clovis said to him: “Why did you humiliate our family by allowing you to be tied? You would be better off dead. " With his ax, he cut Ragnahar'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 vigilantes learned that Clovis's gold was a skillful forgery. Clovis told them: "The one who, of his own free will, betrays his master to death, receives such gold according to his merits." After a while in Le Mans, another brother of Ragnahar, Rigner, was killed. Clovis got rid of all the leaders and annexed to his lands the region of the Salic Franks, centered in Cambrai.
The decline of the imperial power, the ever-increasing unpopularity of Roman rule created favorable conditions for the kings-allies of Rome to expand their powers, to satisfy their political claims. They often, with reference to the imperial commission, appropriated the full power, levied taxes from the local population, etc.
The Salic Franks, led by their leader Clovis (481-511), as a result of victorious wars in Gaul, sometimes in confrontation, sometimes in alliance with Rome, they create a vast kingdom stretching by 510 from the middle course of the Rhine to the Pyrenees. Clovis, having established himself as the representative of the Roman emperor, becomes the ruler of the lands, the ruler of a single, no longer tribal, but territorial kingdom. He acquires the right to dictate his own laws, levy taxes from the local population, etc.
Formation of a feudal society and state of the Franks
Periodization of the history of the state of the Franks:
the Merovingian dynasty (late V-VII centuries) - early feudal monarchy;
dynasty of the Carolingians (VIII - mid. IX centuries) - senior monarchy, a period of feudal fragmentation.
The state of the Franks passed the stage of slavery.
The Franks' wars of conquest accelerated the process of creating the Frankish state. The deep reasons for the formation of Frankish statehood were rooted in the disintegration of the Frankish free community, in its class stratification, which began in the first centuries of the new era.
The state of the Franks in its form was early feudal monarchy... It arose in the transition from communal to feudal society, which in its development passed the stage of slavery. This society is characterized by a multitude of structures (a combination of slaveholding, tribal, communal, feudal relations), the incomplete process of creating the main classes of feudal society. Because of this, the early feudal state bears a significant imprint of the old communal organization, institutions of tribal democracy.
In the second period, the creation of large feudal landed property, the two main classes of feudal society, is basically completed: a closed, hierarchically subordinate class of feudal lords, bound by vassal-feudal ties, on the one hand, and the dependent peasantry exploited by it, on the other. The relative centralization of the early feudal state was replaced by feudal fragmentation.
In the V-VI centuries. the Franks still retained communal, tribal ties, relations of exploitation among the Franks themselves were not developed, and the Frankish service nobility, which had formed into the ruling elite during the military campaigns of Clovis, was not numerous.
The salic truth also indicates that the francs have the following social groups:
serving to know;
free francs (community members);
semi-free litas;
slaves.
The most striking social-class differences in the early class society of the Franks, as evidenced by the Salicheskaya Pravda, the legal monument of the Franks dating back to the 5th century, manifested themselves in the situation slaves... Slave labor, however, was not widespread. The slave, in contrast to the free commune-franc, was considered a thing. Stealing him was tantamount to stealing an animal. The marriage of a slave to a free one entailed the latter's loss of freedom.
Differences between social groups (with the exception of slaves) were not so much economic as socio-legal. They were mainly associated with the origin and legal status of the person or the social group to which this person belonged. An important factor influencing the legal differences between the Franks was membership in the royal service, the royal retinue, and the emerging state apparatus.
Along with slaves, there was a special category of persons - semi-free do you... Lit was a part-time citizen of the Franks community, who was personally and financially dependent on his master. Litas could enter into contractual relations, defend their interests in court, participate in military campaigns together with their master. Lit, like a slave, could be freed by his master, who, however, still had his property. For a crime, a litu was, as a rule, entitled to the same punishment as a slave, for example, the death penalty for the abduction of a free person.
The right of the Franks reflects the beginning of the property stratification of the Frankish society. The Salic truth speaks of the master's servants or servants-slaves (winegrowers, grooms, swineherds and even goldsmiths) who serve the master's household.
At the same time, the Salicheskaya truth testifies to the sufficient strength of the communal order, to communal ownership of fields, meadows, forests, heathlands, and to the equal rights of commune peasants to communal land allotment. The very concept of private ownership of land is absent in the Salicheskaya Pravda. She only fixes the origin allod, providing for the right to transfer the allotment by inheritance through the male line. Allodium - alienated, inherited land ownership of free francs - developed in the process of decomposition of communal ownership of land. It was the basis for the emergence, on the one hand, of the patrimonial land tenure of the feudal lords, and on the other hand, the land tenure of the peasants dependent on them. The further deepening of social and class differences among the Franks was directly related to the transformation of the allod into the original form of private feudal landed property.
The processes of feudalization among the Franks received a powerful impetus during the wars of conquest of the 6th-7th centuries, when a significant part of the Gallo-Roman estates in Northern Gaul passed into the hands of the Frankish kings, the servants of the aristocracy, and royal warriors. Serving the nobility, connected to one degree or another by vassal dependence on the king, who seized the right to dispose of the conquered land, becomes a large owner of land, livestock, slaves, colonies. It is replenished by a part of the Gallo-Roman aristocracy, which goes into the service of the Frankish kings.
The clash between the communal orders of the Franks and the late Roman private property orders of the Gallo-Romans, the coexistence and interaction of social structures so different in nature, accelerated the creation of new feudal relations. Already in the middle of the 7th century. In northern Gaul, a feudal patrimony begins to take shape, with its characteristic division of land into master's (domain) and peasant (holding). The stratification of the "rank and file free" during the conquest of Gaul also occurred due to the transformation of the communal elite into small patrimonials through the appropriation of communal land.
V-VI centuries. in Western Europe were marked by the beginning of a powerful ideological offensive christian churchesand. The servants of dozens of newly emerging monasteries and temples delivered sermons about human brotherhood, about helping the poor and suffering, and about other moral values.
The growing ideological and economic role of the church could sooner or later be manifested in its power claims. However, the church at this time was not yet a political entity, did not have a single organization, representing a kind of spiritual community of people led by bishops, of whom, by tradition, the bishop of Rome was considered the most important, who later received the title of Pope.
The activities of the church as "Christ's governors" on earth were increasingly invaded by kings, who, in order to strengthen their extremely unstable power, appointed bishops from among their entourage, convened church councils, presided over them, sometimes speaking on theological issues.
This was a time of increasingly close intertwining of secular and religious power, when bishops and other religious leaders sat in government bodies, and local civil administration was carried out by diocesan administrations.
The rapid growth of feudal relations is characterized by the 7th-9th centuries. At this time, an agrarian revolution took place in Frankish society, which led to the widespread establishment of large feudal landed property, to the loss of land and freedom by the commoners, to the growth of the private power of the feudal magnates.
To weaken the power of the Frankish kings led primarily to the depletion of their land resources. Only on the basis of new awards, the granting of new rights to landowners, the establishment of new seigniorial-vassal relations could a strengthening of royal power and the restoration of the unity of the Frankish state take place at this time. Such a policy began to be pursued by the Carolingians, who actually ruled the country even before the transfer of the royal crown to them in 751.
Political system
In the processes of the formation and development of the state apparatus of the Franks, three main directions can be identified:
the degeneration of the organs of the tribal democracy of the Franks into organs of new, public power, into state organs proper;
development of patrimonial authorities;
the gradual transformation of the state power of the Frankish monarchs into the "private" power of the sovereigns-seigneurs with the formation of the seigneurial monarchy, which was fully revealed at the final stage of development of Frankish society (VIII-IX centuries).
The conquest of Gaul was a powerful impetus creation of a new state apparatus among the Franks, for it demanded the organization of the administration of the conquered areas, their protection. Clovis was the first Frankish king to establish his exclusive position as sole ruler.
The power of the Frankish kings began to be inherited. In the VI-VII centuries. under the direct influence of the late Roman order, the legislative powers of the kings are strengthened, and in the capitulations, not without the influence of the church, it is already said about the sacred nature of the royal power, about the unlimitedness of its legislative powers.
With the adoption of Christianity by Clovis, the church becomes a powerful factor in strengthening royal power. It was the church that gave into the hands of the Frankish kings such a justification for the wars of conquest as a reference to the "true faith", the unification of many peoples in the faith under the auspices of a single king as the supreme, not only secular, but also the spiritual head of their peoples.
Socio-economic, religious-ideological, ethnographic and other changes in Gallic society had a direct impact on the processes of the formation and development of specific features of the state apparatus of the Frankish empire, which absorbed in the VIII-IX centuries. most of the barbarian states of Western Europe. Already in the V century. among the Franks, the territorial community (mark) finally comes to the place of the old tribal community, and with it the territorial division into districts (pagi), hundreds.
The Salic truth already speaks of the existence of officials of the kingdom: counts, satsebarons, etc. At the same time, it testifies to the significant role of community government bodies. Tribal People's Assembly at this time it was replaced by a review of the troops - first in March ("March fields"), then (under the Carolingians) in May ("May fields"). But the localities continued to exist hundredth meeting ("malus"), performing judicial functions under the chairmanship of the Tuigins, who, together with the Rakhinburgs, experts in law ("passing judgment"), were representatives of the community.
Role communities in court cases was exceptionally great. The community was responsible for the murder committed on its territory, exhibited confederates testifying to the good name of their member, the relatives themselves brought their kinsman to court, and paid the wergeld with him.
Folding state machine it is also distinguished by its extreme amorphousness, the absence of clearly delineated official powers, subordination, and organization of office work. The threads of government are concentrated in the hands of the royal servants and entourage.
Formation local government takes place at this time under the significant influence of late Roman orders. The Merovingian earls begin to rule the districts as Roman governors. They have police, military and judicial functions. In the capitularies, the Tungin are hardly mentioned as a judge. The concepts of "count" and "judge" become unambiguous, their appointment falls under the exclusive competence of the royal power.
At the same time, the newly emerging bodies of the state apparatus of the Franks, copying some of the late Roman state orders, had a different character and social purpose. These were the authorities, expressing the interests primarily of the German service nobility and large Gallo-Roman landowners. They were built on different organizational foundations. For example, the king's vigilantes were widely used in public service. Originally consisting of a royal military detachment of free Franks, the squad, and therefore the state apparatus, was subsequently replenished not only by Romanized Gauls, who were distinguished by their education, knowledge of local law, but also by slaves, freedmen who made up the royal court state. All of them were interested in strengthening royal power, in destroying the old tribal separatism, in strengthening the new order, which promised them enrichment and social prestige.
In the second half of the VII century. a new system of political domination and management is taking shape, a kind of " democracy of the nobility", which assumes the direct participation of the top of the emerging class of feudal lords in government.
At this time, great power is appropriated by the previously created Royal Council, consisting of representatives of the service nobility and the highest clergy. Without the consent of the Council, the king, in fact, could not make a single serious decision. The nobility is gradually transferred to key management positions not only in the center, but also in the field. Along with the weakening of the power of kings, more and more independence, administrative and judicial functions are acquired by counts, dukes, bishops, abbots, who have become large landowners. They begin to appropriate taxes, duties, court fines.
The continued obedience of the local nobility to the king, to one degree or another, is increasingly determined by their personal relations with the royal court, vassal dependence on the king as a lord.
From the middle of the VII century., in the era of the so-called lazy kings, the nobility already directly takes the reins into their own hands, removing the king. First, this is done by increasing the role and significance of the position of mayordom, and then by directly displacing the king. A striking example of this is the very change of the royal dynasty among the Franks. Back in the 7th century. the Pipinid family of majords began to stand out with their power, land wealth. One of them, Karl Martell, actually already ruled the country.
Agrarian coup of the VIII century... contributed to the further development of the feudal state, the administrative system in which the main role begins to play patrimonial authorities... The new restructuring of the administrative apparatus was facilitated by the widespread dissemination of letters of immunity at this time, by virtue of which the territory belonging to the owner of the immunity was withdrawn (partially or completely) from the jurisdiction of state authorities in judicial, tax, administrative cases. The landowner thus received political power over his peasants. Immunity letters, as a rule, sanctioned the already established relations of political dependence of the peasants on their lords, patrimonials.
Karl Martell reform
Its essence consisted in the fact that land grants of kings (in fact, mayordoms) to the military-service layers became not complete and independent, but conditional property. The immediate reason for the introduction of the beneficial system by Karl Martell was the need to create cavalry to fight the invaders in the kingdom in the first half of the 7th century. by the Arabs.
Mayord, i.e. the head of the royal administration, Karl Martell (715-741) began his activities with the pacification of internal turmoil in the country, with the confiscation of the lands of his political opponents, with the partial secularization of church lands. He used the right of kings to fill the highest ecclesiastical offices. At the expense of the land fund created in this way, land grants for life conditional holding began to be distributed to the new nobility - benefice (from lat. beneficium - good deed, mercy) when performing a particular service (most often equestrian military). The land was received by those who could serve the king and bring an army with them. Refusal to serve or treason to the king entailed the loss of the award. The beneficiary received land with dependent people who carried corvee in his favor or paid the rent. The use of the same form of grants by other large landowners led to the formation of relations of suzerainty-vassalage between large and small feudal lords.
Clovis (465-511) - King of the Franks, of the kind Merovingian, son Hilderich I and Basins... Fifteen-year-old boys, in 481 year, he became king of the Salic francs. Then most of Gaul, which occupied the entire territory of present-day France, was under
roman rule and was ruled by a Roman Siarpiem, son of Egidius. The region of Syapia in the northeast adjoined the lands of the Franks, in the south - to the lands of the Goths and Burgundians. IN 486 year Clovis moved against Siarpius.
He was helped by a relative, King Ragnahar. The defeated Siarpius fled to the Gothic king Alaric II, but, at the request of Clovis, was extradited and executed. But the execution of Siarpius did not mean the transfer of the entire region, which he ruled, into the hands of the Franks. For several years the ruler of the Franks had to take city after city. The Franks were still pagans at this time and robbed churches.
There is a legend connected with one such robbery, when the Franks captured a very valuable mug; and the bishop petitioned the king of the Franks to return her to the church.
Clovis asked the soldiers to add this mug to his share. No one objected, except for one franc, which demanded that the king receive only what he gets by lot. Having said this, the warrior struck the mug with his ax. Clovis was silent and ordered the mug to be 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 maintenance of the weapon. When the warrior bent down to pick up the ax, H. stabbed him in the head, saying: " So you did in Soissons with a mug". With this murder, the king brought great fear to the soldiers.
In 496, Clovis converted to Christianity. This was a significant event in the history of France. His wife, a Christian woman, Clotilde, daughter of Chilperich of Burgundy, insisted on this. The sacrament was performed over him by St. Remigius, Bishop of Reims. About three thousand francs were baptized with the king.
The conversion of Clovis and his subjects to Christianity, with the accession to the ruling church, became one of the most important reasons for the further successes of the Franks.
The king continuously won victories, conquering the peoples. So, he decided to capture part of Gaul, which was occupied by Gotamia. At the head of the army, Clovis went to Poitiers. There then was the King of the Goths, 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 soldier, finding some poor man's hay, said: “ Didn't the king order to take only grass and nothing else? But this is grass. We will not violate the king's order if we take her". This became known to the king. He in the blink of an eye cut the warrior with a sword, saying at the same time: “ How can we hope to win if we offend blessed Martin?". The army took nothing else in this area.
When the army approached the Vienne River, no one knew where to cross to the other side, since the river overflowed its banks from the rains.
At night, the king prayed to God to show him the place of passage. Early in the morning, before his eyes, a deer of amazing size entered the river, and Clovis learned 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 Franks won the victory, Alaric was killed.
From Tours Clovis came to Paris and made it the seat of his kingdom... The king settled in a palace on the Isle of Cite.
In various ways, he exterminated all his relatives, annexing their possessions to his kingdom and appropriating their wealth. Clovis extended his rule over all Gaul. There is a legend that once having gathered his people, he said about his relatives, whom he himself put to death: “ Woe to me that I have remained a stranger among strangers and that I have no relatives who could help me in any way in a moment of danger.". The king did not say so out of pity for the slain. He used this cunning trick to find out if there were still any relatives left to kill him.
Clovis ruled 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.