| Name |
Clotaire (Chlothar) I'the Old' |
| Suffix |
Merovingian King of the Franks, King in Soissons |
| Born |
497 |
Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
23 Nov 561 |
Braines, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France |
| Buried |
L'abbaye de Saint Medard, Soissons, Aisne, Picardie, France |
| Notes |
- The youngest of Clovis I's sons, Chlotar shared in the partition of his father's kingdom in 511, receiving the old heartlands of the Salian Franks in modern northern France and Belgium. After the death of his brother, Clodomir, he murdered his nephews and shared the kingdom of Orleans with his two remaining brothers, Childebert I and Theodoric I. The deaths without heirs of the latter's grandson, Theodebald, in 555 and of Childebert in 558 brought all the Frankish lands finally under Chlotar's sway.
Chlotar's principal campaigns were against the Burgundians in 523 (with Childebert and Clodomir) and 532-534 (when he and Childebert finally imposed Frankish rule), against the Visigoths in 532 (with Theodoric) and 542 (with Childebert), and against the Thuringians in c. 531 (with Theodoric). Chlotar was ruthless and brutal, and the family rivalries and sometimes open hostilities in which he figured prominently were characteristic of Merovingian history; in 560 he even had his rebellious son, Chram, together with Chram's family, put to death. Gregory of Tours describes Chlotar, wracked with fever on his deathbed, asking - whether in outrage or in admiration - what manner of heavenly king it was who would bring great rulers to their deaths in such a fashion.
The dying words of Chlotar I were quite understandable: "Wa! What kind of king is it in heaven, who kills off kings as great as me?"
|
| Person ID |
I1748534678 |
Red1st |
| Last Modified |
17 Jan 2009 |
| Father |
Clovis I'the Great', Merovingian King of the Franks, b. 466, Reims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France , d. 27 Nov 511, Paris, Île-de-France, France (Age 45 years) |
| Mother |
Clotilde of Burgundy, Queen of France, b. 475, Lyon (Lugdunum, Gaul), Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France , d. 03 Jun 545, Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France (Age 70 years) |
| Married |
492 |
France |
| Family ID |
F672171863 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
497 - 561 (64 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
