Encyclopedia:
Childebert I
Childebert I (
Rheims, c.
496 –
13 December 558) was the
Frankish king of Paris, a
Merovingian dynast, one of the four sons of
Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in
511. He was one of the sons of
Saint Clotilda.
In the partition of the realm, he received as his share the town of
Paris, the country to the north as far as the river
Somme, 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
Clotaire I in
Soissons.
In
523, Childebert participated in the
Burgundian War. Chlodomer died in the
Battle of Vézeronce. In
524, after the murder of Chlodomer's children, Childebert annexed the cities of
Chartres and
Orléans.
He took part in later various expeditions against the kingdom of
Burgundy. He besieged
Autun in
532 and, in
534, received as his share of the spoils of that kingdom the towns of
Mâcon,
Geneva, and
Lyon. When
Witiges, the king of the
Ostrogoths, ceded
Provence to the Franks in
535, the possession of
Arles and
Marseilles 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 of the
Visigoths. The
Arian king of
Hispania, Chrotilda claimed, was grossly mistreating her, a
Catholic. Childebert went down with an army and defeated the Gothic king, killing him in battle. Chrotilda died on her return journey to Paris of unknown causes.
left|thumb|250px|Siege of Zaragoza by Childebert and Clotaire.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
St Vincent, in honour of which he built at the gates of Paris the famous monastery of St Vincent, known later as
St-Germain-des-Prés.
He died without issue 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). 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, a contemporary, speaking as a
Neustrian, puts these words into Childebert's mouth:
Velim unquam Arvernam Lemanem quae tantae jocunditatis gratia refulgere dicitur, oculis cernere.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html 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 St Vincent to house his relics.
Sources
*
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/gregory-hist.html Excerpts from Historia Francorum with Ernest Brehaut's critical analysis of Gregory in the context of his time.*
Oman, Charles.
The Dark Ages 476-918.
1914. Rivingtons,
London.
s-hou|
Merovingian
s-bef|before=Clovis
s-ttl|title=King of Neustria|years=
551–
s-aft|after=
Clotaire
Category:496 birthsCategory:558 deathsCategory:Frankish kingsCategory:Kings of Burgundyda:Childebert 1.de:Childebert I.es:Childeberto Ifr:Childebert Iergl:Khildeberto Iit:Childeberto Ika:ხილდებერტ Ilb:Childebert I.nl:Childebert Ino:Childebert Ipt:Childeberto Iro:Childebert Iru:Хильдеберт Isv:Childebert I
