Clovis

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Merovingian king of the Franks (481–511), who extended his realm from a small area around Tournai to encompass most of modern France and parts of modern Germany. He succeeded his father Childeric I as king of the Salian (western) Franks; defeated the Gallo-Romans (Romanized Gauls) near Soissons; and defeated the Alemanni, a confederation of Germanic tribes, near Cologne. He embraced Christianity and subsequently proved a powerful defender of orthodoxy against the Arian Visigoths, whom he defeated at Poitiers. He made Paris his capital.

At the age of 15 he succeeded his father Childereic, inheriting the leadership of the Salian Franks who were settled in what is now Flanders. In 486 he moved against the Gallo-Roman warlord Syagrius, defeating him near Soissons and incorporating the area north of the river Loire into his kingdom. He then moved east to intervene in a Burgundian dynastic dispute, but failed to bring the Burgundians under his rule. He waged a long war against the Alamanni, eventually extending the boundaries of his kingdom east of the Rhine, and he succeeded in conquering most of the Visigothic possessions in France. He maintained his power through strength of personality and playing rivals off against each other. When necessary he would not hesitate to use treachery or brutality.

In 493 Clovis married Clotilda, daughter of the Burgundian Chilperic II. Clotilda was a Catholic and exerted a great influence over him. She is said to have inspired him to convert to Christianity at a critical moment in the Battle of Tolbiac in 496. Whatever the truth, he and 3,000 of his followers were baptized as Catholics at Rheims at Christmas 496. Clovis seized the banner of Catholicism to rally support and undermine the other Germanic kingdoms. In 507 he moved against the Visigoths. His victory at Vouillé was decisive and Clovis became ruler of most of what is now France. By now he ruled over a vast area and several peoples. The Eastern emperor Anastasius granted him an honorary title of ‘consul’ , no doubt seeing him as a counterweight to Theodoric the Great in Italy. Clovis moved his capital to Paris and laid the foundations for what was eventually to become the French nation. He died unexpectedly in 511 and his kingdom was divided up amongst his four sons.

Blue stands for the sea. Green represents agriculture and natural wealth. White symbolizes peace. Red recalls the struggle for independence. Effective date: 21 August 1979. >>