| Childeric I | |
|---|---|
 Copy of thesignet ring of Childeric (original stolen in 1831). Inscription CHILDIRICI REGIS ("of king Childeric").[1] The original was found in his tomb atTournai (Monnaie de Paris). | |
| King of the Salian Franks | |
| Reign | c. 457–481 |
| Coronation | 457 |
| Predecessor | Merovech |
| Successor | Clovis I |
| Died | c. 481[2] Tournai (present-dayBelgium) |
| Burial | Tournai (present-day Belgium) |
| Spouse | Basina of Thuringia |
| Issue | |
| Dynasty | Merovingian |
| Father | Merovech |
Childeric I (died 481 AD) was aFrankish leader in the northern part of imperial RomanGaul, and an ancestor of theMerovingian dynasty. He is described as a king (rex), both on his Roman-style seal ring, which was buried with him, and in fragmentary later records of his life. Childeric served as a military leader of Frankish forces under the Roman emperorMajorian, and after his fall, also under theGallo-Roman military leaderAegidius. He was the father ofClovis I, who acquired effective control over all or most Frankish kingdoms, and a significant part of Roman Gaul.[3]
Most of early Merovingian history is based on the account of the 6th-centuryGregory of Tours. The date of Childeric's accession is not given in the text, but it was after emperorAvitus' death in December 456 (II. 11). The only certain date is theBattle of Vouillé in 507 in theFranco–Gothic War; most of Gregory's other statements are contradictory.[4]
Childeric's father is recorded by several sources to have beenMerovech, after whom the dynasty is named.[5] Gregory (II.9) says that Merovech was reputed by some to be a descendant ofChlodio, an earlier Frankish king who had conquered Gaulish areas first in theSilva Carbonaria, then inTournai,Cambrai and as far south as theSomme. This is roughly the definition of the Roman province ofBelgica Secunda (approximately the "Belgium" defined byJulius Caesar centuries earlier, the region stretching from north of Paris to the Flemish coast); later, a letter ofSaint Remigius to Childeric's son Clovis I implies that Childeric had been its administrative chief.
Childeric himself is mainly associated with Roman military actions around theLoire River involving the Gallo-Roman generalAegidius. According to Gregory (II.12), Childeric was exiled to "Thuringia" for eight years due to Frankish distaste for his debauchery and his seduction of his subjects' daughters.[6] In the meantime, according to Gregory, Aegidius himself took up the title of king of the Franks. Upon his return from exile, Childeric joined his host's wife, Queen Basina, who bore their son Clovis.[7]
Guy Halsall connects the story to Roman politics, Aegidius being an appointee of Majorian:
Although this is only one interpretation of the fragmentary sources, an eight-year period ending with Aegidius' death would allow us to associate Childeric's expulsion withMajorian's accession and appointment of Aegidius.[8] ...Majorian's commander on the Loire, Aegidius, refused to acceptSeverus as emperor. It is possible that, to legitimise his position, he took the title king of the Franks.[9]
Halsall (p. 269) speculates that Childeric probably began a Roman military career in the service ofFlavius Aetius who defeatedAttila in Gaul, and he points out that much of his military career appears to have played out far from the Frankish homelands. Ulrich Nonn (map p. 37, and pp. 99–100), following his teacher Eugen Ewig, believes that the exile story reflects a real sequence of events whereby Childeric was a leader of "Salian" or "Belgian" Franks based in the Romanized areas conquered by Chlodio, who were allies under the lordship of Aegidius, but eventually able to take over his power when he and his imperial patron died. (Childeric's son Clovis I later fought Aegidius' sonSyagrius who was remembered as a King of Romans, and who had control ofSoissons in the south ofBelgica Secunda.)
In a passage normally considered to have come from a lost collection of annals, Gregory (II.18) gives a sequence of events which are very difficult to interpret. In theGothic war against Aegidius Childeric and Aegidius successfully repelled theAquitanian Goths ofTheodoric II fromOrléans on theLoire in 463.[10] After the death of Aegidius soon after, Childeric and acomes ("count") Paul are recorded defending the Loire region from Saxon raiders, who were possibly coordinating with the Goths now underEuric. Childeric and Paul foughtSaxons under the command of a leader named "Adovacrius" (sometimes given by modern authors in either an Anglo-Saxon spelling form, Eadwacer, or in a spelling the same as used for his contemporary the future King of ItalyOdoacer, with whom he is sometimes equated). The origin of these "Saxons" is however unclear, and they are described as being based upon islands somewhere in the Loire region.
Soon after this passage, Gregory of Tours (II.19) reports that Childeric coordinated with "Odovacrius", this time normally assumed to be the King of Italy, againstAlemanni who had entered Italy. Some authors interpret these Alemanni to beAlans, a people established in the Loire region in this period. There is no consensus on this, however, because the reference in this case is not apparently to events near the Loire.[citation needed]
Gregory of Tours, in hisHistory of the Franks, mentions several siblings of Clovis within his narrative, apparently thus children of Childeric:
Childeric is generally considered to have died in 481 or 482 based on Gregory's reports that his son Clovis died in 511 and had ruled 30 years.[11]
Childeric's tomb was discovered in 1653[12] not far from the 12th-century church of Saint-Brice inTournai, now in Belgium.[13] Numerous precious objects were found, including jewels of gold andgarnetcloisonné, gold coins, a gold bull's head, and a ring with the king's name inscribed. Also present were some 300 golden winged insects (usually viewed asbees orcicadas), which had been placed on the king's cloak.[12]Archduke Leopold William, governor of the Southern Netherlands (today's Belgium), had the find published in Latin. The treasure went first to theHabsburgs in Vienna, then as a gift to KingLouis XIV, who was not impressed with the treasure and stored it in the royal library, which became theBibliothèque Nationale de France during theRevolution.
On the night of November 5–6, 1831, the treasure of Childeric was among 80 kg of treasure stolen from the Library and melted down for the gold. A few pieces were retrieved from where they had been hidden in the Seine, including two of the bees. The record of the treasure, however, now exists only in the fine engravings made at the time of its discovery and in some reproductions made for the Habsburgs.[14]
WhenNapoleon was looking for a heraldic symbol to trump theCapetianfleur-de-lys, he settled on Childeric's bees as symbols of theFrench Empire. The minutes of a meeting of theConseil d'État held atSaint-Cloud in June 1804 suggest that it approved the symbolism of the bees on a suggestion byCambacérès. The design was made byVivant Denon, Director of theLouvre.[15]
Childeric I Born: c. 437 Died: 481 | ||
| Preceded by | King of the Salian Franks 458–481 | Succeeded by |
Merovingian dynasty (400–751 AD) | |||
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