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Birth:          ABT  497 
Death:           561 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlothar_I
Chlothar I (c. 497 – 29 November 561),[1] also called "Clotaire I" and the Old (le 
Vieux), King of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis I of the Merovingian 
dynasty.

Although his father, Childeric I, had united Francia for the first time, Clovis I divided 
the kingdom between his four sons. In 511 at the age of circa 14, Clothar I inherited 
two large territories on the Western coast of Francia, separated by the lands of his 
brother Charibert I's Kingdom of Paris. Chlothar spent most of his life in an unedifying 
campaign to expand his territories at the expense of his relatives and neighbouring 
realms in all directions.

His brothers avoided outright war by cooperating with his attacks on neighbouring 
lands in concert or by invading lands when their rulers died. The spoils were shared 
between the participating brothers. By the end of his life, Chlothar had managed to 
reunite Francia by surviving his brothers and seizing their territories after they died. 
But upon his own death, the Kingdom of the Franks was once again divided between 
his own four surviving sons. A fifth son had rebelled and was killed, along with his 
family.

Chlothar's father, Clovis I, had converted to Nicene Christianity, but Chlothar, like 
other Merovingians, did not consider that the Christian doctrine of monogamy should 
be expected of royalty: he had five wives, more from political expediency than for 
personal motives. Although at the instigation of his queens he gave money for several 
new ecclesiastical edifices, he was a less than enthusiastic Christian and succeeded 
in introducing taxes on ecclesiastical property.
Introduction[edit]


 


 The expansion of Clothar's territories, shown in brown
Frankish customs of the day allowed for the practice polygamy, especially among 
royalty. So it was not uncommon for a king to have multiple wives and several 
competing heirs upon his death. This was a major deviation from the monogamy of late 
Roman customs, influenced by the Church. Frankish rulers followed this practice 
mainly to increase their influence across larger areas of land in the wake of the 
Roman empire's collapse. The aim was to maintain peace and ensure the preservation 
of the kingdom by appeasing local leaders.[2] In the Germanic tradition succession 
fell, not to sons, but to younger brothers, uncles, and cousins. But under Salic law, 
Clovis I instituted the custom of sons being the primary heirs in all respects. However, 
it was not a system of primogeniture, with the eldest son receiving the vast majority of 
an inheritance, rather the inheritance was split evenly between all the sons. 
Therefore, the greater Frankish Kingdom was often splintered into smaller sub-
kingdoms.[2]

Life[edit]

Early life[edit]

Chlothar was the fifth son of Clovis I and the fourth son of Queen Clotilde. The name 
'Chlothar' means "glory".[3] Chlothar was born around 497 in Soissons. Upon the 
death of his father on 27 November 511, he received as his share of the kingdom: the 
town of Soissons, which he made his capital; the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai, and 
Maastricht; and the lower course of the Meuse River. But he was very ambitious and 
sought to extend his domain.

Accession to the throne[edit]

Upon the death of Clovis I in the year 511, the Frankish kingdom was divided between 
Chlothar and his brothers, Theuderic, Childebert, and Chlodomer.[4] Because of the 
rights of mothers, queens were granted a portion of their son's kingdom. Clovis I, who 
had two wives, divided his kingdom into two for each of his wives, then parceled out 
pieces to his respective sons. The eldest, Theuderic, son of the first wife, had the 
benefit of receiving one half of the kingdom of Francia, Reims. Chlothar shared the 
second half of the kingdom with his brothers Childebert and Chlodomer. Chlothar 
received the northern portion, Childebert the central kingdom of Paris, and Chlodomer 
the southern Kingdom of Orléans.[2] The domain inherited by Chlothar consisted of 
two distinct parts: one in Gaulic Belgium, corresponding to the kingdom of the Salian 
Franks, where he established his capital at Soissons and included the dioceses of 
Amiens, Arras, Saint-Quentin and Tournai; and the other in Aquitane including the 
dioceses of Agen, Bazas, and Périgueux.[2]
Family[edit]

According to Gregory of Tours, "The King Chlothar had seven sons of various women, 
namely: with Ingund he had Gunthar, Childeric, Charibert, Guntram, Sigebert, and a 
daughter named Chlothsind; of Aregund, sister of Ingund he had Chilperic; and of 
Chunsine he had Chram."

Chlothar's first marriage was to Guntheuc, widow of his brother Chlodomer, sometime 
around 524. They had no children. His second marriage, which occurred around 532, 
was to Radegund, daughter of Bertachar, King of Thuringia, whom he and his brother 
Theuderic defeated.[25] She was later canonized. They also had no children. His third 
and most successful marriage was to Ingund,[26] by whom he had five sons and two 
daughters:
Gunthar, predeceased father
Childeric, predeceased father
Charibert, King of Paris
Guntram, King of Burgundy
Sigebert, King of Austrasia
Chlothsind, married Alboin, King of the Lombards

He likely had an illegitimate son named Gondovald with an unnamed woman, born 
sometime in the late 540s or early 550s. Since Chlothar had sown children all 
throughout Gaul this was not unlikely. The boy was given a literary education and 
allowed to grow his hair long, a symbol of belonging to royalty. Although Chlothar 
would offer no more aid or privilege to the boy, his mother took him to the court of 
Childebert, who recognized him as his nephew and agreed to keep him in court.

His next marriage was to a sister of Ingund, Aregund, with whom he had a son, 
Chilperic, King of Soissons.[26] His last wife was Chunsina (or Chunsine), with whom 
he had one son, Chram,[27] who became his father's enemy and predeceased him. 
Chlothar may have married and repudiated Waldrada.

A false genealogy found in the Brabant trophies, made in the ninth century during the 
reign of Charles the Bald, invents a daughter of Chlothar's named Blithilde who 
supposedly married the saint and bishop Ansbert of Rouen, who was himself alleged to 
be son of Ironwood III. The Duke Arnoald, father of Arnulf of Metz, was said to have 
been born of this marriage, thus connecting the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties 
and creating the appearance that the Carolingian ruled by right of inheritance. It also 
linked them to the Romans by their affiliation with the senatorial family Ferreoli.

Parents
____ Clovis I "the Great" (ABT  466 - 27 Nov  511)
____ Clotilde (Clothilda) ( 475 -  548)

Siblings
____ Clotilda (Chrodechildis) ( 497 -  531)
____ Clothaire I (Clotaire I) (Chlotar) (ABT  497 -  561)

Marriage To ____ Chrusine (Ingonde) (ABT  499 - )
    m.  

Notes
his 2d

Parents
____ Baderic (ABT  480 -  529)
----- ----- ()

Children by ____ Chrusine (Ingonde) ABT  499 - 
____ Charibert (ABT  517 - Dec  567)
____ Siegbert I ( 526 -  575)

Marriage To ____ Rodegunda (Aregonde) ( -  575)
    m.  

Notes
his fifth

Parents
____ Berthar ()
----- ----- ()

Children by ____ Rodegunda (Aregonde)  -  575
OF SOISSONS Chilperic I ( 539 - Sep  584)

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